[MrCynical]

I‘m considering the Canton Movie 125MX speakers, but one thing is puzzling me: the product description page on Superfi says that they use binding posts which are not suitable for banana plugs. How then would I connect the cables?

I was under the impression that connections were either springclips to put bare wire into (like the Onkyo HTIB I‘m replacing) or binding posts for banana plugs (like the receiver I‘m looking at).

One review (might‘ve been Whathifi, not sure) described them as fiddly without elaborating - can any 125MX owners out there (or anyone else ) help me out?

[PSM1]

If they will not accept banana plugs then they will accept bare wire. Since bare wire connections are in theory the best way to connect anyway then I would not worry.
You can download the manual here:
CANTON MOVIE 125MX HOME CINEMA SPEAKER SYSTEM (WHITE) - available from Superfi UK Visit http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/product_id/7789 for details
and this shows pictures of the connections and they would appear unsuitable for banana plugs due to the proximity of the mounting bracket.

[MrCynical]

How would the cable actually attach to the speaker? There don‘t seem to be any clips or anything to hold it in. Would banana plugs work if the mounting bracket wasn‘t being used? (Don‘t plan to)

[PSM1]

Looks like from the picture that a bit unscrews and then clamps the bare wire down.

[MrCynical]

I've decided to stop dithering and just order the damn things - when I've got the cables connected I'll update this post to help anyone else who comes across it.

[ManWithNewName]

They are bare wire - the post is sprung, so you push it down to expose the hole for the wire. When you let it go it clamps the cable.

The fiddly bit refers to the fact that the two posts are recessed into the back of the speaker, so it's going to be tricky to get the two wires in there with only a short length of cable to play with.

I know as I have a box of MX125's ready to go as soon as I have this damn floating wall complete - not looking forward to wiring these into the apertures I've created for them for the very reason stated above :D

S

[Krisafc80]

I'm picking mine up from Richer Sounds tomorrow (£259 price match to Amazon and £10 in store discount voucher).

Will also post once had a chance to set up.

Interested to see how have got on with this ..??

Cheers

[ManWithNewName]

The speakers a great, you'll love them. Build quality is excellent (reassuringly heavy for small speakers), the sub is a belter and the sound is as good as you could possibly ask for.

However, fitting the cable to them was an absolute ****!! The posts are really awquard to wire into, especially if you're up ladders trying to wall mount them with only 12" of cable hanging out the wall.

Managed to get it done eventually, it was worth it!

[Krisafc80]

Originally Posted by ManWithNewName

The speakers a great, you'll love them. Build quality is excellent (reassuringly heavy for small speakers), the sub is a belter and the sound is as good as you could possibly ask for.

However, fitting the cable to them was an absolute ****!! The posts are really awquard to wire into, especially if you're up ladders trying to wall mount them with only 12" of cable hanging out the wall.

Managed to get it done eventually, it was worth it!

Got them last night along with an Onkyo TX-SR309 ..... However.....They are a Christmas present and I have to wait for Santa to set it up..!!

[MikeO]

I've recently purchased these myself and I would concur that these are a very good speaker package at this price point (especially considering their diminutive size).

As to connecting the cable to the speakers themselves, the trick is to put a tiny spot of solder onto the bare end of the wire that you are going to connect. This prevents the wire from fraying when you are attempting to insert them with one hand into the rather small hole, while pushing down on the sprung connector with the other hand to open up said small hole.

[Krisafc80]

Originally Posted by ManWithNewName

The speakers a great, you'll love them. Build quality is excellent (reassuringly heavy for small speakers), the sub is a belter and the sound is as good as you could possibly ask for.

However, fitting the cable to them was an absolute ****!! The posts are really awquard to wire into, especially if you're up ladders trying to wall mount them with only 12" of cable hanging out the wall.

Managed to get it done eventually, it was worth it!

Well no waiting until Xmas ..... the wife refused to wrap such huge boxes.

Anyway...put this lot together over the weekend and can confirm that wiring the speakers is indeed a pain...however not a complete nightmare.

Ive also discovered there is no sub cable (stupidly assumed there would be) so have to wait for that to come before I can properly test them.

The spring clips are actually a very good idea, it's just that they are recessed and quite close together that's the problem.

[Krisafc80]

Just thought I'd come back now that it's all set up to say that this set is well worth the £259 I paid for them and well worth the fiddle with the cables!!

They sound fantastic all together and handle dynamic Bluray soundtracks easily...really sparkling at the high end and with the sub being active, can set the low end to blend in seamlessly...(crossover set to 120hz). The speech is also crystal clear from the centre.

