Canton Vento Reference 3 DC

[mtrot]

So will WAF allow a subwoofer?

Possibly, but I still want floor standers.

 

[snakeeyes]

Possibly, but I still want floor standers.

Negotiate with the wife 1st on a sub or ideally 2 .

Based on owning Vento 836 bookshelves myself, I would say go with the 896 towers (in black) and pick up the Vento 866.2 center too and put money towards sub(s).

If you have a small room, the Chrono SL 556.2 center also has the ceramic tweeter. I’m using it as a center with my 836 bookshelves and the SL 516.2 on-walls as sides.

Good luck!

 

[KEW]

Thanks, so the A45 looks, in terms of size, to be between the Vento 896.2 and the Vento Reference 3 DC. And has a ceramic tweeter. I wonder, is this tweeter the same as the one in the Vento 896.2 and the Vento Reference 3.2 DC? And it has three 7" woofers vs two 8.5" woofers on the Vento Reference 3 models.

Looks good, but I'm not sure that glossy white finish is going to pass the WAF test in our family room!

The A45 uses reference drivers (not Vento). According to Mark at Accessories4Less, the reference drivers are beefed up with a stronger motor structure and greater power handling ability.. Canton took their Reference drivers (whichever one was current at is release) and crossover and put them in a well braced traditional box (not curved walls). The idea is to economize on the cabinets (which are pretty expensive) but not on the other components.
If the white cabinet is a consideration at all, you should speak with Mark about these. I was thinking they use the Reference-K drivers (the absolute highest level of speaker that Canton makes), but I would feel better if you verified that.
Also, he said that if he knows someone wants something specific ahead of time (you may need to place a deposit or buy), he can order it in the next shipment (which he said were 3 or 4 times a year). So you can place your order for the Black A45 if you are willing to wait for a slow boat from Germany! He said he was disappointed that the A45's were moving so slowly and might not order anymore.
If I were in your shoes, I would at least find out if it is indeed the Reference-K drivers, if so, I'd consider it a easy call (unless you just love the look of the curved cabinets (they do come off as slimmer and trimmer than the boxes).

Edit - It is also interesting to note that in Europe, the A45 is ID only. Canton distributors do not get to sell them. You would buy them straight from Canton. I can only assume this is for additional cost profit/savings (dependiing on whether Canton pockets the savings or passes them to the customer - most likely a bit of both)!

 

[mtrot]

The A45 uses reference drivers (not Vento). According to Mark at Accessories4Less, the reference drivers are beefed up with a stronger motor structure and greater power handling ability.. Canton took their Reference drivers (whichever one was current at is release) and crossover and put them in a well braced traditional box (not curved walls). The idea is to economize on the cabinets (which are pretty expensive) but not on the other components.
If the white cabinet is a consideration at all, you should speak with Mark about these. I was thinking they use the Reference-K drivers (the absolute highest level of speaker that Canton makes), but I would feel better if you verified that.
Also, he said that if he knows someone wants something specific ahead of time (you may need to place a deposit or buy), he can order it in the next shipment (which he said were 3 or 4 times a year). So you can place your order for the Black A45 if you are willing to wait for a slow boat from Germany! He said he was disappointed that the A45's were moving so slowly and might not order anymore.
If I were in your shoes, I would at least find out if it is indeed the Reference-K drivers, if so, I'd consider it a easy call (unless you just love the look of the curved cabinets (they do come off as slimmer and trimmer than the boxes).

Edit - It is also interesting to note that in Europe, the A45 is ID only. Canton distributors do not get to sell them. You would buy them straight from Canton. I can only assume this is for additional cost profit/savings (dependiing on whether Canton pockets the savings or passes them to the customer - most likely a bit of both)!

Thanks. Yes, the extra power handling might be nice, since my Krell FPB 400cx can output 400/800/1600 wpc!
The white color would not work in my family room, black would be better but not great.

Thanks for the tip about Mark possibly being able to order specific products. One thing that confuses me is that all these Vento Reference speakers are no longer on the Canton web site and seem to be long discontinued. So how can there be so much more available for Mark to get? It appears that Vento is now the next step down from the Reference K line.

 

[mtrot]

Overseas they have the a35, a45 and a55

the a55 looks incredible at 108lbs with 3 7.9” woofers and 7” mid.

