News

Canton Polishes Karat L-Class with New Bookshelf and Center Channel Monitors (8/1/2004)

Canton, the largest and best-selling manufacturer of loudspeakers in Germany, has introduced two new full-range speakers in its Karat L-Class, the Karat L 100 two-way bookshelf monitor, and the 2-1/2 way CL 400 center channel. These models are the largest bookshelf and center channel in the Karat line, and were designed to complement the highly regarded L 800 DC floorstanding speaker introduced at CES 2003.

The Karat L 100 and CL 400 both feature the same Canton-developed 7-inch concave aluminum mid/bass driver. This is the same extremely light and fast diaphragm used for midrange reproduction in the L 800 DC, and features a concave voice-coil cap that improves the symmetry of acoustic dispersion, and prevents the standing-wave modes that can develop with conventional dome dustcaps. The use of aluminum makes the driver extremely rigid, and also acts as a heatsink for the voice-coil, allowing the speakers to play very hard without strain or distortion.

For the upper frequencies, the speakers each employ Canton's acclaimed wide dispersion aluminum tweeter. 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 CL 400 center channel speaker is a magnetically shielded 2-1/2-way design optimized for horizontal mounting above or below video displays. It features a centrally mounted tweeter flanked by a pair of the aluminum drivers, one driving only the bass frequencies and the other driving bass and midrange. This configuration prevents wide variations in off-axis response due to cancellation between paired woofers, and improves midrange linearity. This overall design provides linear frequency dispersion even at listening angles as far as 30 degrees off-axis.

The two-way Karat L 100 bookshelf speaker features a single woofer and tweeter in a bass reflex enclosure that is suitable for mounting on bookshelf, or on either of the optional LS 60 or L 65 stands. The L 100 features two pairs of sturdy gold-plated binding posts for those who wish to biwire or biamp the speakers.

The Karat L 100 and CL 400 speakers are both currently available in real wood veneers of cherry or beech, or in the Karat line's signature silver lacquer finish. The Karat L 100 has a suggested retail price of $1400 per pair, and the Karat CL 400 is $900 each.

www.cantonusa.com