Of course the many settings in the AV Receiver help to make it fit my space perfectly.

I spent a long time deciding on my set up and am happy I made the right decision. Anyone else thinking of getting these....don't hesitate.

Ta

[ManWithNewName]

Hi Kris - did you experiment with other crossover frequencies before going with 120? I set my speakers up with the Yamaha amp using the auto setup, then left it for a while whilst I got used to having surround sound.

Since then I've started tweaking, increasing the volume of the centre speaker to improve dialog (wife wasn't enjoying the sound at all as she found it too hard to hear low conversations in films) and played with the crossover frequency.

I'm currently at 90hz, which I think sounds good, but interested to hear your thoughts.

S

[MikeO]

Originally Posted by ManWithNewName

Hi Kris - did you experiment with other crossover frequencies before going with 120? I set my speakers up with the Yamaha amp using the auto setup, then left it for a while whilst I got used to having surround sound.

Since then I've started tweaking, increasing the volume of the centre speaker to improve dialog (wife wasn't enjoying the sound at all as she found it too hard to hear low conversations in films) and played with the crossover frequency.

I'm currently at 90hz, which I think sounds good, but interested to hear your thoughts.

S

Set crossover on sub to max, makes no difference obviously, as the AV amp setting will over ride this.

You will probably find the AV amp sets it at 150. You can then obviously tweak it if you want. Mine is set at 120. If you set it at 90, then there is somewhat of a frequency "hole", as the satellites are rated at 120hz upwards.

I tend to agree about the centre speaker. I had to raise this up a few dB to get it how I wanted. Obviously Dynamic EQ and even more so, dynamic volume control can have a major impact to how the centre speaker sounds.

I tend to agree that these speakers are an absolute steal (price wise). They are just about to be replaced with the Canton 130, hence why the BIG discounts on them at the moment (to clear stock I suspect).

[Krisafc80]

I have experimented but not massively .... btw I'm no expert and take most advice from threads on this board.

Crossover is a tricky one cos all setups are different and I really puzzled for a long time about this ... I watched Inception to do some testing ... the 5 small speakers can all handle the exact same frequencies 120 to 25.000hz so I let them do the work until 120 then the sub takes over after that. I did try 100hz but it really dulled the overall sound so didn't try it any lower than that, instead knocked it back up to 120hz with the sub volume about half way.

Sounds really good in my set up.

Note ... I have an Onkyo receiver with all speakers set to small (except sub obviously) and the crossover set to 120hz. The Onkyo manual recomends a crossover, based on the size of our speakers, to be set between 120 and 150hz (the speakers can only handle down to 120hz so seemed the obvious setting). Also through the receiver I've knocked the db on the surround and L+R front speakers up to +1, leaving the centre and sub at 0db as well as measuring and inputing the distances to my listening position.

Hope this helps.

There is a good thread on crossover on this board here

[MikeO]

To be totally honest, I don't think you really have a lot of leeway for setting the crossover with small satellites like these. If you set it too low, you will find what Krisafc80 has... that "it really dulled the overall sound". Because you are pretty much missing all the frequencies between 90hz & 120 hz.

Setting the crossover frequencies becomes a bit more of an art when maybe your centre/front/rear speakers have different frequency ranges. This is when being able to set different a cross over frequency for the different channels becomes handy. Unluckily, you can't do this on my AV amp (the Onkyo 509) but you can on the Onkyo 609. Something I may well miss at some point.

Should point out that I am no "expert" just giving my opinion based on research and trial and error.

Enjoy your new kit guys.

[technique786]

Krisafc80 hey mate so glad you got that set up its the exact set of speakers and amp i was looking at. It looked cheap as chips so just wanted some confirmation.

Do the speakers come with wall mounts or did you buy them separately?

[MikeO]

Originally Posted by technique786

Krisafc80 hey mate so glad you got that set up its the exact set of speakers and amp i was looking at. It looked cheap as chips so just wanted some confirmation.

Do the speakers come with wall mounts or did you buy them separately?

The speakers come with wall mounts. Quite neat ones actually

[technique786]

Krisafc80 do like the 309? at low volumes do you feel it lacks the 509's dynamic EQ / dynamic volume control? i want to be stingy but if the dynamic stuff is needed i have to take the 509.

[technique786]

what cables did you guys use for these speakers? im assuming given there fiddly nature and small stature the highly recommended 2.5mm maybe a bit difficult. What do you recommend to bury in the wall?

[Krisafc80]

Try to answer all questions ....

As above, the speakers come with their own brackets .... they are plastic but designed specifically for the speakers so work really well.

