Напольная акустика — Canton Smart GLE 9 S2

The Smart GLE 9 S2 is the active wireless tower of the GLE family from Canton, the German loudspeaker maker based in the Taunus region. For the S2 generation Canton overhauled the GLE models both visually and technically, keeping the slim cabinet that makes this three-way floorstander easy to fit into a living room. Canton lists the pair in Germany at EUR 1,900, and in Australia it sells at AUD 3,499. Black Decor carries item number 04241 and White Decor 04242.

Key specs that matter

Each tower holds four drivers - a pair of 192 mm titanium woofers, a 174 mm titanium midrange and a 25 mm tweeter with an aluminium-manganese dome. The midrange hands over to the tweeter at 3,000 Hz, and Canton quotes a frequency range of 25 to 30,000 Hz. A built-in amplifier rated at 350 W powers every speaker. The cabinet is only 21 cm wide, 106.3 cm high and 30 cm deep, or 31 cm deep with the cover fitted, and it weighs 19.4 kg. In ECO mode standby consumption falls to 0.35 W.

Engineering and use context

A reflex port vents this enclosure and radiates to the rear, which Canton calls backfire, unlike the downfire ports used in other Canton ranges. Baffles are lacquered, while the rest of the enclosure is wrapped in vinyl foil. The earlier Smart GLE 9 had already replaced an impregnated textile tweeter dome with the aluminium-manganese alloy and used polycarbonate baskets for its bass and midrange units. Signal processing runs at 24 bit. On the rear panel sit an XLR and an RCA analogue input, coaxial and optical inputs that accept 24 bit and 96 kHz, and a USB 2.0 port with XMOS for a computer, plus a mono RCA output for a subwoofer. Bluetooth 3.0 supports the aptX codec. Stereo channels reach the second tower wirelessly at 24 bit and 96 kHz over the Cantonet link in the 5 GHz band. Dolby Audio and DTS Digital Surround decoding is built in, and a Virtual Surround mode is provided for home theatre use. The menu offers level adjustment per speaker, integrated bass management, LipSync, a sleep timer and IR learning for a TV remote. Magnetic fabric covers are supplied, and the standard two-year warranty on active speakers can be extended to five years.

Pairing

No amplifier is needed, so a TV, network streamer, CD player or computer plugs straight in. A Canton subwoofer can join through the mono output, and Canton sells 2.0, 2.1 streaming and 5.1 sets built around the pair.

Alternatives

The Canton Smart Vento 9 S2 is an active wireless three-way tower with titanium graphite drivers and 600 W per speaker.