- Castle unveils four new loudspeakers in two ranges
- Castle Tintagel sell for lower prices, with refined driver combos
- Castle Walmer are a higher price, and one has an unusual driver layout
When you think about British Castle, you probably think about Windsor, Warwick or the Tower of London; little did I know that the name also referred to a brand making old-school-looking loudspeakers.
I learned the truth because British Castle is back with a new quartet of speakers, all designed and made in the UK.
These new models, named Castle Tintagel and Castle Walmer after the real-life castles (and, in the case of the former, King Arthur’s stomping ground), all have an old-school look which really catches the eye. Now, I’m not talking ‘ancient castles’ old-school — think ’70s wood-on-wood vibes.
The models will go on sale in September. We only have UK prices for now, and there’s no word whether the models will sell elsewhere.
Hearing some Wamler audio
The lower-cost new models are the British Castle Tintagel range: the Tintagel 1 costs £1,999 (roughly $2,700 / AU$4,000) for a pair and a duo of the Tintagel 2 sell for £2,999 (about $4,000 / AU$6,000). The former is a two-way standmount, the latter a 2.5-way floor-stander.
The Tintagel 1 combines a 130mm mid/bass driver and 28mm silk dome treble, while the Tintagel 2 keeps that treble, but enhances the low-end with twin 150mm drivers. Apparently the low-end drivers are a real selling point, and are fiber cones that are designed for quick response and controlled low-end.
Despite not being cheap, the Tintagel is aimed as British Castle’s entry-level speaker line. It offers a warm sound profile and classic ’70s look at a lower cost compared to its other options.
Then we have the Castle Walmer line. The Walmer 1 is a 2-way standmount speaker which sells for £2,499 (roughly $3,400 / AU$5,000) for a pair, while the Walmer 2 is a 3-way floorstander that you can buy for the sum of £4,999 (around $6,800 / AU$10,000) for a pair.
In the Walmer 1, you’ll find a 130mm mid/bass driver and 12x45mm high-frequency true ribbon unit. The Walmer 2 keeps the latter but uses dual 150mm bass drivers and a 115mm midrange unit, with all of these made of the same fibre as we’ve already seen in the Tintagel — and what’s unusual is that one of the two bass drivers is actually above the tweeter and mid/bass driver, while the other one is below them.
Normally, speaker drivers are simply arranged from highest-frequency at the top to lowest at the bottom, so I’m curious as to how this performs.
Not only does this more advanced driver combination keep the Walmer feeling unique, but the ribbon unit apparently offers a unique top-end which is detailed and delicate. The entire Walmer 2 set-up is unusual, with a bespoke mid-range speaker being relatively rare.
