At CES 2025, we got our hands (and ears) on the CANVAS HiFi Soundbar. With a starting at $4,999, it’s definitely not your average soundbar—and it doesn’t try to be. Pricey? Absolutely. But between the design, the engineering, and how it actually sounded in the room, it earned one of our Best in Show Awards without breaking a sweat.
Following up on its CES debut, CANVAS is taking its soundbar to High End Munich 2025 with some serious upgrades under the hood. The new crossover and tuning system—crafted by CTO Benno Baun Meldgaard—is the real story here. If that name rings a bell, it should. Benno’s the guy behind award-winning loudspeakers from Gamut, Raidho, Scansonic-HD, and Gryphon. In other words, he knows a thing or two about high-end sound, and now he’s channeling it all into a soundbar.
At the heart of the upgrade is Benno’s proprietary “stepped slope” crossover—his signature move that blends drivers seamlessly before dropping off sharply to kill distortion outside the intended range. The result? Dead-on phase and impulse alignment, with imaging and timing that punch well above what you’d expect from a soundbar.
Then there’s the new Organic Master Tuning. True to Benno’s psychoacoustic roots, this wasn’t dialed in inside a lab but tuned by ear in a real living room. It’s all about how we actually hear sound, not just what looks good on a graph. The end result is a more open, transparent, and natural presentation—shockingly lifelike for a soundbar.
That clarity comes with a caveat: it’s revealing. Maybe too revealing for low-res sources. To keep things versatile, CANVAS is keeping the original Neutral Master Tuning onboard. You’ll be able to switch between the two—Organic or Neutral—using an upcoming app.
And here’s the best part: if you already own a CANVAS soundbar, you don’t need to lift a finger. The upgrade rolls out via an automatic over-the-air update, no charge, no hassle.
What Else CANVAS Offers
Labeling Canvas HiFi as a soundbar really undersells its. It’s actually an all-in-one wireless speaker system with an integrated TV mount/stand. Here’s what makes it stand out.
BACCH 3D
Getting proper stereo imaging from a traditional two-channel setup isn’t as simple as plopping speakers on a shelf. For true 3D sound, you need space—typically 30–60 cm (1–2 feet) from the back wall and at least 2 meters (6 feet) between the speakers. Why? Crosstalk. That’s when sound from the left speaker hits your right ear (and vice versa), muddying the stereo image and robbing your brain of the spatial cues it needs to hear in 3D.
CANVAS HiFi tackles this head-on with BACCH 3D (Band-Assembled Crosstalk Cancellation Hierarchy). Think of it as a digital mattress stretching from your nose to the speakers—one that ensures your left ear only hears the left channel and your right ear only hears the right. The result? Uncanny 3D imaging from a soundbar-sized stereo system.
And this isn’t some gimmicky filter adding fake depth with reverb or processing tricks. BACCH 3D simply removes the crosstalk errors in the signal—letting your ears and brain do what they’re naturally wired to do. It works with pretty much every stereo recording made in the last 70 years, and it even downmixes Dolby Atmos in a way that feels cinematic without being artificial.
Editor-in-Chief Ian White experienced BACCH 3D firsthand nearly a decade ago with its creator at Princeton University—and after 28 years of reviewing hi-fi gear, he still calls it the most mind-blowing aural experience of his career.
Room Correction
In most traditional setups, you need to give your speakers some breathing room—typically 30–60 cm (1–2 feet) from the back wall—to get clean, balanced bass. But CANVAS flips the script. It’s designed to sit flush against the wall or even directly on the floor. While that placement boosts bass output, it can also make things sound bloated or boomy.
To fix that, CANVAS includes Room Correction via its iOS and Android apps. Using an iPhone’s built-in mic, the app measures your room’s acoustics and adjusts the frequency response to keep things tight and linear. Want even better accuracy? The optional Zen smart reference microphone works with both Android and iPhone and delivers pro-level measurements for even more precise correction.
In other words, CANVAS gets the full-range sound of a freestanding speaker system—even when it’s parked against your living room wall.
Universal TV Mount
Another smart touch from CANVAS HiFi is its universal TV mount system, which lets you physically join your TV and the CANVAS soundbar into one seamless unit. While the soundbar itself has fixed dimensions, CANVAS has found a clever workaround to make it look tailor-made for a wide range of screen sizes—including 55″, 65″, 75″, 77″, 83″, 85″, and anything in between.