The 309 .... tbf I simply didnt have the budget for anything higher and and as I only need 3 HDMI in ports, felt I was better off buying better quality speakers. Having upgraded from 'nothing' to the 309 I cant really give a comparison with the 509...sorry. But as a review I can say that I love the sound and picture it produces and have not noticed any issues when the sound it low (not that it ever really is). There is a lot of control over dynamics.

You're always going to lose something at low levels but as an example, I watched Sunshine Bluray the other night (love the underworld soundtrack) after the missus had retired and had to keep it down. I could still 'feel' the sound even with it down low(ish). It has a nighttime setting but I've not tried it.

I am loving this amp/speaker combination, especially with Bluray movies and it's hard to imaging how in a reasonable size living room, that the step up in amp would make much if any difference (yeah there is a bit more power but how loud are you realistically going to have it..?) other than more HDMI ports and optional wireless there is little to choose. The Daft Punk soundtrack on Tron last night was absolutely pumping out of the little speakers and having control of the sub makes all the difference to the blend.

Also for the £428 I paid I think it would be hard to beat. Don't get me wrong, if I could have afforded it, I would have bought the 509 or higher.

As for the speaker wire, I advised Richer Sounds that cable on line is much cheaper and the lad gave me the 30m of 2.5 Cambridge Audio I needed for £15 instead of £30. It sounds great but I haven't buried it in the wall and never have so cant really advise with that one.

Hope this helps.

[technique786]

Thanks for all the info Krisafc80 that's perfect.

Im surprised you guys managed to get 2.5 in such small speakers but then i realized if you just wanted 1.5 or even smaller the connections wouldn't be regarded as being so fiddly lol.

So i purchased my 509 and cantons from exceptional av for £518 and found they had the same "bundle" for £579 including free cables. Long story short they ended up sanding me the cables for free too and took the offer of the site. Ill wait to see what it is before i spend more on cable me thinks.

[MikeO]

Originally Posted by technique786

So i purchased my 509 and cantons from exceptional av for £518 and found they had the same "bundle" for £579 including free cables.

WOW that is cheap. I think you got your self a fantastic deal there

[Krisafc80]

Originally Posted by technique786

Thanks for all the info Krisafc80 that's perfect.

Im surprised you guys managed to get 2.5 in such small speakers but then i realized if you just wanted 1.5 or even smaller the connections wouldn't be regarded as being so fiddly lol.

So i purchased my 509 and cantons from exceptional av for £518 and found they had the same "bundle" for £579 including free cables. Long story short they ended up sanding me the cables for free too and took the offer of the site. Ill wait to see what it is before i spend more on cable me thinks.

Cool ... like I said, I'm more than happy with the 309 but I'd have gone for a better receiver if I could have afforded it. It'll sound superb I'm sure .. Enjoy!!

[couto27]

Originally Posted by Krisafc80

Try to answer all questions ....

As above, the speakers come with their own brackets .... they are plastic but designed specifically for the speakers so work really well.

The 309 .... tbf I simply didnt have the budget for anything higher and and as I only need 3 HDMI in ports, felt I was better off buying better quality speakers. Having upgraded from 'nothing' to the 309 I cant really give a comparison with the 509...sorry. But as a review I can say that I love the sound and picture it produces and have not noticed any issues when the sound it low (not that it ever really is). There is a lot of control over dynamics.

You're always going to lose something at low levels but as an example, I watched Sunshine Bluray the other night (love the underworld soundtrack) after the missus had retired and had to keep it down. I could still 'feel' the sound even with it down low(ish). It has a nighttime setting but I've not tried it.

I am loving this amp/speaker combination, especially with Bluray movies and it's hard to imaging how in a reasonable size living room, that the step up in amp would make much if any difference (yeah there is a bit more power but how loud are you realistically going to have it..?) other than more HDMI ports and optional wireless there is little to choose. The Daft Punk soundtrack on Tron last night was absolutely pumping out of the little speakers and having control of the sub makes all the difference to the blend.

Also for the £428 I paid I think it would be hard to beat. Don't get me wrong, if I could have afforded it, I would have bought the 509 or higher.

As for the speaker wire, I advised Richer Sounds that cable on line is much cheaper and the lad gave me the 30m of 2.5 Cambridge Audio I needed for £15 instead of £30. It sounds great but I haven't buried it in the wall and never have so cant really advise with that one.

Hope this helps.

hi Krisafc80 thanks for your review.

i about to get the tx-r609, can i ask your opinion about the canton 125 mx .

i live in a flat with thin walls, so i need to watch films in low volume.

