great quality, great bass (depths), very cool look

not enough documentation

sorry guys - but i guess i am like the only one who paid a mere $US 250 FOR THE PAIR. local store had some speakers on sale, otherwise the pair would have been $US 1200.

i am only 24 but listening to music is one of my favourite free-time activities. love these speakers - i guess they r right if they say it is a lifetime-investment. wont need any other ones any time soon, defenitely no fancy 5 speaker satellite system - my bet is that it couldnt beat these two babies in any category.

and to all other yougsters that acces this site: ass-intense music like techno doesnt even, at max volume, make em shiver... as to your neighbours though - thats another story. and to all classical music lovers: u wont find anything better - it IS like in a concert hall...

they look great, sound great and hey - $US 250!!!!!!!!

Great build, very musical

may be a bit too refined for headbangers

I have always had problems with bright sounding speakers and have avoided metal dome tweeters thinking they would sound bright. However, when I saw the Howards on special at a very good price I took the opportunity to audition them, expecting the worst. When i put on the first track of a CD I knew well, I broke into goose bumps. The treble was the sweetest I had ever heard, there were tambourines in the background I didn't know were there and all I wanted to do was turn up the volume instead of turning it down like I normally have to when music gets complicated.
Unlike most ordinary speakers which start to get smeared when you turn the volume up, the Howards retain total control and every note is discernable even at high SPLs.
The great thing is that, late at night, when you want to listen at low volume, the Howards let you hear every note too.
A dealer describing the difference between good and bad speakers said: a bad speaker you back away from and a good speaker draws you in. I find myself literally leaning forward sometimes.
My tastes are fairly wide and the Howards handle everthing from pop to classical in a very musical and controlled way but I can imagine that lovers of heavy rock may find them too disciplined.
The bass is sufficient to negate the use of a subwoofer for music and very tuneful so that you don't hear the one note bass often associated with lesser designs although I use the subwoofer for HT for more effects.
I have a small room (approx 12 x 18')but I haven't experienced the boominess others have. In fact they don't seem to be room dependent at all.
For those interested in the aesthetics, they are beautifully finished and I have the antique oak but the yew veneer is definitely the most sensational. Unfortunately they didn't have any left.
The Howards have overcome my fear of metal tweeters and after auditioning many speakers in the same price range I have finally found the ones I can live with for a very long time.

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM7, Ambience Ultra 1600

You don't want to search for another speakers

You search for the best speaker of your life is over

I agree on all main comments the previous reviewer made: they are not into your face and draw you in, very very involving. I have a feeling that one will never be tired to listen to them (and to look at them). They are very natural, but not dull and continue to open up every time I listen to them. I have no desire to talk about soundstage and other ``audiophilic'' terminology. Everything can be analyzed, but I think people usually do this when they are not happy about the item in question (trying to find what they actually don't like). These speakers have such a
balance (I am not saying they are perfect, but what is perfect, anyway) that I feel that they are indeed ended my ``search for the best speaker.'' They also look better (my are in yew) than anything I saw anywhere (including the pictures in various magazines). I have also Keep that matches incredibly well (really). It is incredibly good hi-end center channel speaker on its own that fits into Castle family flawlessly. As the rears I just purchased
Richmods, but did not have time to listen into them well.
In general, each company probably seems to have an idea: like ``build them so you can sell them,'' or ``try to impress a buyer, so he/she would want them to buy immediately'', or ``find your niche in the world market'' ... In this respect I agree with one reviewer who wrote that Castle Acoustics seems oblivious to all of this
stuff and just tries to build speakers that are intended to be listen to. They truly excell in this.

Similar Products Used:

Vienna, NHT, MartinLogan, and soem others

Quality of build and finish

Bass problems

You cant help but be taken in by the good looks and real wood finish (matched each side). I drove 130 miles to buy the MK1's for £580 (£1000 new). They sounded great in the vendors house so I parted with the dosh. When I got them home and turned up the volume, I had to run for my life as the bass boom rattled the house to bits causing near on strutural damage. I tried just about everything to sort the problem out, 4 different sets of cables, different source equipment, accoustic deadening, changed position x30, ripped out a set of glass doors as I had convinced myself that these were adding to the problem, spoke to Castle engineers, visited the factory!(great to see how they make these things so good- they actually make the boxes for Proac!!),put rugs on the wall, you name it I did it. In the end it was the speaker v Room equasion. They were just not meant to be in my room. I have heard these boys sounding so good that you would never want to have another pair of speakers, but not in my house, they are very, very room dependant. They will blow your mind or your windows. Listen to them in your room first, demand a home demo before buying, these need room to breath. The Castle Harlach's were the opposite in my room (not enough base) where as in my brother's house at the time sounded superb. If you can get the 'frankie Howards' to sound good then buy them and don't look back, the smooth open and almost holographic imaging will have you wasting your life away nicely. 5 stars (if no bass boom.)