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

The Canton Townus AR 5 is a Dolby Atmos add-on speaker that fires upward, using the room's ceiling as a mirror to build a height layer above your seating position.

The satin white finish is the most unobtrusive of the three: on light-coloured speakers or against a white wall, you'll barely notice it. The AR 5 sits on top of your front or rear speakers, or alternatively hangs on the wall via its integrated bracket. It's sold in pairs.

Why the Canton Townus AR 5?

Because it gets you Dolby Atmos without calling in a tradesman. As a licensed Dolby Enabled Speaker, the AR 5 works with a 154 mm titanium woofer and a 25 mm ceramic dome in a sealed two-way enclosure. The radiation angle is chosen so the ceiling reflects the sound precisely back to your seat. Because the voicing matches the Townus series, effects from above don't sound like a foreign body but like a continuation upward.

What you experience

A ceiling that suddenly joins in. A thunderstorm passes over you instead of past you, churches and halls gain height, and dialogue stands more freely in the room because the reverb no longer sticks to one plane. The appeal lies in its restraint: the AR 5 never pushes to the front – you only notice its absence once you switch it off again.

Who is the Canton Townus AR 5 for?

Honestly: for home cinema fans expanding their system who don't want to open up a ceiling. You'll need an AV receiver or AV amplifier with Atmos decoding and two free amplifier channels. Pure stereo listeners can safely skip it. And with sloped ceilings, open galleries, or heavily damped ceilings, a chat beforehand is worthwhile – the reflection principle needs a surface that plays along.

Our verdict

Small, unobtrusive, effective: the AR 5 delivers exactly the dimension missing from a surround setup without ceiling speakers. Be honest – when did you last really expand your home cinema instead of just using it? At HD Zürisee in Wädenswil, we look at what your ceiling can offer beforehand, rather than selling you something that won't work in your room.

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: satin white, 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

What's the difference between an Atmos add-on speaker and a ceiling speaker?

The add-on speaker stands visibly in the room and works via ceiling reflection; the ceiling speaker is built in and radiates straight down. Acoustically, the built-in version is a touch more precise, but the AR 5 is ready to use immediately, moves house with you, and needs no structural work.

What amplifier does the AR 5 need?

An AV receiver or AV amplifier with Dolby Atmos decoding and two free amplifier channels. It's important to declare the channels as height or Dolby Enabled speakers in the setup – only then does the calibration factor in the ceiling reflection. Atmos won't work with a stereo amplifier.

Do I get one or two speakers?

Two. Canton supplies the Townus AR 5 as a pair, because a height layer consists of a left and a right channel. For a 7.1.4 setup with four height channels, you'll need two pairs accordingly – just let us know and we'll set up the order.

Can I also mount the AR 5 on the wall?

Yes, the wall bracket is already integrated, so you need no extra accessories. That also lets you use it as an effect or rear speaker if there's no room on top of the main speakers. For the Atmos effect, it should still be able to radiate freely upward.

Why buy the Canton Townus AR 5 at HD Zürisee?

Because we plan home cinemas in the room, not from a catalogue. We've been in Wädenswil since 1997, tell you honestly beforehand whether your ceiling is suited to Atmos, deliver to your home, install, and calibrate the height channels with our own technician.

Goes well with

The rest of the home cinema speakers from the Canton range, a subwoofer for the foundation, plus speaker cable in the right length – and if the whole home cinema is being built from scratch, we'll plan it with you from the ground up.