Celestion A3 Floorstanding Speakers

Celestion A3 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

8" Woofer, 7" Mid and 1" Tweeter

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 34  
[Nov 07, 2023]
Breana


Strength:

Wow this is so perfect! I love it fleck 5600sxt

Weakness:

none so far

OVERALL
RATING
5
[Oct 12, 2023]
ajm057


Strength:

I have owned these since they were first released. Each time I think of upgrading my hifi advisor says are you crazy. These sit as part of a 11+2 set up - all matching Celestion Reference speakers.

Weakness:

None - I have each speaker standing on IsoAcoustics GAIA Series Loudspeaker Isolation Feet and then on a granite slab, which in turn is supported by felt pads that stand on an American walnut sound proof floor. They are bi-amped with an 11 channel amp that supports bridge tied load connection for bi-amping. The sit fairly close to walls and so bass has been managed

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Dec 26, 2020]
Tamal32


Strength:

This Product is great. I bought it a long time ago. Work awesome. Best social media marketer company

Weakness:

Not at all

Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Nov 12, 2020]
ajm057


Strength:

I bought a pair of A3s, and a matching centre channel speakers in the late 1980s/early 1990s together with a AV processor, DVD player and 5 channel mono-block amp by TAG McLaren - I have the speakers today and they are better than anything else I tried. They will I believe last the remainder of my lifetime. Mine were finished in Dark Cherry and the A3's stand on granite isolation plinths. OK - I have a large listening room (7.5m x 5m) with 4.5m high ceilings, sound proof floors and windows AND I bi-amp the mains (A3s) and I can let them breath - my preferred listening volume for most of the music I play is between 70-80db where I am sitting. The sound stage is huge and warm. I added a matching Subwoofer and side and rear speakers + further amps later. While I change out the DVD & AV processor as we moved from s-video -> 1080i -> 1080p -> 4k and now ++ and 2 channels on the power amp failed -- but the speakers never did. Currently -- because I like TV/Movies as well -- my system is centred around an OPPO205 and Yamaha CX-A5200 and matching power amp MX-A5200, whose 11 channels drive my whole output. I run music from both vinyl and Tidal (via the OPPO it is far better) and has no problems with even the highest resolutions. If you remember these had the same tweeter as the top end B&W speakers at that time.

Weakness:

The following is NOT remotely a weakness -- these speakers are big and heavy See them for sale very occasionally at very low prices -- simply because they are large and need space to breath

Price Paid:
6000 for all spk/cables
Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Mar 09, 2018]
Hens


Strength:

I've owned the A3's for around 5 years and they really are wonderful speakers. Clean from top to bottom and massively dynamic with an emphasis on tuneful and tight bass rather than trying to go too low at the expense of boominess. They do need some space (at least a metre from the front wall) or the dual rear ports will lead to a bass dominance. In a very 'live' room, they can sound forward when the volume is pushed. I found the best results with adding a bit of floor and first reflection points absorption which allowed them to shine without any fatiguing forwardness. I've driven them with tube and solid state amps from 50W/ch to 250W/ch and the A3's allow you to easily discern the differences in the components in front of it. I've settled on a 175W/ch Bladelius Thor II which combines to produce a beautiful balance of accuracy and dynamics. I occasionally think about 'upgrading' them until I listen to them again and realise it will take serious money to get a better sound.

Weakness:

They do need adequate space behind them and work best in a room that is somewhat damped. If the room is all hard, reflective surfaces, they get a bit forward when volume is increased.

Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[May 11, 2017]
nigel
Audio Enthusiast

In one word........................................Fantastic.... No two!............awesome, well that is all they need to describe them, nothing more!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 02, 2015]
Bryan McKinlay
AudioPhile

I even bought a pair of A2's (the worst of the 3 A series) to get my hands on spare drivers just in case. I now drive the A3's with a Krell KSA-250 as my previous amp didn't do them justice. Looked at lots of speakers under 4k and haven't replaced them yet

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 21, 2013]
phud
AudioPhile

i have had these speakers almost 20 years now. i have had almost every other speaker worth mentioning under 10k on my 2-channel side and these are still among the best speakers i have ever owned. they just don't do anything wrong. I think i read that they were under priced when they came out AND THEY ARE STILL BETTER THAT MOST $3K - $4K- speakers.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 25, 2013]
nincoman132
Audio Enthusiast


just wanted to add this....
i have had just about all the celestion speakers that are worth mentioning. sl600's ditton 44's 66's 551's A compacts A1's A3's celestion 100's 300's ditton 10's etc on and on.
just to clear some thing up here the clestion a3's are great period!! you guys keep going on about this amp that amp they need a good amp. well i have just a simple 70 wpc pioneer a9 amplifier and to my ears apart from ditton 66's the A3's are the best speakers i have owned.
i use them most days and never get tired of listening to them.
dont get me wrong guys, i am not moaning about you who have got money to spend on massive quallity amplifiers. i just think some times this puts perspective buyers off when they hear "needs a good amp" .all speakers benifit from a "good amp". all amps benifit from "good speakers". sorry to moan but i love celestions! just got a pair of ul10's awesome speakers!!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 18, 2012]
RonRoyce
AudioPhile

Pro's - Astounding extended bass. Fast, fluid midrange. Crisp, detailed top end.

Con's - Siting is critical. Large/non box shaped room required. Very fussy about amplification. Because they are a 4 ohm design you need current and lots of it. They will be ruthless with anything that is not up to scratch.

Current set up:- Linn LP12/Lingo/Ekos/AT-OC9, Musical Fidelity TriVista 300, Celestion A3, Musical Fidelity A3 CD player. Chord Chorus interconnects. Kimber 8TC speaker cables.

Lets get one thing straight. Anybody that talks about bass rolling off at 50Hz has either not using powerful enough amplification or has sited them incorrectly. I can tell you these speakers produce bass to 25Hz easily - BUT siting and partnering equipment is absolutely critical. First, siting. Too close to any flat walls and the bass wipes out everything. Across any room (unless it is at least 4m) you can forget extended bass, it just doesn't happen. Bay windowed rooms (not square) are actually ideal - if you can site them so they sit within the vertical boundary of the bay window you can achieve a very good sound balance, but experimentation is vital. Second, amplification. Any amp that is not designed to drive into 4 ohms or less - and that is an awful lot of kit - is useless. Amps that lack ability to deliver current can't control the bass units of a 4 ohm design and any sense of detail or extension will be lost - and if fact will damage your speakers - usually the tweeters will overheat because of amp clipping issues. The absolute minimum I would consider for these speakers is 100WPC RMS into 8 ohms with the ability to pretty much double that into 4 - any less than a 75% increase of power into 4 ohms and the amp isn't designed with a 4 ohm load in mind. This may give you clues into what you need to do to get the best out of the A3's. If you don't pay attention to these two items particularly prepare to be disappointed.

With my current setup the bass is staggeringly powerful, extended and detailed. They reproduce dynamics and transients I simply haven't heard until the MF amp replaced my old NAD 2600. The NAD could go deep as NAD's deliver quite happily into 4 ohms, but it was not exactly detailed. The midrange is sweet, full and gives shape and timbre to instruments and vocals to a level that still surprises me to this day. And the top end...you can almost reach out and touch the cymbals of a drumkit they sound so real. The sheer ability to extract realism from good recordings is uncanny. But the real icing on the cake is how effortless they sound when you push them. Nothing changes - they just get louder. And with recordings with serious bass - such as Madonna's Ray Of Light - you will FEEL it too!

If you can find a pair of A3's and you can afford to give them the kit they deserve plus the space they need, you will be rewarded with a sound that is very hard to beat unless you are prepared to spend serious money. I am going to struggle to replace these when that time eventually comes. Homework is mandatory, investment in decent amplification is highly probable. But its worth every penny.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 34  

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