What The Press Said
"The Cartouche is an interesting design and not
like any other loudspeaker I've ever come
across. The main body of the speaker is oval
from the front and this main section stands on
an integrated plinth. They have a distinctly art
deco feel to them.
The name of the speaker comes from the
Egyptian hieroglyph of the same name (an oval
with a horizontal line at one end) and which the
frontal profile of the Cartouche closely
resembles.
It's essentially a quarter wave transmission line
design with the porting firing downwards and at
either side, yet integrated into, the oval body.
It's a single driver design and the Cartouche
makes use, in the model we tested, of a Voxativ
AC-1.5 driver... though any of the Voxativ range
of drivers can be used I'm informed.
They are well made, nicely finished and
"substantial".
Set up was a simple affair and the speakers
were plonked in the position the Mummys (our
reference speaker) usually occupy. A bit of
slight adjustment later and it's on with the tunes.
When we've seen Josound at shows they've
always been keen to let us play whatever we
want on their system and Joe was enthusiastic
in suggesting we throw anything and everything
at the Cartouches. Not a problem say we and so
off Joe pops back to Jersey to do whatever it is
they do in that part of the world, but not before
dragging out a copy of "The Young Person's
Guide to the Orchestra" which, whilst me not
particularly loving this kind of music, sounded
amazing during set up and dinner.
From the very first tune played it was clear that,
as much as I enjoy the hORN Mummy's we
have as reference these were simply in a
different class, much in the same way from the
first sip of wine you can tell whether it's merely a
good wine or a great wine.
Initially we just put on disc after disc after disc
on both the CD player and the vinyl front end
without really listening critically and this
continued for a couple of days. You get an
immediate impression that the Cartouches just
sound right and you're taken along with the
tunes. We were digging out a lot of stuff we'd
not listened to in an age- Deep Purple, Led
Zeppelin, Jean Michelle Jarre...and we were
really getting into the music. In a way I'm sure
this is what most music lovers want to do – put
an album on, pour a glass of wine (other cold
beverages are available), relax and fall into the
music. I'd have loved to have done that for the
full week the speakers were here but a review
consisting of "we listened to lots of music and it
was very nice" does not interesting reading
make! No, we must listen critically to the sound
these things are making and try and explain in
simple language what we are hearing to give
you dear reader an impression of what's in front
of us.
We like to listen at relatively loud volumes (we
have aforementioned cows to bother after all)
and the Cartouches do loud very well indeed, to
the point of me saying they prefer a bit of welly
up them to make them really sing. Now don't get
me wrong, they're perfectly nice at low volumes
and do everything right, but get the air in the
room moving and they really come into their
own. They're plenty sensitive enough at quoted
93dB (I'd suggest this is pretty conservative)
and 20 watts of from the Tellurium Q amp was
plenty enough to take them to "realistic"
volumes.
Female vocals (Drugstore's "El Presidente")
sounded (from my notes) "absolutely glorious"
with the full tone and texture of Isabel
Monteiro's being
apparent.
Likewise, with
Thom Yorke's
vocal on the same
track - what you
get is a vocal
presentation that is
never strained or
ragged just
beautifully liquid.
Instrumentation on
the track doesn't
take a back seat
though and it's
very easy to pick
out individual
strumming parts
and nuances to the
guitar playing and
as a whole this
sounds as good as
anything I've heard
before with this
type of music.
Roy Haper's "Flat,
Baroque and
Berzerk" is a
wonderful record that sadly doesn't get aired in
this house as much as it should, but plonking
this into the CD player and hitting play really has
the Cartouche's "on point"… there are
inflections and little intonations in Harper's voice
that I've simply never heard before. Guitar is as
lifelike as I've heard anywhere with any
loudspeaker and in this respect the Cartouches
really do excel. Again the sound of the guitar is
so lifelike that (and I know this is a hifi pundit
cliché) it really does sound like it is in the room
with you.
The above comments are all well and good if
you like "nice" vocals and "nice" acoustic guitar
music that gets wheeled out at hifi shows, but
not everyone does and so I always like to throw
something electronic and heavy at kit that
comes in for review. So with no further ado I
reach for Massive Attack "No Protection" (The
Mad Professor remix) which can sound
overblown in the bottom end,giving you a sound
that is unbalanced and just "too much". With the
Cartouche what you get is a tuneful feel to bass
notes and an overall sensation of balance in the
music. The stereo mix is absolutely spot on with
these speakers and I'm sure this is in no small
part down to their single driver topology.
Infectious Grooves' "Sarsippius' Ark" is funky
and heavy in equal measure and gives any
loudspeaker a good work out. Again the
Cartouches take this album in their stride and
deliver across the frequency spectrum. Actually
I stopped taking notes listening to this album
and just got lost in the groove…
Nevertheless, what sounds utterly sublime with
these speakers is female vocals and this (Unlike
Hifi Pig reviewer Dan) isn't an area of music I'd
say was my favourite, but I kept reaching
(without thinking about it) for simply produced
women singers albums. One of the records that
stood out as being particularly well articulated
with the Cartouches was Emiliana Torrini's
album "Fisherman's Woman" which here was
totally beautiful. The tone and the texture in her
voice allied with the uncomplicated
arrangements of the tunes really do suit these
loudspeakers down to
the ground. You're left
with a real feeling you've
been touched by the
music in a way that you
rarely get unless you're
listening to a singer
simply mic'd and "live" –
again and, without
wanting to drag out the
clichés (but I will
anyway), you have that
"in the room" experience.
Picked strings are very
natural sounding with a
great percussive feel and
a pleasant character to
the tone.
