When I first heard the name Courbe, the first thing came up to my mind was French painter Courbet. He is a famous painter from 19th century and I was quite familiar with his works as I have seen many of his at several art museums in Europe.
But his full name is ‘Jean Desire Gustave
Courbet’ so the difference from Courbe is having ‘t’ at the end. Courbe in
French means ‘curve’. So you can already see it from appearance of products
that the name has an artistic sense with it.
Even with the fact that Courbe hosted
product exhibition at an open gallery called Paper bus so their audios are not
just to hear but they are to see and feel like sculptures. Actually, when I saw
the products at the exhibition, I felt like I was at the exhibition for modern
sculptor.
There was one interesting thing I found
while I was reviewing the history of company. It was the personal history of
Mr. Park, Seongje who is an owner as well as a designer of the company. He used
to be a professional journalist working for MBC for 20 years. As far as I know,
he is the first speaker designer who used to be a journalist.
I can see his passion in audio with various
experiences while changing speakers for over 50 times. I can’t thank him enough
as a speaker lover for actualizing his dream which he used to only think. His
entrance in audio industry means something as he can break down extreme polarization
spread in audio industry. In other words, he can help to pioneer a market for
intermediate level as current market is divided into two markets one is
high-end speaker which costs from millions to hundreds of millions while the
other refers to a mini speaker for smart phones.
CEO Mr. Park, Seongje who has a unique
background of journalist.
It doesn’t take a genius to think about how
important the mid-field it is in soccer. It is the same for audio industry.
Solid backup from mid-pie makes entire market productive and this was why he
decided to enter into speaker manufacturing industry.
As you can see from his picture, the
appearance of Courbe products is quite unique. It expresses strong presence
like an objet so it seems like it can go well in art museum or exhibition
center. It will make you curious if you think of sound coming from this form.
What kind of music will it be?
But if you take a close look at it, it is
the outcome of thorough research and complete science by studying A to Z of
speaker. And this kind of approach is a common attitude between modern
speakers. In other words, seeking for complete functionality can achieve
aesthetic aspect.
3-way speaker of Courbe
Speaking of strong points of this equipment,
it hinders the disturbance occurring between ranges. With its formation of
3-way 3 speakers, they have stored each range in separate chamber to basically
remove mutual disturbance. If you have this content in the design, it gets much
easier to make sound.
However, this kind of design can be risky
at the same time. Because it might fail in terms of phase as 3 ranges are not
arranged on the form of straight line but on the form of rounded shape.
Important thing is to overcome this issue with objective measurement and
numberless listening tests.
It is another hindrance to control 3
chambers to move based on the regular time scale. So if you look at this
equipment from the side, you can see the chamber for low-range is slightly
moved forward while mid-range is slightly pushed back and high-range is pushed
back even further. However, pushing it back or moving it forward is not always
the answer. If you miscalculate this part, you can be ended up having 3 ranges
in dissonance. So it takes the know-how of maker.
To summarize, making this beautiful
appearance can be obtained by overcoming the risk of miscalculating 2 important
factors which are phase and time scale. So technique of maker is very
important. Maybe I am worrying too much because this kind of risk is groundless
in terms of actual test listening.
Courbe speaker is based on the design to
remove the disturbance between ranges.
Sound range of this equipment could be
naturally extended horizontally by strengthening mid-range. In other words, he
didn’t over try to extend the sound range by concentrating on the presence of
main vocal or instrument as well as density.
Certainly, this doesn’t mean that
its range is not wide enough in terms of spectrum. You can think that it didn’t
practice the common failure of making blur sound in order to cover the entire
range with flat response. Of course, you can feel the strong presence of
cymbals or kick drum but the main point is laid in mid-range.
It really depends on the preference so some
people might prefer sharp and aggressive high sound when others like rich and
deep mid-sound. But there are always pluses and minuses in each side. So I
think it is better to focus on strong features of this equipment.
