A Discovery Article
CASTLE Isis Speakers:
Small, elegant and wonderful
A Discovery Article
CASTLE Isis Speakers:
Small, elegant and wonderful
CASTLE
is a relatively unknown entity in the United States though its speakers have long
enjoyed a measure of recognition in England. This is due for a change. Castle has been rather successful in getting itself noticed by the U.S. audio press. Its speakers have recently been reviewed by several of our specialist publications. To date however, no domestic audio publication has reviewed the Isis speakers.
No surprise
The Isis speakers because of their dimunitive size and position within their product line (second to the least expensive model) are very easy to overlook. I frankly only chanced upon them by a stroke of good fortune. On my way home from work, I decided to stop by Audio Home, an audio dealer within Farmers Branch, a suburb of Dallas. It was a quiet day so the manager and I had more time to exchange opinions. He was also in a magnanimous disposition to demo the equipment in his store.
He introduced me to what he believed were splendid yet affordable minimonitors...sleepers that have yet to be discovered by the press. Naturally, I attributed some portion of his praise to puffery. After listening and comparing the Isis with the other fine line of speakers (Naim, Proac, etc) in his store, I surmised that his assessment deserved merit.
Packaging
Isis speakers typically come in cherry, mahogany, and black ash. Natural oak, medium oak, walnut, yew, and rosewood are however available at an extra cost. I found the yew finish to be a piece of woodcraftmanship that elevates the speakers to pieces of decor. The Audio Shopper obtained three pairs of the Isis speakers from QMI, Castle's former U.S. distributor, at about the time the distributorship was going to change hands.
A single-port bass reflex design, the Isis speakers use a 5" woofer and a 1" dome tweeter. Atypically, the woofer is placed an inch or so on top of the tweeter followed symmetrically by the vent. They have a stated frequency response of 60Hz-20kHz +/-3dB. Sensitivity is 87dB with a recommended minimum amplifier power of 15wpc. The impedence of these speakers is 8ohms. Each speaker measures 14"x7"x8" or slightly taller than a LS3/5A, and weighs about 9lbs. The suggested retail price is $529/pair; the exotic finish is a $100 extra.
All Castle speakers are supplied with bi-wireable terminals as standard. Also, all of Castle's compact designs are optimized for use in proximity to the rear wall, with five to six inches being the normal best position.
Listening Experience
I have had the Isis speakers for about three months. During that time I have had the opportunity to listen to them using many different setups: Audible Illusions Modulus 3, ARC SP3A-1, Conrad-Johnson PV10a and Theta preamps; VTL Stereo 120/50, Quicksilver KT88 monos, and ARC Model D-76 amps, the JVC XL-Z1050 cd player, Pink Triangle turntable with MMT arm and Promethean cartridge, Promethean Bandpass interconnects, Inouye power conditioner, and Kimber 8TC speaker cables.
Castle Acoustics recommend running in their speakers for at least 24 hours. I say double that advice. The extra break-in period is required to really bring out the refinement in these speakers. Be forewarned. Initially, you will be disappointed. The presentation is smaller, brash, and somewhat unbalanced. Let the speakers settle and these nasties will gradually diminish. I know, I know you will want these babies to sing like a nightingale out of the box but this is audio not your pet hobby.
I compared the Isis with my in-house reference, the Rogers LS3/5A.
Setting the Context
Readers of the Audio Shopper are familiar with my positive review of the LS3/5A speakers. I consider these as classics. Which ever way one looks at it, these speakers have withstood the test of time. Like the battery commercial, the LS3/5A's just keep on playing and playing music. In the most recent Stereophile October 1998 issue, the LS3/5A's were rated as Class D (I believe they deserve a higher rating), a testimony that these speakers are relevant today as they were 20 years ago, and will likely continue to be so decades from now. Believe me, they are that good.
I am stating this to set in context my bias for the benefit of the reader. Kindly refer to the archive on this website for the review on the LS3/5A.
So how do the Isis speakers compare?
