HSU CCB-8 Speaker Review

[Curupira]

Sometimes I’m mystified by the choice of components that are measured and reviewed here, and this is one of those cases.

It's quite simple, actually. Amirm reviews whateaver forum contributors send his way. Ofc, some manufacturers send their new releases and those skip the backlog (I think, only Amirm can answer that), but mostly it's by members' requests..

 

[FrantzM]

Sometimes I’m mystified by the choice of components that are measured and reviewed here, and this is one of those cases. Perhaps a bit more information on the rationale would help — in this case, the context is a speaker that’s been in the audio marketplace for a decade or more and seems to have received a lot of subjective praise back in 2017-19. Is it stillpopular? Does it still sell?

I’m just trying to get a sense of the case for warning potential buyers off of this somewhat minor and long-in-the-tooth product at this late date.

It does and on paper, it has a few things going for it among these: "Constant Directivity", seem s to have been a "collab" with a very famous speaker designer, Don Keele, and it costs $399... It deserved to be revealed .. no, reviewed.
Too bad, it is really bad ...

 

[HalSF]

It's quite simple, actually. Amirm reviews whateaver forum contributors send his way. Ofc, some manufacturers send their new releases and those skip the backlog (I think, only Amirm can answer that), but mostly it's by members' requests..

I get that. It seems at times like a fairly random and arbitrary way to proceed. Part of why I posted is that I have a notion that ASR is a valuable consumer guide to audio buying, and in fact I’ve happily bought stuff based on positive reviews and testing here — but not lately. Are more vintage components and not-recommended items being reviewed these days? That’s my current impression.

 

[tw 2022]

If all of a sudden a bunch of these show up on the used market we'll know why.

yeah, it's amazing how this forum can make or break a speaker... the elac dbr 62 can thank this forum for about half of the sales (imo) , and you never see them on the used market at a decent price..in most cases 5 y.o. designs that opened at $500 a pr would be selling for $300 used.. good luck finding dbr62's at less than $500... I watch the local market relentlessly for "killer" deals on stuff like good speakers, I have only seen dbr 62's *once* in 5 years, they were $400 about 4 yrs ago.. I shoulda bought them...

 

[Power Pop 23]

Sometimes I’m mystified by the choice of components that are measured and reviewed here, and this is one of those cases. Perhaps a bit more information on the rationale would help — in this case, the context is a speaker that’s been in the audio marketplace for a decade or more and seems to have received a lot of subjective praise back in 2017-19. Is it stillpopular? Does it still sell?

I’m just trying to get a sense of the case for warning potential buyers off of this somewhat minor and long-in-the-tooth product at this late date.

Amir has added to the modest amount of objective measurements for a loudspeaker still on the market.

Hsu Research knows how popular the CC8-B is and chooses to continue offering it.

 

[HalSF]

Amir has added to the modest amount of objective measurements for a loudspeaker still on the market.

Hsu Research knows how popular the CC8-B is and chooses to continue offering it.

Cool. I don’t object to the review bit IMO this kind of context belongs in a review of a quite old product like this one.

 

[wwenze]

Spl problems around 1kHz are common to almost every mid-size 2-way speaker! - BR resonance, driver sisize and baffle edges...

To almost every mid-size 2-way speaker designed by someone who doesn't give a hoot.

But this point always tugs at me. If almost everybody is using this kind of response including the directivity pattern, has this created some sort of preference curve that originated from the 1970s?

 

[testp]

vow vow vow, what's that black hole in the middle...? story goes, if you shed some light into it, it should suck that in...in an instant!

 

[Karmacoma]

I hereby summon the headless panther!
I really liked the look. Sad.

 

[ClaudeJ1]

Such reminds that it isn't easy to engineer a good coaxial loudspeaker as we are spoiled from companies like Genelec, KEF and TAD.

Stating the less obvious here, when you consider low priced these speakers are compared to the 3 you mentioned, maybe you get more than you pay for after modern EQ? How do they SOUND is the question. For a lousy $800 a pair, I think most people would enjoy these, although I would never compare them to my Danley SH-50's that sound incredible after Room EQ! You can't base everything on measurements, which I know is a Heretic comment in this forum. Just sayin'.

 

[Palladium]

To almost every mid-size 2-way speaker designed by someone who doesn't give a hoot.

But this point always tugs at me. If almost everybody is using this kind of response including the directivity pattern, has this created some sort of preference curve that originated from the 1970s?

