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Chopin by Cessaro

The very cool looking small horn is made by Cessaro Horn Acoustics. To Ralph, the main designer and owner of Cessaro, the design of the crossover for this one in his words is much more complicated than the mega horn system. He has never satisfied with any 2-way speakers until this one. (I used to think 2-way speaker is much easier to design; so let's say what this little gem can deliver when it arrives Hong Kong)
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Comments

  • The back side shows it can be bi-wired.
  • My Cessaro Chopin arrived at the equator!

    Thanks! PT
  • PT uses his golden ears and insightful judgement in order to put the pair of Chopin speakers in the best possible location of my rather small room.
  • My electronics. The main strength comes from Skyline power amp which is clean, dynamic and fast. When Helene Grimaud is playing Chopin Piano Sonata No.2, the system displays very good microdynamics.
  • ORB Kyoto helps to clean up the electricity noise in my system. Three Serenity power cables are used. ORB Kuanei was used for feeding digital gears from the wall outlet.
  • A FMR XLR-RCA is used to connect between Masseto preamp and DAD DAC. Excellent suggestion from PT.
  • It is a cute looking horn. How do you manage the bass as the room really looks too small? You have a crazy tube amp - the Skyline. The line-stage seems out of the sync with the rest. You do like mix and match, clearly.... But why not make it a complete European scent? The line stage is a bit low profile relative to the Skyline.
  • Dear Jeff,

    Your are ultra sharp! Indeed PT shared the views. When I first started, I have already landed the Masetto. Later on, PT said that Tron Syren will be perfect match with Skyline. However, Tron is not cheap with the full options. Thus I tried to start the system first with thw Masetto to see how to move on considering my current budget constrain.

    Yes, I will think seriously about the preamp. PT said that Zanden line stage will be cool for me too.

    Thank you very much!

    Milky Boyz
  • I heard Skyline and I think matching with Chopin would be next to perfect! Would you consider a passive preamp like Music First, PT has experience on this one and I think it is within easy reach by you.
  • No doubt a very sexy horn you have over there. Shindo preamp, may be better mate with their own power amp. I doubt passive preamp will have enough power to drive the full potential of horn speakers. Maybe, Zanden 3000 linestage is a better option. Or he can even try Kondo, Wavac, and some other top tube houses.
  • Dear WChow and Marvel,

    Your insightful suggestions are very helpful to me.

    I will sersiously think about your excellent points.

    Thanks.

    Milky Boyz
  • How can your room put a horn speaker under control? The speakers seem to be too big for your room. You must have too much bass. Did you do any treatment? How does it sound?
  • Dear Uncle Raymond,

    You directly cut into the main point. Yes, PT was surprised to see my small bedroom which is converted into my audio room. Because I was afraid to annoy my baby (at that time, I know nothing on room treatment, is more for soundproofing), I have added a layer of adsorbing material onto the wall. So PT said that now I can use the system because of my coincident treatment. Otherwise, Chopin, supposed to be the smallest brother in Cessaro line, will not work for my tiny room. Ideally, PT said that a normal living room in an Asia apartment will be a perfect stage of Chopin.

    Tonight, PT was here with one of my friends who owns a pair of K..ma Mini E....... We played the Cello of YY Ma, my friend was astonished to hear the "sound of the cello body" when YY Ma is playing which he missed at his home (I am sorry that my language is not technical). At the end, my friend feel that he paid too much more for his speakers which cannot perform up to the level of Chopin. He is also satisfied with the speed, transparency and seamless crossover of Chopin.

    When I played my recenly favorite song, "Be Somebody" of King of Leon, I was impressed by the good texture of the bass (they played bass in a unique way) performed by this small horn. I was actually surprised that Horn can play rock music in the way it should be. Of course, as suggested by other Big Brothers, the Shindo pramp may not be perfect for the Skyline power amp. The good point from PT is that I won't notice the very big difference in the dynamic range and resolution until I will improve my listening skills to a higher level. That's good news as my pocket becomes empty after getting this Skyline-Chopin combo but the money spent really leads to my true satisfaction at this stage. I will learn more before going to the next level, e.g., better preamp.

    Thank you to all Big Brother Experts here!

    Milky Boyz
  • This room was built like a studio. Other than the wall (glass windows) behind the speakers, the whole room was filled with absorption material. It is not to the extent of completely dead, at least my ears did not feel uncomfortable.

    I am very surprised that this Chopin speaker can perform in this room without any booming. Because room noise is almost non-existent and the fact that I sit very close to the speakers, I can hear a lot of details. But what surprises me the most is the coherence of this speaker. It seems as though I am listening to a single driver and yet the lower mid bass attack is fast, articulate and carries weight at the same time. It sounds like a big speaker, not small at all.

    When Ralph told me those who listened to the Chopin said, "The chopin has its magic even though they just ABAB switching from the Mega Beta Full system to the Chopin." Frankly, I did not believe him at all when he told me such until I set them up in Milky Boyz studio-like room. This is one of the greatest surprise in 2010. This speakers is a masterpiece of work and I don't mean it lightly. The voice of Ken Hirai is superbly reproduced with finesse and emotion. JLam was on the way to airport when he called me last night. He heard the Chopin via the Nokia mobile phone and asked me, "Where are you? The room is very quiet. The resolution and texture of the violin are very good". I told him this is the sound coming from the Cessaro Chopin.

    The Skyline is undoubtedly one hell of a crazy tube amp mating very well with the Chopin. The biggest experience for me is again on the acoustics. When room noises are gone, the remaining noises (AC and ground) are of course audible but after room noise is tackled, the rest is piece of cake. I also requested Milky to turn off all other electrical appliances in this room although they were connected to different AC outlets. More details in the upper region immediately surface.

    The room is small but balanced. Too bad the Copulare rack is very close to the left channel, I can hear the left hand side sounds brighter than the right hand side despite the side walls are fully treated by the same absorption material. That means, the brighter left channel is a result of sound wave hitting directly onto the copulare rack. There is also a TV hanging on the left hand side too.

    In short, this speaker surprises me big time even though I have the Beta 0.5. Now I understand why Ralph is so excited about the Chopin as recent telephone conversation with him was all about it. And I have no idea why he was so excited given his expertise in mega horn system. The answer is from the sound. It is just too good to be true.
  • Put a diffusor in front of the glass rear wall will substantially enhance the soundstage in this small room. Image will be much more stable. It is only because the vibration of the glass makes this room sound livelier for the wrong reason. Diffusion is required in a dead room.
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