 The loudspeakers F28 from the company Celestion tested in the 38. issue of “HIGH Fidelity OnLine” (test – HERE) awoke significant interest among you, the readers. In response to the test I received many emails, asking for “compatibility” with the owned system, as well as thinking about future changes, putting them in the center of interest and building the system around them, asking for appropriate electronics. This tells much about the brand name, as well about the expectations of the readers (or actually consumers). First of all, it was confirmed, that a company with a living tradition is attractive for the buyers. Secondly, it is put in opposition to the everywhere present Chinese brands, only signed by European or American companies. The case is even more important, as we operate in a price range, traditionally reserved for Far East products. This is not all: if one would look closer, Celestion could be regarded as most Chinese of all – the company GP Acoustics being the owner of the brand is located in Hong-Kong and all loudspeakers, all their elements are manufactured in factories located in China. But there is one substantial difference, one could even say a fundamental one: all loudspeakers are designed, from the first line on paper until final listening tests, in the British design center in Maidstone, shared with KEF. )
The tested this month model F38 did not come from nowhere. After the test of the F28, splendid, incredibly believable in their sound presentation loudspeakers, that had not a very worked out lower bass, many questions were asked about their larger brother, with a larger mid-woofer, that – at least in theory should offer a lower reaching bass. The reasoning seem logical at first sight: if the smaller model sounded so well, then the larger one, with a larger transducer on the lower frequencies, should do the same the smaller model did, only better. Let us say immediately, that – at least from a logical point of view – this does not necessary has to be the truth. Every change in the setup also introduces changes in parameters, other than those directly related to its way of work. So for example changing the bass we influence the midrange as well as the treble – it is well known, that the frequency ranges are directly related to each other by harmonics, transients, etc. The magazine “Hi-Fi +” proved, that adding a supertweeter (a speaker reproducing frequencies above 20kHz) to large loudspeakers significantly influences bass – it becomes shorter, more stable and more coherent. Anyway, instead of a 165mm woofer in the F28 we have a 203mm driver, and instead of 165mm mid-woofer working in a separate closed cabinet we have … the same speaker, wit the 165mm diaphragm, but responsible only for the midrange – the company materials state that it works in the range between 180Hz and 3000Hz. So it is an almost classic three-way loudspeaker, and the former was a two-and-a-half way design. I write “almost”, because such a large midrange speaker is not a common appearance. In any case the model is quite recent, but not so recent to be missing on the official Celestion web page… Probably the company just does what it does best, without bells and whistles. This is not very marketing friendly, but we shall see. SOUND )
So I listened, I looked and I confirmed: a. It is true, the F38 sound with a stronger, lower reaching, more fleshy bass and b. this is not a simple progress from the F28 and c. in audio there is nothing like simple decisions and zero/one actions. So if anybody was looking for well balanced, fleshy speakers with nice bass and for little money, then he or she should not look any further – the Celestion will have all the answers for the, not even realized, desires. It can be heard, the people in Maidstone know what music means, most probably listen to it often, or maybe even perform it. The loudspeakers have a full, strong sound, without any sign of audiophile whining. With this they are nicely balanced, and this makes them not be a grow-up clone of a ghetto blaster. I started with the bass, as most question were asked about that frequency range, but the F38, even if I would not know anything about the F series, just provoke to deal with it. In absolute categories, in comparison, for example to the Dobermann from Harpia Acoustics, it is not the lowest possible bass, but it is reproduced in a dense and strong way until it deepest end, without a moment of quieting it, like in the F28. This was shown clearly by the Depeche Mode recordings, among them the phenomenal Surrender. This is a deeply hidden piece, a leftover from a session, released only on the single Only When I Loose Myself (Venusnote, CD BONG 29X, CD), a disc accompanying the set of their greatest hits The Singles 86>98. I am convinced, that this is one of the best pieces of the band ever recorded in their career, and such deep hibernation is something I cannot understand. In any case, this recording starts with a deep, full bass. As it could be expected, the Celestion took on the challenge and hit with a dense, big sound. However it was more important, that they did not slow down the treble or the midrange, and did not make the sound “heavy”. Yes, the gravity center is lower than in the F28, but it was probably a bit too high in the latter ones. This is quite a surprise, as the smaller constructions are clearly more precise, better balanced speakers. Their only deficiency is just the lower bass, that is here aplenty. This gives us dynamics and swing. This is also related to the relaxed way of playing, that the loudspeakers present, but the impression of a big, nimble mass, is probably due to the good reproduction of the bass. This ease of playing allowed for a splendid opening hit of the title piece from the disc abacab Genesis (Charisma Records/EMI, 3851832, SACD/CCD+DVD), that begins in a way, that if we place somebody in front of the speakers and play it, then even without pumping up the volume, there is a chance, that this person will have a small heart attack. The Celestion have mass and agility. This is important, because with cheap loudspeakers it is so, that adding mass, to the sound, makes the bass less deft. Not here – the transducers must be really good. The hit of the mentioned recording is immediate, strong, and sounds like a gunshot. )
