On most modern TVs, the picture is great – and the sound from the built-in speakers is completely useless. Therefore, when buying a TV, the choice is between a soundbar or a complete home theater system.
The small Danish audio company Canvas HiFi has come up with something quite original. So original that they went to CES in Las Vegas to show it off.
Canvas, the company’s only product, is a flat and wide speaker that can be mounted under the TV itself, so that the speaker and TV appear as one unit. Thanks to an interchangeable front, the speaker fits the dimensions of screens from 55″ to 77″. Simply enter the dimensions of the screen when ordering, and if you change TVs later, you can buy a new front to match the upgraded TV. Canvas comes with both a floor stand and wall bracket.
Behind the front, which in the basic version is covered with Kvadrat fabric, you’ll find an active two-way stereo system with two 6.5″ midwoofers, two 29 mm dome tweeters and two passive slave bass units. All units are from SB Acoustics, but in versions customized for the speaker. Four class D amplifiers drive each unit. The amount of amplifier power is not disclosed.
Canvas has all the connections expected in an active speaker today: HDMI, optical (TosLink) and analog. And wireless streaming via AirPlay 2, Googlecast, Tidal Connect, Spotidy Connect and Roon. And there’s built-in room correction.
No – it’s not a B&O!
Visually, there’s nothing to point a finger at. The front blends in with the TV, and with a front panel in wooden strips, you could easily mistake the whole thing for something that could have been made by Bang & Olufsen.
But we had come to the suite at the Venetian Hotel primarily to hear Canvas, and the first impression was very impressive.
Firstly, the Canvas speaker has a balanced and clean reproduction that you won’t find in a normal soundbar. The bass reproduction is deep and seemed quite powerful in the hotel suite.
And the soundstage is surprisingly large. The acoustic stage extends far beyond the width of the system and is three-dimensional in the room. Canvas uses a bit of digital magic here, in the form of an algorithm called BACCH 3D (Band-Assembled Crosstalk Cancellation Hierarchy), which basically eliminates overlap between the two channels. The effect seemed pretty convincing, both on music and movie material. However, three-dimensional sound or not, you don’t get Dolby Atmos decoding.
Depending on the width and material of the front grille/front fabric, the price ranges from around EUR 3,000 to around EUR 4,000. Worldwide shipping is included in the price.