Castle Launches Tintagel and Walmer Speaker Series

British Castles deliver timeless sonic legacy… 

Four splendid new speakers sally forth from Castle – all proudly designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK with meticulous care Cambridgeshire, England -- Castle, one of Britain’s best-loved speaker brands, has been carefully crafting its latest loudspeakers for the last three years. Four models across two new series, Tintagel and Walmer, each featuring one compact standmount speaker and one floorstander. All made in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire – British hi-fi’s equivalent of Silicon Valley – from concept and development to manufacturing and finishing. 

Tintagel is the accessible bedrock of Castle’s new line-up, drawing on the brand’s customary high-end craftsmanship and acoustic engineering to create speakers that work seamlessly in a wide range of rooms and systems. The two Walmer models are positioned further upmarket, utilising sophisticated materials and technologies to elevate Castle’s fundamental principles to a new level of performance. 

The four Tintagel and Walmer models are the first new speakers from Castle since the Windsor Earl and Windsor Duke, which heralded the brand’s return to UK manufacturing in 2023. Now, Castle’s new British-made range is complete: three series – Tintagel, Walmer and Windsor – with two models in each, delivering different cabinet sizes and technical concepts to suit a range of room and system requirements. These speakers encompass Castle’s vision for premium, hand-crafted loudspeakers, designed and manufactured under one roof to re-align the brand with its heritage. 

Castle Tintagel Series 

Classic Castle quality – simple to live with, easy to love 

Tintagel is the accessible heart of the Castle’s new British-made range, designed for listeners who want speakers that sound natural, expressive and easy to enjoy across a wide range of music, systems and living spaces. The series carries the same priorities for cabinet behaviour, driver integration and natural voicing that are typical of the brand but presents them in forms that are easier to place, easier to drive and easier to recommend to music lovers seeking high performance without fuss. 

Tintagel 1 is a two-way standmount speaker built around a 130mm advanced fibre mid/bass driver and a specially developed 28mm silk-dome treble unit with shallow a waveguide. Tintagel 2 takes the same acoustic personality into a 2.5-way floorstanding format, using twin 150mm advanced fibre drivers with the same 28mm silk-dome high-frequency unit, supported by downward porting through the plinth for controlled low-frequency extension. 

At the centre of the Tintagel sound is the advanced fibre cone. Formed from a carefully developed fibre blend, the cone is light enough to respond quickly, yet naturally well damped enough to avoid the hard, exposed character that can come from less controlled diaphragm materials. The listener hears clean vocal presence, articulate instrumental texture and a midrange that feels open and communicative rather than etched or forced. 

The 28mm silk-dome treble unit gives Tintagel its smooth, refined top end. Its larger dome and shallow waveguide help to control high-frequency dispersion into the room, supporting a stable tonal balance both on and off axis. This matters in real homes, where the practical and aesthetic considerations of day-to-day living inevitably influence speaker positioning. Tintagel is designed to sound composed and balanced without demanding extreme toe-in or idealised placement – although, where possible, the benefits are tangible. 

The crossover has been developed not simply to divide frequencies, but to make the drivers behave as a coherent acoustic system. Combined with cast alloy driver chassis, bitumen damping panels, internal bracing and long-fibre wool absorption, Tintagel’s cabinet and driver platform is engineered to reduce mechanical colouration and ensure music is presented with unsullied clarity. The result is bass that remains controlled, a midband that stays clean, and treble that integrates naturally rather than drawing attention to itself.

The Tintagel series also understands the practical realities of ownership. Tintagel 1 uses a large flared rear port to support satisfying bass from a compact cabinet. Tintagel 2 uses a downward-firing port that exits into a calculated air volume formed by the plinth, helping define the port tuning and making the floorstander easier to position in typical rooms. With 8-ohm compatible impedance and mediumto-high sensitivity, both Tintagel speakers are comfortable with a wide range of amplifiers. 

For the listener, the story is simple: the Tintagel series brings Castle’s typical warmth, craft and musicality to loudspeakers that are articulate, balanced and easy to live with. These are modern British speakers for people who want natural sound, crafted real-wood cabinets and long-term enjoyment, rather than products that must shout to gain attention. 

Castle Walmer Series 

Elevated engineering for superior sonics

Walmer is the more aspirational technical expression within Castle’s new British-made loudspeaker family. It keeps the qualities that make Castle distinctive – natural voicing, furniture-grade presence and long-term listenability – but adds a higher-resolution acoustic platform for listeners who want more 3 speed, openness and scale. If Tintagel is Castle’s accessible core, Walmer is the step forward for those who want the same brand character with a more explicit sense of technical refinement and a performance beyond expectation for its category. 

Walmer 1 is a two-way standmount loudspeaker using a 130mm woven carbon fibre mid/bass driver and a 12x45mm true ribbon high-frequency unit. Walmer 2 expands the concept into a three-way floorstanding loudspeaker, with twin 150mm woven carbon fibre bass drivers, a dedicated 115mm woven carbon fibre midrange unit and the same true ribbon treble system. This gives Walmer 2 the scale and bass authority of a serious floorstander while allowing the midrange and high-frequency units to work in their most favourable operating regions. 

