If you’re short on time and just want the highlights of this article, here it is:
In conclusion, the Kanto Living YUP6 is an excellent bookshelf speaker that produces great sound quality with tight and punchy bass and smooth and natural treble response. It has a solid construction and comes with a vinyl finish to match any aesthetic. It has a variety of connections, including banana plugs, spades, bare wire, an RCA input and a 3.5mm auxiliary input, as well as Bluetooth connectivity with aptX technology.
The most ideal user of the YUP6 is someone who is looking for a high quality sound system with clean, uncolored sound. On the other hand, those who are looking for more powerful bass and more wattage may want to look elsewhere. Overall, I think the Kanto Living YUP6 is a great choice for those looking for a powerful and reliable bookshelf speaker.
Quick link:
- https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1628458-REG/kanto_living_yup6w_yu_passive_5_25_bookshelf.html
Now let’s get to its bolts and nuts.
Kanto Living YUP6 Review: Sound quality
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.
Anyways...
When it comes to the sound quality of the Kanto Living YUP6, I was quite impressed. I really liked the uncolored sound they produced—exactly as the artist intended. It’s clear to me that these speakers were designed with true audio lovers in mind since they come with a 5.25″ Kevlar woofer and a 1″ silk tweeter paired with an amplifier capable of supplying 100W per channel into 6 ohms. This combination provides for a frequency response of 50 Hz to 20 kHz for enhanced midrange reproduction along with a rear-firing tuned bass port to augment the low end and minimize distortion.
Regarding the low end, these speakers produce tight bass with low distortion, allowing you to feel every beat and be moved by the music. When it comes to the highs, the silk dome tweeters provide a smooth sounding treble response so you can listen to the speakers all day with no fatigue.
I was also quite taken with the sleek, minimal design of the YUP6. The vinyl finish allows you to match any aesthetic and I thought the solid MDF cabinets did a great job of reducing unwanted vibrations. When the speakers are bolted to a compatible Kanto speaker stand, resonances can be further eliminated through coupling, resulting in an even better sound experience.
If there was one area where this speaker could use some improvement, it would be to increase the wattage capacity to 200W per channel into 6 ohms. While the 100W power handling is great, I think it would really help the YUP6 to deliver more powerful bass, thus taking the sound quality to a whole new level.
Overall, I think the Kanto Living YUP6 is an excellent speaker that produces great sound quality. The low end is tight and punchy and the highs are smooth and natural, allowing you to appreciate the artists’ work like never before. It’s a great choice for those looking for a powerful and reliable bookshelf speaker.
Kanto Living YUP6 Review: Connectivity
The Kanto Living YUP6 has a very good range of connections that make it easy to integrate into your audio setup. The speaker’s rear panel features two sets of gold-plated 5-way binding posts that can be used for banana plugs, spades, and bare wire, allowing for superior connection options. It also has an RCA input that can be used for connecting CD players, turntables, AV receivers, or any other devices with an RCA output. Additionally, the YUP6 has a 3.5mm auxiliary input for connecting phones, tablets, laptops, or other MP3 players.
Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX technology is also supported, giving you the flexibility to stream music wirelessly from any Bluetooth enabled device. The maximum wireless range is 33 feet and the signal remains strong even at the edges of this range.
Overall, I am quite satisfied with the connectivity options that come with the Kanto Living YUP6. The various inputs make it easy to integrate into an existing audio setup and the Bluetooth connectivity allows you to stream music wirelessly. It would be nice if the speaker had an HDMI input, but other than that, I think the connectivity options are more than adequate.
Kanto Living YUP6 Review: Most & least ideal user profiles
The Kanto Living YUP6 is an excellent choice for those looking for a powerful and reliable bookshelf speaker. The sound quality is great, with tight and punchy bass and smooth and natural treble response. The sleek design and vinyl finish also allow the speaker to match any aesthetic.
The most ideal user of the YUP6 would be someone who is looking for a high quality speaker that can produce great sound with a wide frequency range. This speaker is ideal for those who want a powerful sound system with clean, uncolored sound. This speaker is perfect for music lovers who are looking to get the most out of their favorite tracks.
On the other hand, the least ideal user of the YUP6 would be someone who is looking for more powerful bass and more wattage. This speaker has a maximum power handling of 100W per channel into 6 ohms, and so it will not be able to fill a large room with loud sound. Additionally, those who are looking for an HDMI input may be disappointed, as this speaker does not have one.
To sum it up, the Kanto Living YUP6 is the perfect speaker for those who are looking for a high quality sound system with great sound and wide frequency range. Those who are looking for more powerful bass and more wattage may want to look elsewhere.
Kanto Living YUP6 Review: Conclusion
In conclusion, the Kanto Living YUP6 is an excellent bookshelf speaker that produces great sound quality with tight and punchy bass and smooth and natural treble response. It has a solid construction and comes with a vinyl finish to match any aesthetic. It has a variety of connections, including banana plugs, spades, bare wire, an RCA input and a 3.5mm auxiliary input, as well as Bluetooth connectivity with aptX technology.
The most ideal user of the YUP6 is someone who is looking for a high quality sound system with clean, uncolored sound. On the other hand, those who are looking for more powerful bass and more wattage may want to look elsewhere. Overall, I think the Kanto Living YUP6 is a great choice for those looking for a powerful and reliable bookshelf speaker.