Forums - Canton Egro 80s, efficient?

Dan Soukup

Ex Member

Canton Egro 80s, efficient?
10/19/09 at 21:06:20

I'm trying to match up one of the various Deckware amps with my 1993 Canton Egro 80 speakers, and I have no idea what the efficiency rating of those speakers are.

The original specs only mention 4 ohms, and maximum wattage (120 watts nominal powerhanding, 160 watts music power handling, whatever that means). These speakers are floor standing with two 6" or 7" cones plus a tweeter of the "tiny metal dome" variety. (As you can tell, I'm sort of a newbe and don't have all the tech terminology down). They're vented speakers so they are more efficient, right? But they also have crossovers.

My understanding is:

vented=more efficient
crossovers = less efficient
lower ohms = more efficient

So, anybody want to take a guess at the efficiency rating of these speakers? Which amp would work best?
Any advice as to how to test them for efficiency?

Oh, I should also mention that my only experience with tube amps is the 60's vintage Fender Bandmaster that I use with electric guitar.

Thanks!

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Lon

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Re: Canton Egro 80s, efficient?
Reply #1 - 10/19/09 at 22:06:33

Bandmasters are NICE.

I found this which I think means they have low efficiency:

Wirkungsgrad: 87,5 dB

This from this page:

http://www.hifi-wiki.de/index.php/Canton_Ergo_80

I heard some Cantons in Ohio about 25 years ago visiting my family there at a friend of my Dad's place. Not sure what model they were but they were very clear and open and tight sounding. (I was tickled by them, as I was born in Canton, Ohio.

)

If this is an accurate efficiency rating, I would go with the new Torii Mark III. That's the most powerful Dedcware amp. You'll need the power. What are you driving them with now.

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Lon Seasoned Member "Love without guts is worthless!" Philip K. Dick Posts: 24126	Re: Canton Egro 80s, efficient? Reply #2 - 10/19/09 at 22:09:25 I just did a German to English translation on babelfish and yes, that word means "efficiency."
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Rap Ex Member	Re: Canton Egro 80s, efficient? Reply #3 - 10/20/09 at 15:49:36 "Lower ohms = more efficient" ??? we are talking about the speakers and not the amp?
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Dan Soukup Ex Member	Re: Canton Egro 80s, efficient? Reply #4 - 10/21/09 at 23:06:03 Yes, in terms of speakers, I'm thinking lower ohms = higher efficiency ... is this an accurate statement?
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Dan Soukup

Ex Member

Re: Canton Egro 80s, efficient?
Reply #5 - 10/21/09 at 23:24:25

Thanks for finding that Canton spec in German! Too bad they are low efficiency though. I'm currently driving them with a Marantz 80 watt per channel solid state (MS-80).

I was never really satisfied with the way my system sounded ... pretty good if I was playing just the right stuff at just the right volume. High quality recordings of few instruments played at a somewhat high listening level sounded good, but listening to anything at a lower level (even with a lot of bass and trebel boost), or listening to anything with a lot of sound going on at the same time (wall-of-sound-rock or complex orchestra passages) sounds either thin or harsh and muddled. So it was intriguing to read Steve Deckert's article about the ZEN SET tube amp. It got me to thinking that my amp is the problem. Disappointing that my current speakers won't be a good match.

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Lon

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"Love without
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Re: Canton Egro 80s, efficient?
Reply #6 - 10/22/09 at 00:45:40

If you can, call and talk to Steve. He can give you an idea of what options you have.

I fretted that the Tori model amp was not an SET for some time, and then when I had one in my system realized that it acts just like one in 99 percent of ways, so I would think that a Torii Mark III coupled with the gain that a CSP2 preamp brings would give you a wonderful system. I know that's an expensive option though!

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Steve Deckert

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Re: Canton Egro 80s, efficient?
Reply #7 - 10/22/09 at 02:25:13

Hi Dan,

The Canton is low efficiency only because it's an honest or conservative specification. I've listened to those speakers on our 2 watt zen amps after 10 P.M. without being aware of the power limitations of the amp. However, the ideal amp for them is the 25 watt Torii. It will seem as if it has twice the available power that you're used to with the Marantz amp, and all the other problems you sighted would also go away. You can easily drive it directly from any line level source without a preamp if you want.

Steve

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