-how movie experience handles, if I'm watching a movie in low volume, does the canton delivery does specials effects "blast" "explosion" enough to enjoy the movie ?

-and in waterfalls scene, can we hear the water falling like a piezoelectric sound or like a big splash.

-and for last , how does the subwoofer handles, does the floor shake a lot ? the bass can be a problem to my neighbors or can we keep the bass at minimum.

i don't hear music at all, i just want to enjoy some blu ray movies, apple tv and tv without having to change settings all the time.

thanks.

[technique786]

hey couto, The good news is you can set the individual level of each speaker and the sub so you can tailor the sound/bass to your needs and due to having a good av receiver it comes packed with features to ensure your sound is as you want at the volumes you want.

The bad news is i am unable to review the speakers for you but im sure someone will chime in soon. Good luck and enjoy the new system

[MikeO]

Hi couto

Yes... even in a decent sized room (mines 6/6m with a 3.5m ceiling height) these speakers are capable (if set up correctly) of delivering reasonably impressive results. Obviously you need to accept that they are what a lot of audiophiles would consider "budget speakers" (because in the scheme of things "they are"). But at this price point, they are about as good as you can get. I'm certainly happy with them. Though when money permits, I shall be upgrading to something like the Monitor Audio BX2's, but this is obviously a different ball game! as they are significantly more money than the Canton speakers.

With the Dynamic EQ / Dynamic volume control, you can get decent quality at lower volumes. But ... no system is going to deliver it's best (what ever speakers you buy) without turning the volume up a bit. Something anyone needs to be aware of, especially if living in a flat. Luckily not a problem I have, as my only neighbours are cows and sheep (IE. I live in the middle of no-where).

Good luck and enjoy

[couto27]

hi, thanks for your response guys, was very helpful.

my search to the right speakers is moving on, according to this post The 'Bassics' of Bass Management - eCoustics.com small satellite speakers wil never delivery a proper bass, thats where the sufwoofer comes.
A taller front speakers with proper bass will help to reduce the subwoofer work( lower volumes)
For the first time looking for speakers with lower frequency (hz) , in order to reach a 80hz frequency, apparently its the ideal for the bass wave.

Still the canton 125 mx has a minimal frequency of 120kz.

I'm thinking to move to a different level, in order to reach the 80hz level (speakers and subwoofer) lowering the volume.

-the new canton 130 mx as minimal frequency of 120hz
-the new canton 160 mx, minimal frequency of 65hz, already sell for 500£ (600€ ) in 3 german websites.

i think its a risk to acquire a expensive speakers for my first set up, i probably acquire a cheaper ones, onkyo sks-ht648 ( minimal frequency of 80hz) selling for 200£, i will test it with low volumes, adjust the crossover frequency, to see how it goes.
if i don't like just return it.

[Krisafc80]

Originally Posted by MikeO

With the Dynamic EQ / Dynamic volume control, you can get decent quality at lower volumes. But ... no system is going to deliver it's best (what ever speakers you buy) without turning the volume up a bit. Something anyone needs to be aware of, especially if living in a flat. Luckily not a problem I have, as my only neighbours are cows and sheep (IE. I live in the middle of no-where).

Good luck and enjoy

Absolutely agree ....

Couto27 ... glad we could help.

Don't think I can add anything to the above posts but to say again that in a medium to small room the 125s are superb for the money. We would all buy bigger more expensive ones when budget permits I'm sure !

On a side note watched Hellboy 2 bluray the other night ... sounded fantastic ... film is full of crashes and bangs which the Cantons handled the with ease at a medium/high level. Low freq noises sounded nice and round with dialogue cutting through it clearly.

Really impressed with the sound especially through bluray HDMI. Just a shame that Sky HD has to be through optical as there is a big difference!

Again .... I'm no expert and was using the TV speakers before purchasing this so I'm maybe not the best one to compare to other systems.

[MikeO]

Hello again couto

I hear where you are coming from re - cross over frequency from the satellites to the sub-woofer. Though to a certain extent, the Earth moving bass (so to speak) will still come from the sub-woofer (IE. 80 hz and below) and this I expect is what may cause problems for some folks (especially if you have anyone living under you).

Krisafc80

I know what you mean about the difference between the sound quality of a good Blu-ray movie and Sky HD. But not too sure if it's the delivery method between the Sky box and the AV amp (IE. HDMI v optical). Or more to do with the quality of sound that's actually transmitted by Sky!?!?

I've noticed that Blu-ray movies with a proper Dolby TrueHD audio track, sound so much better than earlier stuff with the lossless Dolby 5.1 Not that I know too much about this particular area.