Inside the enclose of Courbe speaker
This equipment smartly accommodates 3
chambers in one round shaped stand. Different material is used for making this
stand and each material gives different feeling such as hardwood, acryl, black
acryl or crystal acryl. Customers can choose from different stands so Courbe’s
speaker is more customer friendly in this area.
In terms of spectrum, it has sensitivity of
88db with 4 ohm speaker but it is not difficult to play it. To use the amplifier
with 70 to 300w of output level is recommended. Its frequency range is also
very wide with 24Hz at the lowest and 30KHZ at the highest. But as previously
mentioned, tuning point is in the mid-range so you can hear the outstanding
sound of vocal or violin.
3 separated chambers are accommodated in a
round shaped stand
Various product lines of Courbe speaker
Courbe speaker has become popular through a
TV drama called ‘secret love affair’.
This equipment is the most advanced product
series out of 7 so it is the biggest and the most expensive. So if you like the
sound of this equipment, you can choose one out of below models based on your
budget. Even though, you choose the lower level product, there is not much difference
in terms of sound as it shares the same philosophy of the sound and design
concept. So I hope this helps to review the quality and characteristic of
Courbe.
Courbe speaker was matched with Devialet
120
To test the sound of this equipment,
Devialet 120 model which recently has become very popular was used. As you can
see from the number 120, it has the output level of 120W with 6 Ohm. However,
it was not difficult to play it. Also SACD/CD player CD-3000 from TEAC was
utilized.
“Overall, it gives warm and gentle feeling.
The sound of piano is deep and its reverberation is long.
The movement of orchestra is very sensitive
and it presents reasonably wide ranges.”
First song was 1st movement of Rachmaninoff
concerto No.2 for piano played by Krystian Zimerman. Overall, it gives warm and
gentle feeling. The sound of piano is deep and its reverberation is long. The
movement of orchestra is very sensitive and it presents reasonably wide ranges.
It presents explosive high note as it is at tutti so you can expect the scale
fits to its size. Maybe it was because of matched amplifier, it gives fine and
sophisticated sound. If SAM program is developed for main speaker of Devialet,
you can expect even more outstanding matching. Generally, it gives rich and
smooth sound.
“Detail description of chamber music was truly
outstanding.
For violin, surrounding sound and reverberation were detailedly
described.
Sound itself was not thin at all.”
Next song was by Cesar Franck and played by dumay-Pires. Detail
description of chamber music was truly outstanding. For violin, surrounding
sound and reverberation were detailedly described. Sound itself was not thin at
all. It was strongly stretched out with consistent thickness. The sound of
piano was also gentle and soft. It might have been better if there were
slightly more impact. I guess it can be substituted by using cable or various
accessories.
“It was strong and pronunciation was clear.
Detailed part was presented without problem. Glamorous sound of acoustic guitar
in the beginning part as well as expanding part upon the entrances of base and
drum were consistent and natural.”
It was vocal which was the main
appreciation point of sung by Jewel. Her twangy voice is
very appealing and attractive and it was perfectly presented. It was strong and
pronunciation was clear. Detailed part was presented without problem. Glamorous
sound of acoustic guitar in the beginning part as well as expanding part upon
the entrances of base and drum were consistent and natural. You can expect more
powerful base and punch depending on matched amplifier.
“There was no big mouth phenomenon or
tangled sound of different instruments. But its gentle tone of sound even made
the sound of rock soft.”
Last song was sung by Led Zeppelin. The strong point of speaker can be shown clearly
when playing this complicated and explosive song with wide range of sound.
There was no big mouth phenomenon or tangled sound of different instruments.
But its gentle tone of sound even made the sound of rock soft. However, you can
still feel the strong spirits of young members in their 20s. If you like to
proceed this direction, you can choose the amplifier that has similar
characteristics. This speaker is neutral and it can express different tones of
sound. Positive feedbacks in the market are expected.
Specification
Height 1,216 mm
Width 503 mm
Nominal Impedance 4 Ohms
Frequency Range 24 ~ 30,000 Hz
Power Handling 70 ~ 300 W
Sensitivity 88 dB
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