Customer Reviews

Canton CD 90 Soundbar Speaker (single, Silver)

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I had been viewing this Canton CD90 soundbar for a year ever since I bought my Sony KDL52XBR9 TV. The TV needed a corner unit to sit upon and my Klipsch SF1 towers for front L&R just didn't fit. So I swapped the towers for my more compact surrounds, Optimus Pro LX5's with the Linaeum ribbon tweeter (they served as great surrounds, by the way) and put the towers in the rear. They fit a lot better than the towers but were still a bit of a distraction since they didn't fit nicely aside the TV. Although my wife didn't comment strongly about the aesthetics of this arrangement, I knew it was a sore spot. The CD90 was especially intriguing because it delivered center, right and left audio without surround effects. I didn't want sound bars that deliver matrixed surround. I have a 250 watt Velodyne subwoofer so I wasn't worried about any thinness from the CD90. Also, the CD90 sits below the bottom bezel of the TV, which most of the surround sound bars do not. It has the lowest profile of any bar I have reviewed.

I (we are) am happy with this addition to my setup. The bar almost disappears below the bottom bezel of the Sony. I settled on positioning the bar on the Sony's stand. That puts it so close to the TV that it seems to be a part of it. The build quality of the CD90 is exceptional. I would expect nothing less from Canton. While the XBR9's internal speakers have garnered pretty good reviews for a flat panel TV, I wanted to utilize my JVC receiver's flexibility for surround, and of course, my sub.

The CD90 has withstood my limited stress testing. It performs admirably from all sources. It certainly has not diminished the quality of sound I got from the Kilpsch towers or the Optimus'. By itself, the CD90 does not provide the depth a pair of quality towers will give. They do the job, IMO. Canton has packed a lot of good sound in its skinny bar. Movie tracks are delivered with great punch and dialog is centered correctly. Well of course it does as the source comes directly from the center output of my receiver. Music from CDs and FM is pleasant and well-defined using just the L & R output. Certainly not audiophile quality, I suppose, but certainly good enough for everyday utility and then some.

All in all, I am not in awe of this speaker but it has served admirably replacing much larger speakers without diminishing the aural experience. And did I mention, the wife loves it!