Advice on new or used CASTLE column speakers set and AVR

peacefortheworld

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Dear all
I found this set of speakers in the local 2nd hard audio shop. Could I ask for advice>? I tried to google but have no information. I never come across this brand before.
Are they any good? are they reliable?

They are asking for around 400 British pounds.
Not too expensive but are they worth it? please see attached photos
They suggest to use with Denon 3312CI - cost around 260 pound.




And should I get new or used???
I can get a set of new Yamaha speakers and AVR for 450 pound
  • Yamaha NS F51
  • Yamaha NS-P51 3x
  • sub NS-SW100
  • Amply RX-V385
Or this with 750 (brand new
2 x S805,
2 xSurround S801
1 x center S81.
sub Klipsch R8SW
- Amply Denon AVR X550BT

Castle speakers photos:
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7e83f07455079a59c316.jpg

3142f8af5ddc9282cbcd.jpg
 

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Castle is well known company since 70s, now under IAG group like many brands (Mission, Quad, Wharfedale etc).



Could you ask that you can listen them so everything works no dead drivers, subwoofer doesn´t humm/buzz etc. It´s little bit more riskier with electronics like the subwoofer if the amps dies then i´m not sure can it be fixed and if not are there new amps available. The same would be buying old av-receiver without warranty. Someone selling the 3312 for 200£ in ebay too so need to be carefull that you don´t overpay for old stuff. I would recommend Yamaha receivers if you buy used one cause they are known from reliability. I have owned and still own old Yamahas, never issues with these!

I would steer away from those cheap Yamaha speakers. Their receivers are good, but the cheap speakers and subwoofers not so much.

Jamos are cheap and there is reviews showing where they do ok and where the low price shows. The subwoofer is crap on the Jamo package (Klipsch) so that would need to be changed. Boomy one note bass not what you want. Also i would consider other receiver if possible from the X550 which is uber cheap model.

What is your max budget for everything?

What kind of room you have, dimensions and some drawing would be great to see too?! If you have corner tv or some other craziness then it makes things more difficult.
 
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Dear, thank you for the advice.
I did a check around, it sounds like the Yamaha old ARV seems like a better option for safety.

About the room, we have a living room of 4.5m x 5.5m.
I currently have a system for listening to music, just a pair of EPOS M12.2, preamp, and amplifier.

The surround set (that I plan to get) is for movies. I plan to use the pre-out of the AVR to connect to the pre-amp - to save space and also cost. However, some advice that it is better to use a separate set of speakers for movies - which I am sure is better but not very cost-effective.

We plan not to spend too much on the movie set. We started to think around 500 pounds as the cost of that low-end Yamaha set. and then 700 if worth it.
Thanks for ur comment, I see that the low-end Yamaha seem not really worth it - so we mostly go for 2nd hand equipment now with risk

What would you recommend for that kind of money? 500-700? should i take advantage of the current music system as front speakers?

regards
 
What kind of room you have, dimensions and some drawing would be great to see too?! If you have corner tv or some other craziness then it makes things more difficult. Also very small and large speakers like the Castles isn´t necessarily good idea.

Do you mean the castle set has very small and large speakers like the standing one in the front and the small one in the back? thanks for pointing, I kind of see it now. It can be a bit disbalance.
 
Do you mean the castle set has very small and large speakers like the standing one in the front and the small one in the back? thanks for pointing, I kind of see it now. It can be a bit disbalance.
Oops that is typo and you don´t have small room so forget it. The rest of speakers are ok with the package. I would still want to hear them all in play if you do lean toward them.

There is no pre-out in the receivers you looking for. I think cheapest would be Marantz slimline which has pre-outs for front mains. But it would eat all your budget almost.

Those are good speakers, but it`s nightmare to find matching center or almost any Epos center channel. No idea what brand would sound close enough if you buy other brand centre.

700£ still quite tight for 5.1 and receiver. It´s very hard to know which brand sound you would like also.

These should be good speakers for the front three. Walnut finish. 300£ together.

New sub from BK made in UK, 2year warranty. 255£. Lot of finishes to choose from. Forum favourite sub for god knows how long. It looks like small furniture as the driver is hidden. Well worth the price as you don`t have to worry about expensive repairs. BK has great support even for 10year old products.

This would be good receiver with hdmi 2.0 4K support, atmos, dts:x etc. 200£!



Total 760£ or so. It´s 3.1 system, but you would buy the surround speakers later when funds allow. Example pair of Q Acoustics 7000i if wife wants something small wall mounted. Or just QA 3010 pair and some stands.
 
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wo thank you for such help. I contacted the people who sell the yahama avr and the speakers - seem very good.

About the denon, just for my information, how can I check if the avr has preout or not?
When I see the picture in the back of the avr, I see the "out" rca jack. does it mean the avr has preout?? or not?


thank you
 
wo thank you for such help. I contacted the people who sell the yahama avr and the speakers - seem very good.

About the denon, just for my information, how can I check if the avr has preout or not?
When I see the picture in the back of the avr, I see the "out" rca jack. does it mean the avr has preout?? or not?


thank you

Yes the Denon has preouts for all channels, however this is old unit from 2011 at least and has old version hdmi 1.4 so no support for the latest 4K (hdmi 2.0). It´s quite a risk to buy such old unit and you likely would still have 1080p plasma tv then.

The Yamaha models is from 2017.
 
Yes the Denon has preouts for all channels, however this is old unit from 2011 at least and has old version hdmi 1.4 so no support for the latest 4K (hdmi 2.0). It´s quite a risk to buy such old unit and you likely would still have 1080p plasma tv then.

