Canvas HiFi – Exclusive Canvas audio system from Denmark, available at inveoo GmbH

Television manufacturers have spent years refining the picture while quietly sacrificing the sound. Screens became larger, slimmer and more visually accomplished, yet that same development left less and less room for loudspeaker engineering with any real ambition. The result is easy to recognise in almost every modern living room: a striking image paired with audio that lacks body, scale and authority. This is the gap that gave rise to the entire soundbar category, and it is also the reason why many users still feel that television sound remains a compromise, merely dressed up in more elegant form.

Canvas HiFi approaches this problem from a notably different angle. The Danish company is not interested in treating TV audio as a secondary feature to be patched up with a neat accessory. Instead, its premise is that a system designed for use with a television should still respect the standards of a proper loudspeaker solution. That may sound obvious, but in this product category it is not. In many cases, products are shaped first by visual discretion and only then by acoustic capability. Canvas HiFi reverses that logic.

The company’s solution, simply called Canvas, is presented as an integrated system in which television and audio do not merely coexist, but are intended to form one coherent object. The point is not just to improve the sonic performance of a flat-panel display, but to create a more complete answer to the way people actually use televisions in contemporary domestic spaces. In that sense, Canvas is less a conventional soundbar alternative than a rethinking of the category altogether.

More than a soundbar, less compromised than most

Canvas HiFi clearly believes that the limitations of conventional soundbar thinking have become too obvious to ignore. Extremely compact dimensions may suit industrial design, but they also impose strict physical limitations. That is especially true when the aim is not merely cleaner dialogue, but a fuller, more convincing soundstage with proper tonal weight and dynamic expression. Canvas therefore belongs to a rarer class of products that treats television sound as part of a broader HiFi proposition.

The company founded by Laust Nielson and Kim Neeper Rasmussen appears convinced that if television audio is to become genuinely compelling, it must be built according to principles familiar from more traditional HiFi loudspeaker systems. That belief places Canvas in a small but interesting segment of the market, occupied by products sometimes described as sounddesks or soundbases rather than soundbars. Even there, however, Canvas stands apart through the completeness of its concept.

A modular platform, not a one-size-fits-all object

One of the most convincing aspects of Canvas is its modular design. At first glance, the portfolio may look like a broad collection of separate models, but the underlying idea is more disciplined. Rather than developing many fundamentally different systems, Canvas HiFi has created one core platform that can be adapted to different screen sizes, room layouts and visual preferences.

That matters in practice. Television audio is not bought in isolation; it enters an environment shaped by furniture, display size, wall space and aesthetic considerations. A rigid product often forces the room to adapt to the system. Canvas instead attempts the opposite. It offers a shared acoustic and functional foundation while allowing the outer expression of the system to vary according to need. This gives the product a flexibility that is still relatively rare in the market.

The heart of the system

The actual audio unit at the centre of Canvas is an active loudspeaker structure built from MDF. Its dimensions of 373 x 1226 x 198 mm and weight of 35 kg make clear that this is no lightweight decorative add-on. The physical substance of the system already signals a more serious acoustic intent than the category norm.

Driver complement plays a key role here. Canvas uses two High-end SB Acoustics 6,5 inch long-throw die-cast aluminium chassis for bass and midrange reproduction, complemented by two High-end silk dome tweeters from SB Acoustics with resonance-free rear chambers. These are supported by two High-end SB Acoustic passive radiators. Amplification comes from a four-channel Class D amplifier delivering a total of 250 watts.

In practical terms, this combination suggests a product designed not just to outperform built-in television speakers, but to move significantly beyond the expectations usually attached to integrated TV audio. There is a clear intention to deliver greater scale, more substantial low-frequency performance and a more mature sense of dynamic control.

DSP as a real-world advantage

Canvas relies on DSP-based signal processing built around AD 300 MIPS quad-core BACCH 3 Filter DSP. This enables room calibration and, based on that process, automatic room adaptation. That is a particularly relevant part of the package, because very few living rooms are acoustically straightforward. Reflective surfaces, furniture placement, wall proximity and changing seating positions all affect what reaches the listener.

A system that can account for such variables stands a better chance of delivering convincing results without requiring a room to be treated like a dedicated listening space. In that respect, the DSP architecture here is not just another line on a specification sheet. It is part of the wider effort to make the product behave intelligently in the places where it will actually be used.

Connectivity designed for modern use

As expected, HDMI is central to the concept. Canvas offers HDMI eARC and HDMI CEC, making it easy to integrate with the television both functionally and in terms of everyday control. Optical S/PDIF is also provided, along with an analogue input.

Beyond television duties, Canvas also takes on the role of a network-enabled music system. Connection to the network is handled exclusively via WiFi, after which the platform supports Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, TIDAL through TIDAL Connect, Spotify through Spotify Connect and UPnP. Roon Ready certification is also expected in the near future.

