MOVIE & MUSIC PERFORMANCE

I started my listening duties with stereo playback on the GLE 490 pair alone. On the purest of music, such as Yo-Yo Ma's performance of Bach's Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites, the pair proved to be extremely transparent. Although I usually prefer dark sonic textures, I soon appreciated these towers' crisp sense of air. Some speakers just sound too bright to me. The GLE 490s' high end, by contrast, helps bring a terrific presence to recordings. Intimate bowing details were clearly enunciated, but didn't sound unnatural or forced. If anything, Yo-Yo Ma's inherently warm cello tones might have come off too dark on overly warm-sounding speakers; here, they were just right.

Moving on to something completely different, I listened to Old Crow Medicine Show's Tennessee Pusher. This band has a unique bluegrass sound that's not easily reproduced. Its percussive string playing can sometimes come across as raw, and a speaker should neither hide that fact nor accentuate it. On songs such as "Highway Halo," the GLE 490 towers sounded as Americana as apple pie, with just the right twang on the guitar, a properly soulful harmonica, and upfront lead vocals. I especially liked the sound of the backup vocals on "Hotel in Memphis." Some speakers can make backup singers sound pancake-flat in a mix, but these added a sense of 3-D to the stereo panorama, with the vocals properly spaced behind the lead.

I next added the subwoofer and turned to heftier music. Nickelback's Dark Horse is kick-ass rock & roll, and the sub responded appropriately with bass that was tight, punchy, and modestly powerful. On "Burn It to the Ground," the skins on the floor toms and kick drum sounded as stiff as inch-thick plywood, the snare as persuasive as a slam-dunk, and the hi-hat as hard as glass. The aggressive, snarly bass guitar was spot-on, and its punch didn't get lost in the crossover region between the sub and the towers. All in all, this is a terrific system for stereo listening, particularly with the addition of the AS 85 SC sub.

Turning next to movies, I checked out 3:10 to Yuma, a gritty Western remake that, while satisfying, falls short of the classic pasta morality plays. When watching this movie, you'll notice that the center channel has to deliver about 6 million gunshots along with dialogue and ambient effects. The GLE 455 handled it all very well, with precise tonality and off-axis response that I judged to be better than average. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale - apparently trying to out-Eastwood each other - deliver most of their dialogue in whispers and growls. Again, the GLE 455 hit the mark, providing high intelligibility on every syllable.

During the movie's finale, the surround speakers are tasked with delivering wind, breaking glass, splintering wood, and gunshots galore. The gunshots in particular sounded realistic over the GLE 420s, triggering my head-ducking instinct when the shooters were behind Crowe and Bale. The surrounds sounded as clean as the towers, although they could have used a little more low-frequency punch. Obviously, direct-radiating surrounds like these lack the dispersion of dipoles, but I was still satisfied with the resulting sound field.

Although the AS 85 SC subwoofer impressed me by providing sufficient heft in scenes with a charging stagecoach, dynamite explosions, and a collapsing tunnel, it was limited by its size and its amplifier power. It hit the lowest frequencies, but when I cranked things up during action sequences with the Narrow setting selected, soundtrack peaks produced an overstressed "tupping" sound and some port noise. If you have a big room, or if you want enough bass to risk structural damage to your home's foundation, you'll need a bigger sub. For normal listening in a normal-size room, the AS 85 SC will be adequate.

BOTTOM LINE

I am genetically inclined toward lugubrious-sounding speakers. But even given that bias, I can truthfully report that I greatly admired this system's genuinely accurate, full-frequency sound, which was characterized by firm bass, a transparent midrange, and clear treble. I'm impressed that Canton managed to deliver extremely good performance here at an affordable price. Who knows - after enjoying these Canton speakers in my listening room, the experience might just transform me into a full-frequency listener.