Cantonís CD 300 Series Loudspeakers Have Outstanding Sound Quality And A Slender, Brushed Aluminum Design To Compliment Modern Widescreen TVs And Wall-Mounted Video Displays.

12-Jul-04

Canton has introduced the first of a new line of slender, high-performance aluminum loudspeakers designed to sonically and visually compliment modern flat-screen video displays. The Canton CD 300 series combines technology derived from the company's high-end Karat line of loudspeakers with the sleek, brushed aluminum lifestyle design of its popular CD 100 series. The current line consists of the CD 300 floor-standing tower speaker and the CD 360F, which includes the same driver configuration adapted for vertical or horizontal wall mounting. With their slender brushed-aluminum enclosures and silvery grills, these speakers create a very dramatic presence in a room, while delivering sound quality that will please the most demanding audiophiles. Both speakers are sophisticated two-and-a-half way systems with four 4-inch aluminum cone drivers and an advanced version of the Canton's lauded ADT-25 one-inch aluminum-manganese tweeter. Two of the 4-inch drivers reproduce low-frequency bass signals exclusively, while the other two reproduce both bass and midrange sounds. For bass reproduction, this arrangement provides the equivalent surface area of an 8-inch woofer in a much narrower cabinet. The Canton ADT-25 tweeter uses a one-piece aluminum-manganese dome and voice coil former that is vastly superior to more conventional designs where a separate dome and former are glued together. Not only is this entire structure much lighter and stiffer than two-part designs, but the dome provides a large surface area to radiate heat away from the voice coil. One of the key design elements of this tweeter is the use of a very narrow voice coil gap to increase the intensity of the magnetic field. Most other tweeters have relatively wide gaps to allow a margin of error for centering the coil in the gap, but even then a small displacement can harm the performance of the tweeter. Canton has overcome this by making it possible for quality control technicians to adjust the centering of the coils using test signals and to lock them in place only when the test is perfect. Additionally, the cross-section of the coil and former is much thinner than conventional designs. These factors provide for much higher output levels, high linearity, and excellent efficiency. The four identical 4-inch bass/midrange drivers have aluminum cones with concave dust caps, and powerful motor systems. The drivers are derivatives of the same top-quality midrange drivers used in Cantonís high-end Karat and Ergo speaker lines, and the wave system (cone, dust cap, and surround) is modeled on that used in the Karat Reference line. The motor structure has been subtly redesigned to accommodate the wider frequency demands of the bass/midrange application in the CD 300 and 360F. Upon encountering the Canton CD 300 tower speaker, the first thing that is apparent is the speaker's unusual appearance. The 48-inch tall enclosure is less than 5 inches wide, has a depth of just over 6-inches, and is constructed of extruded aluminum with rugged pressure-cast aluminum end-caps and circular base. Bass performance is further enhanced by the use of bass-reflex topology with a single front-panel port. The careful and precise modeling of the flare on this port alone yielded a 6-dB improvement in system headroom. The Canton CD 360F features the same basic design considerations and driver complement as the CD 300, but in a sealed cabinet that is just 23-1/2-inches long and a mere 4-inches deep. This makes it ideal for wall mounting and equally effective as a vertical speaker beside a wall-mounted video screen, or in a horizontal configuration for use as a center channel speaker. The speaker employs a sealed cabinet design to avoid having the port vent directly into the wall face. The CD 300 and CD 360F are a perfect tonal match for each other, so they can be mixed and matched within a system. These loudspeakers are now available for suggested retail prices of $2,000 per pair for the Canton CD 300 and $800 each for the Canton CD 360F. Canton CD 300 And CD 360 F Design DetailsWhen Canton was founded in 1973, the stated objective was to ìproduce the best loudspeaker,î and that mission has not changed. This directive is easy to understand and very difficult to achieve because everything in a loudspeaker is interrelatedÖchange one thing, and you change many. As a result, Canton has learned that evolution is more effective in the long run than revolution. This process of continual improvement applies to both complete systems and individual components, and the ësecretí is a matter of setting the right targets. In a dynamic loudspeaker, no single element functions in isolation. The transducers, enclosure, crossover, electronics, and even the listening room all interact with each other, and therefore, the designer cannot merely assemble a collection of good parts. The designers must set clear sonic and practical goals if they are to produce a product that both sounds good and is marketable. The targets for a given speaker are determined by customer need, application, and environment. These dictate the acoustic and aesthetic design and engineering criteria. For the CD 300 series, the goals were clear: to