Canton - Germany Reference 2
With effortless scale, the Canton Reference 2 delivers a big, full-bodied bass foundation and remarkably smooth dispersion that keeps music composed beyond a single-seat sweet spot. Pursuit of The Perfect System praised its solid, warm, dynamic presentation and room-tuning flexibility, while Audioholics highlighted clean high-output performance, expansive imaging, and deep bass. A beautifully engineered flagship for immersive shared listening.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
93/100
Build Quality
95/100
Value for Money
86/100
Pros
Deep, controlled and generously scaled bass remains full and natural even at lower listening levels.
Exceptionally smooth, even dispersion creates a broad listening area well suited to shared sessions.
Treble is clear, detailed and dynamic without turning harsh or compressed.
Room-compensation controls offer meaningful tonal tailoring for different rooms and partnering electronics.
Cons
Image outlines and background-layer separation are less sharply specific than on more analytical rivals.
Bass can become somewhat thick or congested with an unsuitable amplifier.
The individual driver grilles are cumbersome to fit and remove.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 93/100
Reviewers describe a large-scale, full-bodied and exceptionally smooth presentation, combining deep bass authority with clean high-level output. Its broad, even dispersion and forgiving character make it well suited to both serious stereo listening and rooms with several listeners, though ultimate image specificity and inner-layer separation are not its foremost strengths.
Bass
96/100
Audioholics called it the deepest and most natural bass it had heard from a non-powered loudspeaker, praising its tight, deep, room-filling character. The more recent review likewise found the bass plentiful even at low levels, full and flowing rather than mechanical, with flexible room integration.
Mid
91/100
Vocals are described as open, rich and accurate, with one reviewer finding male and female voices clear, palpable and organically convincing. Audioholics did note a somewhat laid-back vocal character and less ultimate articulation than a comparison speaker, which tempers the otherwise warm and natural midrange praise.
Treble
93/100
The treble earns repeated praise for clarity, detail, speed and convincing decay without harshness, compression or sibilance. Reviewers found its overall character notably smooth and pleasing, although Audioholics considered it slightly less refined than a favored Scan-Speak soft-dome reference.
Soundstage Imaging
91/100
The Reference 2 is widely praised for broad, even dispersion, a large soundstage and unusually accommodating listening area. It images well beyond a narrow sweet spot, but the recent review found that its very smooth presentation makes backing layers a little less distinctly outlined than on more analytical designs.
Dynamics
94/100
Reviewers report clean, robust output with substantial impact, especially from drums and kick drums, alongside a sense of effortless large-scale presentation. It can also sound quick and nimble with a suitably capable amplifier, while Canton's DC approach is intended to preserve low-frequency headroom and avoid midbass congestion.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
95/100
Construction receives particularly strong praise: Audioholics considered the cabinet among the best it had encountered at its price, citing its complex design, bracing, chambering and finish. Other coverage highlights the edge-free curved enclosure, multilayer wood construction, carefully executed veneer work, and separately sealed, decoupled crossover enclosure.
Value for Money
86/100
At roughly £17,000-£18,000 in the reviewed walnut finish, this is firmly a premium purchase. Audioholics regarded the earlier Karat Reference 2 DC as among the strongest options in its class given its engineering, deep bass and broad listening field, but the newer coverage does not make an equally direct value claim at the current asking price.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
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Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Shipping
- Pallet
- Warranty period
- 10 years
- weight
- 62 kg
- Dimensions (WxHxD)
- 35 x 116 x 53 cm
- Acoustic principle
- 3-way Bass reflex system
- Principle passive resonator
- Bass reflex
- Radiation direction resonator
- Downfire
- Tweeter quantity
- 1
- Tweeter size
- 25 mm
- Tweeter material
- Aluminum ceramic oxyd
- Midrange driver quantity
- 1
- Midrange driver size
- 174 mm
- Midrange driver material
- Black ceramic tungsten (Wave surround)
- Woofer quantity
- 2
- Woofer size
- 219 mm
- Woofer material
- Black ceramic tungsten
- Nominal load capacity
- 370 watts
- Music load capacity
- 630 watts
- Transmission range
- 19...40.000 Hz
- Crossover frequencies
- 160 / 3.000 Hz
- Impedance
- 4...8 ohm
- Level adjustment
- yes
- Efficiency 2.83V/1m
- 88 db
- Connections
- WBT-Connector terminal with level adjustment
- Woofer Wave surround
- yes
- Midrange Wave Bead
- yes
- Front cover material
- fabric
- Level adjustment tweeter
- yes
- Double Cone
- yes
- Transmission Front Plate
- yes
- DC switch technology
- yes
- Bass Guide
- yes
- Unit socket included
- yes
- Size supplement (WxDxH)
- 4x4x12 cm
- Unit feet
- yes
- Height-adjustable unit feet
- yes
- Preparation spikes
- yes
- Bi-Wiring / Amping Terminal
- yes
- Cabinet material
- Multilayer laminate
- Cabinet surface
- Piano Finish
- Terminal contact material
- golden
- TCC
- yes
- Mounting type front cover
- magnetic
- Terminal banana plug suitable
- yes
- Room adjustment
- yes
Manufacturer's Description — Canton - Germany
Informations
- 3-way bass reflex system
- Black Ceramic tungsten technology
- 630 watts
- 36 x 116 x 53 cm (W x H x D)
Pure aesthetics
The new Reference 2
As an impressive 3-way floorstanding speaker, the Reference 2 has the potential to provide exceptional and uncompromising listening pleasure even in very large rooms. With the advantages of smaller proportions compared to the flagship of the series, they are perfect for stereo reproduction at reference level and are also an excellent choice for home theater applications.
