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Davis Acoustics Courbet S2
Davis Acoustics is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026. The company was founded by Michel Visan, an engineer who had previously worked with brands including Audax and Siare Acoustique. From the beginning, his ambitions extended beyond building complete loudspeakers, with the development of proprietary drivers forming an equally important part of the business. One of the brand's earliest products was the 13KVL5A, a mid/bass driver with a woven Kevlar cone. The material soon became one of Davis Acoustics' signatures, alongside carbon and glass fiber, while the company continued developing its own drivers at its facility in Troyes over the following decades. In its anniversary year, the manufacturer is beginning a generational change within one of its most important product families with the launch of the Courbet S2 series.
For now, the new line consists of three models - the slim Courbet 4 S2 floorstander, the Courbet 3 S2 stand-mount speaker and the Courbet C S2 center channel. This means Davis has initially refreshed the more compact end of the existing Courbet family, which also includes the larger Courbet No. 5, No. 7 and No. 8 floorstanding models. The two generations will remain available alongside each other for a while, but the S2 models are ultimately intended to replace their direct predecessors.
The choice of these first three models is no accident. The Courbet 3 S2 and Courbet 4 S2 can form conventional stereo systems for small and medium-sized rooms, while the addition of a center speaker makes it possible to build a tonally consistent home theater system around them. All three are two-way designs and use the same 28-mm soft textile dome tweeter. The driver was developed from the unit used in the anniversary-edition Olympia One Master 35 stand-mount speaker, but for the Courbet S2 series it has been fitted with a redesigned rear chamber and more effective damping of the energy radiated from the back of the diaphragm. Reducing internal reflections within the tweeter is intended to lower distortion and improve the clarity and smoothness of the highest frequencies. While many manufacturers differentiate models within the same family by using several versions of a tweeter, Davis has chosen a common driver to help maintain a consistent tonal balance across a multichannel system.
The lower part of the frequency range is handled by 13-cm drivers with Kevlar cones - one in each of the Courbet 3 S2 and Courbet 4 S2, and two in the center speaker. Kevlar is relatively light yet rigid, allowing diaphragms to respond quickly to changes in the signal without excessive deformation. The drivers are fitted with phase plugs intended to improve dispersion toward the upper end of their operating range. In the Courbet 4 S2, the central section of the driver is additionally surrounded by a fabric ring designed to reduce air turbulence. The crossovers in all three models are point-to-point wired using selected components, while connection to the amplifier is handled by substantial binding posts capable of accepting thick speaker cables.
The change of generation is also visible from the outside. The grilles are now shorter and recessed into the front baffles, allowing them to sit flush with the cabinets rather than forming a protruding frame. The vertical cabinet edges and grille corners have also been rounded. This gives the loudspeakers a subtler appearance, but should also help reduce diffraction around sharp edges on the front baffle. The mid/bass cones are black in every finish, while the color of the phase plugs is matched to the lacquer. They are black on the white and orange versions, aluminum-colored on the Gunmetal model and champagne-colored on the black version. All three speakers will be available in four high-gloss lacquer finishes - black, white, orange and Gunmetal gray.
The most distinctive model in the new family is the Courbet 4 S2, the direct successor to an exceptionally slim floorstander introduced toward the end of the previous decade, which went on to receive accolades including a French Diapason d'Or award. The new version measures just 80.8 cm high, 18 cm wide and 22 cm deep, with each speaker weighing 12 kg. Its cabinet contains only one 13-cm mid/bass driver, so this is not a conventional multi-driver floorstander but, in practical terms, an expanded two-way stand-mount design housed in a tall, narrow enclosure. This makes it possible to avoid a more complex crossover and retain a single source for the midrange, while the greater cabinet volume is intended to extend the bass response beyond that of the stand-mount model.
The Courbet 4 S2's circular bass-reflex port is located on the rear panel, very close to the floor. Davis expects this arrangement to help distribute low frequencies throughout the room, although the speakers will still need to be positioned at a suitable distance from the wall behind them. Stability for the unusually narrow cabinets is provided by bolt-on bases made from cast aluminum. Sensitivity is rated at 90 dB, nominal impedance at 8 ohms and minimum impedance at 4.2 ohms. Davis specifies a frequency response of 50 Hz to 20 kHz, a crossover frequency of 4,000 Hz and maximum power handling of 100 W.
The Courbet 3 S2 uses the same combination of drivers in a stand-mount enclosure measuring 34 x 18 x 25.5 cm. The natural consequence of the smaller cabinet volume is a rise in the lower frequency limit from 50 to 55 Hz, although the remaining core specifications are similar to those of the floorstanding model. Sensitivity remains 90 dB, nominal impedance is 8 ohms, minimum impedance is 4.2 ohms and the crossover frequency is set at 3,500 Hz. A pair weighs 13 kg. The rear bass-reflex port has been tuned for the smaller enclosure, while the entire underside of the cabinet is covered with a layer of high-density foam. This is intended to protect furniture or speaker stands, prevent the cabinets from sliding and reduce the transmission of vibration.
The Courbet C S2 follows the layout commonly used in two-way center speakers. Its soft-dome tweeter is positioned between two 13-cm Kevlar mid/bass drivers, allowing the design to offer greater dynamic freedom and clearer dialogue while retaining the tonal character of the front speakers. The two mid/bass units help the speaker achieve a sensitivity of 91 dB and a frequency response extending from 52 Hz to 20 kHz. The cabinet measures 18 x 54 x 29 cm, weighs 12 kg and uses two rear bass-reflex ports. As with the Courbet 3 S2, its underside is covered with a non-slip foam layer intended to make it easier to position the speaker securely on a cabinet or shelf beneath the screen.
The Courbet 4 S2 is priced at €2,850 per pair in black, white or Gunmetal, and €3,000 per pair in orange. The Courbet 3 S2 costs €2,250 per pair in the three standard finishes and €2,400 in orange, while the Courbet C S2 center speaker is priced at €1,200 each or €1,350 in orange. Info and photos by Davis Acoustics.
