Bookshelf Speakers — Canton Townus 30

The Townus 30 is the compact passive model of the Townus series from Canton, produced from September 2021 onward. It replaced the earlier Chrono 30 and Chrono SL 536.2 compact models in the catalogue, and its launch price was EUR 1,098 per pair in black or white, while EUR 1,158 was asked per pair in walnut. The series name is a play on Taunus, the wooded region of Hesse where Canton has been based since 1972, and Town. Townus is planned as a full family covering stereo and home cinema, with floorstanding and bookshelf speakers, a center, on-wall models, a subwoofer and active models with built-in amplification and wireless transmission.

Key specs that matter

Canton fits a 174 mm mid-woofer with a titanium cone, working with a 25 mm dome tweeter made of aluminium oxide ceramic. The crossover point sits at 3,000 Hz. Canton rates the transmission range at 38 Hz to 40,000 Hz and the impedance at 4 to 8 ohm. Load capacity is 90 W nominal and 140 W music. The cabinet measures 21 cm wide, 36 cm high and 28 cm deep, and each speaker weighs 8 kg.

Engineering and use context

The titanium driver uses a long-stroke wave surround designed for low distortion, while the tweeter is set in a calculated waveguide that shapes its dispersion. Canton rounds the cabinet edges and fixes the drivers to the baffle without visible screws, framing them with aluminium rings finished in a diamond-cut process. Canton places the reflex opening at the rear. Finishes are white satin, black high gloss and walnut veneer, and a fabric cover with rounded corners attaches by magnets. Banana plugs fit the terminals. The speaker is shipped in a carton of 56 x 37 x 43.5 cm with a packed weight of 17.7 kg.

Pairing

As the impedance is specified with a lower limit of 4 ohm, an amplifier that is stable into 4 ohm loads is the safe match, and the nominal rating marks the continuous power level the speaker is built to accept. Other passive members of the family include the Townus 90 floorstander and the Townus 50 center, and the compact model can join them in a multichannel Townus system. The range also has the Townus 100 floorstander, a 3-way design rated at 340 W, the Townus 10 closed on-wall speaker, the AR 5 Dolby Atmos module and the Townus 12 Sub with a 12 inch titanium driver and passive radiator, rated at 400 W. Canton sells ready 5.1 and 5.1.2 sets built around the Townus 90.

Alternatives

Within the Canton range the Vento 20 is a two-way compact box of the Vento series with a 154 mm titanium-graphite bass-midrange driver.