Wood finish and overall appearance. Warm, refined sound with adequate detail and resolution. Easy to place. Fantastic value at 50% off.

Doesn't have the "wow" factor of some loudspeakers. However, won't cause earbleeds either.

Although my speakers are not fully broken in, I am going to post some comments here because these things have been on sale for 50% off and at that price they are an outright steal. If you are looking for a good looking, refined sounding, larger bookshelf speaker it is hard to beat these even at their full list price. I have the mahogany finish and I find the fit and wood finish on these speakers among the best at any price. Sonically, they are on the warm side of neutral and are slightly rolled off at the frequency extremes. However, they are an excellent match for a digital front end and a solid state amp. I replaced B&W DM602s2 with these speakers and while the B&W's are more "exciting" and slightly more transparent than the Castles, they are also more fatiguing and more difficult to match with amplifiers. The Castles are much easier to live with and listen too for longer periods than the B&W's. The Castles are easy to place and their bass response and imaging is not affected by being placed close to the rear wall. I was about to spend a lot more money and get Spendors but the Castles deliver alot of what Spendors do for a lot less money. I also have Spendor S3/5 in another system, and while the Castles don't resolve quite as much as the Spendors, the Castles will play louder, are easier to drive and will fill up a large room with sound easier than the Spendors. They do seem to require some break in as they are a bit too restrained and veiled right out of the box. I notice the sound is starting to open up after some playing time.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM602s2 Have owned or heard a lot of other loudspeakers.