Sad.. Very Sad, Is This The End Of A Great English Company

Castle Acoustics Loudspeakers, Cabinet Makers Today In Administration..! What Next ?

 

Oh dear that is bad news.
Castle have been around for as long as I can remember.

 

ooh. That sucks.

I think Castle were making Living Voice cabinets too (amongst others).

Still, to be expected perhaps - when was the last really popular Castle speaker? - last one I remember is the Castle Harlech in the 1990's.

..but I don't read magazines anymore, so maybe a little out of touch.

 

All of the UK hifi industry is feeling the pinch. You can't make for £20 here what can be made for 50p in china. As long as people buy with the intent to get the best for their money, uk companies will fall by the wayside.

 

The UK can make something China isn't good at but the UK is, relative to cabinets, sell it back to them (or someone else) then we can buy more cabinets than we did before with that money we earn. Then everyone's a winner.

PS that will work even if China is cheaper at everything - it's called comparative advantage but it is easily missed, having been called the one non-intuitive thing in economics.

 

This is really sad. I own a pair of severn 2's and always loved the efforts they seemed to go to to make a beautiful cabinet that looked like it had been made by a craftsmen and not a factory. Granted not all the finishes were to everybodies taste but I always thought you got something that little bit more special than others in the price bracket.

 

I am wondering what will happen with Living Voice!!! By the way, what is your source for this information? Does 'in administration' mean 'bankrupt'? English is not my first language, so would you please explain the term?

 

I think LV already have 2 other cabinet suppliers besides Castle.

 

I've a set of sterlings [upgraded pembrokes ?] from 92 ish that my mother still uses on the end of a cheap reciever..

I quite liked the harlechs but they have not bdone much recently that moved me .

 

yes, it is very sad, as they used to make wonderfull cabinets for most other people, sad that many do not know where they first originated from, sad that you only remember harlechs, what about lintons xp3 and many more, try a famous river , i am sure that most of us grew up with some of their earlier mother companies, how many more i ask?are going to follow , but ..! ..nando

 

cabinets

i am waiting to hear from proac..nando

 

more or less yes , we call this "gone under" but i am sure that there will be other cabinet makers around to do their work, although i have been to the factury many a times , their craftmanship was second to none.nando

 

I believe they manufactured / built for Russ Andrews the Quave Loudspeakers...
I've had 3 pairs of castle speakers - the original pembrokes, a Severn II and Harlechs; all really nice, "well balanced" and superbly finished. A sad loss if they go.

 

they have i am afraid, one hopes that someone in this country can save that company..nando

 

I've never heard Castle speakers but I did admire their carftmanship. IMO the cabinets were very well made. A great shame I think. Hopefully someone will rescue them.

 

Castle were one of the bigger loudspeaker companies although they were still small in terms of scale compared to Mission and KEF. They were probably too small to compete with the big boys. A lot of British companies need to stop ignoring China.

It is sad but the fact is we can't survive anymore, we cannot make a decent loudpseaker for £50 like China can.

I suppose the major problem with HIFI at the moment as well is that it seems to be a dying market due to multi channel and AV stuff.

Still it seems the Brits are still making some of the best HIFI in the world.

 

wow thats really sad news...their spare parts department is/was really impressive too- they were even able to quote me a bass driver for a 32yr old set of Kendals.

Their speakers are really good but all seemed a little laid back for me though the Severn 2s of the late 90s were pretty poor...but were a one-off. Based in Skipton if i remember correctly...and they used their own drive units did they not?

 

yes i know , back in 1990 when a dear friend of mine "mr. sapford" and his son stweart, were there and i took to them a new alchemist amp "kraken" to the skipton base, i saw a magnificant cabinet that they were working on in a perfect yew finish, to be called the winchesters, hence i wanted them for me having to sell my tannoy buckinghams, loved them castles so did and still does my wife and every body that comes to hear music, still here with me , i can't sea a replacement for them, nor can i see a divorce either, WELL DONE CASTLE..nando

 

Don't be surprised to see the name resurface at some point, but with chinese construction. Manufacturing in post-industrialized countries is a financial money pit.

 

Wonder if they will become part of an outfit such as IAG like Quad, Wharfedale and Mission have become?