Полочная акустика — Castle Knight 2

The Knight 2 is a stand mount two-way design in the Knight Series of Castle, a British maker. Castle describes Knight as a five-strong range and, in its owner manual, as the entry level family of the catalogue, where hand built cabinets with craftsman finished real wood veneers are kept while value-engineered components and simplified construction methods lower the cost. Alongside the Knight 1 it is one of two stand mount models in that line-up, with the other three being floorstanders.

Key specs that matter

A 150mm bass driver is paired with a 25mm tweeter through a crossover set at 3 kHz. Castle lists a frequency range of 42Hz to 24kHz, a sensitivity of 90 dB at 1W and 1m, and a nominal impedance of 8 ohms, and it suggests amplification rated between 15 and 125W. It is a 2 channel speaker for stereo use. Each speaker weighs 7.85 kg. Four veneers are offered - Cherry, Walnut, Mahogany and Black Oak - each chosen from deep figured stock and finished in a clear lacquer of semi matt sheen that Castle describes as natural feeling.

Engineering and use context

The stand mount and bookshelf members of the Knight family are reflex designs. Their cabinets are narrow and deep, with the port placed in the rear wall instead of the baffle. This contrasts with the floorstanding Knight models, which use Castle's quarter wavelength loading instead of a conventional port. Stand mounting Knight speakers are ready to connect straight after unpacking, with no plinth or spike assembly required. Each unit ships in a cloth bag inside the carton, and the grilles are removable. Castle notes that the whole series keeps its traditional engineering features - real wood veneer cabinets and its own approach to bass control.

Pairing

The rear panel carries a bi-wiring plate with four screw binding posts. Treble signal enters at the top posts and bass signal at the bottom ones, and removable straps link them as supplied so a single run of cable works. Taking the straps off allows two separate twin core cables per speaker from the amplifier, each serving one frequency band, which Castle says reduces intermodulation effects and improves headroom. The posts are of the screw type and accept either stripped cable ends or spade plugs.

Alternatives

The Castle Knight 1 is the other Knight stand mount, built around a 130mm bass driver with a 25mm tweeter.