Fantastic mids and wonderfully fast bass, gorgeous looks, good value overall.

Low bass: not deep enough and not enough of it. Treble can be a bit too bright and forward.

I've lived with those speakers for over a year before I decided to write this review. On the whole I love them and I don't intend to change them - but I do intend to add a subwoofer. Celestions A3 are a great value if don't make a mistake of treating them like full-range floorstanders. Yes, they very much look like it with their arrays of powerful woofers, but no, they don't sound of it. A subwoofer will add more than an octave to their bottom extension - they start noticeably rolling off above 50Hz, like a much smaller stand-mounted two-way speaker!

Apparently Celestion has erred a bit on the side of speed and definition, rather than fullness and extension. This bass never booms (if it does, it's your room, not the speaker per se), it's the fastest and most precise I've heard from a ported speaker, and it never, never compresses - a dynamic range to die for. But the price to pay is the bass quantity and extension. That's why a fast subwoofer will help greatly and I found Paradigm Reference Servo-15 to be a synergistic match, at least in a dealer's showroom. I've ordered the Paradigm and once it arrives and I spend a few months with it, I'll try to write a follow-up.

Now about the treble: it is clean and smooth, but there's a trifle too much of it for my liking - the overall presentation is rather fast, bright and forward. That used to bother me a bit in my original system that consisted of Arcam Alpha 7 CD player and Alpha 10 + 10p amps (bi-amping). A few months ago, however, I upgraded the CD player to Alpha 9. What a difference! The speakers are still fast and the treble is still there, but the involvement increased, the listening fatigue decreased, and the whole system is far more listenable - I never want to turn it off. In spite of its rather prominent treble, I would not call the Celestions "ruthlessly revealing". 90% of my 500+ CDs are everything but audiophile and I could not live with a very analytical system.

Overall it is a great speaker, but bass freaks will want to add a subwoofer, strange as it may look in addition to the Celestions own 6 woofers... or a very powerful and bass-rich amplifier. Unfortunately my funds do not allow to experiment with any of the American powerhouses that might possibly add some subjective bass extension and fullness and to the Celestions. Other than that, the A3 may not be very suitable in a very bright room or with bright, "digital-sounding" electronics.

The finish is beautiful, although the internal wiring and connectors are not of hi-end breed, but then, neither is the price. It is the price that makes me give them 5 stars, I simply can not find a speaker in this price class that would sound much better. Yes, you can easily get more bass for the same money, but always at a cost of speed, precision and transparency.

One final note: the wire terminals at the back are good quality and gold plated but their weird size will not accept any commonly used type of plug. However, they are easy to change, which is what I intend to do when I get around to it.

If you need more details of my system, setup or overall experience with the Celestions, please email me at bruczko@pacific.net.sg.

Best Regards,

Martin Bruczkowski

I changed amps since buying the A3s, so have auditioned a number of 'characters' of amp with them - an dhtis is a crucial choice. Conrad Johnson (lower end) power amps could not drive them, Audiolab 8000s & PX drove them but were underpowered. Most amps will get music out of them, but to get decent bass requires a powerful, quality amp. Settled on Michell Alecto monoblocks, with VdH Revelation cable. I have no qualms about the bass (unlike other reviewers here, so this might be a function of the amps and cable used) - there is extreme depth and the kind of quantity that has you feeling the waves rolling through your body (in fact I've had to go round the room blu-tacking all loose objects because of the vibrations..). I do however find the midrange slightly recessed, and the treble overbright - in fact I am now experimenting with interconnect to tame this effect (VdH First is the best so far).

In the UK, many dealers are now selling new A3s for £1500, which is outstanding value. Just don't partner them with cheap amps.

Owned lots of speakers in the past, also use a pair of Infinity Kappa 8.2i. Since their introduction, I always been attracted by the A3's. Got a brand new pair 1 month ago at incredible low price here in Jakarta (considering devaluation of local currency). Much more transparent than the Kappa's. Bass has more punch and less fatty/boomy than the Kappa's. Amazed by their lack of "signature". (read: neutral & transparent). Granted, the Kappa's are not in the same class...
Listen to lots of live jazz recordings (JVC xrd's / original masters CDs, etc). Soundstage opened-up. Imaging is flawless. High's are getting even better with time.

Must admit though, I also have had some problems with one of the unit's midrange driver: rubbing voice coil in magnetic gap. Hats-off to Celestion: although there are no official Celestion distributor in Indonesia, their UK head office agreed to send me a new mid-driver, no charge! (had to pay for freight though...) That's what I call Customer Focus! Despite this episode, I do not regret my purchase one second.

I am presently using the following set-up:

Bi-wired (2 meters/run)with Monitor Silver 10mm2 cables to Adcom 5500 Amp. (Also use Acurus A250)
Acurus L-10 pre-amp
Marantz CD-67SE CD player (I know...)

Although I noticed one owner in the present site considers the 5500 inadequate for the A3's, I personally do not find anything wrong with the setup. Power is adequate. The 5500 is a high current / high damping factor design which is what the A3's need, considering their low rated impedance. I'd like to get more insights from this owner.
5 stars, without hesitation.

Great imaging and clarity. Exceptional build quality.
Tremendous highs.

None

Not much to add here. These are the best speakers I've
ever heard. I've had them for over a year and I'm always
impressed with the realism they project. I have them
as front mains in a home theater with the Celestion A-2s
in the rear. I have the light cherry finish and they
look like finely crafted furniture. I told my wife the
other day that there is nothing left for me to do to
improve the sound of the system. If you have room for
a large set of speakers, you cannot go wrong with the
A-3s. Some will says that a sub-woofer is needed and
that cannot hurt - but it's not essential if your room
acoustics have any degree of natural reverb. Check
out the Celestion A-3s!