I had a friend who owned them, and they sounded very enjoyable (especially for the price) with lots of deep bass. I do also remember them sounding muddy, also, compared to newer speakers. I guess you get what you pay for.
Neither of us tried any mods, but assuming you got them for a good price you'd have little to lose. There are loads of part shops on the web and I'm sure other agoners who can give good advice with regard to modding. |
These were very pleasant speakers in a system I had in the U.K. over 20 years ago! You are right, one can listen for hours without fatigue probably due to the treble driver, which was thought to be very sweet back then. As I recall, trumpet, horn and sax came over the midrange very realistically and the soft-roll base had plenty of punch. These speakers worked well for many types of music but I remember them best for the ability to work with close-in jazz. However these units, good as they were, were of a different technological time. Driver materials have improved so much that I think regardless of your cross-over tweaks you'll not improve greatly over the factory sound.
The treble unit, though sweet, rolled off beyond 18k as I remember and the midrange was a paper driver. You might want to rotate the base units 180 degrees, top to bottom, to help with the coil alignment. For me, I say accept them for what they are; a nice pair of older, cheaper speakers. lhlb |
I had a pair of Ditton 66 and I thought they were great. The larger the amplifier the better. You need a real attention grabber of a big SS amp, like a krell, to make these puppies listen and then they are great. Back then, we used Crown DC300a or big BGWs. They were great on classical but could really boogie. |
I have a pair of Ditton 66 speakers for my cabin system. I think they still sound great. The bass is a little thick, but a high damping factor solid state amp can help. Good luck. |
I have enjoyed these speakers so much, I have kept them in my system so far.... Of course, they are so heavy, I do not feel like lifting them down from the shelf. It took a bit of effort to get them up there... |
I enjoyed a pair of black Dittons 44 for about 20 years, very pleasant sound with nice colors. Made some modifications in crossover at high freqs of the 12" and 5". Outstanding tweeter!
Don Joan |
i need a midrange driver for a ditton 44. can anyone help? also is there a crossover mod i can do to use them as two way not three way units ? i got these speakers dirt cheap cos the tweeters were long gone. i wouldn't mind spending £20 and a bit of time to make them work........
marcus
england |
The midrange went bad in one of my ditton 44s. They still sounded alright, it took me two months before I got around to installing the Cambers I had before. Man, the Cambers are way more efficient, I don't need to crank my amp so high. The amp I had before fried about three months ago, I wonder if driving the amp hard running these inefficient speakers caused it's demise... (the amp was 20 years old). "Honey, the amp blew." "You turned it up too loud, didn't you" "Yeah...." I would like to find new midrange drivers for my dittons, because I like them, but if [email protected] needs a midrange, maybe I will part mine out. [email protected] There are a pair of Ditton 44 speakers for sale on E bay right now, I put a bid on them; If I win the bid, I will have the owner send the drivers only to save on shipping. |
I have a ditton - I like the tweeter especially. They are not as dynamic sounding as newer speakers, but is a musical sounding one. Very listenable and doesn't sound like a cheap speaker at all.
The capacitor change probably will improve it for sure - on an old item like this.
I love mine and listen to classical with it. |
Anyone know what is the sensitivity of the ditton 44 . Thanks |
Is there anyone in the whole wide world who knows how i could get a new pair of midrange 'highpressure'drives for my DITTON 66's?Thank you. |
[email protected]Have you tried celestion. They've been quite helpful for me in the past. They might have a replacement or be able to fix or recommend someone to fix the drivers. |
i have two pairs and i need to get most of the cones replaced any ideas where to go |
I can see that I'm coming to this thread a little late. I bought a pair of these behemoths over the summer at a tag sale. Ten bucks for the pair. The cabinets are beaten up and scuffed but the drivers look like new....maybe too new. The midrange driver is an almost purpleesh/brown color so maybe someone could tell me if this sounds like original equipment. Build quality is exceptional. They're solid, 45Lbs+ and a pain to move. I've played them inside and out, but they've sounded best for me outside for parties. Good soundstage, maybe not the last word in imaging. Indoors, they're just a bit too much. They sound a little like my Dad's single speaker HI-FI from the 50's.....Their also not not the last word in spouse approval factor. The speakers are relatively easy to drive. I've used both a Sansui and Pioneer receiver from the 70's rated at 25 watts p/ch. I'm guessing they have a high sensitivity. |
Hi, I am considering selling my Ditton 44`s so am checking out google etc for an idea of what to price them at, I have had these - with stands for over 20 years, and only had one problem with a tweeter 5 years later - - which the factory replaced free of charge - I love these speakers but they have been stored for years due to lack of room. |
I still use my 44's over 30 years since I bought them. great efficiency connected with V15/SME and ROCK solid bass. |
5.5W for 96Db @ 1 Metre (HiFi Year Book 1976 UK) |
Hello everyone,
I have just spent a small fortune upgrading my 44's.
