The French have landed - or musicians in the living room...

[dubai2000]

Hello everybody,

sometimes the audio world is full of surprises. Just three weeks ago I had never listened to French loudspeakers. French....? Oh yes, Cabasse. The name rang a bell - in my youth there was a big active speaker called Albatros which was very highly regarded by the audio press. Price tag? Hey, I was a teenager by then....

Move forward: Three weeks ago - actually on the day of the Krefeld meeting - my friend Jürgen drove to Holland to pick up a bookshelf sized Cabasse speaker. On his way home he stopped by in my place. Hooked them up.......and they sounded.....by and large....terrible (thin, mids somehow wrong)....BUT there was also something that was pretty breathtaking.....their imaging.
On the next day Jürgen contacted me saying that at his home there was none (!) of that frequency abnormality - there must be something wrong my my Quad amps....and indeed there "was"....I had forgotten to reset the tilt control to flat....riddle solved.

A week later I was lucky to find a pair of Cabasse Clippers....hooked them up to my vintage Pioneer receiver.....yes, that was the same sound again - albeit more solid.





THAT sound was addictive - I wanted more, much more....

Fast forward again: Yesterday I was kind of excited all morning long, as in the afternoon I was getting my new "toys". And indeed, by mid afternoon I foundmyself unloading a car and carring 75Kg each into my living room....



A Brigantin V had landed. Connecting them to the same Quad amps was a breeze and as they have wheels underneath, adjustment in the room was simple as well (slight toe in as you can see).

Since then - musical bliss. I'd never thought I was going to write that, but my Quad ESL57 have found their master in terms of transparency and imaging. With the Cabasse you do not only hear every detail, you also have a from-back-perspective into -let's say- an orchestra that even the Quads could not provide. And those speakers being kind of "tall", you also get a more realistic hight/size of intruments, singers etc.

I am flabbergasted by that aspect of those Frenchies. The only 'downside': having them positioned fairly away from any wall, the bass output is somehow disappointing - I mean with a 36cm bass chassis you do expect them to move at least some air.....but having a proper subwoofer around that "problem" could be solved easily.....and soon I'll try a different amp with those speakers as well - plus trying some different caps in the crossover as well. So stay tuned if you are interested.

[Thing Fish]

They look like real beasts Wolfram...

just a thought, when I first bought my Spendors they too sounded bass light but after a few hours of listening it turned out the bass was there just more refined.

Now my ears are fully accustomed I would never go back to my old speakers. Which were Linn Keilidh's by the way.

[griffithds]

Yes, the French do make some great speakers. I own a pair of the French Triangle Comete 30th Anniversaire Edition's.  Amazing pair of mini-monitors!

Regards,
Don

[rfgumby]

Excellent.

And the Cabasse's are some of the better looking ones.  Way cool.   

[dubai2000]

I just played a few Jazz LPs and those big Cabasse are certainly the most revealing and realistic speakers I have ever owned.

A bit earlier I took a pic of the crossover - not quite focused, but the parts are looking good. Just the 4.7 uF Rifa in front of the mid driver and the yellow 2.2uF in front of the tweeter I shall try to improve on....



In terms of looks I find the speakers stunningly beautiful...

[rfgumby]

Not bad components in those XO's.   I've seen much worse from some pretty reputable manufacturers!  I'd be happy if I opened them up and sow those boards.   

[richard]

We have had a long-running program on public radio here, Car Talk. The program is hosted by two funny, irreverent Sicilian-American brothers. The subject is automobiles. They have opined: "The French copy nobody, and nobody copies the French."

Two pairs of my own speakers have French tweeters. Some of the very best speakers I have ever heard were French (Orthophase). These people can be very serious. And the world has had so many truly fine speakers; it's almost impossible to choose the best among them. I like the appearance of the woodwork.

[hatehifi]

What a score, Wolfram! 75kgs! Yes, there are many excellent French speaker makers. I too am a Triangle fan. Klinger Favre are some of the 'best' I've heard too. Oh, so many.

