Celestion Trinity Speaker System Review

The Celestion Trinity is a modestly priced three-piece speaker system consisting of a pair of Celestion 1 minispeakers and a CS135 subwoofer. The Model 1 is the smallest and least expensive Celestion bookshelf speaker, and the CS135 is also compatible with the slightly larger Celestion 3 and Celestion 5.

The Celestion 1 is a two-way system with a 4-inch felted-fiber cone woofer crossing over at 6.4 kHz to a 1-inch titanium-dome tweeter. Its vented enclosure, made of half-inch high-density particleboard, has an internal volume of 6 liters, and the speaker weighs a shade less than 6-1/2 pounds. Recessed spring connectors (which accept only wire ends) and the woofer port are on the back of the cabinet. The speaker has a removable black cloth grille.

The Celestion 1 is specified as having a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and a sensitivity of 86 dB sound-pres-sure level (SPL) at 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input. It is recommended for use with amplifiers rated between 10 and 50 watts per channel and is rated as having a power-handling capability of 50 watts with musical program material. Its frequency response is specified as 78 Hz to 20 kHz ± 3 dB, with bass response down 6 dB at 68 Hz.

The CS135 subwoofer resembles most subwoofers designed specifically for operation in a three-piece system. Like the satellite speakers, it is a black box, though clearly much larger and weighing 21 pounds. Internally, the CS135 is a dual-chamber design, combining a 10-liter sealed enclosure with a 12-liter vented enclosure that opens into the room through a duct 3-3/4 inches in diameter.

The CS135 contains a single 8-inch woofer with a dual voice coil, driven at low frequencies by both stereo channels and generating an L + R (mono) bass output. The CS135 contains the crossover to the satellites, set at 112 Hz with a 12-dB-per-octave low-pass section feeding bass to the subwoofer and 6-dB-per-octave high-pass filters supplying middle and high frequencies to the satellites.

Celestion specifies the subwoofer’s impedance as 8 ohms and its sensitivity as 86 dB SPL at 1 meter (matching that of the satellites). Its rated bandwidth is 42 to 112 Hz at the -3-dB points and 38 to 143 Hz at -6 dB. Celestion says the CS135 is suitable for use with amplifiers rated between 10 and 90 watts per channel.

The CS135 connects to the left and right speaker outputs of the amplifier feeding the system and to the inputs of the two satellites. The subwoofer is normally placed on the floor, either upright or flat, with the vent opening unobstructed. Like most subwoofers, it can be located almost anywhere in the room without impairing system performance. The owner’s manual says the satellites can be placed either on stands or close to a wall (taking care not to obstruct their vents).

We placed the satellites on 26-inch stands, about 2 feet from the wall behind them and 10 feet apart. The subwoofer was against the wall, on the floor behind the left satellite.

The averaged room response of the two satellites alone (with the CS135 disconnected) was relatively smooth from 55 Hz to 20 kHz, with a slightly elevated output between 200 Hz and 2 kHz. An approximate splice of the subwoofer output to the room curve indicated a fiat, smooth response from 40 Hz to 1 kHz (±3 dB), sloping downward at higher frequencies by about 5 dB and continuing with a ±1-dB variation from 5 to 20 kHz. A close-miked measurement of the subwoofer response indicated maximum output at 55 Hz, falling by 3 dB at 42 and 110 Hz and by 6 dB at 38 and 133 Hz.

The on-axis response of a Celestion 1 satellite (when part of the complete Trinity system), measured with one-third-octave pink noise, was within ± 2 dB from 150 Hz to 20 kHz, falling to -3 dB at 110 Hz and -6 dB at 80 Hz. The previously observed high-frequency dip was visible, as well as the rise to a maximum output at 20 kHz. Similar measurements at 45 degrees off-axis showed output decreasing above 1 kHz, leveling off at 8 dB below the on-axis output between 4 and 20 kHz.

Quasi-anechoic (MLS) measurements of the satellite response confirmed the basic characteristics revealed by other means, such as the slightly depressed output from 4 to 12 kHz and the rising output from there to 20 kHz. An on-axis ground-plane measurement, to minimize reflections from nearby objects in the room, indicated a ± 2-dB variation over most of the range from 300 Hz to 20 kHz.

The impedance of the Celestion 1 reached its first minimum of 5.5 ohms at 300 Hz, with the impedance peaks of the speaker’s two bass resonances at 40 and 110 Hz and a maximum impedance of 20.3 ohms at 2.3 kHz. The impedance fell to 4 ohms between 10 and 20 kHz. When we connected the subwoofer to the system, the general shape of the impedance curve was similar, but with lows of 3.3 to 3.5 ohms at 300 Hz and 13 kHz and a high of 8.8 ohms at 3 kHz.

The system’s sensitivity was 87 dB SPL, slightly better than rated. We measured woofer distortion at an input of 4 volts, equivalent to a 90-dB SPL output in the sensitivity measurement. Measured on its own, a Celestion 1 yielded distortion readings between 0.3 and 1 percent from 300 Hz to 2 kHz, rising to 1 percent at 100 Hz, 4.5 percent at 50 Hz, and 10 percent at 40 Hz. The CS135 subwoofer’s distortion was about 1 percent at the 112-Hz crossover frequency, rising to 8 percent at 47 Hz and varying between 3.5 and 12 percent from there to 20 Hz. These relatively high readings appeared to be related to the turbulent air blast that emerged from the subwoofer port at very low frequencies (the microphone was located at the port opening for this measurement). None of these effects was audible at normal listening distances.

The Trinity system was able to handle rather high input levels at middle and high frequencies, with our amplifier reaching its limits of 630 watts at 1 kHz and 1,530 watts at 10 kHz without damage to the Celestion 1 satellites. At 100 Hz, however, the Celestion 1’s 4-inch woofer bottomed noisily with a single-pulse input of 60 watts into its 15-ohm impedance at that frequency. At 50 Hz, the subwoofer overloaded audibly when the input reached about 20 watts.

As always, the proof of the speaker was in the listening. The Celestion Trinity sounded much larger than it looked and was able to play at strikingly high levels without difficulty, even with program material combining strong dynamics and low frequencies. For example, Telarc’s “Time Warp,” a collection of blockbuster movie music, presented no problem to the Trinity, even at levels higher than we would normally want to use.

The Trinity’s price is another of its notable features. It is one of the most economical three-piece speaker systems, yet it ranks close to the top in sound. Celestion has long been recognized for the high quality (and, often, high price) of its speakers, but in its least expensive models (the Models 1, 3, and 5), the company has managed to achieve much of the essential quality of its costlier speakers at more affordable prices.

Celestion is also to be commended for making the CS135 subwoofer compatible with several of its speakers. Anyone who owns a pair of Celestion 3 or 5 speakers can add an octave or more to their bottom end for a bargain price, or you could assemble a very fine three-piece system from the outset by choosing a pair of any of those speakers that appeals to you and coupling it with a CS135. The Trinity combination Celestion has chosen is the obvious one, however, and represents an outstanding value.

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