Canton CD 90 SB

Canton sure is not going to lose out in the innovations of sound bars. The Canton CD90SB is a sleek, 40” wide sound bar speaker that is tailor-made for flatscreen tv and monitors. This good looking speaker is a three-channel speaker and does not claim to have surround sound capabilities, yet it is one of the best speakers that delivers good sounds for music, clear dialogs and sufficient bass tones.

Design
It measures 39.9” (W) x 3.5” (H) x 4” (D), and is available in either silver or black brushed aluminium with matching perforated metal grills. Unlike most systems, CD90SB is not self-powered, hence an AV receiver is required. It contains a left, center and right speakers in a row beneath the chassis of perforated metal grille. It can be wall mounted with the brackets included with the purchase. Alternatively, users may also choose to mount it on shelf with the small rubber pads, also included with purchase of this system.

The Canton CD90SB contains three speakers, internally isolated from each other. Each speaker is a two-way design: the left and right speakers each use a 0.5” aluminium dome tweeter and a 3” aluminium woofer. Meanwhile, the center channel features two 3” aluminium woofers and a single 0.5” tweeter. The back of the speaker is fitted with three pairs of metal spring connectors that accept bare wire ends, or wires terminated with pins or spades.

Setting up the Canton CD90 SB
The Canton CD90SB is designed with 42” monitors in mind. Setting up the Canton CD90SB is quite manual, and users are advised to treat the speaker as a “large” speaker during configuration with a subwoofer.

The most interesting fact about this German system is that it is one of the few sound bar systems that allows a full upgrade to bona fide surround sound, by adding Canton’s compact CD10 satellite speakers for a complete surround sound home theatre system. Users can have the option of upgrading to 5.1, 6.1 and even up to 7.1 surround sound system.

A difficult thing about the setting up is that the recessed spring connectors do not work with banana plugs and can be difficult to work with.

Sound quality
The need for an AV receiver may be the reason why Germany’s Canton CD90SB sounds so much better than most systems available. It can be used without a subwoofer, and projects good sounds even for music. As it does not claim any surround sound capabilities, the unique three-channel system does not project even a hint of room-filling surround experience for users. Even though this speaker system is not a full-range speaker, it provides adequate bass without the need for a subwoofer.

The CD90SB’s sound is basically stereo, although movie dialog is heard over the center channel speaker. The sound is confined to the 40-inch width of the speaker, and the three two-way speakers allow dialogs to sound perfectly clear and natural. Users are advised to keep the volume moderate because a small system tuned to a loud volume will sound harsh. Meanwhile, this system still offers the scale and power of sound that few single-speaker systems can match.
Meanwhile, users who opt to have an additional subwoofer may expect the subwoofer to free up the systems dynamic range to a certain extent. While the bass with the original system is sufficient, adding a subwoofer will actually enhance it to the extent of getting near to, but not exactly the same as, a typical 5.1-channel Canton package.

Pros and Cons
The CD90SB truly offers the best sound quality for a 3.1 system. It can be used without a subwoofer and still produce reasonably good bass tones. Dialog is clear and natural, and is one of the few that can be upgraded to 5.1, 6.1 or even 7.1 channels.
Connection-wise, the recessed spring connectors do not work with banana plugs and can be difficult to work with. Users still need an additional AV receiver. Meanwhile, as it is definitely a 3.1 channel speaker, there is not even a hint of room-filling surround. An average user may actually opt to buy a 5.1 channel surround system sound bar instead.

Conclusion
The CD90SB is one of the best sound bars based on quality of sound produced. It may claim to be a surround sound system with its three-speaker system, yet it is capable of producing good bass sound which may lack in some more sophisticated speaker systems. It can also be considered a “TV speaker”.

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