Reynaud Bliss Jubile vs Cantabile Jubile

@jc51373

I wouldn't characterize the AMT tweeters in the models above the Cantabile as bright per se like I would the Be tweeters.  They are very extended but without the hint of natural warmth the silk domes impart. This just requires careful matching with the front end gear and careful placement in the room with particular attention paid to rake angle and distance from seating position to speaker.  If you can get them at least a couple of feet off of the wall behind them(more is better) and around 8' apart center to center then that is a good starting point  I think they work best without a doubt with tubes in the amplification chain somewhere and Bob generally ran all of his various models with the hybrid Blue Circle gear or on occasion with Audio Note tube gear.  When in the main system I had the best luck with a Supratek preamp and the Kinki Studio EX-B7 or Odyssey Kismet Reference amps.  Some times during the Winter months I would swap the SS amps for an EL-34 based tube amps which would warm them up a bit more.  As my main system was always in a dedicated room I was able to play around with both the speaker and seating position until I found the sweet spot but if you situation is different and your seating position is locked in the you will have to play with the speaker positioning to lock them in.  A big part of this with the AMT tweeter more so than with the silk dome even is getting the rake angle right based on your seating height.  As a long time Vandersteen owner over the years this was a critical part of their set up procedure so not something novel to me in setting up the Abscisse's. In the end if you pay attention to the gear, speaker positioning and seating placement you can make them sound spectacular and they will have plenty of bass compared to the Cantabile.  They will not however even at their best have that same "soul factor" as either the Cantabile or the Bliss as the Abscisse is the sole creation of Jean Claude Reynaud while the other two were Jean Marie's original creations. While Jean Claude's designs have in some ways started to lean more towards the voicings of his fathers designs you still have the differences that exist between the ear of a trained pianist versus the ear of a recording engineer.  If you are happy with the overall "feel" of the Cantabile have you given any thought to maybe just adding a pair of small sealed subs or will that not work in your setting? Feel free to reach out if I can help you any further.

@jackd

To give you an idea of my system. I have a Sugden FBA800 Pure Class A amplifier,  (neutral to warm, fast, and juicy sound), Audio Research LS28SE Preamp, Totaldac  Triunity DAC, and Innuos Pulsar Streamer. The system overall tends to lean a little warmer, the Audio Research does add a nice splash of transparency to the system overall though. If changes are made, I can most certainly hear it, even if small.

My fear would be am I going to add more transparency to the system, which may not be bad thing, but I'd have to experience it to know for sure, and of course that requires buying the speakers. JMR is not a speaker you can go and listen to since they're in such short supply here in the US.  

As far as room set up, yes I am locked into my seating poistion, but I can get the speakers 8 feet apart, thats about what I have my Cantabile at now. Off the back wall I can get about 20 inches or so, maybe a few more if needed but anymore than that I will be closing in on my seating area since I am only about 8-9 feet from the speakers themselves where I sit.

I've had Subs in the past, on the Bliss and also on a set of Wilson Tune Tots I had..I find them to be a pain in the arse to dial in but it's something I could do for infill if all else fails. 

Im exactly 10 feet from the listening position to the speaker baffle, took a measurement.

That seating distance should certainly work as it’s just a little under what using Jim Smith’s formula would get you and the 8’ will also be fine and depending on your room a little closer could turn out better or worse. The current equipment certainly sounds like a good mix for the Abscisse if you decide to give it a try. It is certainly going to seem more transparent right away especially if you can do the side by side comparison with the Cantabile’s before your friend takes them away. And like you said unfortunately dealers are limited as are supplies especially for the higher level models. I have a friend that waited almost four months for his pair of Voce Grandes so he had to suffer with the Abscisse’s while he waited. I had hoped that when Bob finally decided to give up the distributorship that it would have gone to someone more aggressive and promotional than a guy who has only dealt with TT’s and cartridges historically. Also doesn’t seem like JC really wants to make that big a push into the US now with the costs of shipping. Don’t think you can go wrong either way.  What part of the country are you in?

@jackd 

I am on the east coast NC….Did your friend notice any reduction in bass from the Absicce to the Voce? I was comparing these two models and thinking of going with the Voce.  I feel like I understand what that tweeter is doing now having listened to some really good videos of the Voce recently. Between that and your characterization of it here in this thread I am confident I would like it. I still like the idea of a floor stander and the specs have the Absicse going lower in the bass I believe on the JMR website. 

I completely agree on the distributor in the US, he’s having everything sent over via boat and generally he does nothing with the line. Doesn’t attend shows and only one of his dealers does attend, and it’s only one show within driving distance for him. The line is sadly not promoted here in the US and yes I think JC kind of turned his back on the market here…I found an alternate route though.