Напольная акустика — Davis Acoustics Courbet n°7

The Courbet n°7 is a three-way column loudspeaker built by Davis Acoustics, the Troyes maker that Michel Visan set up in 1986. The Courbet series is the second highest range in the Davis catalogue, below the Dream models, and the n°7 sits between the slim n°5 and the larger n°8. Davis describes its look as slender and futuristic. All of its drivers are manufactured at the company's own facility in Troyes.

Key specs that matter

Davis equips this column with the 28 mm soft dome TW28CD used throughout the Courbet family. Midrange comes from a 13 cm Kevlar cone with a metal centre plug, the same unit Davis fitted to its Olympia One Master, and a 17 cm woofer with a carbon cone covers the bass. Crossover points fall at 400 Hz and 4,000 Hz. Davis gives a frequency range of 40 Hz to 25,000 Hz within 3 dB, 92 dB sensitivity and an impedance of 4 to 8 ohm. Power handling is 130 W nominal and 200 W maximum. The cabinet is 110 cm high, 18.5 cm wide and 28.5 cm deep, and each speaker weighs 24 kg. Finishes are black piano, white and walnut, and the pair price is EUR 4,500.

Engineering and use context

The enclosure uses medium density fibreboard up to 27 mm thick at the baffle and leans slightly backward, a geometry that removes parallel walls and is meant to keep standing waves from building up inside. Inside, the volume is divided into two compartments. The upper one, about a third of the total, holds the midrange and tweeter, and the lower one forms the bass chamber. Several perforated partitions brace the walls. Both the midrange and woofer sections are reflex loaded, with a tubular port at the front and another at the rear. The carbon woofer cone is designed for pistonic motion, and the tweeter has a tubular decompression chamber behind its dome. The crossover components are mounted in the air, a hand assembly method rather than a conventional circuit board layout. The cabinet rests on an offset base with real wood veneer.

Pairing

The high sensitivity, the variable impedance and the nominal power rating define the amplifier requirements. Davis lists the n°7 among its Courbet columns alongside the n°3 compact model, the n°4, n°5 and n°8, and the Courbet C S2 centre speaker, so a multichannel system can be assembled around it with matching tweeters.

Alternatives

The Davis Acoustics Courbet n°8 is the bigger column in the same series, stepping up to a 21 cm carbon woofer and a 35 Hz lower limit.