Visually and technically innovative
The cabinets of the Canton Reference 2 are designed without edges in accordance with the latest acoustic findings. Their elegant form follows function, resulting in a speaker with remarkable properties: in addition to its modern design, it is also extremely stable and offers a perfect basis for sound-optimized dispersion. The finish of the housing is of the highest quality and enables aesthetic integration into any living environment. Four speaker chassis work in a 3-chamber system that offers perfectly dimensioned volumes for each branch of the 3-way speaker design. The double bass configuration with 219 mm woofers, combined with the optimized dispersion ratio of the latest generation bass guide, ensures enormous low bass and also allows the Reference 2 to be positioned flexibly in the listening room. The 174 mm midrange driver, which is deliberately positioned at the top of the speaker, ensures an authentic, lively reproduction of voices. The powerful BC tweeter with a 25 mm dome tweeter made of black aluminum oxide ceramic is the ideal complement, both visually and acoustically.
Sound optimized
The Reference 2 speakers integrate all drivers flush into the round baffle using the new three-dimensional ASW (Asymetric Waveguide Ring) cover rings made of polyoxymethylene (POM). These optimize the dispersion characteristics in the treble and mid-range. The cabinet design is focused on sound optimization and uses strong multi-layer laminate as well as sophisticated damping and internal stiffening for low-resonance cabinets. The new crossovers with epoxy resin-glass fabric composite material and a copper coating of 70 µm enable large dimmed conductor cross-sections. The arrangement of the components on the crossover minimizes magnetic field interference. This precise design and the use of high-quality components ensure optimum performance and precise sound.
Connection
The Reference 2 speakers are equipped with low-mass nextgen™ pole terminals from WBT and high-quality gold-plated copper bridges and enable single, bi-wiring and bi-amping operation. Thanks to their significantly lower mass compared to conventional terminals, eddy currents are reduced, resulting in a superior sound image. The connection plate of the Reference 2 speaker terminal has been extended to include a level adjustment (Room Compensation). This allows the sound pressure levels of the midrange and tweeter to be raised or lowered precisely in 1.5 decibel increments, allowing the speakers to be optimized for a wide range of listening room characteristics and listening positions.
Processing and surfaces
The Reference 2 speakers are manufactured with the utmost care and precision in Germany, at the company headquarters in Weilrod. Thanks to the use of first-class materials and components, consistent and precise quality is guaranteed. The Reference 2 is available in three exquisitely designed finishes that underline the high standards of the Reference series. The high-quality walnut veneer is finished with a special sanding technique and matt lacquer treatment, giving it an impressively fine-pored surface.
Processing and surfaces
The Reference 2 speakers are manufactured with the utmost care and precision in Germany, at the company headquarters in Weilrod. Thanks to the use of first-class materials and components, consistent and precise quality is guaranteed. The Reference 2 is available in three exquisitely designed finishes that underline the high standards of the Reference series. The high-quality walnut veneer is finished with a special sanding technique and matt lacquer treatment, giving it an impressively fine-pored surface.
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- The Music Room — online and in-store — Erie, Colorado, United States (website)
- à la carte productions — in-store — Palm Coast, Florida, United States (website)
- A Tube High Fidelity — online and in-store — Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Alta Fedelta — online and in-store — Lombardia, Italy (website)
- Anquan — online and in-store — Glika Nera, Greece (website)
- Audio Excellence (CH) — Switzerland (website)
- Audio Magic - EU — online and in-store — Wola, Województwo mazowieckie, Poland (website)
- Audio Video Integration — in-store — San Rafael, California, United States (website)
- Audio Vinyl — online and in-store — Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (website)
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