Castle speakers IAG


I wonder if someone can answer my question. I have always had a fondness for Castle speakers. The look of them. The cabinet work is fantastic. I wanted to try out and buy a new pair.

But Castle speakers are now owned by the IAG group and I am wondering if anything has changed for the worse or better?

Are they making all the Castle speakers now in China including their classic line?

If so does anyone know how they compare to when they were made in England sound wise and fit and finish wise?

Thank you
mezzanine
I really do like the sound of the of the Castle Warwick's and the fit and finish are amazing.

I am only disappointed with IAG customer service and the fact the Warwick's do not come with 5-way posts. I know many of the other Castle speakers do have them, while a few in the Classic range do not. I like the sound style so much that I am thinking of buying some of their more expensive models in the future.

Goldprintaudio, the store I bought them from was very friendly and also helpful to me. I think that makes a difference. It does help to buy them from a dealer that cares.
I have the latest Howard S3 and they are simply the best speaker in their price range. They (by a large margin) bettered Tyler, Dynaudio and Usher speakers, some costing twice as much.

Moving to IAG doesn't seem to affect the quality, mine has the most beautiful carbinatry and very nice 5-way binding posts. A piece of plastic insert sits at the center of each binding post will block any bananas, so you have to take them out before connecting any banana-ended cable.

The Howard S3 has the typical British sound without losing dynamics. The palpable midrange made all vocals sound real; the large-than-average soft tweeter never sounds harsh, and brings violin solo to life; the twin pipeline design combined with carbon fiber woofers really works, providing tuneful bass down to 30+ Hz and my guests walked around looking for a subwoofer. I won't call them the most neutral speakers but they've got taste, elegance and grace; I found myself listening much more without fatigue. I highly recommend the Classic line from Castle, or IAG. You get great value from a relatively small brandname which does fantastic job.
I also own the Howard S3's but if I were to start speaker shopping again I would not include Castle in my search since production moved to China. To me if it's not made in Skipton, it's not Castle.

I had the Durham 900s in Yew several years ago and they indeed very nice speakers.  I’ve had ProAcs (Super Tablettes, Studio 1s), Celestions (C7, SL6, 100s), Missions, Mordaunt Shorts, Linns, Monitor Audio, and Wharfedales and the Durham 900s held their own with all of them as I recall.  
 

I now live overseas and there are a pair Warwick 3s in an uneven burnt wood finish and a pair of Castle Inversion 50s in maple that are available not too far away. The Inversion 50s look really cool but there is not much information on them on the internet.  Anyone have experience with these?  They seem to be different from the other floor standing Castle speakers.

Incidentally, Castle manufactured the cabinets for ProAc, Monitor Audio, and a number of other British speaker companies, but not sure which other companies?  The ProAc Super Tablettes and Monitor Audio R700MD look identical in their cabinetry.  
 

Anyone know what other speaker companies that Castle made cabinets for?