Canton Reference 9k opinions


I recently started a thread asking opinions of what might be an upgrade from my Usher Dancer Mini-X DMD speakers. Received lots of great input from forum members. Basically I'm trying to decide if this will be my end game speaker in a 9x12 listening room. When I bought these I was also interested in the Canton Reference 9k. At that time it seemed like they weren't available for order. But now they are at $3,500 a pair. Almost the same that the Ushers go for now. Can't find much on this exact model but there sure are people that talk highly about the Cantons in general. Any opinions on this specific speaker or the Canton speakers in general would be highly appreciated
milkdudd

Showing 4 responses by milkdudd

Go figure indeed. I’m sure the Kef Ref 1 that he refers to is terrific. It’s a speaker I have considered in the past but at twice the cost of the Reference 9k (plus $1,000) that pushes it into pre-owned range price wise. Beauty of the Canton is at $3,500 instead of $8,000, I can buy them new without going completely overboard. I like the Dali Epicon 2 but also $8,000. Then there’s the TAD stand mount at somewhere around $15,000. Audiotroy I do appreciate all advice. I am familiar with the online retailer that discounts the Canton line. However they don’t and never have sold the Reference 9k model. As for the subwoofer I have been using a single 12-in Jamo Sub 650 connected directly to my power amp through the speaker level inputs. I know two would be better sonically but even one is nice to have for now. Sounds like Rythmik subs might be the way to go at some point. Two seems awfully overkill in my small room but I know it would still be better. Quite a disease us guys have here. 10 years ago I couldn’t imagine spending $2,000 on a set of speakers. The difference is back then I couldn’t imagine spending that much. Now I can’t imagine spending that little, at least to get exactly what I want. I know there’s plenty of great speakers for $2,000 but like anything once you go to the other side you don’t want to go back
I know the Kef Reference 1 is a great speaker and I don't doubt for one minute it was far better than you're Canton 9.2 DC. However comparing specs between the 9.2 DC and the Reference 9k shows that the 9k is larger in all directions, especially the depth and 6 lb heavier. I'm just wondering if the Reference 9k was revised in more ways then it might appear at a casual glance. I'd be pretty upset if I bought a pair and found out they just fudged the numbers to make it look all new but I really don't think that's the case here. A couple of days ago I added a Bel Canto DAC 2.7 to my system. It's sounding so good with my Usher speakers I have to consider if I already might be at my end game. I saw on the Canton website that they offer a 30 day return no questions asked. I'm not the type to buy something with the intention of demoing it and returning it, but if that's the case it takes some of the stress out of taking the leap. I'm not sure that goes across their range. That message popped up when there was a sound bar on my screen. It didn't make it totally clear. I'm pretty darn sure I would not be disappointed with them, just not sure they would be noticeably better than what I already have. I wish there was a way to demo them locally

Thanks for the responses. To be honest I forgot about this thread and have been just listening to my Ushers and been pretty happy. If I could find a pre-owned pair of 9K's I would jump at the chance but they don't seem to come up very often. They have gone up a couple of hundred dollars since I started this post but still seem like a good deal for $3,700. I'm convinced these are really great speakers especially for the price. My only remaining concern is my room size. At 9 ft x 12 ft I really have no choice but to put the speakers against the long wall. I only have about one foot from the back of the speaker to the wall. Do you guys think it would still be a good match for my room? I wonder if the fact that my Ushers are front ported indicates I should stick with them rather than take a chance on something rear ported. If I were to buy them new testing them out is not a very good option considering restocking fees and shipping costs would be pretty high. All opinions will come of course