This is by no means a professional review, as I have no measurements to list, but merely a testament to the engineering marvel that HSU Research has developed. If you live in Southern California and are interested in HSU Research products, I suggest visiting their office in Anaheim. Their modest, though exceptional customer service, not to mention an audition of their product, will further help with your purchasing decision. I had the extremely satisfying pleasure of experiencing the new CCB-8 (Constant directivity Coaxial Bookshelf) loudspeakers up close and personal at their office on 1/11/17. It was great because their 1400cu. ft. demo room replicates a family room setting in the typical home and not some makeshift demo room at a local electronics store or even with the bustling ambience of a trade show. I have been there before with the representative Kevin when I experienced a demo with the full home theater. In this case it was the room, the music, the CCB-8s, Dr. Hsu himself, and I. He already has a great product in the HB-1 mk2 and their terrific performance value. They transport the listener closer to the live performance on a great budget. Greatly superior to other bookshelf loudspeakers that one can purchase at a local big box store. The CCB-8 just takes this experience up a notch at a fraction of the cost of some of the other coaxial speakers out there.
Grant it the CCB-8 is a larger speaker than its little brother at 2.5” wider (at 10.5” vs 8”) and 4” deeper (at 12” vs 8”), but the HB-1 mk2 is 5/8” taller than the CCB-8. The CCB-8 has a larger stunning yellow 8” polypropylene mid-bass driver with an inverted treated fabric surround. The color of the woofer was personally chosen by Dr. Hsu in an homage to the Corel Beta loudspeaker. It has the same 1” tweeter driver as the HB-1 mk2, which is mounted inside the pole piece of the woofer behind an acoustically transparent dust cap. Unlike the rectangular horn of the HB-1, the circular horn of the CCB-8 begins inside the pole piece and extends as the mid-bass driver itself. Academy Award winning audio engineer Don Keele (Technical Achievement award for his contribution to Constant Directivity speaker systems in the cinema) assisted in the design of the pole piece and driver shape. The collaboration of Dr. Hsu and Don Keele has resulted in a very extraordinary product. The metallic perforated grill with the HSU logo attaches magnetically. I must admit the speaker looks great with the grill on or off especially in contrast to the black satin paint job of the demo speakers. Like two big yellow eyes staring at you of a gigantic beast. It has the same paint job as HSU’s VTF-3 mk5 sub and up. It also comes in the lovely Rosenut veneer that HSU offers for their VTF-15 mk2, ULS-15 mk2, HB-1 mk2, and HC-1 mk2 loudspeakers.
It has impedance of 8ohms, up to 400w of power, frequency response of 50Hz-20kHz, 94dB sensitivity (vs the 92dB sensitivity of the HB-1 mk2), 2kHz crossover between tweeter and woofer, and weighs in at 22lbs ea. It is made of ¾” MDF and has two 2.5” ports just north and south of the 5-way binding posts (if in the vertical orientation that is). The ports are also different in design than the HB-1 mk2. They are more flared and flush to the cabinets like the ports of HSU’s subs whereas the port on the HB-1 mk2 is a typical port and protruded ever so slightly from the cabinet. The budgeting audiophile can own an inexpensive receiver such as the Pioneer VSX-531 or up the ante to the Onkyo TX-NR626 (similar to the one in HSU’s demo room) and power these speakers with ease. HSU’s demo room also has a modest older model Sony CD player. This proves their products do not require amplifiers that break the bank. The CCB-8 welcomes any volume thrown at it especially with its 400w maximum output. Though the physical dimensions of the two are slight, the performance is where they differ substantially. Like I said before, the HB-1 mk2 is no slouch, but the CCB-8 just takes it up a notch.
The Sound Experience
In collaboration with the VTF-3 mk5 subwoofer, the CCB-8s audibly took me to another place. The highs and upper mid-bass emanated from the CCB-8s and everything under 80Hz was expertly handled by the VTF-3 mk5 with no sense of overwhelming. As with their HB-1 mk2s, the CCB-8s are toed-in at 15 degrees off the tweeter so that the virtual line of the tweeters crosses one to two feet in front of the listener. They do, however, need to be mounted slightly higher than the HB-1 mk2 speakers would be in order to be at ear level. This is due to the fact that the tweeter is in the center of the cabinet rather than near the top of the cabinet as in the HB-1 mk2. As Dr. Hsu explained and I obliged, whether standing, sitting, dead center, or off-axis the sound was coming at me the same. Even next to the wall to the left of the sitting position the sound stage was still balanced left to right. This feature is a result of the coaxial alignment of the drivers, which eliminates lobing issues. This also allows the speaker to be used as a center speaker in a home theater application with no deterioration of sound. The most astonishing characteristic of these speakers is the way the sound is capable of being, as HSU puts it, “equi distant from the tweeter and the woofer.” I understand that there are other speaker manufacturers that employ this same concept such as the Single 8HT from JTR. Not only was the stage balanced, but grand in scale. I could also pick out individual instruments throughout the room. In my opinion, there are subtle differences in sound character especially in the higher frequencies between these and the HB-1 mk2. They both have the same tweeter by the way. The horn of the CCB-8 is larger than that of the HB-1 mk2. The sound is a little more "upfront". Similar to the HB-1 mk2 the horn of the CCB-8 is not harsh, but pleasant to the ears with no fatigue and great clarity. The midrange has just as good transient response of the HB-1 mk2, but with more "weight" because it is 8". The two rear ports also help in this regard. It is not overwhelming though. With its 400w and 94dB sensitivity vs the 250w and 92dB sensitivity of the HB-1 mk2, the CCB-8 can provide peace of mind in a large room at reference volume. This is how it was at HSU’s demo room. Everyone's experience (and listening room for that matter) is different.
There were three instances that really stood out among the various tracks played for the demo session. One was a track by a choir performing John Rutter’s Requiem, specifically the “Pie Jesu” segment. The beginning of the track contains a few voices singing which then transitions to the full choir joining in which gave me goose bumps when that happened. I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, when that happens as I’m listening to music through good speakers, it tells me that the product is good and has done its job and done it well. I could feel the mellow organ being played and the bass strings. The choir itself is an instrument as well and when the full choir came in it surrounded me as if I was part of the choir or standing in the middle of it anyway.
The second notable track is off one of my favorite soundtracks, The Dark Knight. Hans Zimmer’s driving percussions were rendered with expert force from the VTF-3 mk5. It wasn’t specified which track it was, but it seemed like the track “A Dark Knight”. The muted horn section also seemed be coming from all around just as the choir did in the Rutter track.
The last track was “Perfect Sense” by Roger Waters. This is an eclectic track with various sounds throughout but the most was in the first few minutes. In this track there are light percussion instruments in the front left and right of the soundstage along with Roger’s voice from the center, then a piano comes in and sounds as though it was from the right rear of the room. Another sound was like a reverse voice coming from the left rear of the room. This characteristic is what related all three tracks. The separation of the instruments and sounds as though the material was being played back in 5.1 audio instead of 2.1. At $369 plus $50 shipping (or free when picking up from their office) versus $899 of the Single 8HT, the CCB-8 is a tremendous value and highly recommended. Thank you Dr. Hsu and Kevin for a great experience.
