Canalis speaker home trial

Hi Mark,

I've just had a look on their site and it looks like there's much there in the Cambrias for the IBL lover looking to move on. As someone who's moved on from IBLs myself, I'll be interested to see how this goes for you.

My only comment is that they look a bit jammed in, in the pics. Are you able to pull them forward 6" so that the drivers are in front of the fireplace, and what do they sound like if you do?

Chris

Last comments from me at this stage: I reckon the Honey finish would match your room far more. Obviously, there goes the discount. Site quotes $5000/ pair btw.     

C.

I agree with Chris - it does look awfully squashed. Can you move the elsewhere (on the left maybe) so that you can get the speakers further apart? A few inches forward would be good too. 

As to the speakers, they look a bit grim to me with the dark finish and shiny drivers. The other downside with buying speakers that nobody has heard of is that if you do buy them and then decide to move on, you'll get about tuppence for them. 

Having owned IBLs I'd say that they can take a lot more upstream before hitting their limits. That said, I know what you mean about the slightly insistent sound. I wonder if a really nice pair of MK2 SBLs for £1,000 or so might be just the ticket. I'd also consider getting the system out of that heavy oak cupboard. It's certainly doing the poor old LP12 no favours. 

Sorry if this sounds a bit negative, but if I had your system that's what I'd do. 

Hi Chris, I agree about the finish. Not too keen on the obvious bolts around the cones either. It's a shame because the deal I'm being offered is a substantial discount and would include a big discount on TQB speaker cables at the same time. They do sound lovely right now though. The drivers are about on a level with the edge of the fireplace which is as far forward as I'll be allowed to have them .

HH, that's a good point about resale value, (although I'd hope to be living with that kind of investment for many years). I reckon that may be one reason my dealer is having trouble shifting them and the reason for the very attractive deal. Although having said that $5,000 shouldn't really equate to £5,000 even taking into account tax and shipping. As to the oak cabinet, that's also the best I could manage from a domestic compromise perspective. Narrower than a Fraim, just, but as you say it does leave everything very tight. SBLs definitely wouldn't fit, which is a shame because they would certainly be on my list.

All that aside, they do sound very good. Tonally neutral, deep punchy and well defined bass, not breathy or blowy in any way. The top end is clear, open but not sibilant or tiring. I'm not getting much in the way of soundstage though or imaging which may be as much down to the positioning limitations as anything. I'm not too fussed about that though. Overall balance is toward the relaxed side I'd say. I listened to Mask by Vangelis last night at quite a high volume which is very dynamic, it was nearly there but didn't scare me like the Isobariks used to. I'll probably get a better insight into how I really feel about them after they've gone back and the IBLs are back in play.

I'd also try some PMC twenty.23s. They are excellent speakers, look really nice in the oak finish and can be bought for under £2,000 ex dem. With a super system like you have, setting it up properly with the speakers a decent distance apart will make all the difference. I certainly wouldn't buy expensive speakers and then install them in a way that hampers their performance so much. Surely a sensible negotiation with your other half is possible; after all everyone wants things to look nice and to get as much as possible from their expenditure. 

Can you not get shot of that funny stone thing - maybe it could go in the garden? This is where you say it's a priceless statue....

Hi, As you say, Mark, the telling will be when the IBLs go back. Audio's all compromises isn't it, non-ideal finish, silvery bolts, positioning, price.

I mean even the IBLs would be compromised by the fireplace, assuming you put them in the same positions. What to do? I think I know which way it will go because I think you like the sound  :-)   Please let us know.

C.

Edit: I'm not sure if this is helpful or not but I think someone from Naim once quoted a figure of around £2000/ pair here on the forum, if IBLs were to be built today. Someone will put me right.

I must be the only one thinking they actually look quite nice! They are sleek and modern looking and unobtrusive - but don't look like £5k worth though!!.  I have to agree though, if it were me I couldn't bring myself to spend so much on a pair of speakers if I was going to have to place them unfavorably.  They may not mind being boxed in but surely you can con knee the other half to let you bring them fwd so their drivers are in front of the rack and fire place.  

As HH said, try the PMC twenty.23s - they are half the price and are the only floor stander I've found that work fabulously well in uncompromising positions. I home demo'd some recently, if they weren't over my current budget I'd have definitely snapped up a pair - they do everything well, I couldn't really fault them tbh. And resale value would be great! 

HH, yes going to listen to 20.23's before making a decision. Have discussed positioning options with the boss but it was a very short conversation if you know what I mean.

Marksnaim posted:

HH, yes going to listen to 20.23's before making a decision. Have discussed positioning options with the boss but it was a very short conversation if you know what I mean.

Do what I did with my last pair of floors tanders is position them, check the other half is happy and then gradually edge them fwd a couple cm over a few days without them noticing :-).  If they spot their position at a later date the just say they agreed they to it!!

