In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers by Castle. Castle Walmer 2 is a Floor-standing speaker whereas the Walmer 1 is a Bookshelf speaker.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Castle Walmer 2 and Castle Walmer 1 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Castle Walmer 2 | Castle Walmer 1 |
|---|
| Brand | Castle | Castle |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 0.47x1.77" True Ribbon | 0.47x1.77" True Ribbon |
|---|
| Midrange | 4.5" | — |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Woven Carbon Fibre | 5" Woven Carbon Fibre |
|---|
| Frequency response | 38-20k Hz | 55-20k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 89 dB | 86 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 8 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 25-150 watts | 25-100 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 31.00kg / 68.2lbs | 7.50kg / 16.5lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 46-1/16" x 9-13/16" x 14-9/16"
1170.0 x 250.0 x 370.0mm | 13-1/8" x 8-1/4" x 8-11/16"
334.0 x 210.0 x 220.0mm |
|---|
Walmer 2 and Walmer 1 are members of Castle's Walmer series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.
Castle Walmer Series
History
|
Model |
Body |
Frequency |
Sensitivity | Impedance | Woofer |
 |
Castle Walmer 1
|
Bookshelf |
55-20k Hz |
86 dB | 8Ω |
1 x 5"
|
 |
Castle Walmer 2
|
Floor-standing |
38-20k Hz |
89 dB | 8Ω |
2 x 6.5"
|
What size room are the Castle Walmer 2 and Castle Walmer 1 speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
Castle Walmer 2 |
Castle Walmer 1 |
| Near-field |
Bad |
Average |
| Small Room |
Poor |
Good |
| Mid-size Room |
Average |
Average |
| Large Room |
Good |
Poor |
| Very Large Room |
Average |
Bad |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Walmer 2 is a 3-way design whereas the Walmer 1 is a 2-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
Castle Walmer 2Castle Walmer 1
MidrangeWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
Castle Walmer 2 |
Castle Walmer 1 |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
0.47x1.77-inch
|
0.47x1.77-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
1 x 4.5-inch |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
1 x 5-inch
|
Walmer 2 features a 0.47x1.77" Ribbon True Ribbon Tweeter, a 4.5" Midrange and 2 x 6.5" Woven Carbon Fibre Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 350 Hz / 3.5 kHz. On the other hand, the Walmer 1 features a 0.47x1.77" Ribbon True Ribbon Tweeter and 1 x 5" Woven Carbon Fibre Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2.8 kHz.
Frequency Response
Walmer 2 has a frequency range of 38-20k Hz whereas Walmer 1 has a frequency range of 55-20k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 38Hz, the Walmer 2 can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Walmer 1's min frequency of 55Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Walmer 2 and Walmer 1 have the same Impedance of 8 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Walmer 2 sensitivity is rated at 89 dB and the Walmer 1's is at 86 dB. This 3 dB difference makes the Castle Walmer 2 a more sensitive speaker compared to Castle Walmer 1, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Walmer 2 can handle a max power of 150 watts RMS, whereas Walmer 1 has a max power handling value of 100 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the Walmer 2.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Walmer 2 features Binding post type posts and Walmer 1 has a Binding post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Castle Walmer 2's and Castle Walmer 1's external dimensions. Castle Walmer 2 has external dimensions of 1170.0 x 250.0 x 370.0mm (46-1/16 x 9-13/16 x 14-9/16inch) whereas Castle Walmer 1 has external dimensions of 334.0 x 210.0 x 220.0mm (13-1/8 x 8-1/4 x 8-11/16inch).
Castle Walmer 2 is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 40mm wider, 836mm taller and 150mm deeper than Castle Walmer 1.
Size, drawn to scale
Both speakers and both views share one scale, so everything here is directly comparable. Hover a box for its dimensions.
One scale for both, standing on the same surface and pushed back to the same wall, so the deeper one visibly sticks out further.
Castle Walmer 2 needs about 100% more floor or shelf area. Castle Walmer 2 is 150mm deeper, so it stands that much further out from the wall. Castle Walmer 2 is 836mm taller.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Castle Walmer 2 is approximately 925.0cm2 / 143.4inch2 and base area of the Castle Walmer 1 is approximately 462.0cm2 / 71.6inch2. The Walmer 2 requires 100% more surface area than the Walmer 1 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.