create a high-performance loudspeaker that would visually compliment modern widescreen video systems, both floor standing and wall mounted. While this has already been accomplished to a significant extent with Cantonís popular CD 100 series, the company wanted to upgrade the sonic performance so it was comparable to some of the companyís more traditional floor-standing Karat and Ergo systems, something that is extremely difficult achieved in this type of enclosure. Enclosure DesignThe CD 300 and CD 360 F enclosureís shape was carefully modeled to optimize the speaker's power handling, efficiency, and frequency response for the relatively small internal volume. These enclosures are machined from brushed aluminum extrusions that have no internal parallel surfaces and no hard corners, and the thickness of the cabinet walls is varied, virtually eliminating standing waves and variations in cabinet bass response. The careful and precise modeling of the flare on the front-panel port alone yielded an improvement of 6 dB in the headroom of the system. The 2-1/2-Way Crossover is KeyThe crossover circuit used in the CD 300 and CD 360 F is one of the most important elements in this design because it makes it possible to use four small drivers to achieve the same or better performance than a much larger woofer in a conventional speaker and to allow the speaker to be mounted vertically or horizontally. The CD 300 and CD 360 F employ a sophisticated 2-1/2 way crossover design that allows all four of the 4-inch bass/midrange drivers to reproduce bass, but routing signals above 400 Hz only to the bottom pair of drivers. This configuration takes advantage of the increased power handling, bass response, and efficiency of using four bass drivers, while eliminating the problems of unwanted cancellations in the mid-bass and midrange regions, where wavelengths are much smaller. Using two mid drivers also allows the speaker to benefit from improved dispersion characteristics, behaving more like a point source than another arrangement would afford. Additionally the 2-1/2 way design allows the 360 F to operate equally well in a vertical or horizontal orientation.Like all Canton design elements, the crossover network has been engineered to achieve an ideal sonic balance between the driver elements and enclosure, and to achieve a very linear impedance curve for improved compatibility with power amplifiers. All components are of the highest quality with production tolerances of 5 percent or less with 100-percent quality control. The capacitors, resistors and inductors are either made by Canton, or manufactured exclusively for Canton to achieve specific performance and quality goals.Canton ADT-25 TweeterThe Canton CD 300 series speakers employ a dedicated version of the company's exclusive ADT-25 tweeter. This 1-inch dome driver is made from an alloy of aluminum and manganese for an extremely light and rigid structure that has excellent power handling, and excellent dispersion characteristics. The remarkable transducer combines the dome and voice coil former into a single structure for lower mass, much improved heat dispersion, and elimination of the problems associated with glued junctions in this critical area. The structure maintains its shape better at high frequencies and power levels than conventional metal domes, and resists break up modes and ""oil canning"" with even the most extreme source signal. One of the key design elements is the use of a very narrow voice coil gap to increase the intensity of the magnetic field. This is made possible through the use of a physical alignment process during manufacture that makes it possible to perfectly center the coil in the gap. Additionally, the cross-section of the coil and former is much thinner than conventional designs. These factors provide for much higher output levels, high linearity, and excellent efficiency. Canton AM-130 Midrange/Bass DriverThe mid/bass and bass drivers in the CD 300 and CD 360F are a modified version of the 4-inch concave aluminum cones used in the companyís high-end Karat and Ergo lines. The wave system (cone, dustcap, and surround) is modeled on that used in the Karat Reference speaker, with a motor structure that has been subtly redesigned to accommodate the wider frequency demands the drivers must cover for the CD 300 and 360F. These drivers feature an unusual concave dustcap that helps to maintain greater linearity and better dispersion characteristics across a broad frequency range. The diaphragm and dustcaps are computer designed and tested for ideal construction, and are formed from the same material as the cones themselves, providing for multiple resonance paths to prevent the formation of clearly defined standing waves across the driver. The surround is formed from injected rubber, providing for better strength and UV resistance than foam and superior air sealing than silk surrounds. The drivers' treated fabric spider assemblies feature an improved weave geometry to aid longitudinal movement and piston stroke while minimizing unwanted lateral displacement. The entire driver structure is secured with a basket made of glass-bead reinforced polycarbonate that exhibits superior damping and stiffness across the entire operating range of the speaker.For more information, please visit www.cantonusa.com.

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