Canton GLE 496.2 Floor standing speakers

Buyers often judge the novelty of the model only by its design, without going into the content. Nevertheless, Canton engineers preferred something not visible to the eye instead of a cosmetic update of the GLE series - technical modernization. Proportions, front shield, finish - everything is preserved as before. The familiar picture is also from the back: a pair of terminals for cables, a round port of bass-reflex is above it, and higher - mounting for dust-proof mesh, a proprietary feature of floorstanding GLE models. If desired, the grill can be reinstalled from the front to the back, thereby solving the problem of its storage.

However, a trained eye will notice that GLE 496 systems have textile tweeters, and GLE 496.2 - with a metal dome and an aperture body. Similar situation is with mid-woofers: in the previous models the rubber suspension has a traditional S-shape, while the new ones have a double "S". That's right - GLE .2 series received almost the same drivers that are used in the older Chrono series. Tweeters with light domes made of aluminum-manganese alloy allowed to expand the upper limit of playback from 30,000 to 40,000 Hz. A wave-suspension sets a more linear motion and reduces edge resonances that occur on aluminum diffusers.

In the test system, set up under the usual stereo, we first listened to the familiar GLE 496, and then put GLE 496.2 in their place.

Canton GLE 496 played their program briskly. Amazingly low bass with some kind of tremendous energy (and this is in a room with an area of more than 40 m2!), you could only complain about some echoing sounds. The middle is cool and smooth. There is almost no obvious lack of harmonic resolution in MIDs. At the frequency of bands changeover (about 2 - 4 kHz) there is a small, but not annoying accent. The upper case is transmitted with a distinct resolution, but it is still not free of a little coloring. There are no obvious problems with the dynamic range - one can only complain about slight compression.

Turning to the upgraded models, I immediately note the need for a good warm-up of the loudspeakers, which is strongly recommended by the manufacturer. The required minimal "warm up" is 15 - 20 hours of work. Without it, there will be a slight squeeze, but in any case, the character of the bass will be kept with a confident study of the lowest frequencies. As for the rest of the signs, Canton GLE 496.2 has made a very serious step towards poor, but demanding audiophiles.

First of all, I note the construction of space. It is clearer, blurring of images due to binding is no longer observed, and those imaginary side sources that go far beyond the stereo base are clearly designated in two-channel recordings. The detailing has increased at high frequencies and there are more highest air components, although the character of reproducing the most vocal instruments is already different: the light coloring accent from 10-11 kHz has shifted lower, making the sound a little more contrast. But how richer and more interesting is the nuance - the loudspeakers sounded with new details! Moreover, this increase in clarity has spread to the band, where the middle turns into low frequencies.

If you translate what was said into the plane of genre preferences, then the new models are much better suited to all vocal programs, classical music and jazz, especially if you listen to recordings in Hi-Res formats. Popular dance beats, hip-hop and any music that has enough thoroughness of low frequencies will also sound strong, because the loudspeakers really sound richer and more pedantic than the previous ones.