The woven carbon fibre drivers give the Walmer series its sense of speed and control. Carbon fibre offers high stiffness relative to weight, helping the cone maintain its shape and resist unwanted flex through its working range. In practice, this gives bass notes cleaner leading edges, reduces low-level colouration and allows the midrange to retain fine detail without becoming brittle. The objective was not to make the speakers sound analytical, but to add precision, transparency and openness whilst preserving the natural warmth and musical ease expected from the brand. 

The true ribbon treble unit gives the Walmer speakers a distinctive top end. With exceptionally low moving mass, the ribbon diaphragm can respond quickly to resolve fine detail with delicacy and natural extension. Its wide horizontal dispersion helps to create an open listening window, delivering a sense of air and space without forcing the listener into one narrow position. High frequencies sound crisp and expressive yet remain integrated into the musical whole. 

Walmer 2 takes the design intent further with a dedicated midrange unit housed in its own internal enclosure. This isolates the midrange from bass pressure inside the cabinet, elevating clarity through the most critical part of the audio band. Voices, strings and acoustic instruments benefit from this separation because the midrange is not being modulated by large pressure changes created by the bass system. The result is greater scale without sacrificing purity and focus. 

The crossover strategy supports this careful division of labour. Walmer 1 allows the mid/bass driver to extend cleanly into the upper midband before handing over to the ribbon. Walmer 2 uses separate bass/midrange and midrange/treble transitions, allowing each driver to operate where it is most linear and controlled. The use of low-loss components – including polypropylene capacitors in the signal path and air-core coils in the treble and midrange filters – preserves delicacy and dynamic expression, ensuring the crossover supports the speaker’s musical character rather than constraining it. 

Walmer 2’s low-frequency architecture gives the floorstanding model its authority. Its Mass Loaded Transmission Line system – an evolution of Castle’s classic quarter-wave technology – exits into a calculated air volume formed by the plinth, combining deeper bass reach with controlled behaviour in real rooms. With bass extension down to 32Hz, Walmer 2 offers genuine low-frequency scale from a relatively slim-baffled loudspeaker whilst continuing to prioritise control, integration and musical flow. 

For the listener, Walmer is the Castle series that opens the window further. It sounds spacious, controlled and articulate, with ribbon air, carbon fibre speed and the room-friendly character required for real homes. It is a more technically expressive loudspeaker, but it remains distinctively a Castle: elegant, natural, beautifully finished and built to give pleasure over many years of listening. 

A brief history of Castle

Castle came into being in 1973 in Skipton, North Yorkshire, formed by three gentlemen who held prominent positions at British audio pioneers Wharfedale and QUAD. The brand was built on a holistic foundation – loudspeakers conceived as complete instruments, combining in-house acoustic engineering with beautifully finished real-wood cabinets, all made under one roof. This unerring vision yielded results that stood apart from run-of-the-mill speakers; drivers, crossovers and cabinet volumes were developed in unison, combined with real-wood finishes of the quality of fine furniture. 

From the very beginning, Castle produced speakers destined to become classics of British loudspeaker design, such as the compact Richmond standmount and flagship Howard floorstander. But by the mid2000s, intensifying pressure from globalised supply chains made it impossible for Castle to maintain its in-house principles whilst remaining competitive. Castle tried to fight the headwinds but ultimately failed, entering receivership in 2006. 

In 2007, the International Audio Group – better known as IAG – acquired the rights to the Castle brand and its manufacturing processes from the receivers. The company was already one of the most significant forces in British hi-fi as custodian of some of the country's most significant audio brands, including Audiolab, Leak, Mission, QUAD and Wharfedale. In Castle, IAG saw not a failing business but a great tradition worth preserving.

Castle was given the resources to begin again. A new facility, access to a global pool of engineering talent, and investment in R&D and manufacturing infrastructure allowed the brand to develop products that were worthy of the name. Critically, IAG understood that what made Castle special was not merely a label but a set of values: integrated design and manufacturing, real-wood veneered cabinets and natural musical expression. 

Castle’s return to British manufacturing, starting with the Windsor series and now expanding with Tintagel and Walmer, is not a mere marketing gesture but a genuine commitment to the craft values the brand has always stood for. Driven by Castle’s leadership team, including acoustic design director Peter Comeau, this initiative is key to its future – a fundamental part of the brand’s identity, just as it was at the very beginning. 

The craft that endures 

Across more than five decades and numerous models, certain elements of Castle speakers have never changed. Drive units and crossovers designed in-house, for each specific enclosure. Real-wood veneers, hand-selected by craftspeople with decades of accumulated expertise. Cabinet panels glued under high pressure and left to dry naturally over 48 hours. Hand-sanding, hand-finishing and exacting quality checks at every stage of production. 

These things matter not as marketing claims but as practical realities with direct sonic consequences. When you control every stage of the manufacturing process, you can hear the results of every decision. When your craftspeople have spent their careers selecting veneers and finishing cabinets, they develop a knowledge and an instinct that cannot be replaced by automation or outsourcing. 

The new Tintagel and Walmer speakers continue the Castle story, fashioned from the same principles upon which the company was founded. All four are made in the UK from first design to finished product, intended to delight music lovers who value the combination of British craftsmanship, realwood cabinetry and advanced acoustic engineering. 

The Tintagel 1 and Tintagel 2 are available in a choice of walnut or black oak wood veneer, with RRPs of £1,999 and £2,999 respectively. The Walmer 1 and Walmer 2 come with the same finish options at RRPs of £2,499 and £4,999 respectively. All four speakers are available from September. 

Web - http://www.castle.uk.com/