Kanto YU4 Speakers Review – Are They Worth It?

For students, editors, and city-living, we believe it is the Kanto YU4 Speakers are a fantastic choice. It has everything to stream audio, amplify your TV and movie experience, and edit your professional footage in case you are a vlogger.

It has a high-quality stereo sound that transcends the expectations and makes you fall in love with it. Even for professional gamers, it is great and makes gaming more immersive.

Here is our Kanto YU4 Speakers Review.

Design

First, there is a large variety of color options; one can choose any color to complement the décor of his room. This is a big positive as mostly these types of speakers don’t come with too many color options, as the main focus is on their technical aspects.

It arrives in a large brown corrugated box. After opening it, you see retail packaging sitting nice and tight inside. It appears that a lot of care was placed in ensuring the product’s safety.

It actually grew on us when we tried and checked the highs and lows of the speakers, besides it looks better than the typical black and gray. There is another thing that facilitates the teal color to steal the show. The gloss on it looks great from across the room. 

Apart from this, the overall design is modern and minimalistic. If you buy the pair of Kanto Stands with them, the speakers can be elevated by 16 degrees. It gives them a more contemporary look and helps in giving optimum performance.

On the whole, we can say the vision is achieved when it comes to the quality and style of the Kanto YU4 Speakers.

If you do a quick Google search for bookshelf speakers, you will see that the world of audio has very standard shapes with black and grey colors. It appears that the manufacturers don’t give attention to the design aspect, and people also don’t purchase the bookshelf speakers based solely on their design and color, instead, they want to know about their components and sound quality.

In case you are thinking why we are particularly talking about the design, it is because the design of Kanto YU4 has received a lot of attention, and we aren’t talking about the ‘look’ only.

The Kanto Company has used 25mm silk dome twitter with a 102mm mid-bass unit.

These features are included for strength and rigidity reasons and make it look lavish too.

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Connectivity

When we first saw it, we were concerned if the size of the Kanto YU4 would kneecap their performance. But we are happy this isn’t the case.

The greatest thing about Kanto YU4 powered speakers is you will be able to plug all your gear into them. This is something we don’t see in big speakers, but the YU4 delivers on that score.

Want to connect your old CD Player? No issue.

These speakers have two Toslink digital optical inputs that not only allow you to connect and use the CD Player but also let you relish the sound of TV as well. This is helpful if you are a sports fan and love to see exciting matches over and over again. You don’t need to buy big speakers and burn the holes in your pockets, just get Kanto YU4 and they will give you the punchy, musical bass that is needed for sensational moments.

These speakers have a 3.5 mm aux input also. The purpose of this input is to give these speakers a quick connection with your mobile so that you can enjoy your favorite tracks while exercising or doing homework.

People who already have a big speaker in their home will probably feel less bass in it especially due to its small size. In this situation, you can connect a subwoofer too for a little more bass. The Kanto YU4 has a subwoofer output on the back. 

All you need is to connect your subwoofer with it. There is no need to play with settings through remote or app. It will start making the sound effects more immersive, deep, and present.

Apart from this, there is a pair of RCA inputs as well. This can be used as a phono input from a turntable.

You also get Bluetooth with AptX support. Keep in mind, when you use Bluetooth, in a way, you are taking a compressed audio file and you compress it further to stream it. For that reason, the quality of the Bluetooth won’t be incredible. But if you switch from Bluetooth over the 3.5mm cable AUX connection, the sound quality will be far better.

At the front of the left speaker, you will find a small knob too. It can do multiple things, such as turn on/off the speakers and control the volume.

At the bottom, there are 1/4″ threaded inserts for those who want to mount the speakers on speaker stands. If you are planning to place it on a cabinet, you don’t have to worry about the surface; the two sets of four adhesive feet prevent scratches.

To make it innovative, they presented a black circled sensor also. 

Its main purpose is to alert you regarding its status. If you see the white light, it means the speakers are on, whereas the yellow light (which activates after 15 minutes of inactivity) indicates that the speakers are on the standby mode.

We can compromise on the Bluetooth sound quality, as it is fine and better than many other bookshelf speakers, our main concern is the USB input.

We thought the USB can be used as a music source, however, it is just the charging port. This one drawback betrays the lifestyle of the students’ market which Kanto YU4 wishes to occupy.

Sound

With 140W peak power and 4″ Kevlar driver, the Kanto YU4 produces massive sound.

