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As good as I felt the Celestion SL700 to be, there were still some problem areas. First was a thickening in the bottom of the lower midrange that became noticeable at high levels. I thought at first that this was due to the Linn 'table—"paranoia strikes deep"—but it was apparent also on CD. At the time of writing, however, it needs a lot more listening to determine whether this is a characteristic of the SL700s or whether it was due to my new room, the VTL amplifiers, the Monster M1 cable, or a combination of all three. Second, I started off my listening sitting closer to the speakers than…
Conclusion
It is no secret that the Celestion SL700 was the result of the joint efforts of consultant and reviewer Martin Colloms, Celestion's chief designer Graham Bank (freshly returned from Wharfedale), and the drive-unit design skills of Celestion's Bob Smith, who managed the project team and was responsible for the tweeter, and Ed Form, now no longer with the company but with Tannoy. I remember Martin telling me two years ago that one of the design aims was to try to solve what they felt to be the SL600's problems but without losing its intrinsic musicality. Well, in my opinion,…
It is no secret that the Celestion SL700 was the result of the joint efforts of consultant and reviewer Martin Colloms, Celestion's chief designer Graham Bank (freshly returned from Wharfedale), and the drive-unit design skills of Celestion's Bob Smith, who managed the project team and was responsible for the tweeter, and Ed Form, now no longer with the company but with Tannoy. I remember Martin telling me two years ago that one of the design aims was to try to solve what they felt to be the SL600's problems but without losing its intrinsic musicality. Well, in my opinion,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: two-way, sealed-box loudspeaker with Aerolam enclosure. Drive-units: 1.25" aluminum-dome tweeter, 6.5" Kobex-cone (PVC) woofer. Crossover frequency: 3kHz (2nd-order, 12dB/octave, low-pass slope, 3rd-order, 18dB/octave, high-pass slope). Frequency response: high-end not specified; low-end, -3dB at 63Hz. Sensitivity: 82dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Amplifier requirements: up to 120W on program.
Dimensions: 14.75" H by 8" W by 9.5" D. Enclosure volume: 12 litres (0.4 cubic feet). Weight: 13.75 lbs each (stands weigh 41.5 lbs each).
Price: $…
Sidebar 2: 1988 Measurements
The frequency response of the Celestion was measured in the listening window—spatially averaged to minimize room standing-wave problems—using a 1/3-octave warble-tone generator; in addition, the nearfield low-frequency response of each speaker was measured with a sinewave sweep to get an idea of the true bass extension relative to the level at 100Hz. The change of impedance with frequency and the voltage sensitivity (using 1/3-octave pink noise centered on 1kHz) were also measured.
Fig.1 shows the manner in which the SL700's impedance varies with…
Sidebar 3: Unpublished 1991 Measurements
A year after my review of the Celestion SL700 was published, Stereophile acquired a MLSSA measuring system from DRA Labs and a B&K (now DPA) 4006 omnidirectional microphone, both of which the magazine still uses for loudspeaker measurements. As I was still using the Celestion SL700 as my reference at this time, I naturally performed a number of measurements on it in order to get the hang of how MLSSA could be best used. The speaker's on-axis response appeared in the October 1991 issue (p.209), but none of the other measurements have been…
Sam Tellig wrote about the Celestion SL700 Special Edition in October 1991 (Vol.14 No.10):
"Maybe you should get a pair of Celestion 700 Special Editions."
It was Brass Ear on the phone with a recommendation.
I had shipped my Spendor S100s to Stereophile. It was time for a change, that's all. Plus, I expected to move into smaller quarters.
"They're right up your alley," said Brass, leading me to suspect immediately that he was trying to sell me his pair.
"I didn't know you had a pair," I told Brass.
"I didn't until last week."
"What are you…
Sam Tellig wrote more on the Celestion SL700SE in April 1992 (Vol.15 No.4):
Brass Ear put me on to the Celestion SL700SE. "The imaging is great, almost comparable to Wilson WATTs," he raved, as his own pair of Celestion SL700SEs went out the door. Appropriately, he sold them to a musician.
Two things attract me to the 700s. First, instrumental and vocal timbres seem to be just right. Few speakers get it so right. The Spendor S100 does. So does the Thiel CS2.2. And the Quad ESL-63. You can add the Celestion 700SE to this list.
Second, the imaging is fabulous, like the…
Once upon a time, when I was a mere sprout in journalism school, there came the moment when everyone had to decide which sort of writing and/or editing he or she wanted to pursue in the workplace of the real world—a harsh reality that was then fast approaching. Most of my fellow students, who ranged in age from 23 to 62, chose one of two paths: murder or scandal.
Those who chose murder got hot and bothered by the prospect of reporting on human depravity and criminal activity of the foulest sort: domestic violence, sex crimes, La Cosa Nostra, homicide. Their general attitude seemed to be,…
John Atkinson
J.S. BACH: Goldberg Variations
Murray Perahia, piano
Sony Classical SK 89243 (CD) SS 89243 (SACD). 2000. Andreas Neubronner, prod.; Markus Heiland, eng.; Andrew Grainger, asst eng.; Matthew Cocker, ed.; Jen Wyler, DSD authoring eng. DDD. TT: 73:28 With all the fuss that is currently and justifiably being made about the late Glenn Gould's two historically important readings of the Goldberg Variations—it was Gould who rescued the work from the museum—it is easy to forget that other pianists can breathe life into them. Since his recovery from a hand injury, Murray Perahia…
J.S. BACH: Goldberg Variations
Murray Perahia, piano
Sony Classical SK 89243 (CD) SS 89243 (SACD). 2000. Andreas Neubronner, prod.; Markus Heiland, eng.; Andrew Grainger, asst eng.; Matthew Cocker, ed.; Jen Wyler, DSD authoring eng. DDD. TT: 73:28 With all the fuss that is currently and justifiably being made about the late Glenn Gould's two historically important readings of the Goldberg Variations—it was Gould who rescued the work from the museum—it is easy to forget that other pianists can breathe life into them. Since his recovery from a hand injury, Murray Perahia…
Thomas Conrad
WOODY SHAW: Rosewood
Woody Shaw, trumpet, flugelhorn; Art Webb, James Spaulding, flute; Frank Wess, flute, piccolo; James Vass, soprano & alto sax; Gary Bartz, alto sax; Carter Jefferson, René McLean, soprano & tenor sax; Joe Henderson, tenor sax; Janice Robinson, Curtis Fuller, trombone; Steve Turre, trombone, bass trombone; Lois Colin, harp; Onaje Allan Gumbs, piano, electric piano; Larry Willis, piano; Clint Houston, Stafford James, bass; Victor Lewis, drums; Sammy Figueroa, congas; Armen Halburian, Nana Vasconcelos, percussion; Judi Singh, vocal
Columbia/…
WOODY SHAW: Rosewood
Woody Shaw, trumpet, flugelhorn; Art Webb, James Spaulding, flute; Frank Wess, flute, piccolo; James Vass, soprano & alto sax; Gary Bartz, alto sax; Carter Jefferson, René McLean, soprano & tenor sax; Joe Henderson, tenor sax; Janice Robinson, Curtis Fuller, trombone; Steve Turre, trombone, bass trombone; Lois Colin, harp; Onaje Allan Gumbs, piano, electric piano; Larry Willis, piano; Clint Houston, Stafford James, bass; Victor Lewis, drums; Sammy Figueroa, congas; Armen Halburian, Nana Vasconcelos, percussion; Judi Singh, vocal
Columbia/…