Castle Windsor Earl Speakers (Pair)

Castle Windsor Earl Speakers are made in the UK and feature superb craftsmanship. Made in collaboration with world-renowned speaker designer Karl-Heinz Fink, they have a 6” woofer and 28mm textile dome tweeter. The drivers are designed to work seamlessly in a classic bookshelf design. Moreover, the drivers use cast alloy components and modern woven polypropylene cones with glass fibre voice coils. Moreover, the cabinet work is superb with hand-selected veneers and furniture-grade finishes. Finally, the cabinet is made of a two-layer material that resists resonances and gives a flat frequency response.

Made in the UK designed by Karl-Heinz Fink

The Castle Brand was established in 1973 and the speakers are now manufactured in the UK. Castle Windsor Earl Speakers are made with the craftsmanship long associated with the brand. Now hand built and hand finished in England. Moreover, they are a collaborative project by Castle, and one of the best designers in the world, Karl-Heinz Fink. He has a superb track record built up over decades and has won several awards.

High-frequency units

Castle Windsor Earl Speakers tweeters feature a high-consistency exposed polyester dome, as well as a pressure-equalized Ferrite magnet system. There is also a stable metal front plate. Additionally, no ferrofluid is used for cooling, this is designed to maintain the best possible dynamic range. Moreover, the resonant frequency is lowered to 800Hz. Finally, the voice coil has a diameter of 28mm. It has a copper cap that reduces distortion as well as intermodulation effects. The result is an increase in audible detail especially at very high frequencies.

165mm Woven polypropylene cones

The polypropylene used for the cones in the Castle Windsor Earl Speakers is first cut into thin strips. It is then woven into a fabric that is pressed into a cone shape and cut to size. This is a complex way to manufacture a cone but has several sonic benefits. The first is variable rigidity at different points about the voice coil and surround. This is designed to reduce resonances. The result is a flatter response. Lastly, the rubber surrounds are made of a long-life, low-hysteresis material. This material will not deteriorate over time.

A magnet system with less distortion

The Castle Windsor Earl Speakers use a magnet system with an aluminium compensation ring. The ring is designed to minimize the variation of the impedance of the speaker across the frequency range during operation. This reduces the harmonic and intermodulation distortion values for improved openness in the midrange.

An upper-class voice coil

The voice coils used by the Castle Windsor Earl Speakers are wound around a former made of glass fibre, bonded with high-temperature resin. The stiffness and rigidity are similar to aluminium but the former does not create eddy currents like metal would. As a result, the signal purity is maintained.

Excellent build quality

Although drive unit technology has progressed, the Castle Windsor Earl Speaker cabinet design was optimized by the BBC over fifty years ago. The principles developed then are still valid. The main cabinet is made of dual-layer MDF panels. This material is made into a sandwich with specially engineered glue. This is designed to have the effect of dampening any resonances in the midrange area. Moreover, point-to-point bracing is used to create a very quiet cabinet with no peaks and troughs.

Architectural veneers

Castle speakers have long been known for their superb finish and the Castle Windsor Earl Speakers are no exception. There is a choice of architectural grade walnut or mahogany veneers that are sourced from sustainable timbers. Moreover, only deep-figured slices are used not composite mush. Finally, the veneers are hand-finished and mirrored. They are then sealed and waxed, a process that takes several days. This produces a remarkable depth of character and lustre.