Hi Steve, first of all a big thank you for you work. I have owned this speakers during the last couple of years and liked them very much. I used them together with a devialet expert 200 amplifier, which worked very well even in my big living room (5 x 7m). I can confirm everything you said about this lovely speakers. They are fun to listen for every kind of music even for long sessions. I used them together with stands from ‚Solid Steel‘, which I can recommend a lot. They are looking great and are fantastic stands. Also my wife liked them a lot 🙂. A month ago I changed to horn speakers (Tobian HC10 from Switzerland) which are bigger and much more expensive. The Cabassa Murano fall in direct comparison not much behind. Best regards from Switzerland.
I love a speaker than can play piano beautifully, it’s a must for me. This speaker sounds like it does the high level stuff so well, beautiful build too!
Happy to see this review Steve. I have the Cabasse Antigua mc170 which is very similar physically to the Murano but 1/4 the price. Your description of the sound characteristics from the Murano I feel is exactly the same as my Antiguas. I have an LED TV and sound bar in between the Antiguas and everyone thinks I have the sound bar on! They don't believe me that is just the Antiguas! I am powering them with an Arcam SA20.
Of all the adjectives used to describe stereo imaging "holographic" is probably one of the most accurate. Sure, there are plenty of overly exposed cliches used by reviewers but we need accuracy, so no apologies necessary. Another great review. Thanks.
True. Another great French speaker manufacturer is Jean-Marie Renaud. They are not often reviewed. Could you, Steve, consider reviewing e.g. the Folia Jubile or the Lunna, an affordable stand mount and floorstander respectively.
"They even made tube amps back then" They? solid state was in its infancy, tube amplifiers ruled since the beginning of amplified audio up to the late 60's.
The Cabasse company has existed since 1952. Georges Cabasse, the founder and father of the current director, comes from a family of luthiers who have been practicing since 1740.
Hi Steve! Thanks for this review. I want to ask you for a Murano Alto review, if it’s on your possibilities (I hope so 👍🏽) Thanks again, and greetings from Argentina.
Hi Steve, you are playing lots of my favourite music today. Love that Eels album and I've been on a Nils Frahm trip for the past 7 or 8 years. Both his piano works and his electronic music is stunning. If you get the chance to see him live then jump at the chance. I saw him play at the Barbican in London a few years ago and it was incredible! Oh yes, they sound like great speakers too - many thanks - D
My memories are that the upper Cabasse's are stunning in time alignment...the complete coherently sound was the most impressive point in my ears...do they still have the special qualities?
I have some ELAC with concentric and love their imaging. I'm not the biggest fan of their tonality but they are budget-minded speakers. Hoping to hear an upmarket concentric design some day. The ELAC still earn their stand time for the way they present the music. It's quite impressive when they are setup right. I've switched to them before and it sounds like the music is being piped directly into my ears from all around me if I was previously listening to my towers that do more room filling but less direct imaging.
Cabasse older models are just beautiful. BUT they sound really harsh and need really good amplifier match. Here in Sweden it is very popular with vintage Cabasse and vintage Accuphase togheter. Cool to hear that their new speakerline seems to be really good.
Yes I understand that comment, I myself have owned Sampans and Sloops in the past. The Cabasse sound of those years was the opposite of what many brands were offering. These loudspeakers offered a very defined and dynamic sound, but with material, which could give in return in the upper medium especially a catchy sound, rough if the associated electronics were not up to the task or already too worn to project this part of the sound spectrum, and I agree with the association with Accuphase or Sansui. It was more or less one of the characteristics of the "French sound", a certain impression of presence, of immediacy. Many other brands then offer a more physiological sound that flatters the ear more and often fits more easily into a living room, but gives a softer, more inconsistent sound.
Hi Steve, Thanks for everything you do! Do you plan on getting your hands on an Audio Research i/50 ? I saw one at Stereo Exchange in Manhattan and was hoping that you'd review one.
