Canton Karat Reference 2 DC

[furrycute]

I just read the audioholics review of those Canton speakers. Absolutely amazing speakers, and what an incredible review! Kudos to the audioholics team!

Makes me wish I had the $10,000 for a pair of those Cantons.

Are there any Canton dealers in the U.S.? The Canton brand seems more ubiquitous in Europe than here in the States.


I have also been thinking of the Paradigm Reference 100 v3. Those are much cheaper than the Cantons, at only $2,300 per pair.

It is really tough to find a pair of floorstanders that is true full range. At least for now, these are the 2 models I will be looking out for. When my bank account has recovered from my latest spending sprees (computer related), I will have the funds for these sweet babies.

 

[Tomorrow]

Are there any Canton dealers in the U.S.? The Canton brand seems more ubiquitous in Europe than here in the States.
I have also been thinking of the Paradigm Reference 100 v3. Those are much cheaper than the Cantons, at only $2,300 per pair.

LOL, Furry. I've been rebuked for lesser words than 'ubiquitous'. Watch out.

Okay, I tip-toed a bit with my opinions to you concerning the JBL sub. It seems we both share the same difficulties stretching the audio-video dollar and want to get the best bang for our bucks. But this time I'll just be upfront as possible on my feelings about the Paradigms. Hopefully it will help. Puhleeze (squaredx2) audition these against some other speakers. I found them to be very compressed and intolerably bright (not as much as some, like Klipsch, but still much too forceful on the top end). I heard my home supplied cd's sounding like they were playing in a small cupboard in all the models of Paradigms. I had my plastic in hand, ready to throw it down on a pair of Refs...wife's approval pinned to my shirt collar, even. No way, Jose. Not after hearing them.

Now these may sound terrific to you, and THAT'S all that matters. Speakers are such a personal matter/decision. I'm just saying do not buy these from recommendations alone, sound unheard. Good hunting.

 

[furrycute]

Thanks for the candid advice. Really appreciate it.

The thing, there aren't too many speakers around $2000 that have the bass output of the Paradigm Studio Reference 100.

I think I'm done with subs for a while. So I'm looking for real full range speakers that have substantial bass extension and output. In order to achieve that, each speaker would need at least 2 8inch woofers (the Paradigm 100 has 3 7inch bass woofers). What other speakers have that many bass woofers? Not Sonusfaber, not PSB, not Soliloquy. B&W's flagship nautilus model does, but that's out of my price range. Wharfedale opus flagship does, but that's about $3400 per pair. What else should I be looking at? The Cantons are nice. But they are out of my price range for the foreseeable future.

 

[so_cal_forever]

The Swan Diva 6.1 has two 8-inchers at $899 before shipping:

http://www.theaudioinsider.com/cgi-bin/theaudioinsider/SW6.1BC.html

I'll be getting a pair myself in a couple of months.

 

[furrycute]

Thanks for the suggestion. But for various reasons which I shall not go into here, I would rather not go with internet only brands.

 

[bupton]

Cantons to look for...

Hey Furry, I have a system built up entirely of Canton Ergos and they sound fabulous to me! I listened to quite a few different speakers in the Karat line, not as high up as the ones you mentioned mind you, and while they did sound really nice, the high end was almost a bit brittle sounding to me. I know that the Reference models have a different tweeter than the other ones, but I actually found the sound of the Ergos (which are a little warmer sounding) more to my tastes. One thing that I have noticed is that Cantons can be ridiculously expensive in the states! My system, consisting of five full speakers, cost me about 2700 euro here in Germany, but would have cost over seven thousand dollars in the states! So I suggest coming over here to check out the christmas markets and just so happen to pick up some new speakers while you are at it.

 

[Tomorrow]

Thanks for the candid advice. Really appreciate it.
I think I'm done with subs for a while..

If you can find a nice, inexpensive used one, say like Jaxvon did D ), there is much to be gained from a tight and strong little Hsu STF-1. It truly does provide a smooth and natural extension of any mains.

(Chime in, here, Jax.)

 

[furrycute]

OMG, how much would it cost to ship 200lbs from Germany to the States? I don't trust UPS with domestic shipments of heavy stuff. All the way from Germany?! But man, I wish there are more Canton dealers here in the U.S.

I have my reservations about metal tweeters as well. In an acoustically poor room, they can sound unbearably bright. That's why I have my eyes out for large floorstanders with soft dome tweeters. The Wharfedale Evo Opus 3 has a soft dome tweeter. I'll probably wait till Wharfedale phases out that model, and get in on some closeout sales.

As to the sub, I would love to get my hands on some nice subs. But the problem is, right now I only have 2 pairs of speaker wires (good for 4 speakers). And both of them are used up in my bi-amp configuration. I have to purchase additional speaker cables if I purchase a sub. Another problem is I ran out of pre-outs on my stereo preamp. Both pre-outs are used up in the bi-amp configuration as well. So I don't see how I can hook up a sub to my system.

 

[jaxvon]

Furry, if you're looking for a floorstander with good bass and soft dome tweeter, I say you should really take a look at the Phase Tech PC9.1 speakers. I wrote what I thought of them here. As far as a subwoofer goes, you can just use a high-quality subwoofer with speaker-level inputs, such as my Hsu STF-1. I know you're trying to avoid going internet only, but this thing is a great lil sub. When I first got it I ran it with a pair of DV-62si bookshelves through the speaker level inputs crossed over at 70Hz. The sound is amazingly tight. I was really surprised that a little 8" woofer could crank out that kind of bass. Have I bottomed it out? Sure. But then I was trying to push its limits. At normal levels, in a small to moderately sized room, it should not bottom out. But that's if you even feel you need a subwoofer. Personally, I think that the PC9.1 speakers can fare just fine sans sub unless you listen to pipe organ music.

 

[furrycute]

Thanks for the Phase Technology suggestion. That's a great review you wrote. Very detailed, very informative.

So did you end up purchasing those Phase techs? I'll definitely check them out. Those dome tweeters really appeal to me.

 

[jaxvon]

No I didn't, but only because they were out of my budget. I just wanted to get an idea of where I should be looking when I had a bigger budget. Be aware that they are 4 ohm speakers, so you'll need a quality external amp or integrated to drive them.

If you check out their website, you can find info on all of the technologies they use in their PC series. Many of them are very impressive and unique. Hopefully they have a dealer in your area.