KantoYU2 Powered Desktop Computer Speakers | 3" Drivers 3/4" Silk Dome Tweeter | 50 W RMS | Built-in USB DAC & AUX Input | Sub Out | Pair | Walnut

I was ready to toss these Kanto YU2MB speakers—what a waste. I’d saved up for these beauties and, based on reviews, I was expecting to be impressed. I fired them up via my PC desktop system , eager… then waiting… ready… err… The sound? Disappointing. Maybe my standards were too high, or maybe my 74 years ear had worn out. I suffered for several days with a case of sound (poor me :)Then, an idea: move the lineout from my Dell monitor to the motherboard (back of my PC). I am stupid sometimes.Oh, my.It was immediately apparent that I had been doing something wrong.I turned up the music and relief washed over me.I am very male, so I won’t admit my eyes welled up as Pat Metheny filled my studio—but let’s just say, my ears still have a few good years left.Thank You Kanto.Peace. jg

Definitely worth the extra money. I had hope I didn’t waste 200 on pc speakers. Pretty heavy construction, I didn’t expect much from 3 1/2” speakers but they are pretty good for what they are. I am glad I purchased these. Sound definitely surprised me. I would buy again and I’ll definitely try the power sub to go with these.The only draw back I have is the speaker wire. I wish the wire was black in color, as well as the usb wire.I don’t like the blue led on the front of powered speaker, but a sharpie can fix that some.

I am no professional sound engineer, but I have always appreciated good sound and I know it when I hear it. And to me that standard was set a long time ago by a little company you might have heard of -- Miller and Kreisel. My father bought one of their first consumer offerings back in the late 80's. A pair of SB1 satellites and a 12" powered subwoofer. I inherited them from him when he died. My life has changed in such a way that having a big room with a great sound system was simply not possible.So, the SB1's got sold and I had sound through theKlipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Computer Speaker System (Black)computer setup for years. Anyone who's owned those knows that they are a nightmare of shoddy connections and the 2 sets I had for each of my computers finally were unacceptable -- blown subwoofers, faulty satellite connections. Good sound, but ultimately flimsy. And considering how much better these YU2's sound, insanely overpriced.I did a bunch of research and finally settled on a pair of these and the matching 6" Sub for one computer and a pair of the Kanto YU3GT Powered Bookshelf Speakers, Gloss Teal for the other (mine) with anAcoustic Audio PSW-8 300 Watt 8-Inch Down Firing Powered Subwoofer (Black). These YU2's are simply fantastic, clear, crisp highs, powerful mids and tight bass. I've played everything from theStar Wars: The Force Awakens to From the Choirgirl Hotel to King ThrakCrimson to Goat Rodeo Sessionsand was blown away by how well everything came alive.These are speakers so good they will reveal every mistake in the recording. And will likely make me reassess what in my library is not worth my time because of them in the future. It's like I'm getting to rediscover the music I've bought in the last ten years I thought I knew backwards and forwards.The YU3's are, of course, even better with deeper low end response and slightly wider dynamic range. But that's a different review.That's the first half of the story. The second half is about Kanto Living themselves. So, those YU3's I mentioned. Well, I bought those (supposedly) lightly used on Ebay. I got a good (but not great) price on them. They arrived I opened the box and the speakers were just thrown in their willy nilly. That was my first clue. The YU2's had arrived from Amazon two days earlier (new) and I knew that Kanto did a good job packaging them. So, something was not right. I picked up the remote and it rattled. Clue #2. Then I picked up the passive satellite. It also rattled. Clue #3.Now, I have a 9 year old. So the idea of something getting put down the bass port in the back was not out of the question. So I opened the speaker up and looked inside. And I saw a copper induction coil laying loose. Not good. I hooked everything up and the passive tweeter made noise but not the 4" woofer. Now, I know this isn't a tough repair but in no way is that acceptable condition for something that was supposed to be in 'Like New' condition.I contacted ebay, put in a dispute and fully expected to get my money back. Somehow to the customer support person 'Used (Like New)" Condition and "damaged with light scuffing but tested to work well" equals accurately described by the seller for the price paid.Not in my universe and not when I paid $210 for them and they list $289. Now, had the seller put them up for $100, I would have been hey, "Caveat Emptor" but not for that price. That's a price that says, these speakers work. Needless to say I'm just a little torqued off.So, I put in a dispute with PayPal (still pending) and have my fingers crossed.Next I called Kanto on the off chance they would be able to help me. I didn't expect much more than a very polite (their Canadian), "Sucks to be you, man."To my complete astonishment within 24 hours they had a solution for me. Even though I didn't buy these speakers from them and the damage was not covered by the warranty they sold me a refurbished replacement and a new remote for the cost of shipping ($25). Now, if that's not customer service I don't know what is. (Thanks Jason, you rock my man.)So, long story short, this is a quality company that respects their customers. They make an excellent product which they stand behind. I can't comment on how well they compare to other speakers in their price range, but given how good they sound, I sincerely doubt I will have a reason to find out anytime soon.And that counts for more than just a few dollars in my book. It doesn't hurt that their speakers are so good I'm happily re-engaging with my music library at an emotional level I haven't been able to in a loooong time.I'm seriously considering putting together a system based around their Kanto BENORG 5-inch Passive Coaxial Speakers - Pair (Orange Matte) and a SMSL SMSL MINI5 50W2 TDA7492 Digital Amplifier & Headphone with Power Adapter (Black) for my computer and moving the YU3's to the living room for bluetooth sound.

TLDR: Elegant small design with good yet slightly muddy sound. No auto on/off is a miss though.Compared to the Edifier M60s and NZXT Relay speakers these are the better option in my opinion. The Edifier and NZXT speakers came off very tinny while the Kanto YU2 did not. Despite the fact the Kanto YU2 sounded far better than both those options in my opinion, it did have a very noticeable con. The mids and lows came off fairly muddy. I mainly used these for games, music and movies on my PC set up. Sounds such as cannon fire, foot steps and speech all sounded a bit muffled, almost like it was being subdued or under water. At first it wasn't an issue but as I frequently switch between speakers and headphones it became more apparent since my headphones didn't have this muddy effect. Other users said their speakers became much better after using an EQ software but honestly I dislike downloading third party programs and running the risk of causing issues to my PC. It's unfortunate Kanto doesn't provide their own EQ software. If it weren't for that subdued sound and lack of a standby mode these would be 5 stars.