If you’re looking for a pair of great sounding bookshelf or desktop speakers, this pair of Kanto YU2 powered desktop speakers might be just what you need!
Today, I’m here to talk about something that’s very close to my heart… or ears, if you get what I mean 😉
As you may or may not already know, I have a rich history in music and music-making, and I have a deep love for music and all things audio. I’m sure some of you out there are music and audio enthusiasts too, so I hope you find this video helpful as I am planning to do a monthly audio series with the great guys from TechX (https://www.techx.com.my/).
Now before anything, I wanna say that audio is subjective. That’s a fact. You may like different genres of music; some may like heavy bass tracks and some people, like me, are absolute rock and metal heads.
So picking a pair of speakers, headphones, or choosing audio equipment depends on individual tastes and requirements. It also depends on your environment and use case.
But of course, there is a baseline of what’s good and bad audio. In which case, at the fundamental level, there should always be clarity and detail, good dynamic range and clear separation between frequencies.
Some speakers may produce warmer tones, while others have a more neutral sound signature, like studio monitors.
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Kanto Audio
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about Kanto Audio. So, it’s not a brand you may be familiar with here in Malaysia, but this Canadian outfit designs and makes high-performance, aesthetically pleasing, value-priced audio gear and in fact debuted as early as 2007 andI am pretty sure you might have seen some other YouTubers from the US & Canada who has been rocking these speakers in their desk setup.
So this is the entry-level Kanto YU2 that I’ve been testing out is one of three powered bookshelf speakers alongside the bigger YU4, YU6 which I will be reviewing soon as well, and there are accompanying subwoofers – the SUB6 and SUB8.
First thing’s first, let’s check out what comes in the box!
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Unboxing
Now I have to say that I appreciate the amount of visuals on the box itself, where you will first see the exact speaker color variant that you have chosen.
At the side, there is the back part of the speaker, also with the exact color as well.
And there are more visuals at the back with a little desk set up with the speaker as well.
Opening the box, first, there is a little clear bag which contains the rubber feet stickers, the manuals and a thank you note from Kanto.
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Then underneath, there is another clear plastic, which has:
- a really good quality speaker wire, which is up to 3 meters:
- a 2-meter mini-jack audio cable,
- a USB-A to USB-B cable, and;
- a 2-pin and a 3-pin power cable.
Next, in a small white box, there is the AC power brick.
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Then finally, you will find the speakers, nicely covered and protected by a thin white cloth.
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Design and Build
The Kanto YU2 is the smallest of its siblings, measuring 3.9 x 5.9 x 5.3 inches. The active left cabinet weighs 1.4kg while the right passive cabinet tips the scales at 1.3kg.
I must say the minimalist, clean enclosure design is very pleasing, and it’s available in a wide selection of colors including this very unique and classy-looking Bamboo, there is my usual favorite White, which has a glossy and a matte finish. Then there is Gloss Red, Gloss Teal, Gloss Black, Matte Grey, and Matte Black.
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The left and right speakers look almost identical from the front, aside from the blue LED that’s on the left cabinet. They both feature a 0.75-inch silk dome tweeter on the top and a 3-inch Kevlar woven composite woofer with rubber surrounds on the bottom.
I love that they’re compact and will look perfect with any desk setup, especially those that have limited space. If possible, I would recommend doing the same thing as what I have done by getting the Kanto S2 Desktop Speaker Stand, which TechX is selling at only RM160, which comes in white or black.
Not only does it have the best listening angle because of its elevation, but check out how they look on my desk!
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Hardware and connectivity
The Kanto YU2 is a powered speaker which means it comes with an internal amplifier. So there’s no need to purchase a separate audio interface or amp to work with this.
The Class D amplifier is located in the left active speaker, which provides 25W root mean square or RMS per channel. It has a frequency range of 20-Hertz to 20-kilohertz, with a frequency response of 80-Hertz to 10-kilohertz, plus-minus 6-decibels, and a crossover frequency response of 2.5-kilohertz.
The Kanto YU2 also comes with a DAC (digital to analog converter) that can sample 16-bit/48kHz, which is a welcome addition if you’re looking to boost your listening experience from your laptop or even smartphone. Just plug in a USB cable and go.
