Most users often look for budget-friendly bookshelf speakers like Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6. Kanto is well-known for making speakers and its accessories. If you want a small bookshelf speaker to sit perfectly on your desktop, the Kanto Yu4 will be the best.
Between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6, the Yu4 is best for near-field listening due to its compact size and amplifier power. The Kanto Yu6 is more powerful than Yu4 and with larger drivers, it can easily fill small to medium-sized places.
What makes these speakers attractive is that you don’t need an additional amplifier that will take up space, have more wires, and need extra money. The integrated phono pre-amp is best if you want to add these speakers with a turntable.
Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6: In-detailed comparison
From these Kanto Yu2 comes before Yu4 and Yu6. The Yu2, Yu4, and Yu6 come serially and each has some improved features than the previous one. The Yu6 is the largest in the family and more powerful. It also costs more than others.
Design
Between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6 aesthetics, Yu4 has more colors where the gloss teal is the most attractive and loved by many.
The difference between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6 isn’t night and day so you can be strict towards the aesthetics. The walnut and bamboo shades also look very stylish and cozy in any room. If you choose a glossy finish you can choose one from gloss black, red, or grey.
Grilles
One drawback in the Kanto speaker design is that they don’t come with grilles which might bother you if you have kids or pets to poke your drivers.Other users will love these without grilles because they can see the tweeter and woofer move back and forth as the music plays. These speakers are made of Medium Density Fiberboard which is known to protect speakers by absorbing vibrations to alter the sound.
LED Light
The front panel only has a large knob at the bottom which can be used for switch or volume or as a stand-by selector. It also has a LED light that displays different color lights so that you can understand what’s going on.
The LED will show while light if the speaker is in power on or playback mode. A solid yellow means ‘Standby’ and blinking yellow means ‘mute’. Once you are connected with any Bluetooth device, it will show a solid blue LED. If you push it, you can use it for the source selector.
However, the LED light is very dim and you can’t see the colored light clearly. Looking into Kanto Yu4 dimensions, they are compact and the size makes it the best desktop speaker. you can also place them on open shelves or windowsill.
Between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6 dimensions, the Yu6 is larger by around 2” that makes it ideal for tabletops, or on speaker stands. With Automatic Standby and Power-up mode, the speaker will save power when you are not listening to music.
Overall the build quality of both speakers feels sturdy and while you can easily lift or move the Yu4, the Yu6 is quite heavy. You can know more about some of the beautifully designed Bookshelf Speakers here.
Winner: Kanto Yu4
Installation
There is no difference between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6 setup.
You can do the setup easily because Kanto provides all the needed cables. The length of the cables is also long with a minimum length of 6 ft. Follow these steps for Kanto Yu4 installation:
- Use a speaker cable to connect the two speakers.
- RED (+) and BLACK (-) of one speaker to the similar terminals of the other speaker.
- In case you need longer cables, you need to buy an additional cable
- Make sure the cable is such that it will reduce signal loss
- Plug in the power cord to the supply
You need to follow the same instructions for Yu6.
Winner: Tie
Performance
Drivers
The Kanto Yu6 has larger drivers than the Yu4 and thereby produces better sound.
One major difference between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6 is that the Kanto Yu6 has larger drivers. The driver material of each speaker is the same where the tweeter is a silk dome and the woofer is made from Kevlar.
With a silk dome, the tweeter produces a soft and pleasant sound. It ensures high-frequency is produced with accuracy. The dome shape focuses on the dispersion of audio so that no matter where you are in the room, you can hear the sound.
And the purpose of the Kevlar woofer is to eliminate reverberation and uniform distribution of sound waves. Due to the ‘rigidity and strength’ of Kevlar, you can listen to music at high volume. Both Kanto Yu4 and Yu6 have 1” tweeter, but the Yu4 has a 4” woofer and Yu6 has 5.25” woofer.
Winner: Kanto Yu6
Amplifier
The Kanto Yu6 is equipped with a more powerful amplifier than the Kanto Yu4.
Kanto Yu6 and Yu4 both are powered bookshelf speakers that come with a built-in amp. This is an advantage because if you are a newbie and don’t want to choose multiple devices, then this powered speaker is best for you.
It will also save you from spending more on another amplifier and is also bet for you if you have space constraints. Between Kanto Yu6 vs Yu4, both have Class D amplifier but the Kanto Yu6 specs shows that it has a more powerful amplifier with 200W power while Kanto Yu4 has 140W powered amplifier. Find out How to choose amplifier for speakers.
Winner: Kanto Yu6
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Frequency
In comparison to Kanto Yu4, Kanto Yu6 will provide a superior frequency response.
Comparing the frequency response of Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6, we see that the Kanto Yu6 has a better response which is 40Hz to 20kHz. The Yu4 has a frequency response of 60Hz to 20kHz. This means the Kanto Yu6 can produce deep and tight bass compared to Kanto Yu4.
