CANTON Vento Reference 3 DC vs. the 3.2 Model

@revrob I am considering these speakers as well. What is "phonemail value"? What other reference speakers would you compare them to? My only concern is price. Is the price TOO low?!? Only in an audiophilia forum would someone even ask that question. Lol

@zeusodin,

Thanks for the question.This is going to be a long post so I hope you don't mind.  First of all speakers, in my opinion, represents the heart of a true audiophile system. Almost everyone on this forum believes that their current speaker is the best they ever owned until their next set of speakers.

I have had my share of speakers after 40 years in this hobby of our. My two favorites are the Lenehan SR2 bookshelf monitors. The do everything right especially reproducing bass and anything below 45hz. Original cost $4k but I bought them used. I still owned them.

My favorite speaker were a pair of Salk HT3 full range with ribbon tweeters which I owned for 5 years. Overall one of the finest speakers you could own. The Salk Community over at Audiocircle.com is a strong community and Salk has won high praise from the Audio world. I paid $3k used for them and sold them for the same amount 5 years. Great value and hold their price.

Recently my wife and I purchase a new home and I decided to get back into audio. First up was to purchase a new set of speakers. The criteria had to be a full-range speaker, capable of going down to 25hz, play at loud and at soft level. Being able to play anything from Jazz to Classical to Elton John. Needed to convey a sense of realism all while staying under my budget of $4k.

Lastly, for me, unlike other audiophiles, I was looking for my last speaker at least for the next 5 to 10 years like the Salk so resell was not a big concern. You will be surprised how many people won't buy a speaker they really like because of resell value 

So naturally I am thinking used. Maybe another pair of Salk, Vandersteen, Von Schweikert, Focal, Talon, and Dynaudio, to name a few. The problem was going to be able to hear them and then what would the cost to ship large speakers to my home. The shipping would reduce my budget by several hundreds dollars if the speakers weigh as much as I thought.

So I had to rely mostly on review of speakers in magazines and forums such as Audiogon and others. After researching for several months I came across a review of the Canton Reference 3.2 DC Speakers in Stereophile Magazine. Basically they loved the speakers, rated them a Class A, and thought they represented real value and were worth the $16K asking price.

$16k was 4 times my budget but then I found Accessories for less that had them listed for under $6K, shipped and no taxes. So I did more research but there was limited information available. 

So I email the people at A4L and asked about the speakers. They had two models listed, the Reference 3.2 DC at $6k and the Reference 3 DC at $4k. I asked what was the difference beside price and they said the tweeter and that the 3 DC was the older model, Obviously they highly recommend these hand made German Brand speakers. He offered me a deal of $3.5 shipped for the Reference 3 DC shipped and I purchased them.

Before the speakers came I keep hearing in the back of my mind you just spent almost $4k for a speaker you haven't heard, relied on a speaker magazine and what would it cost to send them back if you didn't like them?

Well on day one I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, the build, the finishes. These beast weight 108 pound each. But then the sound hit me and even on Day 1, I knew this was not going back and I had discovered what many audiophiles were looking for in a reference speaker: imagining, soundstage, midrange, the ability to reproduce the sound of a piano, vocals, the ability to go low without a subwoofer. The Canton has all of those qualities. I believe I hit the jackpot even better than my Salks.

Finally, what is the audiophile value on a rating of 1 to 10, for me 9+ maybe even a 10 compared to what I have listen to. For $4k shipped, no taxes, 5 year warranty I personally believe these represent a phenomenal value.

The only con: very limited USA dealership, potential resell value, and the cost of shipping. I believe this things are the reason the price is so low.

In my opinion you won't find a better value for a Reference Audiophile Type of Speaker even used under $6k plus shipping. $16k when Stereophile reviewed them versus $4k to buy them new today. Highly recommended!

Peace,
revrob

@revrob , thanks for the long post. I wish it were longer! Lol

It seems that Accessories4Less.com has quite a bit of latitude when it comes to lowering the price of these speakers. The lone review of the 3.2 DC says the buyer paid $4600 instead of the listed $6k price and that included the $1k center channel speaker! You paid $3500 instead of the $4k listed price. Great deals all abound.

I don't expect to sell the speakers soon or ... ever but it does give me pause that there seems to be absolutely no secondary market for these speakers. Poo happens right? I try to prepare for the worst.

I don't mind the shipping costs because I am considering other ~100 lb speakers. My first choice is the Legacy Audio Signature SE, used of course, for ~$4500. They are 106 lbs, 148 lbs shipped.

I really want to obtain cross sectional diagrams and schematics for the speakers. Canton seems to use exceptional drivers. I'm just being paranoid. If A4L extends the $4600 deal to me I think I have NO choice but to pull the trigger. Would you mind posting pictures or if that is not de rigueur PM'ing them to me? 

Thank you so much.

@zeusodin
I just missed out on the free center channel for $3800 shipped, the reason being that there were only a free of the Canton 50.2 center speakers left so that deal was off the table or else I would have purchased all 3 together. 

Just looking at my invoice I was charged $3,399.98 shipped. I also noticed about 1 week after I made my purchase that they had raised the price on their website of the Reference 3 DC from $1899.99 to the current price of $1999.99 each. 

Below is the email I received from Mark at A4L. I don't believe you can get the center channel included anymore but it is worth a try. 

Good luck

From A4L:

"Hi Steve,

The reference 3 is the previous version of the reference 3.2. The only difference is the tweeter (3.2 has ceramic tweeter).

 The model is no longer listed on the site as it’s discontinued.

Regards

Mark Sabbarese

Accessories4less.com

M-F 9am to 5:30pm EST

Direct 407-329-3245

407-859-3335 / 800-657-0195"

I also owned the Legacy Classic more than 20 years ago but the Salk and Cantons are much better speakers. However Legacy does make a high quality speaker.

Good luck.