So as of late, I have reviewed the Kanto YU2 and the YU4 and I have been very impressed with Kanto’s speaker portfolio as they always offered speakers that have great design, superb audio quality and features without breaking the bank.
BUT, I am not done yet because here comes the biggest of them all, the Kanto YU6. So let’s find out why I think that this is the most versatile and best value for money speaker in the range.
Unboxing
Now the unboxing process was similar to the Kanto YU4, other than the speakers and the user manual, there is:
- The remote with batteries
- The power cord
- The 16-feet speaker wire
- A 6.5-feet AUX cable
- The power cord, and;
- 8 rubber feet
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Design and Build
As you’ve seen on the Kanto YU2 and YU4 before this, the YU6 continues the contemporary, minimalistic Kanto design language which I REALLY loved.
Now you may think I am a fanboy but, how can you not love the design? They look great with smooth rounded edges, and beautiful finishing and come in a variety of colors.
And yes, I finally got the speakers with the “RIGHT” color for me, which is in White and this is the Matte White version
Now if white isn’t your thing, then you can choose from the beautiful Walnut, Bamboo, Matte Black, Gloss Black, Gloss White, and Gloss Red.
In terms of the size, the YU6 looks identical to the YU4, just bigger dimensionally and sonically. Each cabinet measures about 6.9 x 10.7 x 8.1 inches, with a weight of 5.2 kilograms for the left active cabinet and 4 kilograms for the right passive cabinet.
On the front of each cabinet you’ll find a 1-inch silk dome tweeter and right below is a high-performance 5.25-inch Kevlar driver.
Keep in mind that the drivers are exposed without protective covers or grills so you may want to place them away from your furry pets and kids.
The left and right cabinets look identical except that for the left powered unit you’ll find a control knob and circular sensor which has a status LED light similar to YU4.
At the back, you’ll find a rear-firing bass reflex port for a better bass response of course, and also all the great connectivity options, which I will talk about in the next section.
So as a quick summary, the Kanto YU6 is a sweet looker and won’t look like a stranger on your desk, console table, or even in the living room as part of a home entertainment system.
Hardware and connectivity
Connectivity is where the Kanto YU6 excels. Being a powered speaker, it integrates a Class D amp that pumps out a total of 200 watts of peak power. It offers a wide frequency response of 50 Hertz to 20 kiloHertz, plus-minus 6 decibels.
What’s cool is that it comes with a built-in phono preamp for you to connect to a turntable without having to add a separate phono preamp to your turntable setup
What’s also awesome is that it has built-in Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connectivity with Qualcomm aptX support which lets you connect and stream high-res music from your smart devices.
As for the connectivity options, at the back of the left active unit, you’ll find:
- the RCA inputs,
- the AUX input,
- the Subwoofer output,
- the RCA with Phono/Line switch, and
- the USB Type-A charging port below that
Unfortunately the USB-A port is for charging only and you can’t use it to connect to your computer since it has no DAC. A bit of a missed opportunity here.
Then you find the Right Channel Out to connect to the Right Speakers and finally two Optical Inputs
As for the control knob on the front, other than the volume adjustments, that also acts as a source selector where you can push in to select inputs like RCA, AUX, Optical 1, Optical 2, and Bluetooth as well.
Complementing the convenient front-facing control is a remote control that gives you further controls including functionality for power, bass, treble, volume controls, and the transport keys.
And this is something that I really got used to until I feel like I need the remote with me all the time.
Performance
I was generally impressed with the YU4 and YU2 previously and in my opinion, the YU6 is even BETTER!
It delivers a well-balanced sound with a good separation of frequencies across. This trait is something to really love about the Kanto YU6, making it suitable for most types of musical genres.
The soundstage is wide and centered with proper placement and I’d recommend speaker stands like the SP9 desktop stands for optimal angle and height placement for a better audio listening experience.
I also love how versatile the speakers are, as it is not only perfect for a desktop setup but it is really great in your living room or your bedroom as part of a home entertainment setup.
Now, with 200 watts of peak power, it will easily fill a room and the sound is fairly accurate as well. By the way, Kanto recommends that this Kanto YU6 be positioned at least 8 inches from the rear wall in your listening room.
One thing that I have always noticed about Kanto’s speakers is that they are generally neutral in tonality with warm richness in the mid-range.
And in the mid-range is where the speakers really excel with a clean tone and full body and the top end is smooth and refined with minimal distortion.
The YU6 also handles low frequencies well with clarity and clear separation of the frequencies without the muddiness of some competitors.
I also found that if you like some added bass but not too much, increasing the bass up to two notches using the remote would be an ideal listening experience as well.
BUT, if you’re the ultimate bass lover though, you may want to add an external subwoofer to the mix where the Kanto SUB8 would be a superb choice, and of course, you can easily add any other powered subwoofer of your choice.
Bluetooth is a convenient way to enjoy easy music consumption although true audiophiles will shake their heads in disagreement.
Connecting your smartphone or tablet to the YU6 is pretty straightforward and works as well as the lossy format can deliver.
Now the aptX codec makes things more listenable although limited to Android devices and the Apple Lossless format isn’t too bad either.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I must say I’m very impressed with the Kanto YU6 and I think what’s important is that it makes me love listening to music and watching movies on my desktop setup even more.
I love its clean, modern aesthetics, excellent build quality, and especially its versatility, making it suitable for desk setups at home and office, as well as inside your living room or your bedroom as well.
Bluetooth connectivity, as well as a phono preamp built-in, are big pluses, adding to the YU6’s long list of features.
Now, while the bass isn’t its strongest feature, there’s plenty of low-end performance for most people, especially adding them in the remote as mentioned earlier.
And out of the three Kanto-powered bookshelf speakers, I must say I love the YU6 the most and in my opinion offers the best value-performance of the lot where the Kanto YU6 starts from a price of RM1,950 depending on the color that you choose and can be purchased from our friends at TechX Malaysia.
The SUB8 subwoofer costs RM1,550 while the SP9 desktop speaker stands are priced at RM350 per pair.
So, what do you think? Would you pick the Kanto YU2, YU4 or YU6?
Get the Kanto YU6 at the link below:-
https://www.techx.com.my/products/kanto-yu6-best-wireless-turntable-speakers-malaysiaTechX’s Official Website:-
https://www.techx.com.my/Relevant product links:
Kanto YU2 – https://www.techx.com.my/products/kanto-yu2-powered-computer-speakers-malaysia
Kanto YU4 – https://www.techx.com.my/products/kanto-yu4-built-in-phono-preamp-active-wireless-speakers
Kanto SP 9” Desktop Speaker Stands – https://www.techx.com.my/products/best-hifi-powered-speakers-hivi-d200-1-1-1-1
Kanto SUB8 Subwoofer – https://www.techx.com.my/products/best-compact-powered-subwoofer-kanto-sub8
