Canton or not ?

[fletch71]

I am about to order a new Octavia Estate se technology.

I have read various pros and cons on the canton and can’t decide. It sounds as if the stock speakers are pretty pants and the canton is better.

Am I better to invest the extra money on some aftermarket kit ie the focal is16 or similar with a sub and amp? Can you add an amp to the new Amundsen? Or am I better to get the canton as it has a separate amp and centre channel etc?

Advice please.

 

Also on another note power hatch, yes or no?

 

thanks

[GoneToBeemer]

If you’re ordering a brand new car then the last thing you want is someone to hack it to pieces fitting aftermarket equipment (in my opinion anyway!).

 

The Canton system is very good - I had no issues with it in my Octy...the only thing that lets it down is the lack of sound deadening in the car, but that’s not the audio system’s fault. The standard system is very poor if you like your music. 

 

Also I have a Canton sound stage for my TV in the house, and it puts my old Bose one to shame - very good quality stuff. 

[ahenners]

Canton was a must have for me. It's actually pretty good. IIRC Canton was only about £500-600. You'd need to spend significantly more IMO to end up with something noticeably better.

[Swirly182]

For info the standard stereo isn't actually that bad! Although I have been used to a Qashqai's system for 6 months which truly is s***.

 

Dealers usually have at least one Skoda model with Canton in the showroom, go and have a listen. 

[bigman1976]

I specced the Canton sound system when ordering my VRS estate having spend about £1200 on my last Octavia trying to get a decent sound. Have to say, for the cost, I’ve been very impressed. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys listening to music. 

[PSM]

And it has to be a yes to the power hatch too. 

[carl0076]

Its a very difficult if not impossible retrofit, I looked at the wiring diagram for canton and all the speakers are wired back to the amp under the passenger seat. If your ordering a new car it makes sense to get as many factory fit options a possible, saying that the one i would not tick is the powered tailgate, not read loads of amazing reviews on its reliability and its sooooooo slow, i would see if you can try one before ordering.

[TeebsVRS]

Can I check - was Canton an option for all Octavias or just the VRS? I've only ever seen it mentioned onn the VRS, or is it just a rare option?

 

Also apart from the sub in the boot is there any other way of telling if a car has Canton in eg. Classifieds ad pics.

Edited 17 February, 2018 by TeebsVRS

[GoneToBeemer]

2 minutes ago, TeebsVRS said:

Can I check - was Canton an option for all Octavias or just the VRS? I've only ever seen it mentioned onn the VRS, or is it just a rare option?

 

Option on every O3, apart from Laurin & Klement. 

[Dr Zoidberg]

3 minutes ago, TeebsVRS said:

Can I check - was Canton an option for all Octavias or just the VRS? I've only ever seen it mentioned onn the VRS, or is it just a rare option?

 

All of them I believe. I had it on my Elegance and was very pleased with the quality for the £400 it cost at the time.
The standard stereo was very underwhelming and you'd need to spend a lot more in aftermarket parts to do better.
 

It's not as good as the Harmon Kardon I've got in the Mini now though.

[KevC_Derby]

Canton branded speaker grills on the Door Tweeters is probably the easiest visible indication.

 

[TeebsVRS]

5 minutes ago, KevC_Derby said:

Canton branded speaker grills on the Door Tweeters is probably the easiest visible indication.

 

 

Great thanks, I'm finding dealers don't always list it on ads. Would it also be Canton if they list it as 10 speakers rather than 8?

[maul]

When I got my octy I thought the canton sub in the back wasn't working its only when I got it half out I realised its was working.

Its a bit quiet. Lol.

If it was broken it  would justify a replacement speaker even researched what to try that would fit in the same box with just a little fettling.

But it's not broken so I will make do with it and it's understated performance

[bigman1976]

53 minutes ago, TeebsVRS said:

Can I check - was Canton an option for all Octavias or just the VRS? I've only ever seen it mentioned onn the VRS, or is it just a rare option?

 

Also apart from the sub in the boot is there any other way of telling if a car has Canton in eg. Classifieds ad pics.

 

Although you can’t tell in the classified ads, there is an option in the sound menu on the headunit which mentions Canton. Sub woofer levels also unique. 

[thompma30]

I've just got my new Oct SE L and it came with canton, must say the sound is spot on.

Good level of detail and doesn't sound too bad. Retrofit might be a difficult and expensive job.