I had the opportunity to hear a room with a45, reference 3k and vento 896.2. The reference still stood out to me, where the a45 and 896 were more similar. My dealer wasn’t allowed to sell the a45 but said they are priced similar to 896. The 896.2 in his store were $3299 each.

now a55 would be more interesting.

great seeing more canton love and the brand is growing in the USA.

15 years ago I had the canton karat reference center and matching towers in oak . Everyone was baffled by what they were, with a giant center channel with and upward firing 10” bass driver. Should of kept those and possibly the best speakers I’ve ever owned.

Would that be this Reference 55.2? I'd like to give that bad boy a spin!

 

[mtrot]

Overseas they have the a35, a45 and a55

the a55 looks incredible at 108lbs with 3 7.9” woofers and 7” mid.

I had the opportunity to hear a room with a45, reference 3k and vento 896.2. The reference still stood out to me, where the a45 and 896 were more similar. My dealer wasn’t allowed to sell the a45 but said they are priced similar to 896. The 896.2 in his store were $3299 each.

now a55 would be more interesting.

great seeing more canton love and the brand is growing in the USA.

15 years ago I had the canton karat reference center and matching towers in oak . Everyone was baffled by what they were, with a giant center channel with and upward firing 10” bass driver. Should of kept those and possibly the best speakers I’ve ever owned.

I just checked and they have two A45 speakers, the A45 and the A45 Audio Edition. Not sure what the difference is.

One potential problem with the A series speakers is that they do not have that plinth on the bottom, but rather, the port fires directly below the speaker, such that if you have thick, heavy carpet, as I do, the port opening would be touching the carpet.

 

[snakeeyes]

They don’t seem to carry the latest versions of all the speakers at A4L. For example, they don’t have the Ref 50k center. Maybe next year.

Another reference tower is the 5.2 DC

Floor-Standing Speakers | Accessories4less

www.accessories4less.com

 

[KEW]

I'm not sure about the marketing strategies involved, but A4L is a year or two (or three?) behind Canton's release of new models. The Chrono SL with ceramic tweeters (like Chrono SL 536.2) only showed up in the 2019, but they were definitely available in Europe before that!

 

[KEW]

One potential problem with the A series speakers is that they do not have that plinth on the bottom, but rather, the port fires directly below the speaker, such that if you have thick, heavy carpet, as I do, the port opening would be touching the carpet.

I would look for a cutting board in a good size/color to put under it - or cut one to size.

 

[Trell]

They don’t seem to carry the latest versions of all the speakers at A4L. For example, they don’t have the Ref 50k center. Maybe next year.

Another reference tower is the 5.2 DC

Floor-Standing Speakers | Accessories4less

www.accessories4less.com

Canton exerts more control over who may sell their high-end speakers online, especially their current model, so I believe it is unlikely that you can buy a Reference K speaker from A4L unless a new Reference update is released. The last reference refresh was in 2015, so who knows what happens this year

Authorized Internet only dealers like https://www.elektrowelt24.eu and https://www.hifi-fabrik.de only have the previous generations of the Canton reference speakers available on their home page.

 

[KEW]

Thanks for the tip about Mark possibly being able to order specific products. One thing that confuses me is that all these Vento Reference speakers are no longer on the Canton web site and seem to be long discontinued. So how can there be so much more available for Mark to get? It appears that Vento is now the next step down from the Reference K line.

Mark said that Canton had the ability and was willing to build any of the older models for him. I'm guessing that Canton doesn't want people Googling the latest models and seeing A4L's pricing, so they are not going to give him great prices on the latest ones ... but that is just a guess!
I am sketchy on the Canton lineup/evolution, but yes, Reference-K is on top, then Vento, then Chrono SL, then Chrono ...
Actually, Canton is still selling the A 45, but only in Cherry and I doubt it would show on the US website since Canton probably does not want to get into the export direct to customer business!

A 45

www.canton.de

 

[snakeeyes]

i wonder why the cherry finish costs more on each model. It must be more difficult to finish.

 

[everettT]

i wonder why the cherry finish costs more on each model. It must be more difficult to finish.

Could be. It might just be production run costs if it doesn't sell as heavily.

