Canton Townus AR 5 Dolby Atmos Speaker, Black (Pair)

The Canton Townus AR 5 is a Dolby Atmos add-on speaker that fires its sound upward, using the ceiling's reflection to bring a height layer into your home cinema.

In glossy black, it all but disappears on top of your front or rear speakers – and if there's no room there, it moves to the wall thanks to its integrated bracket. It's supplied in pairs, because a height layer with only one side makes about as much sense as stereo with one speaker.

Why the Canton Townus AR 5?

Because it's the shortcut to Dolby Atmos without anyone cutting open your ceiling. The AR 5 is a licensed Dolby Enabled Speaker: a 154 mm titanium-diaphragm woofer and a 25 mm ceramic dome sit in a sealed two-way enclosure, firing upward at exactly the angle the ceiling needs to bounce the sound back to your seat. It's voiced to match the Townus series, so effects from above blend seamlessly with what's happening up front.

What you experience

Rain that actually falls on you. Helicopters crossing the room diagonally. Reverb that opens upward instead of bouncing off the ceiling of the room you're in. The AR 5 turns a flat surround layer into a space with real volume – and does it with remarkable restraint: as long as nothing is happening above you, it stays acoustically invisible. That's exactly how a height layer should work.

Who is the Canton Townus AR 5 for?

Plainly put: for anyone wanting to add real height channels to an existing home cinema without any construction work. You'll need an AV receiver or AV amplifier with Dolby Atmos decoding and two free amplifier channels. If you only listen in stereo, you don't need it. And if you're sitting under a six-metre gallery ceiling or a heavily damped wooden ceiling, talk to us first – the reflection principle loses some of its effect there.

Our verdict

The AR 5 is the most elegant compromise between "no Atmos at all" and "cutting into the ceiling." It sounds clean, blends into the Townus sound signature, and is set up in ten minutes. At HD Zürisee in Wädenswil, we look at your room together beforehand – ceiling height and seating distance matter more here than any spec sheet.

Technical data

• Type: Dolby Atmos add-on speaker (licensed Dolby Enabled Speaker)
• Acoustic principle: 2-way, sealed
• Woofer: 1× 154 mm titanium (wave surround)
• Tweeter: 1× 25 mm ceramic
• Frequency range: 50–30,000 Hz
• Crossover frequency: 3,200 Hz
• Nominal/music power handling: 60 / 100 W
• Nominal impedance: 4–8 Ω
• Connection: 24-carat gold-plated screw terminals
• Placement: on top of a floorstanding speaker or wall-mounted (bracket included)
• Finish: gloss black, lacquered
• Dimensions (W×H×D): 17 × 14.5 × 26 cm (lying flat)
• Weight: 3.6 kg per speaker
• Sales unit: pair (two speakers)
• Included: 2× Townus AR 5, feet, oval fabric covers, instruction manual (speaker cable not included)

Frequently asked questions

How does a Dolby Atmos add-on speaker work?

It radiates sound upward at a defined angle, and the room's ceiling reflects it back down to your seating position. Your hearing locates the sound as coming from above you. This creates a height layer without needing speakers built into the ceiling or cables run through it.

Do I need a special amplifier for the AR 5?

Yes. You need an AV receiver or AV amplifier that decodes Dolby Atmos and has two free amplifier channels for the height layer. In its setup, you select the speakers as Dolby Enabled Speakers so the reflection is calculated correctly. A plain stereo amplifier isn't enough.

Is the Townus AR 5 supplied singly or as a pair?

As a pair. Canton sells the AR 5 as a speaker pair, so the sales and shipping unit is two speakers – a height layer consists of a left and a right channel anyway. Planning a 7.1.4 system with four height channels? You'll need two pairs.

What kind of ceiling does the AR 5 need for the effect to work?

Ideally a flat, smooth, acoustically hard ceiling at normal room height, roughly 2.4 to 3 metres. Sloped ceilings, open galleries, wood panelling, or acoustic sails absorb or scatter the reflection and weaken the height effect. In such rooms, we'll check beforehand whether real in-ceiling speakers are the better solution.

Why buy the Canton Townus AR 5 at HD Zürisee?

Because Atmos in practice lives and dies by the room, the ceiling, and the seating position – and we've been setting that up in real living rooms for decades, not just on paper. We'll tell you honestly whether the AR 5 will work for you, deliver it, install it, and calibrate your home cinema properly with our own technician.

Goes well with

The rest of the Canton family for the foundation, matching home cinema speakers, a subwoofer for deep bass, and proper speaker cable so the height channels arrive cleanly too.