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Kanto YU6 desktop use, Review and measurements.

GimeDsp

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Just got a pair of Kanto yu6 and haven't had much time to listen or measure but from what I have done so far there is something very off with these.

Listening so far has been nearfield and they sound like the mid range is sucks out. Male vocals sound like there is an absorber placed over the singers mouth.

I am listening near tweeter level and if I move a good deal below tweeter level the sound gets a little better.

My buddy has the good measurement rig I use when we work together, I just have REW.

Here is a quick 1m measurement on axis and close range.

It seems like the Xover is around 1600hz, that seems a little low for this kind of speaker but I know some other companies do similar stuff.

ALSO the built in dac via optical is mushy.
I was trying to go the simple route and get "there" but I guess I have to pull all my components back our and use these YU6's in the garage.

If you are looking for desktop speakers I wouldn't recommend these.
1M ON AXIS TUBE TRAPS.jpgkanto yu6 close.jpg
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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I reached out to Kanto support via email and asked if they could provide crossover info and also and FR graphs.
They said they were "unwilling to provide those and return them if you are unhappy"

Well, their website is marketing and lies. Here is from their website:

"Where most companies only promise superior customer service, we deliver it. We’re committed to continually raising the bar when it comes to customer support, and are determined to ensure complete satisfaction throughout all our channels and end-users. There’s always someone ready to answer your questions."

For a company that promises to answer questions and that cares "so much for quality and engineering" its ridiculous that their answer is

"we won't answer your question and send it back if you're not happy."
 
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Chromatischism

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That is a poor answer indeed.

I tested the YU4 and thought they sounded good for their size and price, but watch that bass control. It works in the mid and upper bass range (speaker is too small for low bass) and can easily muddy up the mids if you're not careful. This is typical of nearly all smaller speakers, it's just the physics of it. The speakers otherwise have both bass and treble controls to shape the response as you see fit. The wood (I had the Walnut) was very nice, something I haven't seen before on a small, inexpensive speaker.
 

KantoLiving

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@GimeDsp Product Manager here. I had to look at the support ticket myself after reading this post - fortunately our response to you was a lot more tactful than you are making it seem here. Please don't knock our support team because we don't have the measurements you want.
 

NoSnakeOil2

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@GimeDsp Product Manager here. I had to look at the support ticket myself after reading this post - fortunately our response to you was a lot more tactful than you are making it seem here. Please don't knock our support team because we don't have the measurements you want.
Wow, this response lacks tact. Unless the call was recorded, it's unclear how anyone could know exactly what was said. Usually, a company rep will use language such as, "We're sorry you were dissatisfied with our product. As a matter of policy, we don't provide our propietary test data for the public. Etc etc.". There's no need to escalate the debate per the language here.
 

Koloth

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Wow, this response lacks tact. Unless the call was recorded, it's unclear how anyone could know exactly what was said. Usually, a company rep will use language such as, "We're sorry you were dissatisfied with our product. As a matter of policy, we don't provide our propietary test data for the public. Etc etc.". There's no need to escalate the debate per the language here.

Nothing about @KantoLiving s response lacked tact imho.
But, obviously a speaker manufacturer not providing a FR measurement certainly seems quite poor.
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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Kanto's response is still completely at odds with their marketing.

Does tact matter when failing to keep "commitments"
Here again is Kanto's website marketing

"Where most companies only promise superior customer service, we deliver it. We’re committed to continually raising the bar when it comes to customer support, and are determined to ensure complete satisfaction throughout all our channels and end-users. There’s always someone ready to answer your questions." "

Here is the exact response from Kanto:

"I have discussed this further with our internal team and at this time we are not able to provide the requested measurements. Are you looking to have these measurements to determine if there is an issue with the speakers? Ultimately if you do not enjoy the sound quality of the speakers the best option would be to return the speakers to the retailer you purchased them though."

Here is my abbreviated version of your response

"we won't answer your question and send it back if you're not happy."

I did not add any color commentary or misrepresent Kanto's response at all. THE FACT of the matter is Kanto promises to answer questions and AMAZING END USER SUPPORT. Kanto failed on both those fronts. and for a rep to come on here and accuse me "knocking Kanto's customer service team" speaks VOLUMES about Kanto.

Here is your response
"Please don't knock our support team because we don't have the measurements you want. "
so it's my fault when Kanto doesn't Keep their marketing promises?
Knato.PNG
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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Wow, this response lacks tact. Unless the call was recorded, it's unclear how anyone could know exactly what was said. Usually, a company rep will use language such as, "We're sorry you were dissatisfied with our product. As a matter of policy, we don't provide our propietary test data for the public. Etc etc.". There's no need to escalate the debate per the language here.

