Vento goes Smart
At the Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage it fascinated us so much that it immediately secured a wildcard for this test. Especially since its big sister Smart 9 had already captivated us in another test (ST-Magazine Issue #22). Now the Germans have compressed the entire range of features from the big sister into a much smaller form. In terms of equipment and size the Vento 836 was most likely used as the passive model. For stereo operation as a digitally or analog (Cinch/XLR) controlled active loudspeaker, it does not require a hub, not even for Bluetooth or 5.1 operation, for example directly on a Blu-ray player. If, however, you want entirely wireless operation with up to 7.1.4 (Dolby Atmos, i.e. 3D!), you can purchase a perfectly matching, proper AV preamplifier for 500 euros in form of the Canton Connect. Thanks to the remote control and large displays on the speakers, handling and configuration are rather simple. As a factory setting, the „Master“ is configured to be on the left and the „Slave“ on the right. The loudspeakers correspond with each other and synchronize automatically.