Soundstaging with the Cartouches isn't
exaggerated or overdone and again the word
that comes to mind is natural. Instruments and
voices are positioned properly front to back and
side to side without any showy hifi histrionics.
The JoSound Cartouches are, to these ears,
very good loudspeakers indeed, but then for
their €22 000 asking price so they should be!
The thing with these loudspeakers is that they
feel natural and unforced and really do let the
music get on with what it's doing. That's not to
say they aren't detailed - they are in
bucketloads – but you don't find yourself
wanting to over-analyse the sounds being made
and I suppose the words I'm searching for when
trying to describe them are musical and
effortless. If you want a loudspeaker that
delivers a "hifi" experience then I don't think
these loudspeakers will be for you I'm afraid.
However if you want a loudspeaker that delivers
a very life like representation of music,
particularly on acoustic rather than "electrified"
music (and you have the money) then a serious
audition of the JoSound Cartouche
loudspeakers would be my recommendation.
Author - Stuart Smith
The second part of this review is written by Linette (Mrs Hifi Pig). For the sake of clarification we'd like to point out that we listen to the music together, make individual notes and then write up in isolation with neither of us having access to the others words.
You may see a theme
developing with my
taste in HiFi. I like
things to be a bit,
well….different.
I'm not talking wacky for
wacky's sake but, well
thought out, well designed,
constructed from excellent
quality materials and
pleasing to the eye.
Why not?
There is a lot of beautiful
HiFi out there that is
colourful, exciting and a bit
'out of the ordinary'….why
limit yourself to boring, black
boxes when there is a whole
smorgasbord available.
Josound's speakers are just
that, different and not just in
how they look.
Joe arrived at bamboo for the construction
material after a long search for something
ecofriendly, he considered many materials such
as recycled plastic and glass.
Now when you say bamboo, you think that they
are going to be lightweight, oh no they're not!
These are very heavy solid speakers, but they
have a very elegant look, incredibly Art Deco in
their styling.
Even though they have the Art deco vibe to
them they look extremely modern, it's a look
that I really like.
Each speaker is very individual as no two
pieces of bamboo are the same…..creating the
effect of a natural mosaic, beautiful!
Despite their size and weight they don't
dominate the room because of their natural
finish.
They definitely make a statement though and
they look like they mean serious business.
The high level finish is carried through with the
Voxativ drivers which are stunning.
There is a real pride in the construction and
finish of these loudspeakers, everything about
them is high quality.
These are, by no means, the most expensive
loudspeakers in Mr. Sound's range but at
22,000€ they are high end, and you can really
see and hear their value.
They have been playing more or less non stop
for the last week and what has struck me is that
the more that you listen to them, the more that
you want to listen to them.
They really seem to open up the music and
make it…..more musical, if that makes sense?
If you have a pair of these speakers in your
house they really will be on all the time, happily
playing away in the background or cranked up
loud!
The origami precision of the Voxativ
drivers that Joe uses, work with his design
to give a very precise and defined bass
sound. Even deep sub bass sounds much
more tuneful rather than just wub wub
often experienced. You actually hear the
individual notes much more.
The collaboration between Josound and
Voxativ is a marriage made in heaven and
it is nice to see credit given where it is due.
Joe's bigger speakers, the Ra's are
actually branded 'Voxativ by
Josound'……good to see this in an
industry where a lot of manufacturers like
to keep everything to themselves.
The younger element in the house was
keen to hear some of his tunes so we gave
some Deadmau5 a spin.
Again the tuneful bass was in evidence and the
sound was big, I even wrote down "orchestral"
to describe it, not something you would expect
with this kind of electronic music.
Where these speakers really come into their
own though is with simple music, a female vocal
and a guitar just sounds heavenly, but to be fair
there was nothing that we played that I thought
sounded bad!
When it comes down to it, isn't that what it's all
about?
Thank you Mr Sound!
Something I like about Joe is that he is a very
positive and enthusiastic person; he really is
the driving force behind his brand.
Go into his room at a show and you will be
made incredibly welcome, you will be invited to
play your own music and sit and appreciate his
amazing loudspeakers.
This is a very refreshing change and creates a
really relaxed atmosphere.
We have been really lucky to hear the different
speakers in his range at several HiFi shows
over the past year, and have never failed to be
delighted by them however, actually having a
pair in our home to live with for a week between
shows has been fabulous, and it just goes to
show that an unusual design (as we found with
Thomas Scherer's Evince speakers) is not
difficult to live with at all, it is like bringing art
into your home.
Do I recommend these loudspeakers, hell yes!
Would I go out and by them…if I had the asking
price yes I would.
After living with them for a week and
consistently rating JoSound's room at HiFi
shows as one of my favourites I can honestly
say I would like to own them……
Author - Linette Smith
"
Unique Features
- Single driver for pin-point imaging
- Pseudo spherical driver housing ensuring solid and stable sound stage
- No passive cross-over thus eliminating phase anomolies
- High quality WBT binding posts
- Unique pseudo bass-reflex design to ensure laminar airflow thus delivering tight base response without the "huffing" and "chuffing" associated with traditional ported designs
- Internally cabled with high quality O2A cables, hand made in Lichtenstein
Specifications
Drivers: | One – 8 inch paper cone |
Sensitivity: | 99 dB @ 1 watt @ one meter @ 1 kHz |
Nominal Impedance: | 8 ohms |
Frequency Response: | 30 Hz - 25 kHz |
Power: | 50 W (RMS) per channel |
Overall Dimensions: |
Height – 1234 mm Width – 480 mm Depth – 340 mm |
Approximate Product Weight: | 71 kg each |