Backstory:
Much changes with the now adult children at Casa Da Trompie over the last year led to the wife & I deciding to downscale - we do not need a 5 bedroom house for the two of us to potter around in. The ideal type of property was decided upon (one where we can also keep the two garden ornaments AKA horses) and plans were afoot. With this downscaling came a need to dispose of the last 20+ years of clutter - so I took the first punch by selling my (admittedly kaput thanks to load shedding) beer fridge + freezer set that could hold 10 cases of 440ml/500ml cans & also freeze an entire hind-quarter. Exchanged for a little bar fridge that holds 2 cases max, and 4 trays of ice. FML.
The downscaling also entailed selling 1 of my 2 sets of floor-standers, as there would be no space for two separate listening areas in the new abode. As opportunity would have it there was a forum member seeking a pair, although not immediately. I reached out, a fair price was set & accepted, and after a visit & listening session (in an admittedly chaotic office/listening room) the buyer left with a smile on his face & I had sellers remorse - even before they had been packed into the new owners vehicle.
But, as we all know, the best laid plans of mice and men.......
Turns out our daughter is not going to the Netherlands in January, but probably in 2024.
Turns out our son is a boomerang - 10 months after moving out he has returned. With a great deal moreshit possessions than he left with, including a second car he's restoring that now has pride of place in my garage! FML x 2.
He has learnt the invaluable lesson so many of my generation learnt during national service - long distance relationships invariably do not work.
And so with much under-breath muttering & some very vocal cursing my office/listening room became "our" office, "my" listening room & "his" gaming room.
This happened a week before the floor-standers were auditioned, but a deal had been made with the buyer & it was not right to renege on the commitment made.
As it turned out there would be no space to keep them anyway, so it was good they went to an appreciative home.
The Point:
Enter the Castle Knight 2's. I purchased these some time back purely because they were on clearance when the distributor was closing down. Had no real need for them, but figured they'd work well in the garage or something. When I opened the box & saw the quality of the finish I didn't have the heart to dump them in the garage or on the patio, so they did occasional duty on top of my LP racks whilst watching MotoGP/WSBK, or sometimes playing background music.
Rearranged the office/listening room last week into a more pleasant configuration for me & set the Knight 2's up, nicely focused on the "sweet spot" where I can relax on the couch & have a beer or 6.
What the heck? What voodoo magic do these make?
I spent 4 odd hours solid listening. Only raised myself to change LP's, and finally because we had to go out for dinner & the complaining from downstairs was louder than the music!
These little 2-ways sound vastly superior to the 3-way floor standers. Astonishingly they produce almost the same amount of bass, (probably because they are rear ported and are fairly close to the back wall), but a far clearer and tighter bass. Which is counter-intuitive - surely being close to the back wall should create less bass clarity?
Mids & highs are (somebody shoot me for the alliteration) clear, clean and crisp. No shrillness or harshness, even when pushed hard & loud with classical string pieces.
The soundstage & stereo imaging are also much better - maybe because being smaller they are easier to place/direct?
All the regular forum folk will know by now that I am more a musiphile than an audiophile - music is my love, the gear just a means to an end. But these have astounded me. Maybe there's some reverse-psych confirmation bias in that I need them to sound good, I want them to sound good, so they sound good.
Be that as it may, they have rekindled the love of music, and after hardly listening to anything for the best part of this year due to a general "MEH" feeling, I am enjoying the music once again.
The End:
Thanks for reading my nickel-and-dime waffling!
Much changes with the now adult children at Casa Da Trompie over the last year led to the wife & I deciding to downscale - we do not need a 5 bedroom house for the two of us to potter around in. The ideal type of property was decided upon (one where we can also keep the two garden ornaments AKA horses) and plans were afoot. With this downscaling came a need to dispose of the last 20+ years of clutter - so I took the first punch by selling my (admittedly kaput thanks to load shedding) beer fridge + freezer set that could hold 10 cases of 440ml/500ml cans & also freeze an entire hind-quarter. Exchanged for a little bar fridge that holds 2 cases max, and 4 trays of ice. FML.
The downscaling also entailed selling 1 of my 2 sets of floor-standers, as there would be no space for two separate listening areas in the new abode. As opportunity would have it there was a forum member seeking a pair, although not immediately. I reached out, a fair price was set & accepted, and after a visit & listening session (in an admittedly chaotic office/listening room) the buyer left with a smile on his face & I had sellers remorse - even before they had been packed into the new owners vehicle.
But, as we all know, the best laid plans of mice and men.......
Turns out our daughter is not going to the Netherlands in January, but probably in 2024.
Turns out our son is a boomerang - 10 months after moving out he has returned. With a great deal more
He has learnt the invaluable lesson so many of my generation learnt during national service - long distance relationships invariably do not work.
And so with much under-breath muttering & some very vocal cursing my office/listening room became "our" office, "my" listening room & "his" gaming room.
This happened a week before the floor-standers were auditioned, but a deal had been made with the buyer & it was not right to renege on the commitment made.As it turned out there would be no space to keep them anyway, so it was good they went to an appreciative home.
The Point:
Enter the Castle Knight 2's. I purchased these some time back purely because they were on clearance when the distributor was closing down. Had no real need for them, but figured they'd work well in the garage or something. When I opened the box & saw the quality of the finish I didn't have the heart to dump them in the garage or on the patio, so they did occasional duty on top of my LP racks whilst watching MotoGP/WSBK, or sometimes playing background music.
Rearranged the office/listening room last week into a more pleasant configuration for me & set the Knight 2's up, nicely focused on the "sweet spot" where I can relax on the couch & have a beer or 6.
What the heck? What voodoo magic do these make?
I spent 4 odd hours solid listening. Only raised myself to change LP's, and finally because we had to go out for dinner & the complaining from downstairs was louder than the music!
These little 2-ways sound vastly superior to the 3-way floor standers. Astonishingly they produce almost the same amount of bass, (probably because they are rear ported and are fairly close to the back wall), but a far clearer and tighter bass. Which is counter-intuitive - surely being close to the back wall should create less bass clarity?
Mids & highs are (somebody shoot me for the alliteration) clear, clean and crisp. No shrillness or harshness, even when pushed hard & loud with classical string pieces.
The soundstage & stereo imaging are also much better - maybe because being smaller they are easier to place/direct?
All the regular forum folk will know by now that I am more a musiphile than an audiophile - music is my love, the gear just a means to an end. But these have astounded me. Maybe there's some reverse-psych confirmation bias in that I need them to sound good, I want them to sound good, so they sound good.
Be that as it may, they have rekindled the love of music, and after hardly listening to anything for the best part of this year due to a general "MEH" feeling, I am enjoying the music once again.
The End:
Thanks for reading my nickel-and-dime waffling!
