Canton Karat 40

J

jotom

New Member
Canton Karat 40 Help

Hello everyone. First post, and of course it's a question.

I have a chance to get my hands on a clean pair of Canton Karat 40's. There is only one problem, I can't find any info for these and therefore have no point of reference. I am not familiar with Canton or their sound. I have been able to determine that they have made some very nice products.

So anyone who has any experience with these, I could sure use some advise before diving in.

I would love any and all info on specs, date of production, msrp, Sonic qualities , Good for rockin or good for laid back jams and most importantly, are they worth $200.00?

I currently have a pair of DCM timeframe 600's and a pair of Koss cm-1020's that I just recapped today. (BTW, WOW)
How would these cantons stack up against them? I am going to listen to them in the morning so....

Thanks in advance









Oh yeah almost forgot "I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!"
 
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I have four of the Karat 20s, and a bunch of other Cantons. They were always a favorite brand when I was spec'ing & installing A/V systems for billionaires. Can't tell you what the market value is today, but they're fine sounding speakers that have given me & my clients very little problems over the last 20+ years.

I currently use mine in my main home theater- they're clean, accurate, with maybe a little hype to the highs. I use them with an NHT SW-10 sub. Very realistic, dissappearing nicely for movies in the dark.

Wood finish Karat 40s sold for ~$1,300/pair in the late '80s, maybe less with the black or white finish.

je
 
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"I am going to listen to them in the morning so.... "

Be sure to tell us what you think when you get back.
 
Looks like I have to wait until after 4pm PST

There is still time if anyone wants to chime in. I talked to the woman's son , and he say they are spotless and never been pushed hard.

I am trying to get my ears ready for some crucial listening.
I need to find a song with a lot of nuance. Any suggestions? I like pink floyd's "Echoes" The very beginning is very subtle.
 
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Welcome!

I've had a pair of Karat 30's since new that to me are great. There's a pair of these on audiogon right now for >400. I'd describe mine as smooth and neutral, and use 'em for all genres of music.

IIRC, the Karat 40's are even better (3-way?). I auditioned them when I got the 30's, but they were much pricier. I'm not sure, but think that whole late-80's Karat series is 4-ohm, so be careful with your amp if you get them.

Enjoy the music,
-Mark
 
stratmel said:
Welcome!

I've had a pair of Karat 30's since new that to me are great. There's a pair of these on audiogon right now for >400. I'd describe mine as smooth and neutral, and use 'em for all genres of music.

IIRC, the Karat 40's are even better (3-way?). I auditioned them when I got the 30's, but they were much pricier. I'm not sure, but think that whole late-80's Karat series is 4-ohm, so be careful with your amp if you get them.

Enjoy the music,
-Mark
Click to expand...

Yes, my Karat 20s are also 4 ohm.

je
 
Update

Well I went and checked them out and they are in great shape, not quite museum quality, but very nice none the less. They are very accurate and squeaky clean sounding. which is why I liked them. So I Went ahead and bought them.

They were being sold by an older woman, who rarely used them, and they were gifted to her. To me, they sound like a new pair of speakers(no drift or peaks). So I did not even haggle on them. Paid the full $200

BTW, if you guys ever want to sell me something, have your wife of girlfriend do it, I can never haggle with women, I always feel bad , like I am being mean. Oh well I'm a sucker for the gals

So compared to my other speakers, these will be a nice addition. My DCM Timeframe 600's will still be my main rig. Their dynamics and soundstage are so massive it will be hard to knock them off their throne. But I would add that the Cantons are more accurate.

My Koss CM-1020's are definitely my rockin speakers. They to are very accurate but not quite as clean as the Cantons. The Cm 1020's are just so powerful. They have great impact, especially in the low end.

So this is for anyone out there looking for some reveiw of the Canton Karat 40 . These are very clean sounding, and very nice to look at. When the grill is off there is a crushed velvet layer all about the face, very nice touch. They stand 20 inches tall 10 and one half inches wide and 10 and one half inches deep. The drivers are as follows, bass 7 and one quarter inch Mid 3 and one half inches. Both have rubber, or rubber like surrounds.