I'm pretty sure there are Bluetooth boomboxes that sound better, doesn't cost as much and are actually weatherproof.

 

[MAB]

Stating the less obvious here, when you consider low priced these speakers are compared to the 3 you mentioned, maybe you get more than you pay for after modern EQ? How do they SOUND is the question.

No, you can't EQ away the resonances that a poorly designed coaxial introduces. Some of the peaks can be flattened on-axis, at the expense of excess off-axis energy. The nulls will resist EQ.

 

[amirm]

Sometimes I’m mystified by the choice of components that are measured and reviewed here, and this is one of those cases. Perhaps a bit more information on the rationale would help — in this case, the context is a speaker that’s been in the audio marketplace for a decade or more and seems to have received a lot of subjective praise back in 2017-19. Is it stillpopular? Does it still sell?

Hsu is one of the *top* independent brands among home theater enthusiasts. Among the people in that circle, no introduction is necessary. FYI, the owner purchased and *donated* both of their speakers to ASR just so that we get reliable objective information about them seeing how popular they are.

Speakers also age better than other products. To wit, my Revel Salon 2 speakers are now two decades old!

 

[Power Pop 23]

I hereby summon the headless panther!
I really liked the look. Sad.

As a fan of the original Pink Panther cartoons, a part of me always shudders a bit when Amir summons the figurine of a decapitated panther to visually summarize a review.

A modest suggestion for @amirm,

Instead of using a headless panther, consider the gentle good humor of visually summarizing products you consider to perform 'poorly' with a 6-inch high figurine of Beetlejuice:

https://www.amazon.com/TAMASHII-Nations-Beetlejuice-Spirits-S-H-Figuarts/dp/B0DJSHHXLN/

Perhaps Santa can be persuaded to deliver this somewhat pricey figurine. The listing touts the facial expressions can be adjusted and an optional shrunken skull is included.

 

[Karmacoma]

For a lousy $800 a pair, I think most people would enjoy these

Your logic is a little bit flawed here, there's not point in being apologetic.
For 800$ there is a truckload of speakers who perform better and will objectively provide more enjoyment to most people.

 

[MrPotatoHead]

Does Dr. Hsu ever comment here? He and his company have a sterling reputation for their subs but this makes two poor-performing speakers in a row from Hsu which is disheartening.

 

[MAB]

Your logic is a little bit flawed here, there's not point in being apologetic.
For 800$ there is a truckload of speakers who perform better and will objectively provide more enjoyment to most people.

Yeah, Costco is selling KEF LSX for $500 over here. Stacked on pallets.

I guess the HSU will play louder.
It's too bad they are so messy, I like the simple dark look.

 

[tw 2022]

Yeah, Costco is selling KEF LSX for $500 over here. Stacked on pallets.

I guess the HSU will play louder.
It's too bad they are so messy, I like the simple dark look.

Yeah, I heard them at my costco... Darn good speakers at 500 bucks, especially considering the fact they are powered...

 

[Matt34]

I have these, never have cared for them that much, after Dirac I lived with them in the living room for a week or two at a time but they never stayed in rotation long. Too bright on axis and too much high frequency energy lost at the recommended toe out. I did have them set up in the basement for my kids gaming system, but that now has Kef Q150 that work better. I would even take the emotiva Xb2 I had over the HSU and I didn't care for them either.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Stating the less obvious here, when you consider low priced these speakers are compared to the 3 you mentioned, maybe you get more than you pay for after modern EQ? How do they SOUND is the question. For a lousy $800 a pair, I think most people would enjoy these, although I would never compare them to my Danley SH-50's that sound incredible after Room EQ! You can't base everything on measurements, which I know is a Heretic comment in this forum. Just sayin'.

Amir's measurements reveal the ways current Hsu Research CC8-B owners can and cannot mitigate the measured performance of their loudspeakers.

Amir's measurements reveal to prospective buyers of the Hsu Research CC8-B loudspeaker that similarly-priced loudspeakers like the ELAC DBR62 have measured better. Room EQ will likely have less 'work' to do with the ELAC DBR62 in most listening spaces than with the Hsu Research CC8-B.

Unless one arranges for local pickup, a pair of Hsu Research CC8-B loudspeakers incurs a (ground) shipping charge of $100 for a net cost of $878.

This compares to the list price of about $900 for a pair of KEF Q3 Meta loudspeakers and the list price of about $800 for a pair of the well-reviewed, ELAC DBR 62 loudspeakers. Both are typically available with shipping at no extra charge.