Very favorably! First of all, the Isis's, like the LS3/5A's, do not sound like small and tinny speakers. They exceed their size, and sound b-i-g. I remember first hearing the Isis speakers at the Audio Home where they were placed alongside some of the bigger speakers. Not having any notion then of what the Isis looked like and how big or small they were, I initially thought that the music was coming from a pair of the larger speakers. Let me qualify in order to avoid any confusion. These speakers cannot and do not sound as huge as the Von Schweikert VR-4 tower speakers. Gargantuan they are not. Alas, these minimonitors cannot break the law of physics. But they can provide you a realistic slice or representation of their bigger siblings.
If there is a singular aspect that elevates the Isis's from mediocrity, it is their nonchalant ability to discreetly extract a slice of musical truth and let this unfold in front of you. Some people would call this balance, and I would agree. This is its hallmark. It is this ability to surprise that makes it so endearing.
This is a digression but it is connected to this report. At the start of the digital age, I like most followed the CD craze. I thought that the LPs were dead, and thereupon sold all my records. I have after trying out many CD players regretted selling my record collection. Since then I have been rebuilding my collection. The last three LPs I purchased were all classicals.
Listening to classical music with the Isis is a joy. These speakers are nimble and capable of rendering the nuances that are sometimes buried within the overall presentation. Yet, one can listen tirelessly without fatigue via these speakers. I listened to the three records that I had recently purchased: Vivaldi Les Concertos Pour Quatre Violins (Erato STU70641), Suppe Overtures (London Jubilee 411-648-1LJ), and Delibes Sylvia (London Jubilee 414-257-1LJ2). I couldn't particularly find any major flaws with their rendition. I just enjoyed listening to music, and so on I went with other recordings.
This is not to say that the Isis speakers are a slouch when it comes to other types of music, like vocals and soft rock. They still have that ability to surprise. Vocals however reveal a nit that I am particularly sensitive to. There is an area within the midhighs that provides a slight bite, an edge on the vocals. Is this troublesome and distracting? Not really. But in comparison with the LS3/5A, one notices the difference. Truth be known, the LS3/5A's are legendary when it comes to vocal rendition.
The Isis's bass delivery is likewise fast, tight and articulate within its limited bass range. It is not a one note bass. The LS3/5A's fool the listener with its bump in the mid bass. The Isis speakers do not have this hump, and I believe are more accurate and articulate in this region. I found this out while listening to several cuts within Christine McVie (Warner 25059-1).
The LS3/5A's have been my small speaker of choice for many years. They capture a spectrum of what I enjoy in listening to music and audio. They are warm, well-balanced, accurate, and musically flexible. The Isis speakers are like the LS3/5A in many ways. Both have very valid and compelling musical qualities. The Isis give up a little bit of body and roundness for suppleness and ambience.
The Isis's presentation is more upfront and closer to the listener. I believe that this is a result of the speaker's close to the rear wall design. The LS3/5A's take a less forward approach and crafts a soundstage that has more depth and space. I believe the LS3/5A's are better in this regard.
Conclusion
The Castle Isis speakers are a surprise. They are affordable, elegant, and wonderful to listen to. As I mentioned earlier, these speakers require a long break-in period, otherwise they are plug and play. They are not finnicky. Given their close to the rear wall design, these speakers will not be very hard to place within a room. Also, with their size, they will not require a large music room. For someone looking for value within high-end audio (sounds oxymoronic), there is a respite -- try out the Castle Isis speakers. Since the distribution of these speakers is somewhat limited, it will take some effort to find a dealer who stocks Castle speakers. In hi-end audio as in life, special things are typically harder to find. Three clefs for these wonderfully made small speakers.
by Rome Castellanes
12/1/97
Further Thoughts
Since the above report, I have continued to use and listen
further to the Castle Isis speakers. In fact, I used them to review the Sonic Frontiers
SFS-80 tube amp. I have grown to respect these small speakers even more. Within their
size limitations, they are stellar with classical music. (2/22/98)
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