STANDMOUNT LOUDSPEAKERS MARKER-AUDIO KASSIOPEIA WOJCIECH PACUŁA Translation: Krzysztof Kalinkowski

Maybe you do remember the amplifiers of the company Art Audio Lab.? We have tested two models of this Russian company: the mighty m14.4 SE (test HERE), and the awarded with the Product of the Year award, outstanding integrated amplifier m25.3 (test HERE). The exclusive distributor of the manufacturer is the German distributor Marker-Audio. Leader of the company, Victor Marker, a quite, nice man (characteristics that are not very often present in our business) was able to promote those products in a way, that the market demanded a next step: if there is an amplifier there must also be speakers. And with the cheaper amplifier model in mind the Kassiopeia monitors were prepared.

LISTENING EXPERIENCE

Surprising is the fullness of sound offered by the German speakers. From the very beginning of the “Streets of Philadelphia” from the Philadelphia soundtrack directed by Jonathan Demme (Sony Music Entertainment 474998, CD), where first only the slow base drum is present, it can be heard, that the speakers are able to create a large, coherent sound view. Later a strong, filling all of the sound stage, synthesizer sound enters, that only confirms this tendency of sounding with momentum. The treble is slightly rounded, and this is clearly the idea of the designer, as the titanium dome can sound much stronger. Probably it was decided, that this kind of tonal balance will be more adequate. This sound setting resembles that what I heard from the speakers Revolver RW33, but about the fact, that there is less treble to be heard than from for example the Triangle Comete Es, judges not even the amount of air in the high frequencies, but a stronger, more saturated midrange of the Kassiopeia. And although those speakers are quite a light load for the amplifier – 12W from my Leben CS-300 were completely sufficient to fill a large room with high levels of sound – still I would recommend to attach a stronger transistor amp to those speakers. I do not know if I am not doing a bad thing to Mr. Marker, as the m25.3, for which the Kassiopeia seems to be the perfect match, is a tube amp, but in this way we will explore all the speakers strengths while avoiding weaker points. Anyway, most transistor amplifiers will benefit from the culture of the speakers. Yes – well mannered is the key asset of those speakers. The charismatic Peter Gabriel from the mentioned soundtrack, as the jazzman playing live at the Pawnshop club (Jazz in the Pawnshop. Vol. 2, Prioprius, PSACD 7079, SACD/CD) showed much magic and appeal.

The Kassiopeia shoe the happenings more as a whole, because the resolution, especially in the mid frequencies, is not their strength. The stage is not very deep, the first plane is most important. The speakers avoid flowing of the sounds into one by very good dynamics. This, heard once, remains one of the most characteristic features of those speakers. Let us go back to the culture. Besides the laid back upper midrange, that makes some kind of afterglow disappear from worse mastered discs (meaning in 95% of the cases), an afterglow that is annoying and tiring, many times making everybody mad, the speakers have a tasteful tonal balance. Together with the strong bass support it presents an interesting alternative to other speakers from the same price range, approaching designs like the Dynaudio Focus 140, maybe without its resolution, but with comparable dynamics. The contrabass from the piece “Trouble in Mind” from the disc Walking in The Sun - Barb Jung (LINN Records, AKD 283, SACD/HDCD; review HERE) was strong, full, pleasing. It was similar in “Take Some Insurance”, where basso continuo is led by the organ (it is organ, or isn’t it?...) – it is done in a strong trance way. The Kassiopeia will soften their attack, slightly round off the whole, show a slightly different reality, with nice rhythm and attack. However the voice of Jungr was freed from any trace of brightening or sharpening, what contributed in a large way to the positive appearance of the speakers.

I waited for the disc from Aimee Mann - Lost in Space (SuperEgo Records/Mobile Fidelity, UDSACD 2021, SACD/CD, review HERE) with curiosity. The disc was played as I expected, in a slightly warm, rich in connective tissue way, although without strong beat. Most probably rock will require a strong amplifier, like the Cambridge Audio Azur 840A (tested in Audio). It was similar with the disc Countdown to Extinction - Megadeth (Capitol/Mobile Fidelity, UDCD 765, gold-CD, review HERE), where the guitars had lots of energy in the midrange, but were lacking some predacity. It can be that rock is not the genre that the Kassiopeia will deliver us best. Because if we put a disc like Hotels & Dreamers of Alan Taylor (Stockfish, SFL 357.6028.2, CD) in the player, with large, warm voice and resonant guitars, all will combine to one sensible whole, where everything fits like a jigsaw puzzle – if we take out one element we will not be able to put any other in that place.

THE MAKE

The stand mount speakers Kassiopeia from the German company Marker-Audio are two way monitors vented with a bass-reflex port on the back plate. The cabinet of the speaker is quite impressive, because the front baffle is quite broad, and the size of it is optically enlarged by the curved top cover. The latter, together with the rounded side plates, is a clear sign, that somebody took the task of eliminating the standing waves inside the cabinet seriously. The cabinet is made from MDF and slightly damped with artificial wool. The drivers look solid – on top there is a 25mm titanium dome, and a coated paper cone with 165mm diameter, a large magnet and spider made from pressed metal. The cross-over is screwed to the bottom plate. We find there two coils – one core type and an air type, polypropylene capacitors, and very good but expensive, metalized polypropylene capacitors from the company Rifa (Evox/Rifa). There is no cost cutting done on the cables, as this is not a no-name woven copper cable, but carbon-metal Van den Hul CSH 14 Hybrid cable. The terminals are located in a recessed part of the back plate, in a plastic element. They are gold plated, but the screwing is not very easy. The speakers can be ordered in a few finishes – the natural exotic wood veneer is laid perfectly. In the standard version it is covered with colorless varnish, in the “exclusive” version – piano varnish is used.

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