Reynaud Bliss Jubile vs Cantabile Jubile


Has anyone here heard the latest iterations of these two soeakers and can describe the differences. I've read Bob Neill's write-up of these two on his website, but the descriptions are a bit hard for me to grasp, perhaps not specific enough for me. They're also written by someone who is trying to sell them. I'd like to hear from those who might not have as much of stake in the game. Bob does think the Cantabile is the better speaker, but is it a small improvement or a significant one? 

 

It's also hard to find reviews on these. There are a couple out the, but not comparing to each other. 

 

Thanks for any insights here. 

 

analogj

Thank you, @jackd for your response.

 

I noticed that the Bliss Jubile has a ~6.75" woofer while the Cantabile has two 5.25" woofers. The cabinet on the BJ is a hair wider. 

 

The thing is I could get an opportunity to demo the Bliss Jubile but not the Cantabile Jubile, however there's an opportunity to get an essentially new Cantabile from a dealer at a great price (I'd get it without hearing it, and no return option), $700 more than the new BJ w/Magic Stand. From what I read, I'd probably love them both, but the CJ would oder better detail and more quickness, in addition to depth (the latter may be good or not, given my small 12'x12' room).

 

 

"offer" better, not oder.

 

I've had a couple of people say to gamble and go for the CJ, including a different dealer. While another couple of people I know say they never buy without hearing first. I would normally side with the latter, but from what I read, this speaker brand is made for me. 

 

@jackd, what's the sonic difference between the two you own, aside from one going deeper. 

Other than the obvious difference in bass from the multiple drivers and longer transmission line the AMT tweeter in the Abscisse is definitely more detailed and extended but whether or not that is a good thing is personal.  In my experience and to my preference amps for the Abscisse need to be on the warm side of neutral.  The Bliss on the other hand is a more "forgiving" speaker that just gets out of the way and makes music so that you forget about the gear.  I owned four earlier Reynaud's designed by the current owners father and they were a different voicing than the son, who is a recording engineer, tends to use.  According to Bob and what I hear in the Bliss it and the Cantabile beckon back to the earlier days of Jean Marie Reynaud.  If you told me I could only keep one it would surprisingly to most people be the Bliss Jubilee.  If the Cantabile is more of the same you can't go wrong either way and the Cantabile appears that it would actually take up less room than the Bliss' and the Magic stands.   In a room that size the Bliss Jubilee might be the appropriate starting point but this is where a phone conversation with Bob could come in handy.

Bob actually did encourage me to get the Cantabile Jubilé. And that's what I'll be getting. 

I don’t think you will be disappointed.  I love my CJ’s, and they are very similar to the Bliss (Silvers in my case), just more, as has been said.  Very amp friendly as well.