Kanto's response does lack tact. they make BIG promises on their website then when they don't deliver they accuse end user. not cool.

anyways, I have posted the exact word for word response and it can be seen that I did not misrepresent their response in my summary.
"we won't give you measurements and return them if unhappy"
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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The Reason I didn't "send it back" is because I wanted to support the company that sold it and also Kanto.

I never stated I wanted to send them back, so why did Kanto support keep pushing that, I don't know.

I really don't think customer support telling people to just send stuff back and return is a good look for them.

I guess I should have realized a company that doesn't post specs and details would also keep those secret when asked.
As a customer it's my bad for trusting the companies marketing about "commitments" and "complete customer satisfaction".
 

Chromatischism

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so it's my fault when Kanto doesn't Keep their marketing promises?
IMO this could be extrapolated to any request you make of them. They never stated they have measurements ready to hand out on request. If they don't have them, they don't have them. We can't prove the veracity of that but based on what you've posted here you're being unreasonable. They did answer your question so you can't claim they didn't.
 

napilopez

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While I get where you're coming from @GimeDsp -- I certainly don't like it when companies are unwilling to share their measurements -- I do think there's a difference between the summary and the actual response.

It's the internet so tone is always uncertain, but quotes imply that's what Kanto said verbatim. "unwilling to provide those [measurements] and return them if you are unhappy" sounds rude, and as it was phrased it made me think 'gee, that's not a company I want to deal with with.' The full response is disappointing, but also what I would have expected.

I do not think them company saying they're unable to provide measurements and saying you can return the speakers is necesarily at odds with the website text. I mean, it's not like they're going to give you every detail about the speaker anyway, like if you asked them where they sourced drivers from and what prices they got.

For some companies that's too much internal data, and it might need to go through several layers to go back to the engineering team. As sad as it is, providing measurements isn't the norm in the industry (in fact, it's actively avoided). Half the time I can't even get Harman to send me their measurements, and I'm a reviewer (btw, I've never worked with Kanto, just to be clear). Still, I get that you hoped they'd provide this information.

In any case, you're better off making your own measurements anway, as any measurement you would've gotten would've likely been smoothed or otherwise too idealized - -and almost certainly without directivity information.

With a small speaker like this you should be able to get a reasonably accurate result in a living room following my guide. If you just want an on-axis measurement, without directivity it's quite straightforward.

Based on your 1m measurement the speaker actually looks quite good above 1kHz, as does the woofer response. Heck, if you take a couple of measurements I'm happy to do the data processing for you =] Would just need a measurement from 1m taken in the middle of a room as far from walls, floor and ceiling (and other reflective surfaces) as possible, and a super nearfield (less than 1 inch away) measurement of the woofer and port.
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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IMO this could be extrapolated to any request you make of them. They never stated they have measurements ready to hand out on request. If they don't have them, they don't have them. We can't prove the veracity of that but based on what you've posted here you're being unreasonable. They did answer your question so you can't claim they didn't.

Perhaps I didn't make it quite clear what ticked me off the most.
It wasn't just the answer but what I see as obfuscation.

I would have accepted either of these answers:

1. We have measurements but will not give them to you.
2. We do not have measurements and so can not give them to you.

In my book either is a honest answer, however this:
"I have discussed this further with our internal team and at this time we are not able to provide the requested measurements "

This answer leaves it unclear as to the reason.

Further more,
"IMO this could be extrapolated to any request you make of them. "

The company states ON THEIR WEBSITE
their commitment is to "complete customer satisfaction".

based on their marketing material about "audio enthusiasm" and "dedication to engineering and customer service"
It is completely within the realm of expectation that they provide a clear answer to my request for FR and crossover point, unless of course the whole thing is designed out of house and they have no idea, in which case the un-clear answer would make total sense.

Now if I asked them something ridiculous or not within the scope or FR/crossover point then I would concede.

As of now their website should read dedicated to "partial satisfaction for some customers"
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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While I get where you're coming from @GimeDsp -- I certainly don't like it when companies are unwilling to share their measurements -- I do think there's a difference between the summary and the actual response.

It's the internet so tone is always uncertain, but quotes imply that's what Kanto said verbatim. "unwilling to provide those [measurements] and return them if you are unhappy" sounds rude, and as it was phrased it made me think 'gee, that's not a company I want to deal with with.' The full response is disappointing, but also what I would have expected.

I do not think them company saying they're unable to provide measurements and saying you can return the speakers is necesarily at odds with the website text. I mean, it's not like they're going to give you every detail about the speaker anyway, like if you asked them where they sourced drivers from and what prices they got.

