search
Despite my 26 years in audio journalism, the amount of stuff I need to know seems to increase faster than I can cope with it. Thus it didn't come as too much of a surprise for me to learn that speaker manufacturer Canton, the Teutonic equivalent of England's B&W, a) was 30 years old in 2002, and b) claims the dominant market share of the German market. Yes, I'd been peripherally aware of Canton through the years, but for various reasons had never auditioned any of their models. I was amenable, therefore, when Canton USA's Paul Madsen suggested to me last May, at Home Entertainment 2002…
Since I picked up our April 2000 "Recording of the Month," Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, first on CD (Reprise 47620-2), then on the Bob Ludwig-mastered DVD-A (47620-9), I've been listening to a lot of the Canadian singer. Recorded at Air Lyndhurst in North London, Both Sides Now presents Mitchell working through a collection of standards in lushly orchestrated arrangements that sounded suitably rich via the Cantons. Her sexy, smoky voice—the huskiness indeed courtesy of her years of smoking—sounded a little smokier than I remembered from the Mission Pilastros I reviewed last month, but the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, ABR-loaded, magnetically shielded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) aluminum-manganese dome tweeter, two 7" (180mm) aluminum-magnesium cone midrange units, 12" (310mm) graphite-loaded paper-cone woofer, 12" (310mm) flat-diaphragm Auxiliary Bass Radiator (ABR). Crossover frequencies: 150Hz and 3.2kHz, 24dB/octave acoustic slopes. Frequency range: 18Hz-30kHz. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms (4 ohms minimum). Recommended power: up to 350Wpc.
Dimensions: 47.2" (1200mm) H by 11.8" (300mm) W by 20.9" (…
Sidebar 2: Review System
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12/Cirkus/Trampolin/Lingo/Ekos/Arkiv LP player on a Sound Organisation table.
Digital sources: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport; Mark Levinson No.30.6 D/A processor; dCS 972 upsampler; Accuphase DP-85 SACD player; Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player; Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 3D CD player.
Preamplification: Linn Linto phono preamp, Mark Levinson No.380S line preamp, Z-Systems rdp-1 digital control center (updated to handle 96kHz sources).
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks.
Cables: Datalinks: Kimber…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The big Canton was significantly more sensitive than average, at an estimated 92dB(B)/2.83V/m. However, as shown by its plot of impedance magnitude and electrical phase against frequency (fig.1), it actually draws more like 2W from the amplifier to achieve this rating. With a true 1W drive, its sensitivity will be exactly to specification at 89dB/W/m.
Fig.1 Canton Karat Reference 2 DC, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/vertical div.)
The impedance stays within tight 3 and 6 ohm limits from 70Hz to 40kHz, meaning that…
Once upon a time there was a violin maker who had two quarrelsome sons, and their names were John and Rudolf. When the boys came of age, their father put them to work in his shop, but John and Rudolf found it difficult to get along with one another, and they quarreled even more bitterly after the old man died.
One day a guitarist came into the shop and asked John and Rudolf if they would make him a special instrument. The brothers set aside their differences long enough to work together, and the result was a guitar that looked and sounded like no other. The guitarist was so pleased that…
The aluminum arm mount is similarly polished, and drilled with a series of holes that add to the Quattro's unique appearance while also serving to relieve that structure's own resonant modes. The arm mount pivots at the point where it fastens to the plinth, and although at first I didn't fully appreciate it, that degree of articulation makes cartridge alignment easier than usual. At the other side of the plinth, the outboard motor pod is constructed and finished in a manner that complements the other main elements, although it isn't filled with shot. (And why would you want it to be? The…
Who knows not Circe,
The daughter of the Sun, whose charmed cup
Whoever tasted, lost his upright shape,
And downward fell into a groveling swine?
—John Milton, Comus
The daughter of the Sun, whose charmed cup
Whoever tasted, lost his upright shape,
And downward fell into a groveling swine?
—John Milton, Comus
Actually, maybe you know not Circe, so here's a refresher: When Odysseus landed on Aeaea, Circe placed an enchantment upon his crew, turning them into swine. Odysseus was unaffected because he was protected by an herb called Moly, a gift of Hermes, and he forced Circe to restore his crew's human forms. Odysseus then hung out with her for a year (fathering Telegonus, among other pastimes) before she dispatched him…
Internal wiring is Siltech. The six pairs of binding posts are substantial solid-copper Cardas Musicposts, which Marchisotto leaves unplated, preferring their sound that way.
If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.
Maybe it was Circe's transformative powers that inspired the speaker's name. As I shuffled amplifiers and wires, the speakers went through some real personality changes. Marchisotto is insistent that the Circes be used only with components of the very highest quality, which, for him, include single-ended triode amplifiers such as the Cary CAD-…
Is this a characteristic of the Circe, or the difference between a well-designed ported enclosure and a sealed-box design? I can't say for sure, but the Circe's bass signature reminded me of the AR-3 and the larger Advent loudspeakers—classic designs from my youth. Not bad company to keep, but representative of a sound that won't appeal to everyone. I have to admit I find it quite attractive, but I'm not sure I'd want to experience it every day.
The midrange and top end certainly do not partake of any classic coloration, however. Time after time, I was drawn into the music through the…