 

[mtrot]

Mark said that Canton had the ability and was willing to build any of the older models for him. I'm guessing that Canton doesn't want people Googling the latest models and seeing A4L's pricing, so they are not going to give him great prices on the latest ones ... but that is just a guess!
I am sketchy on the Canton lineup/evolution, but yes, Reference-K is on top, then Vento, then Chrono SL, then Chrono ...
Actually, Canton is still selling the A 45, but only in Cherry and I doubt it would show on the US website since Canton probably does not want to get into the export direct to customer business!

A 45

www.canton.de

Thanks, I spoke with Mark this morning. He feels that the Vento Reference 3DC would be a significant step up from the Vento 896.2DC, even without the ceramic tweeter.

I understand that the ceramic coating is meant to prevent break up modes in the tweeter, but what I don't know much about is whether that is only significant at high volume levels. I don't really play my music or movies all that loud, so the question is if I would be able to enjoy any benefit from the ceramic tweeter. Or, is the ceramic tweeter better sounding at all volume levels?

 

[snakeeyes]

Did you rule out the Reference 5.2 tower? I know the A45 was the wrong color.

 

[mtrot]

Did you rule out the Reference 5.2 tower? I know the A45 was the wrong color.

Not really. I guess I forgot about that one. I'll take another look.

But I still need to get a better idea of how different the ceramic and al-mg tweeters sound.

 

[Pogre]

Not really. I guess I forgot about that one. I'll take another look.

But I still need to get a better idea of how different the ceramic and al-mg tweeters sound.

The only way you're really gonna know is to find and listen both. Kew seems really enamored with the ceramic tweeters and I trust his observations. We share some of the same opinions on a few different speakers we've both heard.

 

[everettT]

Thanks, I spoke with Mark this morning. He feels that the Vento Reference 3DC would be a significant step up from the Vento 896.2DC, even without the ceramic tweeter.

I understand that the ceramic coating is meant to prevent break up modes in the tweeter, but what I don't know much about is whether that is only significant at high volume levels. I don't really play my music or movies all that loud, so the question is if I would be able to enjoy any benefit from the ceramic tweeter. Or, is the ceramic tweeter better sounding at all volume levels?

Yes the breakup is at the top end of drivers. Although we dont hear at those frequencies, the harmonics excite our hearing.

 

[Timforhifi]

I’d say any of these options are great and you’ll be happy with any of them. If price doesn’t matter probably the 3.2 is best option.

I think I’d make my decision more based upon listening habits and gear I’ll be using with them. The 3.2 or 3 will need better gear with more power to scale to a higher level. Watch Thomas and stereo on YouTube on how he describes the 3.2.

with lower power or even a smaller room with lower listening levels the 896.2 will sound great. No worse than the reference models in question. Also the aluminum magnesium tweeters are excellent still and what really put canton on the map years ago. I’d put the older karat reference up against any of the newer stuff and it would be close.

what’s interesting is the difference I heard from 896 and reference 5.2 was interesting. That’s subjective though and my opinion based on hours of demos.

 

[mtrot]

I’d say any of these options are great and you’ll be happy with any of them. If price doesn’t matter probably the 3.2 is best option.

I think I’d make my decision more based upon listening habits and gear I’ll be using with them. The 3.2 or 3 will need better gear with more power to scale to a higher level. Watch Thomas and stereo on YouTube on how he describes the 3.2.

with lower power or even a smaller room with lower listening levels the 896.2 will sound great. No worse than the reference models in question. Also the aluminum magnesium tweeters are excellent still and what really put canton on the map years ago. I’d put the older karat reference up against any of the newer stuff and it would be close.

what’s interesting is the difference I heard from 896 and reference 5.2 was interesting. That’s subjective though and my opinion based on hours of demos.

Thanks, I have seen a bunch of Thomas's YT videos, so I will check that one out.

I have a lot of power in my Krell FPB 400cx power amp, which is rated for 400 wpc into 8 ohms, 800 into 4 ohms, and 1600 into 2 ohms. The Krell is fed by a PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/pre-amp. The room is a mid sized family room that is open to the breakfast nook and kitchen. And the kitchen is open via a hallway to the formal dining and living rooms.

What was the difference you heard from the 896 and reference 5.2?