[JayM481]

Those are imposing beauties Wolfram!

We have had a long-running program on public radio here, Car Talk. The program is hosted by two funny, irreverent Sicilian-American brothers. The subject is automobiles. They have opined: "The French copy nobody, and nobody copies the French."

"The Tappet Brothers, Click and Clack." Tom and Ray Magliozzi (had to look up the spelling of the surname). Classic stuff, I love that show.

[dubai2000]

Time for an upgrade......

The original caps were certainly better than what can be found in many loudspeakers, but being able to solder offers new perspectives.....

I replaced the Rifa caps in front of the tweeter and some unnamed foild caps in front of the mid driver with Russian Pios.....what a difference  .

Any kind of  'harshness' has completely disappeared. The biggest surprise came when I replaced the 4.7uF mid caps with the Pio combo. The first CD was a real shock.....I mean it!!!.....the whole sound seemed to have dropped a few 100 Hz - now there must have been something wrong - or not?

I measured the original caps and insted of 4.7uF both measured 4.4uF. Could that difference really change to sound that much? As my Pios were/are a combination I just removed one cap to land in the original ballpark.....and to be honest, I didn't like it anymore - somehow the sound lacked weight/substance - like a skeleton without enough meat to cover all bones.

I ended up with a combo of 4.6uF and not only do the mids sound more 'real', also the bass is fuller and seems to go deeper - strange indeed  .

Anyway, now he Cabasse sound incredibly real to me - they are magnifying glasses indeed, but after having done some fine tuning they are certainly the 'best' speakers I have ever owned - no wonder they (or their active brother) were reference speakers for many German audio magazines at the time (a distinction I actually don't care about/take seriously).

And now some more pics:

[rfgumby]

Those oilers should have indeed tamed any brightness.  Good show!


But if the French are in your living room, you probably shouldn't listen in your underpants.  Better put on a robe.

[katos]

Hi, very interesting post for me.

I have two pairs of Cabasse speakers.

Goelette M3.  I use at the moment.



I run them with Threshhold T100 Class A amp. 60 Watts

Another pair is Cabasse Skiff I use since mid 90's.



Used with Onkyo Integra M-508 true dual-mono.

Both Cabbasse speakers sound great. Every kind of music is OK.
Sometime  I change them with another speakers I have to compare once again - Rogers LS8A and Tannoy Definition D700, both sounding great, but usually I return to Cabasse again.

Have an idea to get 15 inch bass driver Cabasse.

Here is site for your speakers
http://www.forumcabasse.org/wiki/Brigantin

Georges Cabasse - company founder


Other Cabasse speakers database is
http://www.forumcabasse.org/wiki/Enceintes

Alexandre

[Jogi]

I had the pleasure to listen to these monsters at Wolframs place. They are much bigger in real life as they seem to be on the pics, really impressive. And they look expensive, and they have been back in the 80ies.
These are SERIOUS speakers, in every respect. Very balanced, clear, and with horn like dynamics without the shout many horns produce in the midrange. It is like driving a V12 engine; if you crank it up, it is just getting louder, no compression, no nastyness, and scary dynamics. And a huge sound stage with loads of detail.
Listenig to Ella and some of her friends was a close to life experience, and they do like Beethoven as well. Maybe not so good for nasty pop recordings, but Nirvana for the "Gourmet".
I, like Alexandre, have the Goelette, and really like them. Ideal speakers for small rooms, as there is no bass hump. Very revealing too, like the big brothers they don't like bad amps or sources. They work surprisingly well with a cheapo small 10W Tripath amp. And they look very nice in their cherry veneer...

[katos]

I once had a pleasure to speak with Cabasse's son Christophe, on Hi-End show, who told me that Cabasse speakers play very good with japanese amps like Accuphase. Same I heard from some hi-end lovers and read about it as well ))):: Mine play  with US amp not bad. With my Onkyo or Threshhold T100- just different kind of sound. Can't say much better or opposite.

[dubai2000]

Mine run with a McIntosh integrated am.....I like that combo a lot.... .