The Pearl Akoya: testing the all-in-one speaker by Cabasse
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It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s really a pleasure to be surprised by the quality and characteristics of a technological device in this era in which everyone basically tries to copy what already works and is successful. And this is the case of The Pearl Akoya by Cabasse, a speaker that, from any point of view you look at it, is objectively different from all the others out there. And for the better.
The Pearl Akoya is a loudspeaker, it is used to listen to music in the digital format that dominates the world today, it is an ‘all in one’, in the sense that it is completely self-sufficient, and instead of looking at the past or the contemporary, it tries, with success, to look forward offering in many respects something new. We are talking about a triaxial loudspeaker, i.e. consisting of a woofer, a tweeter and a mid-range component, amplified in class D, therefore able to disperse very little power and with a very high degree of efficiency, an analog-to-digital converter (DAC) internal, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), many connections (Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth and AirPlay), even for traditional devices, analog inputs, USB, SPIFID and with a considerable weight (about nine kg) but still transportable and a size of about 22 centimeters in a compact and circular design, which should recall the ‘pearl’ of the name but seems, in the black version in particular, like a motorcycle helmet, an astronaut helmet or, more suitable comparison in this case, that of a member of Daft Punk. The material with which it is made has a plastic appearance, but this is not the case, because it is actually a resin-reinforced fiber, very beautiful both to the eye and to the touch. The very round shape and compactness make it naturally unique, endowed with its own beauty, not difficult to place in the house in terms of size, not very simple to adapt to all environments given the extremely modern appearance. But the shape has its own reason, given that the project, they explain, makes it possible to avoid “diffraction effects and stationary waves”. Again to stay on the technical characteristics, it is worth mentioning that the woofer is 6.5 inches with rear throw while the midrange and tweeter are the offspring of a new Cabasse patent that uses neodymium magnets. The sphere, even when used for a long time, does not get hot, being surrounded by a thermal vent which cools the coils and circuits. The DAC decodes pretty much every audio format you need, MP3, AAC, WMA, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, DSD up to 32bit/768kHz resolution.
It takes just a few minutes to set up the system, connect the cable to the electrical socket, both in Bluetooth and in WiFi, just download the Cabasse StreamControl app, and follow the instructions, very simple and quick. The ‘pearl’ is also controlled with an elegant and small remote control that doesn’t look like any of the many remote controls we have at home, being round, with old iPod-style knobs. But for those who are completely lazy, the system also provides voice commands.
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It is very simple to use the speaker, or rather the speakers, because the system starts with a single unit, passes to stereophony with two, but can even work in multiroom with seven ‘pearls’. The setting, both for Bluetooth and for WiFi, is very fast and automatic, in a few minutes the system works perfectly. The app also allows you to calibrate the audio according to the environment in which the speaker is placed. Calibration is simple and the final result excellent, because the sound really, and not just nominally, changes, just move the speaker to another room, recalibrate, and the difference is evident on first listen. At high volume the Pearl Akoya can animate even a crowded party without losing much quality, and the sound is absolutely magnificent, powerful and clear, with bass that is pleasantly enhanced if you place the speaker near a wall, given the woofer rear. At normal volume the effect is very pleasant, indeed, among the best that we have ever heard, especially with a single speaker.
The speaker, as we said, is not exactly portable given its weight, but it is transportable, and in fact it comes with a nice semi-rigid case with a handle, to be used in case of need. In the package there is the power cable, a few adapters and the remote control. The price isn’t exactly popular, we’re around 1500 euros for each speaker, but considering the very high listening level, the quality of the object and the finishes, the original design, the Akoya pearls (a type of Japanese pearl, but the name also means, not surprisingly, ‘powerful and complete’) can be considered by those who are not satisfied with listening to digital music from systems that are at most ‘sufficient’.
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