Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Celestion SL6S loudspeaker Associated Equipment & Test Procedure

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment & Test Procedure

THe speakers was substituted for the SL600s in my usual system of Krell KSA-50 power amplifier, Audio Research SP-10 preamp, CAL Tempest II and Meridian MCD Pro CD players, and Koetsu Red/SME V/Linn Sondek LP player mounted on a Torlyte stand. (At the end of the listening period, I substituted a 1987 Linn/Ittok combination fitted with the new composite armboard and the new Linn Troika cartridge, the whole sitting on a Sound Organization table.) Interconnect was Monster Interlink Reference A, and Monster M1 speaker cable was used for all speakers.

The Celestions were carefully positioned for optimum performance, and either Heybrook metal-frame or Celestion/Foundation lead/sand-filled metal-pillar stands were used to raise the speakers to the appropriate heights. The stands were spiked to couple vibrations to the tile-on-concrete floor beneath the rug.

Each pair of speakers was used over an extended period of time for all my recreational listening; once I had become happy that I was getting the best sound, a more critical series of listening tests was performed using an identical selection of music to get an idea of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of each design.

The tracks used were as follows: Chopin Waltz in C-sharp minor, HFN/RR test CD (my own recording, made with the Calrec Soundfield mike in crossed figure-eight mode); the drumkit recording on the HFN/RR test CD (again recorded with the Soundfield mike); Beethoven "Pathetique" sonata performed by James Boyk, Performance Recordings PR-5 (recorded with crossed figure-eight ribbon mikes); Stan Rogers' Northwest Passage (Fogarty's Cove Music FCM-004, a naturally recorded collection of Nova Scotian-style songs sung by a baritone, recommended to me by Mission's Armi Leonetti); Ray Noble's "The very thought of you" (Ken Kessler's favorite test track, the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald backed by a naturally miked big band, recorded in 1962 when engineers didn't know enough to spoil the music); and Stravinsky's Firebird suite, on Sheffield Lab CD-24 (pure Blumlein-miked orchestra, using Coles ribbon mikes). Particularly useful for judging accuracy of timbre on voice was the Freehold, New Jersey, recording of "Papa-oom-mow-mow" (Rhino RNLP 70827).

The two things these recordings have in common, apart from the fact that I know them all intimately, is that they all were recorded in such a way as to produce a tightly defined, tonally neutral soundstage, and that none have been "doctored." As I have pointed out before, how on Earth can a reviewer make valid value judgments if he doesn't know what to expect from the recordings he uses to make those judgments? Somehow he or she has to break the circle of not knowing what a recording sounds like apart from judging it using loudspeakers, the properties of which he or she doesn't know apart from judging them using the unknown recording.

A note to those who condemn tweakery out of hand: At the start of the auditioning of the first model, I had other loudspeakers in a pile in the corner of my listening room, some 10 feet from the left-hand speaker. Sitting listening to my chosen test tracks, I starting noting down adverse comments regarding stereo imaging: unstable center imaging, different image width at different frequencies, etc. The penny dropped; I removed all the other speakers from the room; now, the imaging was actually very good.

So I advise you to insist upon auditioning loudspeakers one pair at a time before making a final purchase decision. Dealers won't like you, but only then will you get a true idea of the soundstage capability of a pair of speakers. Reviewers also hate auditioning loudspeakers one pair at a time, particularly if the speakers are heavy, but I can assure you that that will be Stereophile's policy.—John Atkinson

COMPANY INFO
Celestion International Ltd.
Celestion no longer markets domestic loudspeakers (202O)
celestion.com
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COMMENTS
Anton's picture
Submitted by Anton on November 10, 2020 - 5:58pm

These babies were true imaging champs.

The Hi Fi store demo speaker of a lifetime.

I am sure this was used almost universally....I am pretty sure it was this album...that Flim & the BB's track with a bicycle coming toward the listener on one side, then turning in front of the listener, and then proceeding away in the other channel.

It was pretty uncanny.

Thanks for the splendid memory.

And it positively oozed the audiophile look!

I still lust after them...I wonder they would hold up today?

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on November 10, 2020 - 9:52pm

I read ( in the early 1980s ) about your experiences with these Celestian SL6 and bought a pallet full. I sold them thru a Classified Ad. in the back pages of Audio Magazine. I ( B&K ) Imports, probably sold over a couple hundred pair, ( all that I could buy from regional distributors in the UK ).

