|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
Why don't I heard anything about these speaker ?? Nobody talk about them in this forum or any magazine !! Are they good speakers ??
Follow Ups:
Hello.I post for two reasons: I own a pair of Cabasse Iroise (first generation) and... I'm French!
On the one hand, I am very satisfied with my speakers. I would describe it as "natural", with a lovely midrange, very clean high, and bass just as they should be. They do go down, but only when necessary (church organ): their frequency response is flat from the highest to 22 Hz...
On the second hand, one must be careful with Cabasse's products. Since they have been prospected the HT market, their creation is no longer systematically a gift for the melomanes on this side of the Atlantic ocean... I've compared my Iroise to the later Iroise 500 evolution with the same set up and in the same room, and I have to say that the last were bad compared to the previous model.
Nevertheless, Cabasse has always great success in the Franch market. I think they allways are on the top of technology here. See for instance their concentric speaker (dual concentric BC12 and BC13, or the 3-ways ones TC21 and TC22). Cabasse's speaker are efficient (frequently at least 94 dB, espacially in the high end) and do accept great power (about 840 W peak for mine).
What you should know is that Cabasse's speakers are built to perform perfectly in measurements in an anechoic wall room, by hoping that they will perform quite as well in a house environment. So, they virtualy can match with every electronics, but the set up in certain room could not be the best.
Heard the Brick and Goelette models of the Cabasse stable.They had the sound that some refer as French, but in my experience with two other French speaker brands, namely JMR and JM Lab, all three have very little in common that would allow one to draw a common line on the 'French' sound.
People often use the term 'bright' to describe the sound of French audio gear, but I found this term often overused and having little relevance to a specific context.
The only thing I have found common with French speakers is that they all seem to be very lively and dynamic as opposed to some (not all of them!) overtly 'lazy' and 'laid-back' British models.My brief characteristics of each of the three French speaker follow (strictly IMHO!).
Cabasse - very forward and 'in yer face' sound, with very prominent (though clear) midrange. Bass does not extend low, neither it feels like it, but the bass that is there is very tuneful and articulate.
Top end is 'silky' and smooth, sometimes too much so (for my taste).
Suits laid-back electronics which need a bit of a midrange boost.JM Lab (I heard Electra 906 and 926) - airy and very extended top end, clear but not too forward midrange and good and tuneful bass (more weighty than Cabasse have).
The treble can be too bright if partnered with bright electronics (especially SS amps with grainy top end) and/or in a 'bright' (read: reflective) room.
These speakers are loved by people who cherish the ultimate accuracy and prefer to use electronics to tune the sound of their systems according to their taste.JMR (based on audiotioning the Evolution 3 and Offrande) - bags of bass (much more than either Cabasse or JM Lab have) and smooth and silky top end (more akin to that of Cabasse and a complete antithesis of JM Lab). Due to its lower than usual extension (lower than 40Hz) bass can be a problem in some (especially smaller) rooms.
Midrange is a JMR's trump card - it's "voiced" around the concepts of 'intimacy' and has a kind of 'halo effect' that is rarely heard in many mass market speakers.
The JMR's midrange is not as prominent (forward) as that of Cabasse - more similar to JM Lab in terms of balance, but JM Lab does not have that kind of sweeteness in the midrange as the JMR has.
Some may refer to this presentation as 'coloured' and ever so slightly 'opaque', but many people like it, because it gives them an 'emotion' which many (myself included) regard as a necessary component of a good sound reproduction.my 2 cents
nt
The two I heard where in the 2,000 to 3,000 range can not remember the models. They where hooked with to tubes but it was a CD and not vinyl. They where very detailed and hi fi sounding and with a cd to boot, cold. If you like the bigger than life sound, that is in most hi fi stores, these might be up your alley.
I do own a pair of Skiff 302. I am very happy with them. I use my Jolida 502B to drive them with my Rotel RCD975 cd player. I find that the high freq. is superior, the bass is "just right" and much better than some B&W speakers. However, you need to match these speakers with the right amp and the right sources, otherwise they just don't sound as good as they can.One more thing, they do not sound good if you play rock and road music, but they are great on vocal and instrument music.
One of my most painful listens was a system comprised of Cabasse speakers (probably Farella 400 or the next bigger model) and Jadis monoblocks. Something like a Dyna ST-70 or an old Fisher will do them a lot of good.
At least for the past couple of years they seemed quite overpriced here in North America. Concept is good (efficient concentric drivers) but I've heard that they're bass shy. I e-mailed a reviewer and when I mentioned the prices here, he suggested Pro-Ac.
But I like'em. You don't see too many around, but the few times I've heard them, they sounded exceedingly clear and tasty like good French Wine. Usually tubes and/or SET were driving them.What's exciting about Cabasse is really their drivers. Their horn tweeter and horn midrange drives they sell are said to be incredible. Also their humongous woofer is in a class of its own. Unfortunately, these drives cost A LOT!
I have owned the Cabasse Farella's for about 4 years, and have heard a friend's Catalene's over a 3 year period. In my experience I have found that the Cabasse speakers perform very well for the price they sell at. They are a fast, dynamic, and transparent speaker. The midrange has a clarity that isn't found in many speakers, and it hs the overall ability to allow the listner to hear into the music without making huge alterations in the harmonic structure of the music. A previous poster has said that tubes may be the best match for Cabasse, and I do use tubes with mine, but I suspect that the speakers can mate with appropriate solid state electronics. I have held the opinion that if the Farellas were matched with a good low powered integrated, the sum of this package would significantly over more performance than one would expect for the price. One thing that Cabasse does have going for it is higher then average efficiency, which makes it a natural match for amps in the 30 to 60 watt range. Actually I use mine with an amp capable of outputting 13 wpc, so 30wpc seems like am incredible amount of power to have at the end of the volume knob! I won't claim that this speaker is perfect, and I do plan on moving up from them when I have enough money saved up. But it won't be cheap since I plan on looking at speakers in the 3 to 4 K range. But in the overall evaluation process I have found my Cabasse capable of making music, and would consider buying another pair.
I owned the 4 way cabasse I bought right from Georges Cabasse at the vegas show in 82.
They were ungodly bright, better for use with tubes,.
Actualy you will be hearing a lot more from Cabasse as Roman Audio in Texas has picked up their distributorship here in the US.From my European friends they say they sound very good and are a great value.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: