Kanto YU4 Gloss Red/Rouge

BackgroundWhilst not wishing to label myself an audiophile, there can be little question that I like my music to sound live, the kind of experience where you can shut your eyes and visualise the musicians around you as if you're in the same room. This is remarkably difficult for any audio system to achieve, whether the recording be of a full-blown Marshall stack, a folk rendition, or a concert piano.Source FormatAll my music is stored in high resolution FLAC format on a central NAS device and accessed via PLEX. For mobile listening tracks are live streamed direct from the PLEX media server to my Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Fortunately, I have excellent broadband courtesy of Virgin and a 50Gb mobile data package.RequirementsFor home listening I have a Meridian active speaker setup in the lounge and a Meridian Explorer USB DAC coupled with Sennheiser HD 650 for headphone use. Both perform exceptionally well, but do not necessarily lend themselves to all day listening whilst working at the desk. Neither do they come cheap and trying to find acceptable near field audio quality, without breaking the bank, was the challenge in finding suitable desk top speakers.In addition to a pleasant listening experience suitable speakers would need to meet the following criteria:• Powered (active) to minimise cabling.• Input sources to include digital (optical or coaxial), analogue, Bluetooth and phono (ideally).• Subwoofer output in case of requirement.• Ease of control.• Aesthetically pleasing to look at.Having already unsuccessfully tried a cheaper pair of speakers in the £100 bracket, online research narrowed my choice down to three speakers ranging from £199 to £999, of which the Kanto YU4’s reviewed here came in at £334 including stands.Unpacking and SetupInitial impressions of the Kantos upon unpacking was one of concern that I did not accidentally dent the drive cones whilst lifting the speakers out of the box. Fortunately, I was aware the cones were unprotected and thus avoided harm, but I would have preferred there to have been a sheet of cardboard at least to prevent any mishap. The weight of the speakers was reassuring at around 6.5 Kg including stands and the chosen finish (gloss black) was of good quality, as was the construction in general. Having mounted the speakers on the YUS stands (purchased separately), after experimentation I ended up positioning the speakers approximately 30” apart (centre to centre) and equidistant to my listening position also about 30” away. My desk backs onto a wall, the speakers eventually being placed about 4” forward. I found best results were obtained with no toe-in of the speakers.Input wise I tested the speakers on the analogue input via the Meridian Explorer USB DAC, on the digital optical input via Nobsound Douk Audio U2 USB Converter, in both instances the source being USB output from my PC. I also tested the Bluetooth input from my Samsung Galaxy phone. All inputs worked equally well. The Bluetooth had a limited range of about 10 feet, though this could be extended with Google Chromecast for those who want to wander further afield. The speakers also come equipped with a phono input, which I didn’t test but make the purchase of a record deck more likely (nostalgia) and is a welcome addition.Listening ExperienceSound wise, the speakers certainly demonstrated no lack of bass. If anything, I found that I would knock back the bass a single step with certain recordings. On no occasion did I find myself increasing the bass. That is not to say I don’t think the sound could be improved by the addition of a subwoofer, these are after all a relatively small enclosure, just that I don’t think it is absolutely necessary and I won’t be purchasing one. On AC/DC’s Gone Shooting the bass sounded almost perfect with no EQ adjustment, whilst on Yo-Yo Ma’s cello suites I preferred to back bass off a notch. These speakers really excelled at both AC/DC and Yo-Yo-Ma, the latter being particularly impressive considering the low frequencies exacted by the cello. Other recordings tested including Eagles’ Hotel California, Jackson Browne’s Running On Empty, The Beatles Paperback Writer, Beth Hart’s Jazz Man, Brian Setzer Orchestra’s This Cats on a Hot Tin Roof, Olga Scheps’ Concert Suite from the Nutcracker: March, Amanda Marshall’s Let It Rain, Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone, Deep Purple’s Perfect Strangers and Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of my Head all played fine with no EQ adjustment.The speakers themselves are equipped with a rotary dial volume control on the front of the left speaker which also serves as a push type input selector. Since I found little need to adjust the EQ, this was more than adequate for everyday use. The remote included does however provide additional adjustment for balance, bass, treble and volume along with input selection and Bluetooth control. I did like the inclusion of a reset buttons on the equaliser adjustments. There is also a power button on the remote allowing the speakers to be put into standby mode.ConclusionOverall, I am most impressed with the speakers and cannot rate them highly enough for near field desktop use. Having now had them for a couple of days, I remain highly impressed, with no tiredness experienced during long periods of listening (five hours this morning) and even less desire to adjust the EQ settings, which is testament to their very balanced sound stage. I have defaulted to using the optical input, there being no noticeable benefit to feeding an analogue input from the external Meridian Explorer DAC, again testament to the quality of the internal DAC and peripheral components. I am really enjoying these.

I paired these speakers with the Fluance RT85 turntable and I’m so incredibly happy with the sound quality. These speakers really do my vinyl justice and the quality is so clean and crisp.

I bought these speakers to use with my TV. The sound quality of most flat screen TVs is awful, but adding these speakers brought Hi-Fi sound to my living room. The left speaker contains the pre/power amps and the supplied speaker cable is used to connect the right hand speaker. There are inputs for analog line/phono inputs (switchable) and 2 digital optical inputs. If your TV only has a digital coax output, get a digital coax to digital optical converter box for a few pounds. The makers seem to have responded to criticism of the remote and a boxy, sturdy remote is now supplied. This allows you to control treble, bass, volume, input and Bluetooth pairing. The sound quality is natural and bass is remarkably good for such a small speaker. Bass freaks may want to add a subwoofer - there is a rca phono output on the back of the 'master' speaker. Bluetooth pairing worked flawlessly and I can now use VLC Player on my phone to stream music from my music server. My only niggles? The remote only seems to work if it is pointed straight at the left hand speaker. Also, my satellite receiver remote seems to confuse the speakers - not really anyone's fault! I haven't tried hitching up a turntable to this system, but my son, who bought the same speakers, is very happy with the sound from his record deck through the system. In conclusion - a real value for money pair of powered speakers that could form the centre of a budget hi-fi system.

I bought these as I wanted to invest in some good speakers, so I wouldn’t need a sub cluttering up my floor. It was probably a little ambitious as the bass is definitely lacking and I feel I need the sub to match what I’ve been previously used to. So now that’s another £300 to add a sub on. I wasn’t expecting them to match a system with a sub, but was expecting a little more bass from the speakers alone. I’ve had dirt cheap 2.1 systems in the past that sound better due to the sub contribution. Don’t get me wrong these are very clear and with a sub it would complete the setup, but you are effectively buying half a system here and you should definitely factor the cost of the sub... if you’re like me and like decent bass, don’t think paying more for these speakers in hope that you won’t need a sub, because you will be disappointed.Build quality is brilliant and the materials used feel premium and well designed. Will definitely pick up the kanto sub later down the line, but can’t justify the cost at the moment.Edit (3 years later) - I’ve just renovated my office and got a new desk which is made of plywood and is very thick and heavy, I also installed Acupanels on the wall behind. This has made these speakers sound much better, they seem like they have more bass and are much clearer. My previous desk was actually an ikea worktop hollow inside, I’m no audio engineer but I think it wasn’t adequately dampening in my previous setup. I did all this for aesthetic reasons but it’s unintentionally improved my audio. The Acupanel acoustic panels behind are helping bounce the sound rather than absorb it. They sound absolutely fantastic now! 3 years later haha..Just thought I’d edit this review as it’s important that when I wrote this review, my space wasn’t really the best environment for getting the best out these speakers, so something to consider!

I spent months researching the perfect small powered speaker. From the ridiculously expensive to the cheapest rubbish. I took the plunge when the Kanto YU4 appeared in Amazon with £70 off.I'm so impressed with them, arrived very well packed and with euro as well as British mains cables, and loads of good quality speaker cable. This is important when slaving from the main speaker/amp.Setting up was a doddle, I shortened the speaker cable to a suitable length, plugged my turntable in to the RCA jacks set to line, switched on and controlled everything from the remote.Sound wise, which lets face it is the most important factor when buying audio equipment, is stunning. You control the eq via the remote and frankly the amount of bass these guys generate defies belief for such a small speaker, the highs perfect the lows perfect, a perfect speaker.You don't have to do too much adjustment to either to achieve a really sweet punchy sound.Now my vinyl through these speakers is a joy to listen to.Volume wise, there's enough here to wake the dead!Bluetooth basically set its self up after I found the setting on my iPhone and now I'm streaming anything from my music library or online radio.Previously I had a massive separates system which was confined to the attic by "her that must be obeyed" and that's where it's going to stay.With such a selection of inputs and the best sound I've heard from small speakers I've found a system that blasts me into a new level of listening.Thanks Kanto

This is my second pair. I bought the 1st pair to watch movies in the bedroom on the projector via optical and the sound is insane. When watching movies one notch down on bass is perfect for me, so speech has priority over an explosion. When I listen to music I bump it up one and its like they massage your brain. No need for a sub but nice to have the option. They really are so good for their price point. They are also hands down the most versatile due to being powered and all the inputs you could want.Just a word from experience about sound quality. I don't think you can get better for your budget... and they are so compact and versatile as well just go for it, you wont regret it. The biggest thing i noticed for getting the best from them is that their placement in relation to your ears makes a big difference. Where i have them set up in the bedroom at either side of the room at ear height they sound perfect. Maybe also some soft furnishings to reduce and re-verb helps too. In the living room close together like a sound bar you don't get the most from them. Still good.. but not ideal. Justa heads up.

I bought these to use as desktop speakers for a PC. They're active (inbuilt amp) which kept the cable clutter down (I run an optical cable from PC to them.)They sound fun, with decent bass for their size. They are bookshelf speakers so don't expect to get super low but music is entertaining to listen to, and you can drop a point or two in the inbuilt treble & bass adjustment if you like.The auto-power on works great for the PC, which can now be used as a Spotify player and remote controlled from my phone. There is a quiet high-pitched whine for a few seconds when they power up, but they don't auto-power down so quickly that it's a problem.Lots of inputs on the back and they have a sub pre-out if you want to pad out the bass.They look fantastic, mine are plain white but plenty of other colours available.I'd buy again.

These were an upgrade from using an Amazon echo as a computer speaker, after getting annoyed at my Mac dropping bluetooth connections.The sound quality on these was impressive, watching the movie1917 the day they arrived was brilliant. You have to keep the computer sound level turned up higher than I'm used to, or you end up turning up the volume on the speakers and then you get a dreadful hissing when they're not on. But otherwise I couldn't really fault them - the bass is a weak point, I might add a sub one day but I'm not too bothered, it'll probably only annoy anyone else in the house.And I couldn't care less about the remote, I'd rather it didn't come with one. No idea how it works with bluetooth either, I bought these to avoid that!

Très bonnes enceintes, comme l'indiquent les autres commentaires. Le son est impeccable, parfait pour remplacer mes très vielles enceintes de bureau Bose (modèle 2006) !Un détail cependant, si vous souhaitez coupler ça avec un caisson de basses, assurez-vous que le caisson soit suffisamment puissant pour recevoir le signal en provenance des YU4.J'ai pour ma part (pour des raisons d'espace) un caisson de modèle autre que ceux de la marque Kanto, un Fostex PM-SubMini2 de puissance 50W, ce qui mène le caisson à produire un son très faible, même à volume maximal, à moins d'augmenter les basses à partir de la télécommande du YU4, ce que je ne recommande pas pour garder un bon équilibre audio.Le support Kanto a été très professionnel et a pu m'aider de manière claire sur tout cela. Il s'agirait du fait que le Sub OUT des YU4 envoie un signal "line-level", qui fonctionne mieux avec les caissons de basse n'ayant pas besoin d'un signal très fort pour produire un volume satisfaisant (donc pas mon Fostex). Suite à des échanges, j'ai finalement positionné entre le SUB OUT du YU4 et l'entrée du subwoofer un amplificateur stéréo classique 50W entre les deux (j'ai choisi un Fosi Audio V1.0G), ce qui fonctionne, même si j'aurais préféré éviter, parce que ça apporte son lot d'ennuis et de câbles supplémentaires.Je conseille donc de choisir un caisson adapté, de préférence celui de la marque, ou du moins plus puissant/sensible que ce que j'ai acheté.Si ce n'est pas possible pour vous, et que vous devez utiliser la même solution que moi, la recommandation du support est d'éviter les amplificateurs trop puissants pour éviter de surcharger les entrées de votre caisson de basse, de le régler au seuil le moins important mais suffisant pour finir l'équilibrage sur le caisson lui-même, quitte à mettre le volume du caisson assez fort pour compenser... Bon ne faites pas comme moi, prenez un caisson adapté !

Amazing sound, excellent design and very fast delivery.

This is a preliminary review of the Kanto YU4 after 24 hours of using them. I am using them in my bedroom where previously I was using a Roku Stream Bar sound-bar with my television. I was growing dissatisfied with the muddy sound of the Roku (which is still vastly better than the TV speakers), so decided to make a change by moving to powered speakers and an ONN 4K Pro for streaming (check them out, they are awesome and now available in Canada at Walmart). I chose these speakers after reading/watching several stellar reviews and seeing the deep discount currently offered at Amazon. I am also happy that Kanto is Canadian.Thing I love:These are truly beautiful speakers. I chose the Walnut finish and they are stunning. Kanto offers these speakers in multiple colours and finishes so matching the style of your space will be a breeze. They feel extremely solid and hefty and the rounded corners adds an element of mid-century elegance. You will not be disappointed in how they look in your room.While lacking in deep bass due to their compact size, they still sound excellent with superior definition and clarity. The out of the box EQ is spot-on, but they also provide bass and treble controls on the remote to tweak the sound to match your personal preference. There are just powerful enough to become uncomfortable at max volume, which means they are perfect for the space. I am honestly impressed with how these sound and they are a big upgrade from the Roku sound-bar. I may add a small subwoofer in the future to extend the bottom end, but I am tickled with their sound quality thus far.The number of inputs (on the left speaker) is impressive. There is an RCA input with a ground post that can be switched between standard line-level or a built-in phono pre-amplifier. There is an AUX input that uses a 3.5mm (1/8") jack. There are also two optical inputs and Bluetooth. In addition, there is a USB that is only for charging devices, a subwoofer output and, speaker binding posts for powering the right speaker. I am using only one of the optical inputs for my TV and Bluetooth with my phone. Connecting was a breeze.The speakers come with a well designed remote that includes discrete buttons for every input, Bluetooth playback controls, as well as bass, treble, balance, volume and power.Things that could be better:These are seriously overdue for a Bluetooth upgrade. They are stuck using Bluetooth 4.0, which was released way back in 2009. They sound pretty good overall, using the aptX codec, but the low bandwidth compared to more modern Bluetooth versions is hampering them from reaching their full potential. 6.0 was released last year, but even 5.0 from 2016 paired with aptX HD, LDAC or even aac would be a a big upgrade. It occurs to me that if it is a genuine concern for someone, they could upgrade the Bluetooth themselves by buying a $20 adapter from Amazon and connecting it to the AUX jack. Personally, I will not bother as any streaming I do will be with the ONN player.It is slightly disappointing that the USB is for power only and not another digital input. That somewhat reduces their usefulness as computer speakers, although it does not affect me and my use-case in the slightest.This is a very minor nitpick, but I wonder why they opted for a second optical input instead of a coaxial one, which is by far the more common digital output on a blu-ray or DVD player. Mind you, in 95% of cases, the player would be connected to the TV via HDMI and the TV would then send out the sound via optical or RCA/35mm to the speakers/sound-bar.HDMI-ARC might be a nice option, but there is no difference between that and optical when it comes to stereo output. A non-issue.Things to know:These speakers CANNOT handle a digital multi-channel signal. Why would they? There are a stereo pair. Make sure you set all of your devices, especially the TV, to output stereo only. Otherwise you are going to end up with some pretty harsh digital noise.The included speaker wire that runs from the left (power) speaker to the right is very, very long. That is great if you want to place the speakers far apart, but you might want to cut-it to length, or use your own speaker wire, to avoid having wire draped all over your floor.Summary:I am deeply impressed with the Kanto YU4 powered speakers. They do everything I could possible want and sound amazing. The biggest flaw, the old Bluetooth version, is not enough to dissuade anyone from purchasing these or impacting my rating. The included phono input makes me think about getting another turntable just for the bedroom. I also may decide to add a small subwoofer in the future. If I do either, or if I run into any issues, I will update this review. For now, I am as happy as a clam.Peace.EDIT: wanting to stream audio, especially from my plex server, without needing to turn on my TV, I picked up a Wiim Pro. What a great companion for the Kanto. I used the second optical input to connect it and because the Wiim Pro has its own optical input that passes through the digital signal, I don't even sacrifice inputs. For example, I have the SMSL PL100 CD player connected as a transport being passed through to the Kantos. The Wiim also has Bluetooth 5.0, so it effectively upgrades the Bluetooth on the Kanto. The Wiim App is well-designed and streams basically everything including from my NAS and Plex server over wifi or ethernet with.no need to pass through the TV. It is the perfect partner for the Kanto YU4. 4 months later I still absolutely love how they sound, FYI

Not crazy loud, but crystal clear sound

Estoy muy contento con la calidad de sonido de los altavoces. Sonido nítido, con una buena respuesta en agudos y con una más que aceptable respuesta en frecuencias bajas. En mi opinión, aunque se le puede conectar un Subwoofer, casi no lo necesitarían, pero es cuestión de gustos; para mí la reproducción de los bajos que dan es suficiente.Los acabados son muy buenos, y la conectividad inmejorable; la salida digital audio te evita las interferencias a veces tan difíciles de eliminar con las conexiones analógicas. La conexión bluetooth también está muy conseguida, ni se pierde la señal, ni aparecen interferencias como me ocurría con otros dispositivos.El mando a distancia está muy bien diseñado para poder controlar las funciones del amplificador de 140W integrado. Además de subir y bajar el volumen, puedes controlar los bajos, agudos y el balance, la selección de las 5 entradas de audio que tiene, e incluso, si la señal entra por bluetooth, tiene la opción de adelantar, atrasar o pausar las canciones.Sobre la marca KANTO. Tiene un servicio de atención al cliente que funciona. Tuve un problema, les escribí, y en un par de horas me respondieron con soluciones y recomendaciones de qué hacer. Como el equipo parecía que tenía un problema —se apagaba a los 60 minutos—, me recomendaron cambiarlo; todavía estaba dentro del periodo de devolución.Sobre AMAZON. La devolución del equipo por otro nuevo, ha sido gestionado por los servicios de AMAZON con enorme rapidez y sin problemas. La solicité el domingo y el equipo nuevo ha llegado el jueves, cumpliendo el plazo prometido. No tiene ni que decirse que el equipo nuevo funciona bien; no se apaga a los 60 minutos.