Canton Expands Karat Line With New ""S"" Series And Down-Firing Subwoofer

23-Dec-02

Canton has introduced the new ""S"" series Karat loudspeakers. Designed around a new 5-inch concave aluminum midrange driver, the series consists of the S 8 DC three-way floor-standing loudspeaker, the S 1 two-way bookshelf speaker, and the CS 4 dedicated center channel speaker. The addition of the new Karat AS 200 SC down-firing powered subwoofer rounds out the matched components to form a high-end home theatre and multichannel audio setup that is ideal for small rooms and apartments. All of the models are available in ash black, cherry, or beech veneers, as well as Canton's unique silver lacquer finish.The Karat S 8 DC, S 1, and CS 4 all benefit from the Canton-developed 5-inch concave aluminum driver, which handles the critical midrange frequencies where human hearing is the most sensitive. The extremely light and fast diaphragm features a concave voice coil cap that improves the symmetry of acoustic dispersion, and helps to defeat the standing wave modes that can develop with conventional dome dust caps. The use of aluminum makes the driver extremely rigid, and also acts as a heat sink for the voice coil, allowing the system to play very hard without strain.For the upper frequencies, Canton's acclaimed aluminum/manganese dome tweeter is used. This 1-inch transducer's dome and voice coil former are constructed as a single structure, giving the driver a lower mass, and greatly improved heat dissipation characteristics. The diaphragm is also much less susceptible to deformation at extremely high frequencies, allowing it to deliver immediate and clear linear response all the way out to 30 kHz, far beyond that of most tweeters. The Karat S 8 DC is a three-way floor-standing bass reflex loudspeaker. The 8-inch polypropylene bass driver is mounted on the side of the cabinet, giving the speaker the classic narrow face and consequent linear dispersion characteristics that distinguish the Karat line. To fully exploit the speaker's slender profile, the speaker uses two midrange drivers arranged vertically, flanking the tweeter. The speaker also features bi-wiring/bi-amping connections.Bass reproduction in the S 8 DC is enhanced by Canton's DC technology, a sophisticated high-pass filtering circuit that blocks unwanted infrasonic signals, thereby preventing the erratic diaphragm excursion and harmonic distortions that occur when a driver attempts to reproduce signals below its operating range. As a result, bass signals are crisper and more accurate, and the frequency response is extended nearly an octave below what a comparably sized speaker would normally be capable of. The two-way Karat S 1 bookshelf speaker and CS 4 center channel each feature the same midrange and tweeter drivers as the S 8 DC. The S 1 features a single woofer and tweeter in a bass reflex enclosure that is suitable for mounting on a bookshelf or optional LS 65 stand. The CS 4 features a pair of the 5-inch midrange/woofer drivers oriented horizontally, flanking the tweeter, and is magnetically shielded to prevent interference with video displays.The AS-200 SC subwoofer is a 250-watt powered subwoofer with a 10-inch down-firing cellulose/graphite driver. It features an adjustable level control, switchable phase adjustment, and a variable crossover frequency of 50-150 Hz. Canton's exclusive SC (Subwoofer Control) technology, provides improved response linearity, and eliminates the muffled or ""blatty"" distortion that can otherwise occur. The Karat S 8 DC will have a suggested retail price of $2,000 per pair, the Karat S 1 will have a retail price of $750 per pair, and the Karat CS 4 and AS 200 SC will have suggested retail prices of $500 and $1,000 each, respectively. All models will be available in January of 2003.For more information about this and other Canton products, visit www.cantonusa.com.

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