Cantico CX8 Monitor
Cantico cx8 monitor
We are testing CX8 Monitor, the new model in the basic range of the Italian factory Cantico Loudspeakers. It is a bookshelf not particularly small (31.5 x 35.5 x 45) that has to be placed on an appropriate stand. The Monitor has a classic shape and is made of black finished MDF. Side panels are in solid wood and give that touch of warmth to the cabinet that recalls the typical Italian design. The choice of the singlespeaker is original and makes you think that a wide-band loudspeaker is used, while there is a coaxial driver, made with a 8" processed paper woofer and a 1.4” compression tweeter, which is hidden behind the woofer dust cap. The wiring is made with Cardas cable, and also the binding posts are Cardas. These latter accept speaker cables terminated in any way. The product is entirely handmade in Italy. The manufacturer declares the following datas: Sensitivity 93 dB, frequency response 50 Hz - 20 kHz, weight 18.6 kg each. The front hole shows that the woofer is reflex loaded. The project's philosophy is summed up in the manufacturer's website with this sentence: “In the eighties there was a common misbelief: "music reproduction is a matter of subjectiveness and personal taste". We, at Cantico, do not think so. We do not need to …"
We, at Audio-activity, think the same … 
I received the speakers that were brand new, so I had to burn them in vigorously, and those of you that are familiar with the corrugated cloth suspension, know that to evaluate critically the sound they have an extreme need to be softened. Let's go back for a moment to the coaxial unit, to explain that it is made of two distinct loudspeakers. In fact the compression driver of the medium-high range has an independent magnetic structure expressly made to obtain a sort of horn effect above 1000 Hz, thanks to the shape of the woofer cone. As for the cones: the one employed for the reproduction of the low frequencies weighs only 21 grams, so you can have the high speed guaranteed by its low mass. This is a quality that is necessary for proper integration with the compression driver that is extremely fast and accurate in the reproduction of the transients. For the test - on direct manufacturer's request - we have used power cables manufactured and sold by Cantico itself, called Basic Loudspeaker Cable and sold at 449 euros list price.
The system used to listen to the Canticos was the following: turntable Basis 2001, tonearm Graham 2.2, cartridge Scan Tech Lyra Helikon, phono cable: LAT International XLR, phono preamplifier: Einstein "The Turntable's Choice" balanced, cable between pre and phono preamp: Transparent Super XLR, CD/SACD player dCS Puccini + Puccini U-Clock, cable between CD player and preamplifier: MIT Oracle MA Proline, preamplifier: MBL 4006, cable between pre and power amps: MIT Oracle MA-X Proline, power amplifiers: Bryston 7B ST mono, power cables: MIT Shotgun AC 1, Noise Black Pearl and other self-made, mains filter: Black Noise 2500.
Let's describe now the sound of these interesting speakers. First of all we want to say that the grilles must be removed for a critical listening, since they aren’t completely transparent (as it is most of the time). The first CD that I listen to is "The Best of Inti Illimani" (CGD) and the song "Señora chichera". I notice straight away that the bass is dry and deep as it should be and the voices are perfectly integrated in the music arrangement. The sound of the tambores is interesting while the sound of the pan pipes is charming, and I must admit that I really love their sound. The Canticos give them the right strength to emerge from the music base, their sound is not at all like a squeal and we know how annoying their sound can be if poorly reproduced. In the chorus of "Lo que mas quiero", the voices follow one other with confidence and the counterpoint comes out very well. Even the maracas in the background can be easily followed. 
As soon as you realize that what you are hearing is correct and really enjoyable a sudden relaxation overcomes you and the sound can be enjoyed in its fullness. Few words on the speakers' positioning: in my room they are placed parallel to the back wall and at about 80 cm from the side walls. The distance from the bottom wall will depend on the bass resonances in your environment. We have just spoken of "counterpoint", that in a musical composition is a set of independent melodic lines with an harmonic relation between them. This recalls to me a vinyl by “Le Orme” - an Italian band - called, by sheer coincidence, "Counterpoints". I take the LP from the shelf and rest it on the turntable for a couple of brush strokes. Then the needle touches this great example of Italian progressive, created Anno Domini 1974, and the song that gives the name to the LP starts playing. Its sound is in between Emerson Lake & Palmer and the Yes of those glorious years. The recording is not good but we are not interested in technical details now. What we want is to find out if the sound has the ability to engage the listener and bring him back 40 years. The target is partially hit by the Canticos. We can not say that these components love the hissing keys of Aldo Tagliapietra in "Frutto Acerbo" or the high distortion of the piano recording and their dislike is not hidden. If the sound engineer of that time had monitored the recording with these speakers the result would have been a better job. The record sounds pleasant anyway and we listen to it till the end. It is with this record that I finished the settings and the positioning of the speakers. At first they were angled towards the ears, and after a few songs, they were perfectly parallel to the wall as I said above. Probably the best balance in the mid-range sets at 30°. A hint to the reproduction of classical music is a must, and we choose the SACD Harmonia Mundi "Ein Deutsches Requiem Op 45" by Brahms, performed the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, beautifully directed by Herrewege. It is a complex recording to play, due to the large orchestra and the choirs. The CX8s worked very well. The loudspeakers meet the dynamic changes in the composition and spread music in 3 directions with good environmental realism. Totally unexpected is the smoothness of emission given the size of the speaker and cabinet. Probably the lack of perceived distortion, is due to the reduced displacement of the membrane of the woofer, which reproduces a low range without annoying humps around 100 Hz and which goes deep enough for the usual enjoyment of music. The only doubt left is on the sensitivity, which to my ears appears lower than claimed. Since I love to listen to music at levels close to those of live performances - when possible - I would use power amplifiers with not less than 100 watts per channel. Paradoxically it is difficult to describe the sound of these speakers. There is a lack of evident coloration of the sound and even the smaller details present in the recording are conveyed but not with the pedantry that we often find in other electroacoustics that we call "monitor".
In conclusion, truth is that sometimes we have difficulties in matching the performances of a component with the cost set by the manufacturer/distributor, and sometimes we do not. In our case the second scenario is perfect. The CX8s have a very competitive price and superior performance to what one can expect at first. Absolutely recommended! Angelo Jasparro Translation: Francesca Rubino   |