Canton Vento 100 Floor Standing Speaker Review

The Vento series is positioned just below the Reference K series, which is the highest series in the Canton speakers product lineup. Compared to the series’ predecessors, the updated speakers have larger cabinet volumes and are equipped with newly developed midrange/bass drivers. The Vento 100 speakers reviewed here are the flagship of the series. As a flagship product, the Vento 100 is the largest, tallest, and most expensive one in the series. With an MSRP of $6,495 per pair (or $6,995 in a premium finish), the Vento 100 is definitely out of the budget speaker category, but it is not in the astronomically expensive range of the many high-end speakers in today’s market. The review will detail my impressions on the worthiness of the form and function of the speakers, especially in stereo music applications.

Founded in 1972 in Germany, Canton has had significant experience in developing and manufacturing hi-fi speakers. The company seems to take pride in combining innovative technologies with high-quality components and craftsmanship in the creation of a wide range of speaker models and designs. As stated on its website, the company puts an emphasis on offering products with the best possible price-performance ratio. This seems to be their success formula, as Canton has grown into an established brand in the industry and become one of the largest speaker companies in Europe.

The Canton Vento 100 speakers reviewed here arrived in two big boxes. Unpacking them alone was not difficult, but with such a heavy speaker it would definitely be good to have someone to help. Frankly speaking, I thought the speaker’s packaging left a lot to be desired. The Styrofoam padding protecting the speakers was rather brittle and not thick enough. It was a miracle that these speakers arrived unscathed. I do think that heavy speakers like these could use thicker and softer foam padding to cushion them in their boxes. I was told, however, that the packaging has been professionally tested and designed for shipping the speakers on a pallet. But packaging aside, once the speakers were out of the boxes, the high quality of the components used, and the impeccable craftsmanship are immediately obvious. Their look definitely suggested that they were not to be taken lightly. It sure piqued my curiosity about the performance that the speakers could deliver to back up their exquisite appearance.

The Vento 100 is a rather large 3-way, bass-reflex floor standing speaker. Each speaker employs a 1” ceramic tweeter, a 6.8” titanium-graphite midrange, and two 8.7” titanium-graphite woofers. These proprietary midranges and woofers are newly developed. Their metallic cones were visually distinctive and, in my opinion, enhance the appearance of the speaker when the grille is off. These drivers, utilizing double-cone technology, are very stiff and have excellent damping properties, with wave surrounds capable of accommodating large excursions for enhanced dynamic capabilities. The speaker also uses high-quality crossover components that are mounted on vibration-optimized bearings.

The craftsmanship of the Vento 100 is first-rate. The cabinet seems to be very well braced and exhibits excellent fit and finish. With its curved side panels, rounded cabinet edges, and glossy finish, this speaker looks gorgeous. The review samples came in the glossy walnut premium finish (MSRP $6,995 /pair), which looks elegant and should easily fit into contemporary or classical room décors. The Vento 100 speaker has a downward-facing port, which is cleverly hidden through the use of a “floating” cabinet design. In this design, the cabinet is supported at a specific distance above the glossy-black base plinth, which also serves as the base support for the speaker for better stability. Screw-in spikes or rubber feet are provided, and they can be added to the bottom of the base plinth if necessary, depending on the floor type. Following the current trend, the speaker is equipped with a framed fabric grille that attaches magnetically to the cabinet.

The gold-plated binding posts of the Vento 100 are located on the rear near the bottom of the speaker. Each speaker is equipped with two pairs of binding posts to accommodate bi-wiring/bi-amping applications. The speaker was shipped with a couple of metal jumpers connecting the two sets of posts for single-wiring application, which was the setting used during this evaluation.

