Upgrade to Castle Avon 5 (Worth or Not)

[Srikimech]

Hi,

I am currently in a fix whether to continue with my existing setup (my first one though) or to go for an upgrade. This is my current setup
AVR: Denon 2600
Towers: KEF Q550
Center: Cabasse center
SubWoofer: Qaccoustics 12 inch

I have a 16X13 Living area, but without any high sound damping setup except for floor and wall carpets and many windows which already exist. I hear to all genres of music but like more of classical and mild rock, Source of music is from TV/Spotify/Bluetooth. While I am happy with the quality of sound this setup is producing, Somewhere deep down i realized i am a castle speakers fan after many auditions. One of my known dealers, has a castle AVON 5 and has offered me a good exchange for Towers + Center + Sub.

I have three questions
1) Is it worth to upgrade from my existing home theater setup to AVON 5 stereo setup ( Which surely needs a good integrated power amp to drive)

2) Will Denon 2600 be able to drive this in direct mode ( Probably i will upgrade this later to good poweramp + cd player)

3) If this is not worth, should i just continue the setup for the moment, upgrade amp first and then go for good speakers later

SInce this needs a expert advice, thought of asking this in this right forum

REgards
Srikanth Vittal

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

Hi Srikanth, I had written my detailed impressions of the Avon 5 speakers’ audition in the following thread. Kindly go through it.

Thread 'Impressions from audition of Wharfedale Linton Heritage and Castle Avon 5 speakers'
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/...on-heritage-and-castle-avon-5-speakers.77617/

Did you audition the Avon series particularly? Because if your liking for Castle speakers is from other Castle series like Knight for example, then the Avon sound is very different (described in detail in the thread above). I have the Castle Knight 2 whose strength is the mid-range/vocals and has excellent emotional connect. The Avon on the other hand, is much darker - it’s what I’d call V shape, excelling at the low end and the high end. Check if that suits the music you generally listen to. These are ideal for someone into Hard Rock. If by Classical you mean Western classical, these could serve well. But Indian classical is relatively more vocal-based and emphasises on ‘bhava/rasa’ where I suspect Avon might not connect with the listener.

As for the amplifier, don’t even think of driving the Avon 5 with AVR. Even the Audiolab 6000a couldn’t do justice (read in my review) and it came into its own only after it was connected to the much pricier Luxman during the audition.

 

[Srikimech]

Hi Srikanth, I had written my detailed impressions of the Avon 5 speakers’ audition in the following thread. Kindly go through it.

Thread 'Impressions from audition of Wharfedale Linton Heritage and Castle Avon 5 speakers'
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/...on-heritage-and-castle-avon-5-speakers.77617/

Did you audition the Avon series particularly? Because if your liking for Castle speakers is from other Castle series like Knight for example, then the Avon sound is very different (described in detail in the thread above). I have the Castle Knight 2 whose strength is the mid-range/vocals and has excellent emotional connect. The Avon on the other hand, is much darker - it’s what I’d call V shape, excelling at the low end and the high end. Check if that suits the music you generally listen to. These are ideal for someone into Hard Rock. If by Classical you mean Western classical, these could serve well. But Indian classical is relatively more vocal-based and emphasises on ‘bhava/rasa’ where I suspect Avon might not connect with the listener.

As for the amplifier, don’t even think of driving the Avon 5 with AVR. Even the Audiolab 6000a couldn’t do justice (read in my review) and it came into its own only after it was connected to the much pricier Luxman during the audition.

Thanks a ton for the reply, I had also gone through your review earlier , was very detailed and good comparison. I will the hold this one and look for more liking one soon

 

[amrutmhatre90]

@Srikimech why not get a proper Integrated Amplifier for those KEFs?
those are lovely speakers and are underutilised by the Denon 2600. A good IA will do wonders for those speakers, so much as you won’t require a subwoofer.

 

[Srikimech]

@Srikimech why not get a proper Integrated Amplifier for those KEFs?
those are lovely speakers and are underutilised by the Denon 2600. A good IA will do wonders for those speakers, so much as you won’t require a subwoofer.

Thanks a lot Amruth, this is indeed another good option for it , I will surely give a serious thought