Floorstanding loudspeakers — Cabasse JAVA MC40

The Java MC40 is the three-way floorstanding model of the MC40 range from Cabasse, a French maker founded in 1950 with workshops in Brittany. It shares its coaxial driver with the Minorca MC40 stand-mount and the Cabrera MC40 centre, and a pair of Java towers form part of the MC40 5.1 home cinema package, which Cabasse prices at EUR 3,128 together with two Minorca, one Cabrera and a Santorin 25 subwoofer.

Key specs that matter

Inside every Java is a BC10 coaxial midrange-tweeter, with a 10 cm ring surrounding a 2.7 cm dome, above two 17 cm Duocell woofers of type 17MD18LB1. The crossover hands over at 900 Hz and 3,400 Hz. Cabasse rates the response from 59 Hz to 23,000 Hz and the sensitivity at 90 dB for 1 W at 1 m. Impedance is 8 ohm nominal and falls to a minimum of 3.4 ohm. Continuous power handling is 110 W, with a peak figure of 770 W. The tower is 110 cm tall, 25 cm wide and 35 cm deep, and it weighs 24 kg. Three finishes are listed - all black, white lacquer and black lacquer, the last two in a gloss surface.

Engineering and use context

The coaxial layout places the midrange ring and the tweeter dome on one axis, so the two bands radiate from a common centre instead of from drivers spaced apart on the baffle. Cabasse states that the BC10 is derived from technology used in its higher models, and the same unit appears across the whole MC40 family. The woofer cones use the Duocell construction, described as a light but rigid and well damped membrane with an exponential profile and variable thickness. Because two woofers share everything below the lower crossover, the Java offers twice the cone area of the single-woofer Minorca, which explains its deeper rated extension and the higher power handling. The tall cabinet also lifts the coaxial unit well above the floor without a separate stand, which suits a system built for a living room where speakers stand in front of a wall.

Pairing

With a nominal load that dips well below its rated value, the Java suits amplifiers whose output stage copes with low impedance, while its sensitivity means moderate power already reaches normal levels. In a multichannel system the Cabrera MC40 centre uses the same BC10 family, rated at 89.5 dB and 90 W in an 18 x 49 x 35 cm cabinet, and a Santorin subwoofer can extend the bass for film soundtracks.

Alternatives

The Cabasse Jersey MC170 is a slimmer floorstander at 99 cm and 15 kg, rated from 57 Hz to 20,000 Hz.