I have them and love them. Playing Qobuz through Elekit TU-8500 tube preamp, Rotel RB-980BX power amp. The best terms to describe the speaker is that they are like the poor man's tad speaker.
i have 2 AVE 5"+dome monitors and a gemini 10" reference sub, both cheap as dirt, tuned properly for my room and i find it hard to imagine anyone could hear a significant quality difference to something much more expensive... obviously people here would hear some differences, but, not thousands of dollars worth of difference. not even close. great transients, great dynamics, time and phase alligned, 'call the cops' loud, flat from 30hz up, and 0 distortion or ear fatigue... i've never heard anything better. audiophile hifi stuff will fill a room better, but, sitting in my nice chair with my reference playing anything from led zeppelin to hitech psytrance is a completely different experience.
i would upgrade to 3 way monitors if i listened to more vocal music, but, there aren't many good options for a reasonable price and i have my actual horn-loaded 5 way PA system in my lounge room anyway if i ever need 240hz-7khz through a cone.
If you’re mainly listening to commercial recordings like most regular people, that setup is probably getting you 90% of the enjoyment available from the music. I don’t know what your electronics are like, but my current belief is that higher end electronics genuinely are beneficial no matter what music you listen to, but high end speakers are only useful with extremely well recorded music which is really quite rare. I too can pretty easily throw together a loudspeaker system from mostly professional gear that exceeds the resolution of my music, making it mostly pointless. Those rare tracks do sound significantly better, but most actually sound worse as you can hear exactly how average the recordings are. However I have always found that better electronics do improve the experience. I say, get a speaker system that makes your music sound good, then put the extra cash into a really great source setup and amplifier.
There is an art to choosing where to add your “good distortion” to smooth out the issues on recordings. Some people use vinyl, some use tube amps, some use horn speakers etc. All these things exist to mess up the resolution in just the right way that it sounds better. My current preference is to use less resolving but more engaging speakers.
Looks a nicely made speaker but they charge you for it! I wonder how it would compare to Kef R3's which are the same driver configuration or to my even cheaper active Kali IN8's? Does sound quality automatically increase with price? They would like you to think that way!
Steve, I know you enjoy many different types of music, ( me too) Have you ever had the chance to listen to George Barnes and Carl Kress, Town Hall concert? Just two guys live with their Guild, Artist Awards sitting on stools, blowing the roof off. Amazing!
Steve, can you review some of the other Cabasse speakers ? I’m thinking about getting a pair of Akoya’s. Thanks and keep up the great work. Been watching you since the beginning of your RU-vid career!
As a retired teacher, instead of hearing you announce the Viewer System of the Day, I often expect to hear you announce that there will be a Pop Test at the end of this Video. 😉 I have heard of the brand name Cabasse but never actually heard any products and I’m sure I’m not alone in this respect. I enjoy your descriptions of the Cabasse Speaker featured today, and it’s an excellent and vivid descriptive presentation worthy of almost a substitute for an actual listening experience (some folks have bought speakers on far less information that that). Have a Great Weekend Steve and all the dedicated Audiophiliacs that gather around this audio “watering hole”. 😉
These speakers seem quite intriguing soundsise and visually…and the floor-standers, TOO! Would love to have the opportunity to hear BOTH! I have the power to drive them….hmmmmm… In white…YES….no brown boxes for me! 😎
I have been enjoying a Cabasse system in my Renault (car 😉) and are still enjoying my 29 yr old Focal 533 floorstanding speakers. So French oriented... Now my question: can you share some wise words about a possible comparisson between the Cabasse Murano's and Focal Kanta 1 maybe? Thanks and greetings from (olld) Amsterdam 😉
Nils Frahm makes some amazing sounding records and it's only been a year or two, since i Saw him here in Denmark, in kind of a small place (500 people). We (the the listeners were dead quit at the small/lower passages. Great great experince, watching one man doing all this alone on stage, with Acoustic instruments, other than piano. Percussion and of course some pre recorded pieces of fills here and there and that's not like cheeting 😉✌️❤️🇩🇰
No, just interested. I was searching for a new speaker. It was very clear and extraordinary musical. But it was too close to my own speakers, a pair of sonics Argenta. So I had to move a step further.
What music do you listen to when doing a review? Jennifer Warnes The Hunter has a few tracks that I have heard the weight of the voice and the way it hangs in the air and grabs you by the short hairs. I would love to hear it on vinyl with some tubes and horn’s.
Glad you're liking Nils Frahm Steve. I saw him play at the Barbican and boy was he amazing. The track 'says' gets me every time. How was the bass from these little guys btw?