It's a high risk strategy, but how about agreeing with your better half that you reposition everything to optimise the system, leave it in place for a week and put it back if she doesn't agree it's better. Then during that week be on best behaviour and hope she gives in. It worked for me when I needed to re-jig the room. It does have to look nicer overall though, which in my case it did. Life is, as Chris says, all about compromises, but I'd have thought there was a better way than squeezing the speakers in tiny gaps. 

Last time I was at Cymbiosis, there was a pair of Kudos floor standing speakers, which precise model I cannot remember (maybe the C20s?), but they sounded superb. They weren't too tall, nor did they have a large footprint, but IIRC Peter said they were somewhere around £3,500. They had plenty of space around them there though, so I don't know how they'd perform in a confined space. They would definitely be on my list if I wanted something smaller. 

These are better and cheaper ,with a smooth forward balance.

I wouldn't pay £5k for these, but then that's not the offer. More like £3.5k. Still a lot more than the PMC 20.23 though, which has had much recent praise. I'll need to go to another dealer for a dem of those though. One with whom I have no previous purchase history so an extended home trial might not be so easy. Sigh.

I could put the cabinet of equipment in the adjacent lounge, left adjoining wall, and run the speaker cables through. Hardly ideal but the boss would love the aesthetic of that I'm sure!

Just moved them forward 6" while the boss is upstairs. Yes, does sound better. Better separation between instruments and vocals. Slightly tighter bass. More soundstage too.

Shame, as I'm agreeing with the consensus here, as well as SWMBO. They look awful in this fairly small room, even more so when pulled forward. They do look better in the flesh than the photos suggest but they don't go in this room looks wise. Let's see if the positioning adjustment gets noticed. 

Do it! Do it tomorrow! See, I said there was always a way. And if you move it, you may be able to get a decent stand too.  Put a nice standard lamp where the cupboard was and you get better sound and better looks. Move that funny stone thing to the left.... And with the space SBLs may be a realistic proposition - the £2,500 saving may also be in your favour...

The post above referred to your previous one about moving the cupboard. And yes, the speakers look awful. Take them back. Just remember that your better half is always right. 

I don't mind the look of them Mark, but Nigel makes a very pertinent point about the manufacturer. It is in the nature of the audiophile to change loudspeakers due to whim, taste, room and WAF. Resale prices and desirability should be considered.

My hat is off to Canalis though, for the only range of loudspeaker finishes I have ever been desirous of licking - Honey, Cinnamon, and Licorice.

John.

Well John, if you ever come round I'll keep my AudioQuest Cinnamon cables well hidden. I've never thought of them as lickable. 

If you look at the Canalis website, they have only four dealers in the whole of the US. If you then go to the UK distributor, they don't even seem to be mentioned. As a potential investment, err....... Buy for £3,500 and if you grow tired of them, sell for £500. 

Yeah, feels like a real risk there, dealer wise that is.

Anyway, sitting here looking at them in their new forward position (about 5" further from rear wall). No comments about that yet from SWMBO. But I'm decided. They're great sounding beasts, but not for me. They're going back.

Tobyjug, the Scansonics sounds like a great speaker, and they like firing across the room, but they like to be wide apart and a meter from the back wall to be at their best evidently so going to struggle to accommodate them.

That sounds like a sensible decision Mark - all things considered. Any good Naim dealer should be able to demonstrate suitable alternatives from established loudspeaker manufacturers.

John.

$5000 is £3392 when I looked just now, so I'm not sure the dealer is doing you that much of a deal when he is including the TQB wires and calling it £3500.

You like them a lot. I just wish you could get a Honey pair at the right price for you.

C.

I'm not sure I could live with the looks even in Honey Chris. I suspect my dealer won't be rushing to get more of these over from the US for all the reasons above. I'll see if I can get a home dem of the PMC twenty.23. Only if funds permit though. Got to wait a month or so first. Got to be worth given the Totem Hawk a go at home too. Even if I preferred the Canalis in the showroom.

In the meantime see if you can get the reorganising done. You may find sufficient improvement with the IBLs that new speakers become unnecessary. If not, you'll be able to place any demonstration speakers more optimally and thus make a more meaningful assessment.  

Mark,

my contribution is not going to be decisive I believe (and I don't expect it to be), but I find the IBLs so pretty that even though I have heard them very sparingly in the last 20 years I remember how I liked them in a friend's store in the late 90s, even though I was the only one loving them. I remember the same clarity and transparency of electrostatics, and the most eye-pleasing design I know. From the mere point of view of aesthetics, I think I like the IBLs more than any other loudspeaker I have seen. So, my first idea would be to try and optimise them instead of moving to other speakers.

But I also understand that they are not for everyone. I do not know the Canalis, do not especially like Totems or PMCs, so even if I do not like promoting what I myself have, Nigel's suggestion of a pair of SBLs seems reasonable to me. And they can be had for, I believe, significantly less than £1000. But even in that price zone - say £750/800 for the speakers plus £120 for the renovation kit - I'd think seriously about them. Yet, Chris's and Nigel's points are all very wise, and I'd follow those lines.

Best wishes

Max