The trick? Swappable front grills. CANVAS offers different grill widths to match your specific TV size, so the whole setup looks unified and intentional—not like a soundbar awkwardly hanging out under a giant screen. It’s a clean, minimalist solution that makes the soundbar look like it was designed with your TV, not just stuck underneath it.
WiFi
For iPhone, just go to WiFi settings, and it will ask if you want to join CANVAS to your network. For Android devices, the Google Home app guides you through easy setup. This will provide access to firmware updates and Wi-Fi-based connectivity for music.
Streaming
CANVAS comes loaded with a next-gen wireless module that plays nice with just about everything. It supports Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Cast—both of which are fully multi-room compatible, even with other brands of speakers. Whether you’re all-in on Apple or running a Google-centric home, CANVAS fits right in.
Streaming support is equally robust, with native integration for Roon, TIDAL, and Spotify. But it’s not just a wireless wonder—CANVAS also covers your legacy gear. A Toslink digital optical input makes it easy to hook up a SONOS Connect or similar device, while the analog input features a high-quality Burr-Brown ADC, perfect for connecting a turntable. The result? Your vinyl collection gets the same expansive, 3D treatment as your digital library—spatial fidelity like you’ve never heard from a record.
Connectivity & Control
CANVAS features HDMI eARC, which means it will easily connect with a TV for accessing audio and you can control basic soundbar functions using your TV remote. Also, an Apple TV remote can control the volume in CANVAS directly.
Specifications
| CANVAS | HiFi Soundbar |
| Price | From $4,999 (varies based on front grille material and size) |
| Product Type | Sound Bar |
| TV Compatability | All TVs with 55, 65, 75, 77, 83, 85-inch screen sizes |
| Enclosure | Rock Solid 24 liters, MDF with BridgeBrace Technology |
| Bass/Midrange | 1 x High End SB Acoustics with non-resonant rear chambers |
| Tweeter | 2 x High-End Tweeters from SB Acoustics |
| Amplifiers | 4 Channel HiFi (No Specifics provided) |
| Frequency Response | 30 Hz to 20,000 Hz |
| DSP | Power AD 300 MIPS Quad-Core with BACCH 3D Filter |
| Room Correction | The iOS app uses iPhones with a Built-in Microphone |
| Connectivity | HDMI-ARC/eARC, Toslink, Analog, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Tidal, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth, DLNA, Sonos through Sonos Connect |
| Covers (Grills) | Interchangeable magnetic covers in multiple colors |
| Cover (Grill) Color Options | Black, light Grey, Structure Grey, Dark Blue, Ocean Grey, Light Green, Umbwe, Burnt Umber, Organic Green, Milled Ochre, Light Oak, Mahogany, Walnut |
| Updates | Automatic OTA |
| Voltage | AC 100 – 240 V, 50 – 60 Hz |
| Dimensions | 373 x 1226 x 198 mm 14.88 x 48.4 x.8.2 inches |
| Weight | 35 kg (77 lbs) without packaging |
The Bottom Line
Denmark may be a small country, but it has a global reputation for speaker design and performance. Brands like Gryphon, Audiovector, Buchardt, DALI, Bang & Olufsen, Dynaudio, and CANVAS HiFi have made their mark, offering high-performance audio gear with striking designs. Of course, to experience the best, you’ll need to open up your wallet.
As part of this distinguished group, CANVAS HiFi offers a soundbar with a minimalist exterior design and an innovative TV mounting system that adapts to various TV sizes. The design is practical, providing seamless integration with both streaming and physical content sources.
We were already impressed with the CANVAS HiFi soundbar at CES 2025, but its newly announced Organic Master Tuning feature might push the performance to new heights. We’ll be watching for feedback from High End Munich, and get our first listen at T.H.E. Show SoCal next month.
Price & Availability
The CANVAS HiFi is available from CANVAS HiFi and Authorized Dealers. Prices begin at $4,999 – exact price depends on grill size and color.
The CANVAS HiFi will be shown and demoed at High End Munich 2025 from May 15th through 18th, in Halle 4, S14.
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