B&W or Canton Karats

[Jaycee]

I am in the interim of purchasing a set of speakers, my heart is telling me B&W 603/604 but my head is telling me Canton speakers (Karat 709 DC series) thy are both fantastic and I am puzzeled. I am an audiophile (like classical to heavy metal but I am also a Bluray nut, video freak) toooo many choices. It would be good to here your opinions..........

 

[bandphan]

They are both great, im partial to BWs(dan fan) but follow your heart.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Wow, I haven't seen the Canton name in decades. Glad they are still in business.

 

[cwall99]

B&W vs Canton

Have never heard Canton. Have heard of them, but can't provide much in the way of guidance there. All I know about the Cantons is that they really seem to impress the reviewers.

I just bought a store demo pair of B&W 603s3s and an LCR600, and I gotta say I love 'em. Very crisp, clean, neutral sounding to me. Incredible soundstage. I listen to a lot of two-channel music, and there's a great soundstage, left-to-right and front-to-back.

I have a few hi-def SACDs and DVD-As, and they sound great, especially this new Sarah Vaughan disc I just got for Christmas. Just the detail, the dynamics. I dunno, I think they sound great. It's hard, not knowing all the cool buzzwords, to describe how good I think they sound, but, man, it's pretty awesome.

I also listened to Klipsch, PSB, and KEF when I was deciding, and, while I really liked them all except for the Klipsch (not a big fan of the horns), I think the B&Ws just have a very neutral sound (at least in my listening space). On high-def material, they tend to disappear, leaving only the music.

Pretty cool.

 

[rnatalli]

Which one sounds better to your ear?

 

[rded]

I am in the interim of purchasing a set of speakers, my heart is telling me B&W 603/604 but my head is telling me Canton speakers (Karat 709 DC series) thy are both fantastic and I am puzzeled. I am an audiophile (like classical to heavy metal but I am also a Bluray nut, video freak) toooo many choices. It would be good to here your opinions..........

I havn't really heard the cantons but I really find the B&W too bright and irritating especially with electric guitar solos! Its what's really best sounding for you! How much are you shelling out? Try the revel concerta series! They are musical and good for HT. They run around 3k(I think) with floor standers already.

 

[Jaycee]

I am in the interim of purchasing a set of speakers, my heart is telling me B&W 603/604 but my head is telling me Canton speakers (Karat 709 DC series) thy are both fantastic and I am puzzeled. I am an audiophile (like classical to heavy metal but I am also a Bluray nut, video freak) toooo many choices. It would be good to here your opinions..........

Thanks guys for your opinions......Good to hear different views.
I have tested the B&W (604/683) Big mistake
They are 2 great sounding speakers and cannot make my up between the 2.....However....I still need to test the Cantons....Looking forward to that.
So let me put another twist to this......604 or 683.....interested in your opinions......Thanks again

 

[enrique]

I had the 603s3's for a couple of years until i upgraded.I used a rotel rec. which i still use.It'd be nice if you let people know what you will be driving the speakers with.Also when you heard the B&W's and the Cantons were they both using the same amplification? I always thought the 603s3's were fine speakers actually liked them more than the 604's but thats my taste.Never heard the cantons.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

It'd be nice if you let people know what you will be driving the speakers with.

As long as the amplification is not obviously deficient in some way, this is unlikely to have any audible impact on SQ.

 

[trnqk7]

I demoed the 683's and did not care for them much at all. They were not in a good room at the store, but they were very deficient in bass and everything was just kind of "there" as far as the sound goes...were very boring for me to listen to. The 700's were much better,as were the CM's. However, for the price, I would look at RBH or Dali Ikon series-listening to both of those blew the B&W's away for me and my friend, with a slight edge to the Dali Ikon 6's. Just my 2 cents...

 

[laslabjohn73]

speakers

i would go with the b&w if possible the 805n they are unbelievable.

 

[trnqk7]

sounds to me like those might be out of the OP's price range they are looking at...although I believe your claim that they are very good speakers.

 

[nibhaz]

Thanks guys for your opinions......Good to hear different views.
I have tested the B&W (604/683) Big mistake
They are 2 great sounding speakers and cannot make my up between the 2.....However....I still need to test the Cantons....Looking forward to that.
So let me put another twist to this......604 or 683.....interested in your opinions......Thanks again

I owned the 603 S3s for a month before I took them back and got 604 S3s, just because I prefer to listen to some of my music in 2.0 and the 604s provided a lot more bottom end when listening in this mode.

However, if your listening habits trend towards 2.1 or 5.1, I would defiantly save your money and go with 603's, because they sound practically the same as the 604's when properly crossed over with a subwoofer. With the money saved by going with 603's you could by a nice or nicer sub or room treatments that would provide a better ROI than buying the 604s.

That being said, I don't have any insight into the Cantons or 683s because I haven't listened to either. Though I do know that Cantons are a well-regarded speaker and that it would serve you well to seek them out for a listen before making a final decision. Your ears should be the final deciding factor when it comes down to it

If you believe in the idea of trickle down technology, then the 683s should sound better than the 603s or 604s because it utilizes B&W’s FST Driver for the midrange unit. Measurements from other speakers in the B&W lineup that utilize this driver have been quite favorable. Whether or not this driver was a major factor in these positive measurements…well, I’m not equipped to say, but it is defiantly food for thought.