Interestingly, I didn't like them as much as the ProAc but they did compare quite favorably to our regular Saturday Audiophile Comparison group meetings where all the Smaller Loudspeakers were compared: LS3/5a, Linn Kann, Spica TC-50, Quad ESL63, SL6 & SL600, the still outstanding ProAc Tablette original, along with everything else we would toss into the mix. VPI Player, Sumiko Arm, Koetsu, Electrocompaniet, Audible Illusion, Conrad-Johnson Electronics, Monster & MIT-750 cabling.

I miss the camaraderie of those wonderful days of exploration.

and I miss the John Atkinson Editor of HFN&RR.

Tony in Venice

davehg's picture
Submitted by davehg on November 10, 2020 - 10:21pm

I was working at a big box retailer in the late 80s and got these at cost - $650 was a lot to a poor college kid. They sounded great but were hard to drive loud. I enjoyed the heck out of them, and managed to get a pair of SL600s which were even harder to drive.

32 years later and I’m still enjoying high end gear. I do miss the many SPhile writers who have left us too soon.

Zachary Cohen's picture
Submitted by Zachary Cohen on November 11, 2020 - 2:26am

Amazing connection yesterday as since the 1970's and early 1980's I have used the Audio Research SP3a (pre-amp) and D70 (amp) with an original and similarly old Martin Logan speaker. But, in my piano playing room, I listened to my own (high amateur) and professional recordings with the Celestion 6s, that I had bought when new, and was played with a good but not great NAD and/or Rotel electronics. The Celestion 6s sounded good but not great in several ways as it was only a few inches away from a back wall. My Martin Logans had broken down a few weeks ago. The Celestion 6s was moved to work with Audio Research to be used until I ordered a Martin Logan replacement. I thought I would order Magnepan, but more and more I began to like the Celestion 6s at a high level (it not only had come off the wall in my piano room but now were about 5 feet from a wall in a 17 x 21 room and were working with great tube pre-amp and amp). I think I will order a KEF 350 or something that can go in either room because I may continue to use the Celestion 6s with the audio research amp and pre-amp (I mainly listen to cd and old records of classical piano but do listen to most classical music, some jazz, and some old rock music). Now the Celestion 6s produces music with emotional appeal. What a coincidence to be deciding this about a speaker I bought decades ago and get to be influenced now by an old Stereophile article (which I probably read back then!).

yourfriendfred's picture
Submitted by yourfriendfred on November 12, 2020 - 8:24am

I bought a pair of these in 1988 when I lived in England. I paired them with an Exposure X (ten) amplifier and loved the sound. It was my first "hi-fi" setup and I think cost about 1,000 pounds altogether.

I still have the speakers and amp though I haven't listened to them in many years. I remember writing a letter to Exposure asking them how to convert the amp to 110V. They responded - also by letter!

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on November 14, 2020 - 2:31am

... could instead have opted for the Spendor BC-1 or SP-1.
Or, the under $1,000 box speaker I preferred, at that time, which was the ADS L880/2.

zimmer74's picture
Submitted by zimmer74 on November 17, 2020 - 12:18pm

after a brief experience with the original SL6, I lived with the SL600 for many years in the 80s. And I believe we were both using the Audio Research SP10 preamp and D250-II amp (250 watts of tube power). I have moved on to various setups, some very expensive, but that SL600-based system was the most musically satisfying I have ever owned. All the small Celestions required a lot of power, but the Aerolam cabinet of the SL600 was magic. I've often wondered why no subsequent speakers from any company have used that material.

cedricchan's picture
Submitted by cedricchan on November 18, 2020 - 1:46pm

Bought a pair in Hong Hong when it first came out. That was like 33 years ago. I still remember the Taxi driver warned me with the SL6s speaker stand. He goes "Make sure your stand don't scratch or damage my seat LOL.

Here is the latest picture of my SL6s along with the Wharfedale EVO 4.4
https://ibb.co/L684HyX

avrayman86's picture
Submitted by avrayman86 on November 18, 2020 - 4:06pm

We used to sell the Celestions at our HiFi store but they never did it for me.Hard to drive and the sounded compressed. I prefered the Spendor BC1 and SP1's as I recall for stand mount speakers. Just IMHO :)

thomasrhee's picture
Submitted by thomasrhee on December 7, 2020 - 11:16pm

These belong in any list of "Hall Of Fame" speakers. Truly classics.

ChrM1971's picture
Submitted by ChrM1971 on January 28, 2021 - 8:11am

The review is of the SL6S (aluminium tweeter 1987) but the pictures show the SL6 (copper tweeter 1982). ????

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