In the sound clarity and low-ranges, it even challenges the big speakers which are used in the home theater system for the surround sound. For the sound clarity, we see 1″ silk dome tweeters that work on the detailed sound and spread it into every corner of your room.

It would be correct to say they provide more than enough coverage for your bedroom and living room. Remember, they aren’t for the larger family rooms. Some of our Fluance bookshelf speakers would be more suitable for larger rooms.

We have also played a few genres of music to get YU4 feel.

It doesn’t matter whether it was Nirvana, Florence, or the Beastie Boys, the bass is tight and yet full-bodied. Also, the bass varies according to the nature of the song too.

The place where the Kanto YU4 really shines is the mid-range.

In the mid-range, you notice that the sound has plenty of detail. The vocals of the track are rendered with excellent clarity and the overall tonality is exceptional too. Even the layers of instrumental tones in the mid-range are excellent.

The lower and the upper range also work great but they have a little bit of hard edge in some notes which is a minor gripe.

In the treble section, these bookshelf speakers have very good energy. It is good for those who are a little more treble sensitive. You will feel a slight metallic tone to the highs sometimes but on the whole, it is smoother and refined with fine details.

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Kanto YU4 Powered Speakers – Pros & Cons

Pros

It is the best option for those who are looking for a desktop setup. The stands of Kanto YU4 powered speakers tilt them towards your ears.

The standby power consumption of these speakers is less than 0.5 watts.

The input sensitivity is 560 mV.

They come in a range of seven colors and one wood finish.

When you set them flat, they produce a solid bass response without any vibration. When you push them within their limits, without an additional subwoofer, you don’t find any distortion or sonic wonkiness.

The RCA output allows you to connect a subwoofer.

The Kanto YU4 slightly favors the mid and upper-midrange.

They have a smart power-saving feature.

Cons

The sound quality drops a little in the Bluetooth mode.

The USB port is for charging the phone only, not for playing music.

Specifications

• It has Qualcomm aptX Technology.
• It has a class D amplifier with 70 watts total RMS.
• It has acoustic grade MDF cabinets.
• The frequency response is between 60 Hz and 20 kHz.
• RCA and AUX ports for quick, easy connection.
• The turntable can be directly connected to the speakers.
• It has two Optical TOSLINK ports.

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Kanto YU4 Speakers – FAQs

Does the subwoofer output changes with the volume?

It does; it doesn’t have a fixed subwoofer output, which is a good thing. The subwoofer output increases with the volume and you feel a bit change in the bass when you test different music genres. For example, the bass from the Hip-hop feels different than the bass in Electric.

Can you play sound from two different inputs at the same time?

No, this isn’t possible. Having multiple connectivity options doesn’t mean you can play sound from different inputs at the same time. The Kanto YU4 handles one input at a time. For instance, if it is connected with TV, you won’t be able to use Bluetooth.

How is the remote of Kanto YU4?

The remote of Kanto YU4 looks professional. You can do many things with it, such as change the different input sources, pairing Bluetooth, and etc. It also allows you to adjust the sound balance when you are connected with the Bluetooth. Therefore, it is good to keep it safe.

What about the low-ranges in these speakers?

The low-ranges of Kanto YU4 are impressive for its size. At high volumes where you can feel a tab boom, the low-range is controlled well. Even at typical listening volumes, you won’t have any issues in the notes. It produces vocals at the level of clarity and crispness.

What is the range of Bluetooth?

Unlike most other powered speakers that feature an external antenna for extraordinary range, the YU4 has an antenna inside which means the Bluetooth range is limited. For that reason, use it in a small or medium-sized room as the Bluetooth range can cut out at just 10-15 feet.

Conclusion

When we first heard that the YU4 is a bookshelf speaker, we were quite intrigued.

Since bookshelf speakers are usually not designed by professional companies, as they are focused on big speakers that complete the need for dedicated music space.

However, the Kanto YU4 manufacturers perceived very well that for small spaces, and particularly small bedrooms, big speakers are typically a no-go for many obvious reasons. In the bedrooms, people are often interested in watching movies or listening to digital music on their laptops.

Therefore, to fulfill their need, they introduced YU4s with an impressive amount of connectivity. From Bluetooth to USB port to charge your phone, it has everything. You can even connect the Kanto YU4 speakers with the home theater system and use an optional subwoofer with them as well.

Like what you read? You may also be interested in some of our Edifier speaker reviews.