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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: Jean Marie Reynaud Cantabile...where's the bass?? posted by Mr Blue Sky on May 25, 2003 at 14:43:44:
Hi, Blue Sky:Mssr. Reynaud designs the drivers used in all Reynaud models, which are made for him to his proprietary specifications by Audax. Optimum performance of these custom-made drivers requires at least 400 hours of break-in. They are not designed to sound good "out of the box", and need at least 400 hours of break-in to achieve optimum performance.
I have a pair of Cantabiles that have been broken in properly, and they completely energize my 16 x 24 x 9 listening room throughout the specified operating range, i.e., 40-20K.
Be patient while you break them in, they will go through periods of sounding good, then not so good, during the break-in. The dual voice coil design of the mid-woofer prevents over-saturation of bass program material from covering up the midrange, since there are separate voice coils for bass and midrange. Even though the Cantabile has two drivers, the crossover is actually a 3-way design.
Note that even when broken in, the Cantabiles won't have "thuddy" or "whumpy" bass, but musical and tonally accurate bass, as is the case with all Reynaud models. This is Mssr. Reynaud's preference, and he voices all his models to bring out the nuance and subtlety of acoustic instruments and voices. I have found that the Cantabiles work well with SET and PSE tube amps of 7 to 25 watts. The lower damping factor of SET amps doesn't damp the woofer as well as solid state or PP amps. The Dick Olsher Poly Natalia design features EBS, Extended Bass Shelf, which works better with SET amps since the woofer overhang fills in the bass below 100Hz. The Cantabile can benefit from being driven by a SET amp, even though it is not an EBS design. It is a tuned triangular transmission design, with very fast wave train formation for tight and phase coherent bass, and Mssr. Reynaud has tailored the transmission line of the Cantabile to produce a tonally accurate bass response, not a dramatic gut-thumper that can make a quick but misleading impression in a mass-merchandise environment. None of the Reynaud models can be accused of being "thud-squawkers" or "boom-tizz" speakers. His voicing decisions may result in a drier presentation with solid state amps than you like, so a good SET amp may work better for you with the Cantabile.
The Audion Sterling 12 watt EL34 works very well with the Cantabile, Brian Rovinsky of St. Cecilia Sound Gallery played the Sterling-Cantabile combination for me in his previous location in Hayward, California a few years ago, before his move to Florida, and I heard a compelling and involving presentation of an acoustic jazz quartet with upright bass, drums, piano, and tenor saxophone that was nothing short of amazing. He is on the road now, heading back east to set up in his new location, I'm sure he would be happy to answer any questions you have and make some recommendations about which amps work well with the Cantabiles, even though he is no longer a Reynaud dealer. Generally speaking, the Arcam will produce a drier bass than a SET amp. You can email Brian at brovinsky@scsoundgallery.com, he's traveling right now, but will reply when he picks up the message after he sets up in Florida.
Put 400 hours on them, and if the Arcam - Cantabile combination doesn't have the amount of bass you want, try single-ended triode tube amp. I think you'll like what you hear!
Another way to increase perceived bass output of a loudspeaker is to place it on an even fraction of the width and length, in order to energize the bass room modes associated with the room dimensions. Also, if the seating position is 1/2 way between the side walls, you can place your chair so your ears are on an even fraction of the room length, which will provide an increase in perceived bass response.
Be patient, the Cantabiles are worth it!
Hope this helps.
Best regards, Randy Bankert - O. S. Services, Inc.
(former Reynaud distributor)
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Follow Ups
- 400 hours of break-in needed - RandyB 01:34:19 05/26/03 (0)
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