Cabasse (company)
Encyclopedia
Cabasse is a French audio manufacturer founded by Georges Cabasse in 1950. It is mainly known for its home loudspeakers but has also produced professional audio
speakers for studio recording or sound reinforcement in theatres and power amplifiers.
In the eighties their reputation came from their professional active speakers (often used by recording studios) and the honeycomb
membranes that allowed high power with low distortion. These membranes were used by the very small Galiote (home hi-fi) and the huge Saturn, a subwoofer for theatres, fitted with a 22 inches unit. They also used to perform astounding comparisons between live sound and speakers sound and therefore focused their goals on high dynamics (for real sound pressure levels), high efficiency and low distortion levels.
In 1986 La Géode
was inaugurated, and it remains the only 12-channel Omnimax
in the world. For special low frequency effects, 4 giant subwoofers (100 cubic feet for 2000 lb) fitted with 2 x 22 inches honeycomb membranes complement this 12.1 system.
In the nineties, Cabasse started to work on coaxial
units in order to reduce directivity through spherical wavefront. This is their Spatially Coherent System principle. It was implemented through the TC21, a 3-way coaxial unit whose bandwidth goes from 200 Hz to 20 kHz with an 30° off-axis response very close to the on-axis response.
At the beginning of 2006 they unveiled a high-end 4-way unit and presented the theoric approach in a paper at the Audio Engineering Society
. This system, released in 2007, is called La Sphère and consists of two spheric coaxial speakers, a filter and four power amplifiers.
Professional audio
Professional audio, also 'pro audio', refers to both an activity and a type of audio equipment. Typically it encompasses the production or reproduction of sound for an audience, by individuals who do such work as an occupation like live event support, using sound reinforcement systems designed for...
speakers for studio recording or sound reinforcement in theatres and power amplifiers.
Important dates
- 1950 : Foundation.
- 1952 : First 2-way coaxial speakersCoaxial speakersA coaxial loudspeaker is a loudspeaker system in which the individual driver units radiate sound from the same point or axis. Two general types exist: one is a compact design using two or three speaker drivers, usually in car audio, and the other is a two-way high-power design for professional...
for CinemascopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
movie theatres like Le Grand RexLe Grand RexLe Grand Rex is the largest cinema, theater and music venue in Paris, with 2,800 seats. An atmospheric theatre, the cinema features a starred "sky" overhead, as well as interior fountains. The cinema is a landmark of Art Deco style architecture. It features the largest screen in Europe, called...
in Paris. - 1958 : First active loudspeakers systems with valve amplifiers and filters.
- 1965 : Underwater loudspeakers for the French Navy.
- 1974 : Dome tweeters and midranges, servo-controlled active Hi-Fi and monitor loudspeakers (used by Radio FranceRadio FranceRadio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...
). - 1983 : HoneycombHoneycombA honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal waxcells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey...
dome membranes for Hi-Fi and Public AddressPublic addressA public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
systems, from 7" to 22". - 1984 : Carbo high-efficiency units for the 4 way clusters fitting the 12-channel system at the OmnimaxIMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theatre La GéodeLa GéodeLa Géode is an Omnimax theatre in the Parc de la Villette at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris. It opened on May 6, 1985. It is fitted with the only 12.1 sound system in the world, designed by Cabasse...
in Parc de la VilletteParc de la VilletteThe Parc de la Villette is a park in Paris at the outer edge of the 19th arrondissement, bordering the Boulevard Périphérique, which is a ring road around Paris, and the suburban department of Seine-Saint-Denis.-History:...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. - 1985 : Duocell membranes based on an exclusive processing of Rohacell foam.
- 1992 : The SCS principle (Spatially Coherent System) launched with the Atlantis reference system (4 channel and 5 speakers : 2 woofers and a 3 way coaxial speaker called TC21 that goes from 200 Hz to 20 kHz).
- 1998 : Fitting of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier with specific 117 dB efficiency hornHorn (acoustic)A horn is a tapered sound guide designed to provide an acoustic impedance match between a sound source and free air. This has the effect of maximizing the efficiency with which sound waves from the particular source are transferred to the air...
systems. - 2002 : The TC22 reference 3 way coaxial unit, that goes from 80 Hz to 20 kHz.
- 2006 : La Sphere, a 4 way coaxial unit is launched.
- 2006 : Cabasse is bought by CanonCanon Inc.is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers and computer printers. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.-Origins:...
Europe and will be led by Kazuhiro Otsubo, president of the Canon factory in Brittany.
Notable products and technologies
Cabasse is one of the oldest loudspeakers manufacturer in France, and is known for its involvement in research, its high standard of quality, and the names of their products that used to be related to sea (especially boat names like clipper, sampan, ketch, sloop...)In the eighties their reputation came from their professional active speakers (often used by recording studios) and the honeycomb
Honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal waxcells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey...
membranes that allowed high power with low distortion. These membranes were used by the very small Galiote (home hi-fi) and the huge Saturn, a subwoofer for theatres, fitted with a 22 inches unit. They also used to perform astounding comparisons between live sound and speakers sound and therefore focused their goals on high dynamics (for real sound pressure levels), high efficiency and low distortion levels.
In 1986 La Géode
La Géode
La Géode is an Omnimax theatre in the Parc de la Villette at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris. It opened on May 6, 1985. It is fitted with the only 12.1 sound system in the world, designed by Cabasse...
was inaugurated, and it remains the only 12-channel Omnimax
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
in the world. For special low frequency effects, 4 giant subwoofers (100 cubic feet for 2000 lb) fitted with 2 x 22 inches honeycomb membranes complement this 12.1 system.
In the nineties, Cabasse started to work on coaxial
Coaxial
In geometry, coaxial means that two or more forms share a common axis; it is the three-dimensional linear analogue of concentric.Coaxial cable, as a common example, has a wire conductor in the centre a circumferential outer conductor and an insulating medium called the dielectric separating...
units in order to reduce directivity through spherical wavefront. This is their Spatially Coherent System principle. It was implemented through the TC21, a 3-way coaxial unit whose bandwidth goes from 200 Hz to 20 kHz with an 30° off-axis response very close to the on-axis response.
At the beginning of 2006 they unveiled a high-end 4-way unit and presented the theoric approach in a paper at the Audio Engineering Society
Audio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
. This system, released in 2007, is called La Sphère and consists of two spheric coaxial speakers, a filter and four power amplifiers.