I've recently been given some Celestion Ditton 66 MKII's by a friend who no longer had space for them. They'd stood in his garage for a couple of years thankfully covered over with some dust-sheets.
Sadly one of the high end HF2000 tweeters doesn't work but I've hopefully managed to secure one via eBay. Even with one defective tweeter they still sound amazing! Both tweeters had lost their protective metal grille but luckily these were lying at the bottom of the cabinet once I removed the front covers. Am I safe just to glue these back onto the working tweeter without causing any damage?
Now, I'm not sure if the time spent in a garage has been unkind or they were slightly mistreated beforehand but the veneer on the casing has split down one side of one of the cabinets from the bottom to about half way up and the black cloth over the grilles is looking rather shabby.
Are there any recommendations to getting the cabinets 're-veneered' and replacing the cloth over the grilles with something that will stay true to the original look? I've had a look online at various sites and a lot of the acoustic cloth these days seems relatively thin.
The dome mid-driver on one of these also seems to have a small piece of what looks like rubber inside the metal grille dome, I gather this has probably perished over time and just fallen inside the grille dome cover. Should I remove this or just leave well alone?
Other than that these are absolutely amazing and even with the slight damage have pride of place in my living room right now.
Look forward to the replies.
Andy
Sadly one of the high end HF2000 tweeters doesn't work but I've hopefully managed to secure one via eBay. Even with one defective tweeter they still sound amazing! Both tweeters had lost their protective metal grille but luckily these were lying at the bottom of the cabinet once I removed the front covers. Am I safe just to glue these back onto the working tweeter without causing any damage?
Now, I'm not sure if the time spent in a garage has been unkind or they were slightly mistreated beforehand but the veneer on the casing has split down one side of one of the cabinets from the bottom to about half way up and the black cloth over the grilles is looking rather shabby.
Are there any recommendations to getting the cabinets 're-veneered' and replacing the cloth over the grilles with something that will stay true to the original look? I've had a look online at various sites and a lot of the acoustic cloth these days seems relatively thin.
The dome mid-driver on one of these also seems to have a small piece of what looks like rubber inside the metal grille dome, I gather this has probably perished over time and just fallen inside the grille dome cover. Should I remove this or just leave well alone?
Other than that these are absolutely amazing and even with the slight damage have pride of place in my living room right now.
Look forward to the replies.
Andy
Nice friend you have there!
The Celestions can be quite nice especially given a bit of a do-over...Pics would help here Andy...there are more than a few people here at DiyAudio that would probably provide invaluable experience with the "Celest 66s" including how to refresh the x/overs and cabinets.
The Celestions can be quite nice especially given a bit of a do-over...Pics would help here Andy...there are more than a few people here at DiyAudio that would probably provide invaluable experience with the "Celest 66s" including how to refresh the x/overs and cabinets.
Hi, thanks for the response, here are the photos and as you can see the cabinets aren't in bad shape considering they've been stored in a garage for nearly 3 years.
The veneer is split and peeling down the side of one unit and I'm after ideas for the best way to address this particular problem? I've potentially looked at getting them re-veneered but obviously don't want to ruin the original look and feel (and value) of the speakers too much. My friend apparently had his pot plants stood on top of these when the speakers were setup in his conservatory, at some point in the past he thinks some water had been spilled down the side, not ideal.
One unit has an HF2000 tweeter that needs replacing although I've found a direct replacement via eBay, hopefully that will no longer be a problem once it arrives. I didn't want to adopt a different tweeter and have to go about upgrading or changing components on the crossover since everything else works. The HF2000 on the other side has the metal grille missing as per the image attached but I have these to hand since they were just lying at the bottom once I took the front covers off. Am I safe to just glue these back?
The front cloth is looking rather worn and unloved and I'd like to replace it but keeping in-line with the original look of the units. Does anyone have suggestions for replacement cloth?
Also, the MD500 dome on one unit seems to have a small strip of rubber sitting inside the grille. Looking at the other side it seems this would have been stuck around the outside and has probably perished over time. Do I just leave this alone or attempt a repair / removal?
Look forward to replies.
The veneer is split and peeling down the side of one unit and I'm after ideas for the best way to address this particular problem? I've potentially looked at getting them re-veneered but obviously don't want to ruin the original look and feel (and value) of the speakers too much. My friend apparently had his pot plants stood on top of these when the speakers were setup in his conservatory, at some point in the past he thinks some water had been spilled down the side, not ideal.
One unit has an HF2000 tweeter that needs replacing although I've found a direct replacement via eBay, hopefully that will no longer be a problem once it arrives. I didn't want to adopt a different tweeter and have to go about upgrading or changing components on the crossover since everything else works. The HF2000 on the other side has the metal grille missing as per the image attached but I have these to hand since they were just lying at the bottom once I took the front covers off. Am I safe to just glue these back?
The front cloth is looking rather worn and unloved and I'd like to replace it but keeping in-line with the original look of the units. Does anyone have suggestions for replacement cloth?
Also, the MD500 dome on one unit seems to have a small strip of rubber sitting inside the grille. Looking at the other side it seems this would have been stuck around the outside and has probably perished over time. Do I just leave this alone or attempt a repair / removal?
Look forward to replies.
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Hi Andy...It's been a long time since I had my Celests...there are ways to repair the veneer that involve triming away the ragged edges of the old veneer with an xacto knife and applying new matching veneer and some proper adhesive--carpenters glue.
Google is your friend and there are numerous furniture and wood refinishing experts that can give you better directions than I.
From what I can see the foam ring on the MF drivers has defintely deteriorated, but isn't integral to the unit itself in my recollection.
I also seem to recall that the protective metal mesh for the HF units was pressure fit and not glued in place.
There are at least a half-dozen chaps on this site: System7, Sreten, VaNarn, Cal Weldon, Planet10, who should be able to provide particular guidance on the HF2000 (which I believe is a Coles unit) and the MF driver. Not to mention on the Celest 66 overall.
You might try and PM them if they don't weigh in soon. They've all been a little quiet of late IMO...and seem inordinately smitten with things like foam board enclosures etc...leaving us vintage equipment fans to our own devices and wild speculation.
Google is your friend and there are numerous furniture and wood refinishing experts that can give you better directions than I.
From what I can see the foam ring on the MF drivers has defintely deteriorated, but isn't integral to the unit itself in my recollection.
I also seem to recall that the protective metal mesh for the HF units was pressure fit and not glued in place.
There are at least a half-dozen chaps on this site: System7, Sreten, VaNarn, Cal Weldon, Planet10, who should be able to provide particular guidance on the HF2000 (which I believe is a Coles unit) and the MF driver. Not to mention on the Celest 66 overall.
You might try and PM them if they don't weigh in soon. They've all been a little quiet of late IMO...and seem inordinately smitten with things like foam board enclosures etc...leaving us vintage equipment fans to our own devices and wild speculation.
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