CABASSE CORVETTE M1 Speakers - gorgeous French walnut, $3500 in 1983, MINT!
Cabasse was imported by Madrigal Audio Laboratory here in Connecticut back in the 1980s and 90s. I occasionally run across a pair in my travels. I got this pair from the original owner (in a very fancy neighborhood). They are in MINT condition with a gorgeous French walnut finish that is perfect on every side, including the bottoms of the speakers! The grills are in perfect condition, too.Since my system’s 10 watt per channel SET amp is not enough power for these, I listened to them in my friend’s system on his BEL 1001 amp with custom tube preamp and McCormack CD player and they equalled or bettered (more open sounding) his own two-way design with current Scan Speak drivers that he builds for friends for $2,500 (would sell for much more in an audio dealer’s store). He was impressed with them. We also played them with an Ampex 6973 tube amp that I rebuilt for him and it drove them fine and sounded great. They are rated at 92dB sensitivity. Nominal impedance is 8 ohms. Cabasse recommended a “Puissance nominale” (nominal power) amplifier of 120 watts, but that seems excessive to me based on the 92dB sensitivity. The Cabasse literature on these shows remarkably good and stable frequency response across a wide dispersion out to 45 degrees. This is probably why they sounded more open with excellent imaging. They would benefit from a subwoofer if you plan to use them for rock or blues music, but for jazz they are perfect. The current Cabasse line of speakers is still at the top of the marketplace in the high end audiophile market today. They consistently show their innovative speakers at industry and consumer electronics shows here in the U.S. and worldwide. In fact, I heard their top-of-the-line speaker at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest a few years ago and they were one of the best sounding of the show. These speakers are quite a technological milestone for their time. They have a unique, Cabasse patented, 'honeycomb' membrane for the woofers. There is NO center area to these speaker cones. This design allows high power capability with high efficiency and low distortion. Cabasse also uses this design for large theatre speakers that they also make. Current Cabasse products may be seen at Cabasse.com. The speakers weigh approximately 24 pounds each and are 19”H x 9”W x 9”D. Pay Pal adds 3% for domestic sale and 4.5% for sale outside the U.S.
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