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The broad driver mounts serve a secondary purpose. They allowed for a special fastening method which employs viscoelastic dampers between drivers and front panel to minimize cabinet resonances. Those vibrations which do make it past that material barrier are sunk into the floor with that central spike. The wide plinth which supports the speaker laterally guarantees secure stability. Here four rubber dampers interface with the floor but threaded inserts also allow for use of the included spikes.


To show my hand early, I enjoyed the best results with a combination of central spike and rubber footers. Whether you'd consider that predominantly coupling, isolation/decoupling or a combination thereof, it simply worked. I began with spikes all the way which on our parquet floors mandated a solid stone tile as protector. Once I'd experimented with in-room positioning, I reverted back to the rubber footers. After I'd identified the ideal location, placing the rubber footers directly on the wood became the most convincing solution.


Once the Cello II kicked off the tunes, I thought that such a solid floor connection was sorely necessary. How those twin 16cm woofers fired off bass volleys into my room was truly phenomenal. It had me imagine those rubber footers clawing wood to compensate for the rear kick that must have been created by the forward-powering woofer diaphragms. This meant first and foremost that the slim Frenchies didn't cheat but dished out bona fide low lean controlled and as such very dynamic bass of very high pedigree. This came off with relatively close wall proximity too which in my room was the optimum location.

Once determined, I obviously wanted to know details to reach for The Notwist, The Devil, You + Me. The low synth accents on "Sleep" filled the room for great fun and without any effort. Nothing boomed and the low notes simply appeared in free space. Granted, the first half octave above 20Hz was MIA but it was also obvious that the Cello had been bred for articulation to shun like the plague any faux bass lift, port resonances or other ill effects of undue stress. This was superbly clean bass but lovers of extreme violence won't be served. Extension is achieved with control rather than absolute pressurization. This happened to coincide 100 percent with my personal taste.


What the Cello managed already in its lowest reaches was to isolate individual sonic events with extreme differentiation but when things exploded to still seemingly shake the walls. On Stacy Kent's "Samba Saravah" from Dreamer in Concert I thought that the bass propagation through the floor must have been keyed into the actual recording because I'd experience this bass in exactly that fashion live. Somehow this speaker revealed qualities and nuances in the low ranges which exceeded the norm at least as I'd been used to it. They didn't merely hit true pitch, they also conveyed all manner of information on dynamic attack and sustain. Much characteristic data is encoded in the very first impulse and here the Cello impressed with exceptional transient fidelity. I was invited into a sonic bass universe which my Geithain ME150 were plainly ignorant of. Okay, the French demand twice the coin so steeper expectations absolutely were in order.
 
The same 'more' persisted in the upper bass and midrange predominantly from added information and resolving power. Usually I don't particularly get along with Katie Melua's "Blues in the Night" from her Piece by Piece album. I miss the Blues in her teenage shrieks and lightness. And miss I did as the Cello proved. After all the lady can embody the Blues even if by character it still felt closer to Lolita's first love affair gone bad than an excessively lived life leaving a wreck behind but it strangely did work. I felt suitably blue.