Floorstanding loudspeakers — Canton Vento 80

The Vento 80 is a slim passive three-way floorstanding speaker in the current Vento series from Canton of Germany, and the slimmer sibling of the Vento 90. For this generation Canton redrew the cabinet with gently curved side panels, rounded edges and a new plinth that makes the speaker appear to float above the floor. German prices run from EUR 1,649 to EUR 1,749 per speaker depending on finish, with black high gloss, white high gloss, light walnut high gloss and dark walnut high gloss on offer.

Key specs that matter

Two 174 mm woofers and one 174 mm midrange use titanium-graphite cones, and the woofers carry wave surrounds. A 25 mm ceramic dome covers the treble. The crossover works at 170 Hz and 3,000 Hz. Canton rates the range at 20 Hz to 40,000 Hz, the impedance at 4 to 8 ohm and load capacity at 140 W nominal and 250 W music. The speaker measures 26 cm wide, 103 cm high and 34 cm deep including the base and weighs 24.8 kg.

Engineering and use context

The bass reflex port fires downward toward the plinth rather than out of the front or rear panel. Canton says the reshaped enclosure gains internal volume compared with the previous Vento, which let it tune the speaker for more low-frequency bandwidth. The cabinets are made from multi-layer laminate in many separate steps and braced several times inside to keep them rigid and low in resonance, and the sharper cabinet radii and the modified base are meant to reduce diffraction from the box itself. The titanium-graphite cones are stiff and well damped, and their double cone construction with a continuous diaphragm surface is combined with surrounds designed for large excursion. The goal, according to Canton, is for the drivers to move as pistons across their band. The rear panel has gold-plated bi-wiring terminals that accept cable cross-sections up to 10 mm2, and a fabric cover attaches with magnets. Canton gives five years of warranty on its passive speakers.

Pairing

The 4 ohm lower bound of the impedance calls for an integrated or power amplifier that is stable into that load, and the power handling leaves room for amplifiers from moderate to fairly high output. The split terminals allow bi-wiring with two cable runs, or driving the bass and upper sections from separate amplifiers after the bridges are taken out. Because the port vents toward the floor, placement near a rear wall is less critical than with a rear-ported cabinet.

Alternatives

The Canton Vento 90 is the larger passive Vento tower with two 192 mm woofers and a 340 W music rating.