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Why do my audioengine A2 speakers sound better than my kanto YU4?

mrmojo

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I've been using a set of audioengine A2 speakers connected to my laptop for years, and they sound good, but i decided i wanted an upgrade so I puchrased some much larger and more expensive kanto YU4 speakers.

I have both speakers sitting on my desk. The audioengine are connected through USB.

The kanto i've tried connecting in 2 ways: Through RCA cables to my topping DX 3 pro DAC and using an aux cord directly to my laptop aux. They sound about the same either way.

The difference between the audioengine and kanto is very noticeable - the audio engine sound far richer, for lack of a better word.

I've not played around with any settings on the kanto speakers - they are as they were out of the box.

Do I need to play around with some equalizwer settings on the kanto speakers?

Do I need to try an optical connection between the kanto speakers and the laptop?

Maybe the audio engine are just better sounding speakers to me?

Edit: Tried aux output directly from laptop, tried aux output from dx3 pro, and tried RCA output from dx3 pro. the YU4 definitely sounds worse.
 
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Chrispy

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Hard to know your preferences. Not a bad idea to follow them, tho. Neither would be speakers I'd use....
 

Bleib

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A2 doesn't go very deep so this avoids quite a bit distortion in the bottom end. This can also lead it to sounding quite detailed as the bas doesn't steal any focus.
This is a bit how perceive the a5... Nothing amazing really
 

fpitas

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? Nothing to write home about.
 

fpitas

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fpitas

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I think you need better speakers ;)
 

dorakeg

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How about let your speakers run in and then compare again?
 

pablolie

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I actually think the A2 are pretty great considering their price (and miniscule size).

I wouldn't use them as main speakers, but as near-field computer monitors they work pretty well.

I don't know the Kanto speakers.
 

pablolie

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I actually think the A2 are pretty great considering their price (and miniscule size).

I wouldn't use them as main speakers, but as near-field computer monitors they work pretty well.

I don't know the Kanto speakers.
I just recalled that Stereophile had a very positive review for them, and they measured... awesome within the compromises of their size (and actually quite irrespective of the price). Calling them crap is silly upscale audiophile snobbery. Not at all claiming these should be you main speakers in any room - but as close-up monitor speakers, you could do a lot worse. To this day, the only equally small speakers that can remotely compete are the Acoustic Energy Aego. I also loved the Monsoon MM700 (small flat panel speakers), but their build quality sucked.

I don't want or need big speakers on my limited workspace, and if I want higher end sound I use my headphones.

 
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wwenze

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A2 was the audiophile choice of small speakers until perhaps the second half of the 2010s, simply because there was not many other choices at this size/price apart from Bose using full-range drivers. Today things like iLoud just run circles around it but it still presents a viable option for people preferring "classic" technology. If you count having an analogue bass boost classic but hey, it's not DSP.

The main shortcoming of A2 is that the bass is rather limited, but that is expected of its size and it is doing a good job relatively speaking. Treble is also a bit funky imperfect (with up to 5dB variation) but the general slope is still flat which helps with sounding normal, with some 4-inch speakers at this price range measuring worse. Bass, from personal experience, if you have a decent quantity of it at 100-200Hz, yea the bottom bass will be completely missing but the overall tonality of what remains still feels right. I'm listening to music with two 120Hz fixed-Q HPF applied as I am typing this. A "tight bass" as the beginners would call it.

Moving from one speaker to another often leads to the newer speaker sounding weird, especially if there is a huge change in frequency response regardless of whether more accurate or not. I know people who find Soundsticks 3 better sounding than studio monitors.
 

pablolie

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A2 was the audiophile choice of small speakers until perhaps the second half of the 2010s, simply because there was not many other choices at this size/price apart from Bose using full-range drivers.

Bose? The Wave stuff? Never ever. The A2 are legions better. And Bose's computer speakers measured pitifully for their price - they were beaten by Logitech stuff (!) in every test. Horrible desktop speakers. Do they even still make them?

Today things like iLoud just run circles around it but it still presents a viable option for people preferring "classic" technology.
They are nowhere near the size of the A2. Just go put BW 805s on your desktop. :)
The main shortcoming of A2 is that the bass is rather limited, but that is expected of its size and it is doing a good job relatively speaking.

And as the Stereophile measurements show, it is not a big issue as a very close up monitor (which is what they are designed for - either than or as a better bluetooth boombox replacement)...

.... I know people who find Soundsticks 3 better sounding than studio monitors.
I know people like that too, and I pity them. :-D I also know people who enjoy the sound of music off their smartphones. Or an entry level Sonos speaker... in a $4M home. Their (poor) choice. :) We can't save the world. :)
 
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OldenEars

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Bose? The Wave stuff? Never ever. The A2 are legions better. And Bose's computer speakers measured pitifully for their price - they were beaten by Logitech stuff (!) in every test. Horrible desktop speakers. Do they even still make them?


They are nowhere near the size of the A2. Just go put BW 805s on your desktop. :)


And as the Stereophile measurements show, it is not a big issue as a very close up monitor (which is what they are designed for - either than or as a better bluetooth boombox replacement)...


I know people like that too, and I pity them. :-D I also know people who enjoy the sound of music off their smartphones. Or an entry level Sonos speaker... in a $4M home. Their (poor) choice. :) We can't save the world. :)
i've always assumed bose was shit sounding until i heard a soundlink mini 2. for what it is, i can't believe it sounds like it does. Just having a look see if amir measured it ;)
 

ozzy9832001

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Kanto YU4's are prone to horrible distortion from 120hz to about 220hz. I had them for awhile -- sold them -- and upgraded to the YU6's (open box, basically a wash). They solved some of the issues with the 4's. It's hard to say, because their better than some rando PC speaker system, but I wouldn't exactly call them great either. I think the 4 inch woofer on the 4's is just too small to really drive the bass and truthfully, the 5 1/4 on the 6's isn't much better. It's also to ask of 1 driver to push down to 50hz and all the way up to about 2500hz. When I bought them I saw a lot of reviews raving about them, but I felt they ended up being overpriced and lacked in their performance. Kanto would have been better to have them with a higher FR and make the sub part of the set.

Aside from they all suffer from a poorly implemented subwoofer out. There is no filters applied to the port, so the full range signal goes to the subwoofer. It will always double up with the mains. This might be good if you have some room sounds you are trying to cancel out, but otherwise it's not a very good option.
 
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