With a nominal impedance of 8 ohms, the Vento 100 speakers are not difficult to drive. During the review, I had a chance to drive the speakers using various amplifiers available: the Michi X3 integrated amplifier (200 W/channel), the Marantz Model 40n integrated amplifier (70 W/channel), the PS Audio HCA-2 power amplifier (150 W/channel), and the Bel Canto Ref500S power amplifier (250 W/channel). These power amplifiers were used in conjunction with the excellent PS Audio BHK Signature preamplifier. I found that all these pairings yielded equally good results. There were subtle differences among them, but none of these pairings changed my impression of the tonal characteristics and the general performance of the speakers. The sources used were the PS Audio PerfectWave Transport and the AURALiC Aries G1 streamer feeding the PS Audio DirectStream DAC.

In the final review placement, the speakers were separated about 8 ft apart from each other and the distance from my listening position to the middle point between the two speakers was about 9 ft. I found that the speakers did not need too much toe-in to yield the best imaging and soundstage. In my setup, only about 10 degrees inward toe-in was applied. As the design of the Vento 100 utilizes a downward-firing port, the speakers’ bass response should not be too sensitive to the distance from the wall behind them. Nevertheless, for the review, I gave the speakers some breathing room and placed them such that their front baffles were about 4 ft away from the rear wall. All my listening evaluations were done with the grilles off.

Per my usual routine, I did a nearfield in-room frequency-response measurement using the REW software and a calibration microphone prior to the start of the critical listening. Glancing at the measurement result, I could not help but notice how flat its nearfield frequency response was. This has gotta be the flattest 55Hz – 20kHz speaker response that I had ever reviewed, suggesting that the Vento 100 was a very well-designed speaker indeed. This nearfield measurement also indicated that the speaker was capable of producing significant bass down to the low 30-Hz range. With the room loading, the Vento 100 did manage to generate useful bass extension down to the low 20 Hz range in my listening room.

I am well aware that a good measurement alone does not always correspond to good sound. I am glad to report, however, that the sonic performance of the Vento 100 was as good as its measurement suggested. The Vento 100 managed to impress me from the very start with their vibrant overall sonic characteristics. These are brilliant speakers that do everything well sonically with no apparent weaknesses. They particularly excelled in extracting the musical textures in the recordings and presenting music with a high degree of transparency. If I had to score every aspect of their sonic performance, their report card would only be filled with only a “Good” to “Excellent” range of grades, and definitely no fail or just-pass grades.

The Vento 100 speakers produced a great, balanced sound across the audible frequency spectrum. The bass was impactful and articulate, the midrange sounded natural and full of textures, and the treble had sufficient extension with great resolution. The overall presentation sounded full with a great sense of transparency and spaciousness.

Will an additional subwoofer benefit the Vento 100 speakers, which are capable of producing full-range frequency responses by themselves and, as I have alluded to above, have a solid bass response? If you just look at the frequency response of the Vento 100, then the answer is ‘no’. But bass response is tricky, and it is affected a lot by the room and your setup more than any other frequency ranges. So, whether a subwoofer will add a sonic benefit or not depends on your situation. If your listening position does not correspond to the optimal bass response location of the Vento 100 (on a bass null or bass valley), then a carefully placed subwoofer can improve the overall bass response at the listening position. But if you are lucky enough that you get a good bass response at your listening position where the speakers are located, then a subwoofer is not really necessary. In my case, the bass response that I got from the Vento 100 at my listening position was decent, and I could live without adding a subwoofer to the setup. However, even in my situation, augmenting the setup utilizing my Rythmik F12SE subwoofer still proved to be beneficial, yielding slight improvements in the overall bass presence and definition.

With their great build quality, elegant appearance, and vibrant performance, the CANTON VENTO 100 SPEAKERS deliver great value beyond their asking price.

Both the form and function of the Canton Vento 100 speakers impressed me a great deal during this review. The speakers are very well designed and look elegant in their exquisite fit and finish. More importantly, the Vento 100 speakers exhibit vibrant sonic performance that checks all the important aspects of a great-sounding loudspeaker with no discernible weaknesses. At $6,495 per pair (or $6,995 in the premium finish), these speakers are not cheap, but their build quality and performance can give more expensive speakers out there a run for their money. Highly recommended!