Please use what terminology suits you when describing sound... Admitting that you're using it wrong only attracts more attention to the fact, although I think most of us either cannot tell or don't care, I fall into both of those categories. I like your intuitively chosen pointer words, the meaning comes off well through the tone and context. Even professionals like psychologists use incorrect terminology to accurately describe things, I think my favorite is "shit life syndrome". It's not right by the book, but it makes sense, ignore the linguistical sticklers.
These speakers retail for $3,400 and you've mentioned that they work well with amps costing substantially more than that. I'm wondering how these would sound with a $2,500 to $3,000 amp.
Traditionally cabasse products are not of the "physiological" type, with invasive and paunchy bass. If I do not know this model in particular, I know the general sound of this brand well for having owned several models since the 70s. But if Mr. Guttenberg insists on the feeling of physical impact of the piano, the bass must necessarily be there well there, especially when talking about speakers of this size.
FYI, re: the name Cabasse, "basse" sounds like sea-"bass" ie the long A Americans assume makes it sound good and foreign is not correct. Think of the pronunciation of seabass and you will be on target.
What about pronouncing "Focal" speakers while we are at it, I thought it was "cole" as in "cole slaw" or "focal point" and not "cal" as in "calculate".
Nice review. Just a bit expensive though for a smaller bookshelf. Seems to be the price range for premium bookshelf like those from B&W, Triangle, Dyneaudio.
These are premium bookshelfs. The drivers are made by Cabasse themselves, the coaxial units are hand made (in house). The speaker has very high power capacity. The crossover has high quality components, and the cabinet finish is top. Compared to other high end bookselfs, they're actually a steal.
@@4everB2 They had a dealer in our area pre Covid but it's price range by line was a bit more expensive compared to BW, Focal Dynaudio. Now though few audio dealers left so difficult to get to listen to them.
4K for a little bookshelf speaker, reminds me of spending 12 dollars for a thin crepe in Paris. How does murano compare to the 7K Dynaudio Heritage Special, I wonder. If it is as good, then I will change my opinion.
I highly doubt that it's better than Heritage Special. I think better comparison is with Contour series or even Special 40's. Would love to hear Steves opinion tho
@@gokhanersan8561 tbh Steve is always enthusiastic about speakers he’s reviewing. I remember his review of Canton Vento speakers last year, he was so impressed by them, I even thought getting them instead of Special 40s which I currently own, solely based on that review. But then again he put another video of 14 amazing speakers under 2k and Cantons were not even on that list.
@@RafaelGrigorian Got it. Anyway I like how freely Steve admits that these Muranos are superior to the Burchardt s400mkii. Everyone else on YT is singing the same song about Burchardts, like they are giant killers for 2K etc.
@@gokhanersan8561 I know right? I asked him if he thinks that Buchardts are better than Special 40’s and he replied no. I was also considering them because of all the rave reviews. Anyway I am so happy with my Dyns, easily the best speakers I’ve ever had :)
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Thank you Steve for the response. I read good comments about the Fyne Ausio 501SP. Would you mind givinng your comments on the Fyne Audio speakers? I am trying to find a good pair of speakers around the price range $3K-$5K for my NAD M33. Do you recommend the CABASSE Emurano?
No, I am not buying them. I’ve already sent them back. If I bought everything I liked, even stuff I liked a lot, there wouldn’t be room left in this apartment.
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Look forward to it but I do wonder after visiting my buds audio shop is a tower really a tower ? Things have gotten so small todays towers are just short slim speakers.
Do you really think I keep every speaker I reviewed to compare to every other? That’s not possible, I return nearly every speaker and everything else I review right after I finish the review. There’s simply no room to keep 20 or so pairs of speakers I review every year!
Kevin is the real deal. He may seem like today’s Crazy Eddie but take my word for it he mind is as sharp as a tack and he means what he says in his advertising. What a guy!
I would NOT pay $4k for ANY pair of so-called "bookshelf speakers" on this planet. For that kind of money, I can get a pair of Eric's Tektons which will easily mop the floor with this overpriced French garbage. Small speakers are like small engines...they both SUCK! Steve, what is that under your lower lip?