Now, being an entry-level speaker, it offers decent input and output connectors. At the back of the active right enclosure, you’ll find a pair of speaker connectors for you to connect the left and right speakers with the supplied 3-meter standard speaker wires.
There’s also a 3.5mm AUX/stereo mini-jack and USB Type-B port to connect to your computer, where the wires are included in the box as seen earlier.
The volume control knob is located at the top left corner. It’s a little inconvenient and unintuitive to be placed at the back of the speaker but I can live with that since it keeps the front clean.
While there’s no on/off switch, you can turn the volume knob all the way down until you hear a click, which will turn the speakers off.
Those of you who are looking for any sort of Bluetooth connectivity will be disappointed. This pair of speakers does not offer any built-in wireless connectivity, so you’ll need to look upwards at the Kanto YU4 and YU6 for that OR you can get a separate wireless Bluetooth adapter. (Links at the end of the article)
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Performance
Now here’s where the Kanto YU2 impresses – audio quality. Granted, there are some misgivings, given the limits of its physical enclosure and compact size. Also, I’ll admit that I have not and do not do scientific tests and this isn’t that kind of technical review. What I will tell you, to the best of my ability and based on personal preference and taste, is how good or bad it sounds, what sound signature and sound stage you can experience.
In terms of sound profile or signature, the Kanto YU2 is fairly neutral, though not quite in a studio monitor way. I’d describe it as warm in the midrange. And the midrange is generally well-saturated, with Kanto YU2 doing well in separating frequencies. It doesn’t do as well in the lower midrange and it can be a bit sharp in the upper ranges, depending on your liking. It will sound good in a wide range of music genres though, and I think that’s the most important.
If you’re a bass-lover then the Kanto YU2 will come up short but overall decent, expectedly, looking at its compact size and the rubber surrounds of the composite woofer. Powerful low-frequency response as you may know will require lots of air with a lot of power where Unfortunately, the Kanto YU2 lacks both. This is easily fixed with the addition of a subwoofer. You can pick up the SUB6 or SUB8, if you really want that added powerful bass. (Product links at the end of the article)
Despite its compact size, its soundstage is quite wide and will fill the room at two-thirds of its maximum volume. You’ll find it fairly centered, with direction pretty well-defined.
Now, while I think that this is not the best way for you to experience the speakers from a listener’s perspective, I have taken the extra effort to get some high-quality condenser microphones and a preamp to record some song samples, so don’t forget to check out my YouTube video to listen to the audio test.
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Conclusion
So in conclusion, while not exactly cheap per se for an entry-level model, the Kanto YU2 has many good things going for it, and personally, I feel that it is the best value for the quality that the speaker provides.
I just LOVE the minimalist design and build quality, the good array of input and output ports as well as an in-built DAC.
And most importantly, it sounds good for the price and its compact size, offering a reasonably wide soundstage, great precision, good midrange and treble, and clean, neutral output.
Sure, there are some very minute trade-offs, like not having a very good bass and having the overall volume control at the back of the speaker, but like I said, I did not mind that at all since I love the overall clean look. And if you like the overall minimalist look, then you would really appreciate that as well.
Now if you are interested in getting yourself one, especially if you are here in Malaysia, you can head to TechX’s website where they also have the complete collection of the Kanto speakers and other cool audio equipment over there as well. And you can book an appointment to head to the store and experience these speakers yourself too!
TechX Official Website:
Get the Kanto YU2 at the link below:-
Relevant products mentioned in the video:
Kanto S2 Speaker Stand – https://www.techx.com.my/collections/best-home-audio-deals-in-malaysia/products/kanto-s2-desktop-speaker-stands
Kanto Subwoofer – https://www.techx.com.my/collections/best-hifi-speakers-malaysia-2020/products/best-compact-powered-subwoofer-kanto-sub8
Bluetooth Adapter – https://www.techx.com.my/collections/best-home-audio-deals-in-malaysia/products/best-2019-bluetooth-rca-receiver-audio-adapter-with-aptx-malaysia
And don’t forget to check out my other audio reviews here from TechX over here as well:
Fluance Ai60 Review – https://youtu.be/Sf2RQwWiMgA
Fluance Ai40 Review: https://youtu.be/ZVJ3ktu4gzk
Last but not least, don’t miss out my future monthly audio review series, I might be reviewing the YU4 and YU6 too, so remember to !