I will be getting pics up as soon as I get a decent camera
Here is the info from hifi wiki for all you future googlers let me save you the time

General

* Manufacturer: Canton
* Model: 40 Karat
* Built in: 1987 - 1990
* Manufactured in: Germany
* Color: black, white, walnut, oak, mahogany
* Dimensions: 270 x 510 x 270 mm (WxHxD)
* Weight: 13 kg
* Original price approx: 1400, - DM (EIA, pair)


Technical data

* Type: Closed 3-way bass reflex, or, from 1989, compact speaker
* Chassis:
o Woofer: 220 mm
o Midrange: 120 mm
o Tweeter: 25 mm aluminum-manganese dome
* Power handling: 90/130 Watts (Nom)
* Efficiency: 92.6 dB
* Frequency response:
* Frequency response: 26 - 30,000 Hz
* Transition areas: 450/4.000 Hz
* Impedance: 4 ohms


Special Features

* Removable front grille

These sold for about $1200.00 TO $1300.00 per pair, back in the day. I just paid $200 so make of it what you will.
 
This thread is from a guy who bought a pair for $200, five years ago, and liked them a lot. They were $1300/pr in the 80s, which would be thousands more now. I would say if they are in good condition and all drivers working, yeah. If you like the sound.
 
Fairly rare speakers, if you're waiting for the right wood you might be waiting awhile.

Just send me those mahogany beauties and I'll dispose of them properly. :rflmao:
 
I have a pair of Karat 930 two ways that were part of a lot of gear I got from a local AKer a few years back. They are mahogany and I use them for the fronts in my ht system. They really are very clean sounding, I switch over to stereo quite a bit to really enjoy them.
 
I heard a pair of Cantons a long time ago at a place called Phil Reddish sound. Severely impressive. I was already used to some pretty good speakers but these were in another league. I settled for Bostons, and I am not sorry for the bang for the buck, but the Cantons were really the only speaker I considered better. I have heard the DQs and Maggies and the big Macs and all kinds of JBLs and...the list goes on. I used to go to Play It Again Sam all the time at their old location.

Anyway, if Canton is like Boston in that their speakers pretty much sound the same but with the higher need one having a lower lower limit and more maximum SPL, I would say you are going to thoroughly enjoy those speakers.

Comment : Seems to me that I prefer speakers that have a lower woofer to mid crossover frequency. These are 400 Hz. Anyone agree, disagree ?
 
Since an old discussion of Canton speakers has come up, I would like to ask a question.

Canton speakers seem to be rated to provide very low bass.

I find it hard to believe a 510mm speaker can go as low as 26 Hz.

Yet, I see this on a lot of Canton speakers.

Do Canton speakers in fact go as low as what is stated on their cabinets?
 
Couple of things I can offer on this even though I don't know the answer to that question.

Canton speakers are very well respected. They came to my attention because of this thread:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/how-could-somebody-throw-these-out.156766/

in which an AKer found a pair curbside (!) and loved them. The name stuck with me and every time they come up on AK, I think of them as quality speakers. Although every model is probably not the same.

That particular thread has a photo of the rear label which gives 'frequency range' as 20-20KHz or whatever. What is missing is the db range over that frequency range. If it's +/-3 db, that would be a fantastic loudspeaker. Typically bass drops off on a slope so a lot of speakers are something like "-3db at 40 Hz, -10db at 30 Hz". Much more than 10 db down and you're not hearing much if any content below that. Canton's reported range may be a -10db limit, or something else. Who knows. You can't compare it to other speakers without knowing the limits of the rating. If a manual is available for a particular model it may tell you. Or sometimes there are reviews in the audio mags.

Specs aren't everything, either. Two speakers with +/-10 db (or even 6) at the same lower freq. limit can sound quite different because there is a lot of room for the response curves to go up and down and have plateaus in certain ranges and still be within that.

I'll tell you this, given a choice between a pair of Cantons and many other brands with approximately the same specs, in the absence of any other considerations I'd pick the Cantons on reputation alone.
 
^^^ I figured it was something like that. I guess more useful information can be found on the back of a cereal box than a Canton speaker box.:biggrin:

I know, by reputation, Canton speakers are good quality. I am hoping to find one particular model for a decent price. Okay, in reality, I would like to listen to any or all at I price I can afford.:naughty:

My only listening experience to Canton speakers was not a positive one, unfortunately. The owner of them had bunch of them spread throughout his apartment/ studio. He had a rack full of equipment with all sorts of lights and buttons. My experience was in the latter 1980's. To this day, I do not know what all the equipment was nor do I really care to know. I can't help but think the equipment choked the living **** out of the speakers. He was paying me so I did not ask any questions so as not to piss him off. I have found people tend to get pissy if you say something negative about audio equipment. :yikes:
 
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