The Yamaha models is from 2017.
Oh i see. I normally connect video to tv and then optical the audio to avr. Is it a good practice?

I see a denon x2400h for sale brand new
Is it anh better than the old yamaha? It cost around £400
 
Oh i see. I normally connect video to tv and then optical the audio to avr. Is it a good practice?

I see a denon x2400h for sale brand new
Is it anh better than the old yamaha? It cost around £400

X2400H is old model, how it`s brand new still? 400£ is too high for unit that doesn´t have warranty. It`s also 2017 model and competitor to V681 i linked. I think it went 299£ lowest before it was discontinued. Someone trying to rob you. Get the Yamaha rather!

You should connect using only hdmi cable (sound and picture) from tv to receiver! Also if you have bluray or other devices use hdmi cable when possible.

You will not get the newer lossless hd sound formats (Dolby True HD / DTS HD MA) working if you use optical cable for surround sound (5.1).

Also you don`t get the Dolby Digital Plus either without hdmi connection.




Do you have 4K tv? Bluray or DVD player? Other devices?
 
X2400H is old model, how it`s brand new still? 400£ is too high for unit that doesn´t have warranty. It`s also 2017 model and competitor to V681 i linked. I think it went 299£ lowest before it was discontinued. Someone trying to rob you. Get the Yamaha rather!

You should connect using only hdmi cable (sound and picture) from tv to receiver! Also if you have bluray or other devices use hdmi cable when possible.

You will not get the newer lossless hd sound formats (Dolby True HD / DTS HD MA) working if you use optical cable for surround sound (5.1).

Also you don`t get the Dolby Digital Plus either without hdmi connection.




Do you have 4K tv? Bluray or DVD player? Other devices?
About the X2400H, the local shop somehow got one brand new in box and they offer 12months warranty on them. Well, I did not notice it is that old... well.... i contacted the guy with the v618 :) thanks

About the connection, thank you for letting me know. I don't have DVD or BD player anymore - I gave up the DVD/BD collections. I have all the movies in digital files. I normally use the android box to play the 4k mkv files and laptop.

My normal practice, I connect the HDMI from the laptop/android box to the TV, and then optical from the TV to the AVR. Sometimes, the TV is the source as youtube, netflix and kodi.

So... should I change to

laptop/android box --> AVR by HDMI --> TV/Projector by HDMI

Optical from TV-->AVR only for youtube/netflix.


Thank you
 
oh, actually, Yamaha RX V685 new and also around 400. uhm... would it be worth the extra cash compared to the Yamaha RX V681
 
oh, actually, Yamaha RX V685 new and also around 400. uhm... would it be worth the extra cash compared to the Yamaha RX V681

It`s not available, old model!

Use always HDMI cable when possible, no optical cable!
 
Btw, i put my feet for the brand new 2700 from denon. I could get a 3700 used but i believe it is not worth the risk 🙄

I changed to a new topic - as my direction of buying changed from low budget 5.1 to a budget atmos :)
 
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If without transferable warranty then it´s always risk, but yes it´s better product and allows for 5.2.4 system or even 7.2.4 with the addition of 2ch poweramp. Little bit more power, better room correction and more channels & processing are the main selling points. However this is so poor time to buy receiver with the prices sky high. New models may be coming later in the year, but when you have the fever it´s hard to wait.


You need to raise your budget still if you go with atmos. Better would be to use the higher budget for 5.1 first and then add the correct type of atmos speakers which works best in your room. If you are going with the upfiring ceiling bounce route keep your expectations at check, it ain´t going to be night and day difference.

Also ideally you should roughly 2,5-3meters from the speakers and meet these Dolby`s recommendations:

For optimal performance, the ceiling should be flat (not angled or vaulted), with a height between 7.5 and 14 feet (2.3 to 4.3 meters), and made of an acoustically reflective material (drywall, plaster, hardwood, or another rigid, non---sound-absorbing material).

Most people would agree that if you go with on or in-ceiling speakers (overhead) that would give you best results, unless you have very low ceiling. Third option would be to mount the "atmos" speakers high up on front wall just below ceiling. Google "Dali Alteco C-1 front heights" then you see what i mean.
 
If without transferable warranty then it´s always risk, but yes it´s better product and allows for 5.2.4 system or even 7.2.4 with the addition of 2ch poweramp. Little bit more power, better room correction and more channels & processing are the main selling points. However this is so poor time to buy receiver with the prices sky high. New models may be coming later in the year, but when you have the fever it´s hard to wait.


You need to raise your budget still if you go with atmos. Better would be to use the higher budget for 5.1 first and then add the correct type of atmos speakers which works best in your room. If you are going with the upfiring ceiling bounce route keep your expectations at check, it ain´t going to be night and day difference.

Also ideally you should roughly 2,5-3meters from the speakers and meet these Dolby`s recommendations:

For optimal performance, the ceiling should be flat (not angled or vaulted), with a height between 7.5 and 14 feet (2.3 to 4.3 meters), and made of an acoustically reflective material (drywall, plaster, hardwood, or another rigid, non---sound-absorbing material).

Most people would agree that if you go with on or in-ceiling speakers (overhead) that would give you best results, unless you have very low ceiling. Third option would be to mount the "atmos" speakers high up on front wall just below ceiling. Google "Dali Alteco C-1 front heights" then you see what i mean.
Thank you. Such great recommendations.
We have the luxury of having the speakers in the celling. And it sounds like a way to go.
 
Thank you. Such great recommendations.
We have the luxury of having the speakers in the celling. And it sounds like a way to go.

For sure in-ceiling if possible! Something like this should be ideal for typical UK lounge without breaking bank:
 

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