Cabasse Pacific 3SA Floorstanding Speaker Preview

Cabasse, who has been making speakers for more than 60 years, has announced a new high-performance loudspeaker named Pacific 3SA. StJohn Group, exclusive U.S. distributor for Cabasse in the United States and Caribbean, announced immediate availability of the speaker at a retail price of $9,990 each. The statuesque 51" tower loudspeaker, a new reference model within the company's Artis range, is the first tower fitted with the company's innovative 17cm (6.7") BC17 coaxial driver unit.

Based on the SCS (Spatially Coherent System) principles developed by the Cabasse laboratory in Brest, France, this unit consists of a dome midrange-tweeter and ring-shaped low midrange-woofer membrane, providing constant control of the sound directivity all along its 175 - 20,000 Hz bandwidth.

The twin 8.3" honeycomb dome woofers flank the BC17 drivers and are powered with a 450 W Cabasse built-in amplifier, providing in a slim cabinet, powerful and controlled LF response down to 37 Hz and deeper. The required cabinet depth has been reduced by 20% through the use of an innovative technical solution, which enables fine tuning of the LF for easy positioning and amplifier matching.

Cabasse has also announced a passive version of the speaker, called Pacific 3 to be available in January, 2011 at a retail price of $7,710 each.

"Audiophiles and music lovers who have long preferred the ubiquitous tower speaker form factor for a number of good reasons (proper seating height, precise imaging, minimal use of floor space, etc.), but have always wanted the performance of a discrete subwoofer, can now have their cake and eat it too. With the advent of its powered low frequency section, the Pacific 3SA delivers the performance of a 2.1 discrete subwoofer architecture in a timelessly designed two-channel package. Has Cabasse re-written the rules of audio or physics? We'd like to think so. But what remains undisputable is the unmatched level of musical satisfaction and value that such a design will deliver."

- John Caldwell, sales director and co-founder of StJohn Group

Features

• Technology – point source driver alignment offers extraordinary phase alignment and mitigates room boundary effects for a more lifelike performance.
  
• Innovative – Stealth, ultra-thin grilles with magnetic link fastening
  
• High Performance – high power handling and efficiency for demanding music or soundtracks.
  
• Style/Design – high-quality gloss black or pearl finish, immaculate fit and finish, remarkable attention to detail

The Pacific 3SA, like all other Cabasse speakers, incorporates Cabasse's proprietary Spatially Coherent System (SCS) technology. Imagine three stones hitting the surface of a lake at three different points. The created waves will mix and propagate erratically. Now imagine three stones hitting the surface at the same point. The waves grow and spread harmoniously. This single source emission (or point source) is the benefit of the co-axial drivers and wide-range tweeters designed by the Cabasse R&D team. Fidelity to original timbres and dynamic range, a wide, stable and full soundstage, are the benefits of SCS technology.

The co-axial technology by Cabasse is a major innovation in the loudspeaker world because its principle is the closest proposal to the theoretical ideal. It results from the 60 years experience Cabasse has in driver design and development

Specifications

• Type: 3-way floorstander with active bass
• Drivers: 1 x coaxial BC17; 2 x 21ND34 21 cm woofers
• Sensitivity 1W/1m: 91.5 dB
• Cross-over points: 175 Hz - 1,830 Hz
• Frequency response: 38 - 20 000 Hz
• Nominal impedance: 8 Ohms
• Minimum impedance: 4 Ohms
• Power handling: 150 W
• Peak power: 1000 W
• Standard finish: Glossy Black – Glossy Pearl
• Dimensions: 50.8 x 11.4 x 19.3 in. (129 x 29 x 49 cm)
• Weight: 92 lbs (42 kg)

About Cabasse
Founded by Georges Cabasse in 1950, the company has been a pioneer in the search for true musical reproduction. In all likelihood, the quest really began in 1740 when the first signed Cabasse violin was made. Five generations of musical instrument craftsmen followed, pursuing the tradition and supplying Europe with violins, violas and cellos, most of which are still being played in orchestras today.

Cabasse's continuing obsession is to faithfully and perfectly reproduce music and soundtracks, without any alteration, coloration or distortion in the sound. This boundless passion has led the company to relentlessly innovate, design, and engineer better and better loudspeakers, so that all ears can enjoy the essence and thrill of sonic purity.