Winner: Kanto Yu6
Bass
Kanto Yu6 has larger woofer and can produce deep and tight bass than Kanto Yu4.
Bass or low-frequency extension is one of the most important factors in audio quality and therefore in speakers. The Kanto Yu6 2-way powered bookshelf speaker can get lower in the low-frequency range than Yu4. Both these speakers have a bass-reflex port at the rear side. The basses aren’t too loud, which I think is a good thing.
The Kanto Yu6 powered speaker has a larger bass-reflex port than the Yu4, 1.75” compared to 1.25”. Another part is the size. The Kanto Yu4 size is smaller than Kanto Yu6 and speaker size can affect the sound quality and bass production.
Winner: Kanto Yu6
Total harmonic distortion
When comparing Kanto Yu4 and Yu6, Yu4 has a somewhat lower THD than Yu6.
THD is defined when the input signal is compared to output and at certain stages, the difference is calculated in percentage. The percentage refers to the harmonic distortion of the output signal.
The lower the THD, the better, and manufacturers try to keep it as low as possible. So most of the time the THD Is not heard by us. Between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6, the Yu4 has a slightly lower THD of 0.25% compared to 0.3% of Yu6.
Winner: Kanto Yu4
Sound analysis
Yu6 has significantly better sound profile with better bass and high-range sound than Yu4.
While choosing a speaker, one of the most important factors is sound quality. Kanto Yu6 vs Yu4, which one sounds better?
Kanto Yu4
The Kanto Yu4 powered bookshelf speaker has deep and tight bass but it can sometimes sound boomy. You can increase the bass level by the Bass button on the remote. It is seen that if you increase the volume higher, the bass sounds better but the highs become inaccurate. While the speakers cannot give a room-shaking bass, the bass is making the audio well-balanced.
Kanto Yu6
The Kanto Yu4 shows the best performance in the mid-range section. It is detailed and the vocals have excellent clarity. The treble is also detailed and accurate which can be adjusted with the remote. It provides a 3D soundstage effect. With Yu6, we can see this being used as a more serious music speaker on a desk, table top, or on a pair of speaker stands, as we checked them.
Kanto Yu6 has a powerful amplifier and lower low-frequency range compared to Yu4. The sound quality is rich and detailed. The vocals are loud and clear. It has ‘well-separated bass and mid-range.
The Kanto Yu6 bass is warm and tight. They are better for small to medium-sized rooms. The mid-range is outstanding similar to Yu4. The highs are crisp and detailed as well. Audioengine A5+ is a close competitor of Kanto Yu6, between Kanto Yu6 vs Audioengine A5+, there are differences in terms of driver size, amplifier power.
The Kanto Yu6 also seems to have a better performance to price ratio when compared to Audioengine A5+. Also, if you have budget constraints, you can choose one between Kanto Yu6 vs Edifier. The Edifier 1280DB costs less than Kanto Yu4, it also has less power but the driver size and frequency response are impressive.
Winner: Kanto Yu6
Connections
These speakers have similar inputs and outputs.
Comparing Kanto Yu4 vs Yu2, the Yu4 doesn’t come with a USB port for a computer that the younger sibling had. However, you can connect your PC with RCA, aux, or optical TOSLINK inputs. These speakers come with an integrated phono preamp.
Bluetooth is one of the most versatile connections and most people want this wireless connection. These speakers support Bluetooth 4.0 with Qualcomm aptX technology. The USB charging port is an additional feature with which you can easily charge your phone. Take a peek at these Bluetooth Speakers.
The RCA port in the rear side of the speaker has a switchable button which you can move between phono pre-amp and analog line-in. this means from connecting wireless devices, PC, mobile phones, iPad, and others, you can also connect a turntable, put on vinyl, and be nostalgic.
While connecting a turntable, you may place them on the same table because they aren’t heavyweight. But if you connect one with Yu6, it is recommended not to place them on the same table because they may vibrate and shake the turntable.
The versatile connections allow you to connect these speakers with a CD player, cassette player, or 8-track player. Instead of one, two optical inputs allow a flexible connection. The subwoofer output is very important because bass heads will definitely want to add a subwoofer for parties or punchier bass. You can choose the Kanto sub 8[/amazon]
If you think you want to spend less than $300, then you can choose Fluance Ai40. The Fluance Ai40 has a larger woofer than Yu4 and a frequency response of 40Hz to 20kHz. The bass is tight and the sound is impressive.
Winner: Tie
Controls
Both Kanto Yu4 and Yu6 have the same remote control.
The remote controls of the speakers are sleek and medium-sized with buttons arranged in order. The buttons are easy to press and the volume controls are the largest because they are most frequently used.
You need AAA cells for the IR remote. We like the Bluetooth pairing and disconnecting button. This will come in handy in case you want to disconnect Bluetooth with one device and connect with a new one.
Winner: Tie
Experiment review
Placement
Speaker stand
Speaker placement affects the sound quality for then you can imagine. The Kanto user manual clearly gives some guidelines which should be followed to achieve the best sound. For Kanto Yu4 placement, if you place them on a desktop table or other tabletops, it is suggested that you use the
Kanto S4 Desktop Speaker Stands[/amazon]
These stands are elevated by 16 degrees so that the sound is directed directly to your ears. It has foam padding on the top and bottom side of the stand that ensures the speakers remain stable and it also minimizes resonance. With the help of a 1/4”-20 screw, you can securely attach your speakers which ensures stability further.
It is suggested to use Kanto SP26 speaker stands for both the Yu4 and Yu6 models. The height of the stand is 26” to 32” so that the sound will be directed towards us. The stands are very strong; it weighs 16.3 pounds each which makes sure the stands won’t wobble or shake the speakers.
This Speaker different arrangements like spikes for carpet and rubber feet for floors. It also comes with a swivel and locks feature where the base of the stand will remain fixed but you can move the direction of the speaker.
Placing the speaker
If you hate messy speaker cables, then Kanto is for you. These stands have cable management through which you can pass-through speaker cables as well as a power cable. Similar to the desktop stand, you have to attach the speaker with screws for safety.
While placing Kanto-powered bookshelf speakers, you can follow the general rule and try to keep an equal distance between the speakers and the speakers and you. After that, you can reposition to find the best spot where the music sounds best.
Since these speakers have a bass-reflex port, you should not place them close to the wall. Kanto suggests that you place them a minimum of 8” away from the wall. You should not place them at any corner of a room. Placing them on stands will be the best choice.
If you plan on buying a subwoofer, then you must be careful of placing the subwoofer as well. You can follow this article for complete guideline Understanding speaker placement: A complete guide.
Alternative Products
KEF LSX
The Kef LSX wireless speaker is an another device with great sound, a streamlined design, and great communication. This high-end product has a robust design and streamlined features, giving you the space you need for your music.nHere is KEF two other models KEF q150 and q350 for you.
Pros
- Advanced Uni-Q driver array for improved sound quality
- Leading class awareness
- Vast connectivity
- Colorful and elegant design
- Comparatively affordable
- Exceptional, attractive, rich, and airy sound
Cons
- Users have to use the KEF LSX with two apps
- Faltering remote control
Audioengine A2+
The Audioengine has been manufacturing the A series for quite a while and the Audioengine A2+ is one of the best small speakers among them. They are similar to the previous model A2 but there are differences as well. A2 excels in inputs as well as decent audio for a pair of computer speaker.
Pros
- Good build quality and finish.
- Compact size for desk saving space.
- Great sound quality considering the physical size.
- A variety of sources, using analog inputs, USB components or Bluetooth.
Cons
Not so good bass.
Parting words
Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6, which one is better? The difference between Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6 price is around $150, so if you have space and budget, then you should definitely choose the powerful Kanto Yu6. The frequency response and large woofer size incorporate into producing more bass than the Yu4.
The Kanto Yu4 is best if you are looking for desktop speakers or to simply listen in a small bedroom. These aren’t ideal for parties but you have the option to always improve the bass by adding a subwoofer. If you are into looks, then Kanto Yu4 has an extraordinary gloss teal color that you can choose.
Overall, the performance to price ratio is what makes these speakers the winner. Kanto focuses a lot on user set up so if you buy the speaker stand, you will not have messy wires lying around and you don’t have to worry about speakers accidentally falling off the stands.
Our pick: Kanto Yu6.
We loved the Kanto Yu6 between the Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6. This is because it has a more powerful amplifier. The larger size of the speakers and larger woofer driver along with low-frequency range will deliver tighter bass. Kanto Yu6 are the best sounding speakers for medium-sized rooms.
FAQs of Kanto Yu4 vs Yu6
Like all the other FAQ sections in our articles, this one is also here to help you to overcome some of your confusion regarding this matter of issue about the best budget Bluetooth speaker.
How to perform Bluetooth Pairing in Kanto speakers?
Answer: follow these steps to connect to a wireless device via Bluetooth:
- Use the remote and press button
- The LED on the speaker will blink blue light
- Turn on Bluetooth on your smartphone
- Choose the speaker name from the list
- Wait for pairing, once the LED shows solid Blue light, pairing is successful
What should you do if the speakers are ON, but it isn’t playing?
Answer: Go through these steps to find out the problem:
- Check the input source of the music
- You can check the source by using the knob or remote
- Recheck the cable connected to the source
- Make sure the audio cable is working
- Make sure the volume is not on the lowest level
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