Canton sounds great after a week of ownership.  Not quite as bassy as I imagined, but wonderfully balanced and completely without distortion.  

 

As Terrymcateer suggested, it may be that the subwoofer needs to be run in for a month before it delivers it's best.  Still very pleased with it though.

When I do take ownership of mine I was thinking about opening the load through hatch behind rear centre arm rest to let bass flow through?

No need to let bass through, it will find it's own way into the cabin!!

No need to let bass through, it will find it's own way into the cabin!!

Yep, no need to open the hatch. The bass will find you all by itself!

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I assume that the additional amplifier, just "amplifies" sound from the existing head unit (Bolero or whatever)? Speakers and amplifiiers can certainly improve the sound but they still rely on the head unit.

 

Umm, that's exactly what an amplifier does... And it's the same thing if you have a 100 pound or 10.000 pound amplifier. You're still relying on your input quality. So, don't use 128kbps mp3s on your Canton.

In fact, a 128kb file could even sound better on the standard speaker system as the better electronics of the Canton will show up any weaknesses in the source material. Give it something to get its teeth into and its in a different league.

I'm gonna go old school and try a CD in there, I think!  

 

Now, where did I put my CD's.......?

I couldn't find any CD's....  But I did find some video cassettes!  

 

I couldn't find any CD's....  But I did find some video cassettes!  

 

 

At least they are VHS, I would be worried if you only found Betamax!

At least they are VHS, I would be worried if you only found Betamax!

I don't think the Amundsen plays Betamax. 

So I was just going into detail and explaining to my partner about the canton upgrade and what it contains and she never really paid any attention until I mentioned a subwoofer then she glanced at me and said " Bit chavy aren't they" "are you going to be a boy racer again"

After I picked my self off the floor and wiped away my tears of laughter I said "it's all about the quality" and then she went "you need to read the book about quality"

I can't win!!!!

You need to get her close to one of those professional grade audio systems, with subwoofers that can blow a woman's clothes off (hint!). She'll come around...

You need to get her close to one of those professional grade audio systems, with subwoofers that can blow a woman's clothes off (hint!). She'll come around...

Haha that brilliant.... My home cinema system is like that!

Never mind all this high-tech twaddle which you youngsters are obsessed with.  I am a traditionalist - want an audio system which will play my phonograph cylinders.

http://www.gregssandbox.com/edison/cylinder_records/edison_phonograph-03.jpg

Or you could go all the way and sing your songs like this:

 

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/9855658-md.jpg

Just place her in front of a laptop then play a piece of her favorite music, tell her that's what it sound like without the Canton because they are cutting the cost on standard stereos. 

Well I dug the car out of garage after a 4 week sleep (work has meant no car fun). I plugged my iphone into mdi socket to listen to music while cleaning car. Noticed sound was "off", tinny and ropey bass. I then remembered that I had set the EQ to small speakers for some cheap headphones I use for work. I changed it back to rock and sound restored to my ears pleasure. So there is a tip, remember your EQ setting on an apple product to get the best out of the canton system!!

Having done a longish drive today (180 miles round trip), I can say that whilst the Canton does sound great, there is absolutely no suggestion of the noise cancelling function that the system was marketed with.  I was getting major tyre noise on a rough stretch of the M6 this morning that would have been exactly the sort of noise that a cancelling function would have addressed.

 

On a slightly off topic note, I did average about 55mpg by driving sensibly on the way home.  I just stuck cruise control on at 70mph and relaxed!

Didn't know it had noise cancelling, I will have a little root about to see if there is any information.

Canton does have acoustic filters for active elimination of noise. However (quote from wiki):

''Active noise canceling is best suited for low frequencies. For higher frequencies, the spacing requirements for free space and zone of silence techniques become prohibitive. In acoustic cavity and duct based systems, the number of modes grows rapidly with increasing frequency, which quickly makes active noise control techniques unmanageable.''

 

Meaning the majority of the noise is basically still present even with ANC.

Thanks PekoSI, great explanation of how noise cancelling works. Do you have any specific information about how it functions with Canton? Are there sensors in the car, etc?

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Having spent 10 days in an elegance without canton and now have my vrs with canton - the music with canton in much richer imo. The sub and extra front speaker definitely deliver a more rounded sound which is smoother and richer and that's Even knowing the sub needs a while to bed in. Def glad I bought it

Thanks PekoSI, great explanation of how noise cancelling works. Do you have any specific information about how it functions with Canton? Are there sensors in the car, etc?

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Thx but unfortunately I have no clue how exactly this works with Canton. Would imagine however that it uses only one microphone (probably the same one as used for phone and voice control) for 'noise information' looking at Canton's €400ish price tag which really isn't expensive. Having complicated system with multiple microphones would probably be to expensive IMHO.

I had a play with one in a showroom yesterday and thought it was decent for a factory stereo. It obviously doesn't compare to a good aftermarket setup with sub and amp, but is a worthwhile improvement over standard for your 400 quid.

The sub did sound like it would loosen up after a while, and the other speakers were clear and crisp. Even so there was a respectable amount of bass there.

I could tell the difference in sound quality between a good cd, an mp3 at 320k and a <spit> crappy 128k file.

No MDI in the car I tested, so I don't know how the sound from an iPod compares.

I don't think it has sensors it just adjusts the volume according to speed. The acoustic filters I take to mean soundproofing for engine noise. Found this video which explains a bit

I don't think that turning up the stereo equates to being "noise cancelling". My mate Pat used to do that in his Estelle in the late 1980's, but he called it "the anti rattle device"!

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