For some companies that's too much internal data, and it might need to go through several layers to go back to the engineering team. As sad as it is, providing measurements isn't the norm in the industry (in fact, it's actively avoided). Half the time I can't even get Harman to send me their measurements, and I'm a reviewer (btw, I've never worked with Kanto, just to be clear). Still, I get that you hoped they'd provide this information.

In any case, you're better off making your own measurements anway, as any measurement you would've gotten would've likely been smoothed or otherwise too idealized - -and almost certainly without directivity information.

With a small speaker like this you should be able to get a reasonably accurate result in a living room following my guide. If you just want an on-axis measurement, without directivity it's quite straightforward.

Based on your 1m measurement the speaker actually looks quite good above 1kHz, as does the woofer response. Heck, if you take a couple of measurements I'm happy to do the data processing for you =] Would just need a measurement from 1m taken in the middle of a room as far from walls, floor and ceiling (and other reflective surfaces) as possible, and a super nearfield (less than 1 inch away) measurement of the woofer and port.

Thanks for the offer.
The powered Kanto yu6 is already packaged and being shipping today or tomorrow to be tested. If it's better than the YU Amir already tested before than it should do OK, whether it gets a Panther or not, well see.

Listen, I do acoustic and studio set up and integration. I speak with enthusiasts all day, enthusiasts love to talk about and share details (at least the ones that don't reveal hard won trade secrets. I totally get that companies need to keep the "Secret sauce" ingredients secret, but this ain't that.) but their is nothing "enthusiastic" about Kanto's response, quite the opposite in fact.

I also no marketing often twists the truth compared to engineering and design, but in my book a company like Kanto can not make the claims they do and then fail such a basic request.

I'll take some more measurements when I get it back, thanks!
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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Here is another problem with the YU6

"As for YU6 being easier to integrate with your amps, I don't have a clear answer. YU6 only requires 650 mW to hit max power and clips after 1.85 V, so for all intents and purposes should fare worse in this scenario. Maybe it has something to do with YU6's analog signal path compared to TUK's digital signal path which requires an ADC on the RCA and phono input. "

According the "Kanto Rep" the Tuk can handle 2V+. seems very strange to design a speaker at $450 that can't handle 2v input, and in fact this is the only piece of "hifi" and pro audio(with consumer level +4DBu )

Maybe it's normal for powered speakers to not handle 2v signal.

It would be very interesting to look at all the powered speakers Amir has had and what input he used for them.
 
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maty

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AlexF

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… unless of course the whole thing is designed out of house and they have no idea, in which case the un-clear answer would make total sense.
realistically, most likely. Their only “Whitepaper” is titled, “Turn what could have been a stand-alone speaker sale into a multi-product sale with great margins.”
 

Weeb Labs

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Just got a pair of Kanto yu6 and haven't had much time to listen or measure but from what I have done so far there is something very off with these.

Listening so far has been nearfield and they sound like the mid range is sucks out. Male vocals sound like there is an absorber placed over the singers mouth.

I am listening near tweeter level and if I move a good deal below tweeter level the sound gets a little better.

My buddy has the good measurement rig I use when we work together, I just have REW.

Here is a quick 1m measurement on axis and close range.

It seems like the Xover is around 1600hz, that seems a little low for this kind of speaker but I know some other companies do similar stuff.

ALSO the built in dac via optical is mushy.
I was trying to go the simple route and get "there" but I guess I have to pull all my components back our and use these YU6's in the garage.

If you are looking for desktop speakers I wouldn't recommend these.
View attachment 150184View attachment 150185
Based upon these measurements, I would say that you need to make use of room correction. Any of the popular solutions would be perfectly adequate to solve this problem.
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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Based upon these measurements, I would say that you need to make use of room correction. Any of the popular solutions would be perfectly adequate to solve this problem.
I just sold my miniDSP. I am going to give eq APO/peace another go this time and hope it's stable.
 
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GimeDsp

GimeDsp

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5 month follow up.

Good.
sound is decent allow bass is a little boomy, dropping bass EQ down helps a little and hurts a little.
Once I went to smaller stands tilted up they sound 100% better
zero hum/hiss

Bad.
Bluetooth is always on and searching
Sound is a little boomy, EQ helps a little/hurts a little
Slow to wake up from sleep
THEY PICK UP A LOT of radio interference.

WORST is they don't start on last input, I have to use remote and hit "RCA" or push the volume knob in like 5 or 6 times.

All in all not a bad purchase, I wouldn't recommend but I wouldn't tell you not to either.
 
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