I spend my time talking about the bass, but this is really something, and it should be described. The other side of the frequency spectrum is also very good. Because the sound is dense, there is no impression, that there is too much of the treble, although the tweeter takes its job seriously and sounds with a strong, vivid timbre. It is not a very resolving sound, the attack is accented rather than the elements in between. In some way it makes the reproduction poorer, because we do not get the “connecting tissue”, but only some kind of “islands” of sound. Maybe this sounded bad, but in reality this is praise. Really! “Tissue” is not reproduced by any loudspeaker below a few thousand złoty. So the Celestion are not an exemption. And the mentioned “islands” are a splendidly shown, smooth, connective sound, maybe without the air vibration, without the elements of space, but – again – no speakers for this kind of money show that, and almost none of them can reproduce music in such a cultivated and fluent way. I was trying to reach this point: F38 play Music splendidly. The F28 are not worse in this aspect, those are also very good speakers, but there the accent is laid on something that could be called “hi-fi”. It is about the precise shaping of the attack, thorough localization of sound, etc. The F38 cannot, for example, show the position of the musicians from the Stockfisch Records sampler Closer To The Music (Stockfisch Records, SFR 357.4006.2, SACD/CD), with it full sound and worked out bass. The bass guitar is fuller, nicely controlled, but without such a clear attack. Compared with the F28, the upper midrange changed. During the listening sessions, I had the idea, that in the bigger model it is slightly laid back. This is interesting, as it would seem, that in this aspect nothing changed in the design – this is the same tweeter and mid-woofer tandem. Maybe this is the case, but the change of the chamber volume and the cutting of the lower frequencies (I remind that this is a three way design versus the two-and-a-half way in the F28) changed this range in some way. It is also possible, that the extension of the low end transferred the accents down, and this created the effect. The change is not big, it is based on lower energy, but the discs are not so well exposed like in the F28. So at first it seems, as if the loudspeakers would have less space. This is true in some aspect, because the first planes are presented here in a more “general” way, without detailed separation and positioning of the instruments. But when we listen to recordings with much information about the depth of the stage, or with sounds behind or to the sides of the listener, like on the mentioned Genesis disc, but also on Geometry of Love Project by Jarre (Aero Production/Warner Music, 460693, CCD) – electronic music disc – we get stable “palpable” planes with virtual sources coming from the sides of the loudspeakers, the external enclosure, etc. The F38 handle this better than the F28. Frankly speaking, such a broad baffle should destroy the depth, and it is as if it would have no influence at all. The sound is almost completely detached from the speakers, only at times, when the tweeter is heard stronger, small needles show the source of the sound. )
Anyway, the F38 are a splendid product of a renowned, experienced company. They are not a cure for all sickness, for once because the F28 sound more precise, that makes older recordings, like from the disc Beauty and the Beat! Peggy Lee/George’a Sheringa (Capitol Jazz/EMI, 42308, CD) sound better: the F38 sounded thicker, without the air between the musicians. However it can turn out that the size of the room will matter more, the F38 are large, it needs to “breathe”. It has to be placed at least one meter from the back and the side walls. Compared to them, the F28 have a better tolerance for the room, and in smaller rooms they are more suitable than the F38. DESCRIPTION )
The F38 are bass-reflex three way loudspeakers. The enclosure is really big, and its proportions are not typical. Recently, it is common to have the front baffle as narrow as possible (with a few exceptions, like Jamo Reference R 909), that betters the stereophony and the self-esteem, related to the nicer looks of a narrow, lean loudspeaker. In this case the significant width (260mm) is a consequence of the chosen woofer. Its diaphragm, just like the one in the midrange speaker, is made from cellulose pulp, with an addition of mica and other minerals. This is the reason for the specific, greenish color. The spiders for both transducers are made from sheet steel. This is not visible at first sight, as the fronts are masked with plastic elements. The magnets are extremely large and both have been shielded. The tweeter is a 25mm dome, made from aluminum according to a Celestion recipe, named Neo-aluminum. In front of the dome three crossbars were placed, correcting the vertical radiation characteristics and protecting from the fingers of our home terrorists… It is driven by a neodymium magnet. The treble and midrange section is placed in a closed, strongly dampened chamber, and the 203mm woofer radiates to a chamber vented with a large bass-reflex, with the port placed on the back plate. Inside the cabinet we find two reinforcements – transverse elements on the side walls in the midrange chamber (the midrange speaker has a diameter of 165mm) and a shelf placed in the lower chamber below the bass-reflex. The shelf cuts off about 10cm of the chamber. It is unfortunate, that this section cannot be accessed (for example from below) as the loudspeaker could have been made heavier and improve bass characteristic easily. The cross-over is divided between two boards. The midrange-treble section is screwed directly to the plastic insert with the double, gold plated wire terminals, but the woofer section is screwed to the back plate from the inside. Rather cheap elements were used, although in the tweeter section an air coils is used, and a core one in the woofer section, but a powder core one. The connections are made by means of braid copper wire (thinner to the tweeter), that have a cheap look. The speakers are connected by connectors. We have also to mention the splendid veneer, that although is artificial, imitates a natural one with success.
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