I made new boxes from 1" HDF this is guaranteed to be the same density accross the board. I have upgraded the crossover with Asar supersound caps and new coils and silver soldered all connections. High grade wires are also used through out the speakers.
I finished the boxes in Rosewood veneer REAL WOOD! cost over 200 euros but looks very expensive with the black surface mounted griles.
The result of all this work is a much more open, detailed sound and awesome punchy base. I simply love my NEW 44's and I havent heard many speakers that can match them for all round listening pleasure. Maybe, Tannoy Buckinghams LOL!
The whole project cost me around 500 pounds sterling, a bargain. |
I am amazed that these speakers are still being used and enjoyed! I bought a pair in 1972 and reluctantly sold them when I left the UK 'cos they were too big to ship overseas.
I can still remember the bass response on Pink Floyd's "Time" from "Dark Side of the Moon". I had a Pioneer PL12D turntable with a Shure V15 cartridge played through a Goodmans Module 90 receiver into the 44's.
No hifi system I've owned since has ever been able to produce the same room-shaking sound, I'm even tempted to go look for a pair. |
I have a pair, and Love them!!! I want another pair, anyone have any for sale??? |
Cripes, I have a pair of Ditton 33's, that I think are still In the loft somewhere lurking, I think I purchased them around the time Tchaikovsky was writing an Overture, I think It was circa 1812. No desire to get them out as they have had their days. A mate at school had a pair of Ditton 66's that were in their day very good, again circa 1812. I was envious but I couldn't quite stretch to the height of the 66's, so had to make do with the 33's. |
My goodness! I had a pair of 44s dating back... just after electricity replaced gas lighting.
I remember being excited at the sound. |
The 44s use Celestion HF 2000 tweeters which are considered one of the best tweeters ever made.You also find them in other great speakers like Gale 401,BBC LS3/5a and Spendor BC3. |
any desire to sell them? if so I would be interested. I want another set of speakers and would like to match the sensitivity of my 44's as closely as possible. |
Had a pair the was bought in June of 1972, after a car insurance settlement. Half went to a new car and half the rest to stereo equipment.
Thought they sounded great but were eventually replaced with B&W matrix 804's in the eighties.The Ditton 44's were the best speaker for the money at the time. Rest of that system was a Sansui Au 999 integrated and a Dual 1219 turntable. Cable varieties were still a glow in someone's eye for the future. As were power cords and digital. |
I have a pair of ditton 44 bought these when I was 18 years of age now I am 47.I do not use them now only for when I have a party and replaced them with jamo classic 10.
The ditton 44 I had them about 3 metres apart and slighty 45 degree angle(slightly inwards).If this helps anyone I used to get a chair sit in the centre of the room and move back with your eyes closed and then forward until you get a nice stage sound affect.If you go back too far you will lose this affect and will sound dead.
I have had great pleasure in these speakers over many years and are easy to drive.
96 decibels at 1 metre very loud speaker.
20 to 100 watt amp can be used.
congratulations who have these speakers enjoy your listening.
|
Back to the Cambers - I have the 3.5 ti's. The imaging is unbelievable. They totally 'disappear'. |
back to the celestion ditton 44s - what is a suitable drop-in tweeter replacement? i found a pair of these but the tweeters are on their way out. |
The 44'S were very good at the time but, the 25's were just that much better before the 66's appeared on the scene. Still, they are most enjoyable at medium to low levels.
koevoetno1 |
Late to the party here but I'll make a comment as I've had several pairs of 44 25. 44s respond very well 2 a cap change. The muddiness or the veil gets completely lifted off and the detail comes through loud and clear. I like the 44 over the 25 even though the 25 is considered next down from the 66. 25 don't have a good mid-range system Imo |
Hello, I'm really in late here in this chat but I was doing research about the 44.
if you get this message could you please tell me more about the recap process ?
What kind of component did you use and so on ...thank you
Thank you so much |