This aspect of the design is important, because a product in this class needs to justify itself when the screen is switched off as well. Canvas appears to understand that the modern living-room system cannot be limited to film and television sound alone. It must also serve day-to-day music listening in a way that feels complete rather than incidental. Canvas HiFi further indicates openness towards broader control ecosystems, referencing brands such as Sonos, Bang & Olufsen, Bluesound, HEOS, Bose and Samsung in this context.

Ease of use without oversimplification

Operation has been designed with a sensible priority: the television remote remains the main means of control. That may be one of the smartest decisions in the entire product concept, because it preserves the familiar habits users already have. Better sound should not come at the price of a more complicated daily routine.

For more detailed access, setup and system management, Canvas HiFi also provides the Canvas HiFi app for Apple iOS and Google Android. This dual approach makes good sense. Basic use remains straightforward, while more advanced functions are handled through software when required.

Built to work with the television, not around it

Every Canvas package includes a stand intended for free-standing installation of the complete system, television included. In this arrangement, the combined structure is slightly tilted backwards in order to provide an appropriate viewing angle from a typical seating position in the room.

With some reconfiguration, the same stand can also serve as a wall-mounting solution. In that case as well, the television and audio system remain a visually integrated unit. The mounting structure for the display follows standard VESA specifications, allowing compatibility with a broad range of television models. All accessories required for setup and installation, including the necessary cables, are included.

This kind of mechanical integration often receives less attention than driver count or streaming support, yet it is central to whether such a product works convincingly in a real home. A solution that sounds good but feels awkward to install or visually unresolved seldom remains satisfying for long. Canvas appears to have been thought through more carefully than that.

A strong visual argument: interchangeable fronts

What distinguishes the different Canvas versions most clearly is the front section. The range spans Canvas 55”, Canvas 65”, Canvas 75”, Canvas 77”, Canvas 83” and Canvas 88”, allowing the system to be chosen according to the size of the television. In addition, Canvas Solo is available as a separate solution for wall mounting, intended not to form a fixed unit with a TV.

Each model is offered in a wide range of finishes. Buyers can choose from different textile colours or loudspeaker grilles in various real-wood options. In total, thirteen individual surfaces are available, beginning with black and light grey textile versions, continuing with eight colours from the Danish Kvadrat fabric range, and extending to wooden slat finishes in Light Oak, Mahogany and Walnut.

What makes this particularly attractive is that the buyer is not permanently tied to the finish selected at the point of purchase. Alternative front covers can be ordered later, and fitting them is uncomplicated because they are held in place magnetically. That adds a degree of visual longevity to the concept which is genuinely valuable, especially in interiors where tastes, furniture and display choices may evolve over time.

A natural fit for specialist retail and custom installation

Canvas HiFi’s solutions are offered through specialist retail channels, supported by inveoo GmbH as partner for the trade. That pairing seems logical. inveoo GmbH presents itself as a solutions provider with substantial experience in the custom installation field, including the development of tailored systems for multiroom audio and the distribution of related product lines.

That gives Canvas an interesting position in the market. It is accessible as a premium consumer-facing solution through classic specialist dealers, yet it also sits close to the world of tailored installation, where television, audio and room integration increasingly overlap. The product therefore has the potential to appeal not only to design-conscious private buyers, but also to dealers and installers looking for a more complete, more elegant way to address television sound in the living room.

Price and availability

The Canvas HiFi portfolio begins with Canvas Solo at € 2.990,-, positioned as a standalone system. The integrated concept in which television and audio form one unit starts with Canvas 55” and extends to Canvas 85” at € 3.745,-. These prices apply in each case with a black front cover.

For the other design variants, additional charges apply depending on width and finish. According to size and version, prices for extra front covers range from € 150,- for the 55 inch version in black fabric up to € 1.705,- for the 88 inch version in premium real wood, namely Light Oak, Walnut or Mahogany.

Conclusion

Canvas HiFi has every reason to claim a distinctive place in this category. Canvas is compelling not because it promises to beautify television sound in the familiar way, but because it starts from a more serious premise. It treats the acoustic limitations of modern televisions as a problem that deserves loudspeaker thinking, not cosmetic correction.

That is what gives the system its credibility. The combination of substantial hardware, DSP-based room adaptation, broad streaming functionality, flexible installation and unusually thoughtful visual customisation creates a product that feels unusually coherent. Canvas is therefore best understood not as another variation on the soundbar theme, but as a carefully resolved living-room audio platform with a clear HiFi mindset. With inveoo GmbH now acting as distribution partner, the Danish company’s concept is entering the specialist trade with a support structure well suited to its ambitions.