I did have a full focal setup on my swift with sound deadening the doors which made a massive improvement for the tin can!

[ahenners]

1 hour ago, TeebsVRS said:

 

Great thanks, I'm finding dealers don't always list it on ads. Would it also be Canton if they list it as 10 speakers rather than 8?

 

Yes - the centre speaker on the dash and the sub in the boot make up the additional two.

 

It's not uncommon for dealers to mis-describe specification on adverts though. Best indicators are the logo on the front door tweeters or the black sub box on the left side of the boot.

[SashaGrace]

I slightly regret not getting a car with Canton. All my previous cars before the Citigo had great audio systems and I expected the Citigo not to be great so had low expectations (would have had an Up! beats otherwise) but the Octy takes the prize as the worst audio system I’ve heard! Factory upgrade audio systems aren’t usually to the caliber of true audiophiles anyway so if you want the best, get a standard car and build a system but if you are happy with a good off the shelf system, the Canton is good. The MIB2 stereos make the standard speakers easier to bear however. I wouldn’t trip over to find a car that had the power hatch; I found a couple of cars on my list when I was buying mine that had it and it’s a feature that sounds really cool and useful but it hasn’t been well executed on the O3, lots of reports of leaky hydraulic struts and it is very slow. I don’t regret getting my car which doesn’t have it.

[logiclee]

I don't know what Skoda were thinking with the Standard Audio on the Mk3 Octavia.

 

In our Mk2 we have a lowly Bolero and it's perfectly acceptable with a decent amount of bass and depth, our Mk3 has a very expensive Columbus system and it sounds thin and tinny.

 

I'd certainly tick the Canton box if ordering new.

 

Skoda are not alone though, when we bought our 1 Series in 2012 there were a choice of three different audio systems and the standard unit was every bit as poor as the Mk3 Octy.

 

[madmancunian]

Just took delivery of my new O3 Vrs, can vouch for the decent sound coming from my Canton upgrade

[Falmouthboy]

Just to add, if you want to compare standard and Canton at a dealer, try to do so on used cars/demonstrators not new showroom cars.  The speakers take about 100 hours to bed in and sound their best.  Also, if you do opt for Canton, don’t crank the sub woofer up to full until it is properly bedded in otherwise it won’t will be damaged.

 

As others have said, it’s a significant improvement over standard, but it won’t impress real audiophiles.  However much or the problem is down to sound deadening rather than the speakers so if you wanted to invest in optimum sound quality this would need to be addressed before adding high end speakers.

[GoneToBeemer]

18 hours ago, Dr Zoidberg said:

 

All of them I believe. I had it on my Elegance and was very pleased with the quality for the £400 it cost at the time.
The standard stereo was very underwhelming and you'd need to spend a lot more in aftermarket parts to do better.
 

It's not as good as the Harmon Kardon I've got in the Mini now though.

 

Canton was standard equipment on the L&K.

 

Agreed on the HK system - I have it in my 5 series and it’s fantastic. Hard to believe why anyone would spend £4K on the Bowers & Wilkins system!!

[Gti Jazz Blue]

On 17/02/2018 at 18:11, Dr Zoidberg said:

 

All of them I believe. I had it on my Elegance and was very pleased with the quality for the £400 it cost at the time.
The standard stereo was very underwhelming and you'd need to spend a lot more in aftermarket parts to do better.
 

It's not as good as the Harmon Kardon I've got in the Mini now though.

I would agree on that statement my Mrs has the HK in her new Mini Clubman Cooper S and it sounds very good and better than my Canton.

[logiclee]

7 hours ago, GoneToBeemer said:

Hard to believe why anyone would spend £4K on the Bowers & Wilkins system!!

 

I've spent more than that on a B&W system but for my home cinema not for a car. 

[Telf964]

I have the Canton system in my 63 plate Elegance Estate. It's pretty good all round, but could do with a bigger sub in my opinion. I used to install high end sound quality systems in my cars when I was younger, and whilst the Canton system in my car now couldn't touch any of my old systems, it is worth it if you want decent sound without all the fuss and cost of installing an aftermarket system.

[Gabbo]

For me 600gbp is a lot to spend on an audio system in a car.

If I add up all the audio Equipment in my house, none of it comes to that cost.

 

Unless you listen to music with a lot of bass or bottom end, then the standard system is pretty good for me.

I have to say the firmware upgrade on the Columbus unit which reduced the compression applied to the speaker output was a noticable improvement though.