Полочная акустика — Kanto Audio YU2

The YU2 is the smallest powered speaker pair in the YU range from Kanto, a company based in Langley, British Columbia, which designs its products in Canada. Kanto markets it as a desktop system for computers, and the pair was priced at USD 269.99. One cabinet carries the amplifier, controls and inputs, while the second is a passive unit fed by speaker wire from the first.

Key specs that matter

Both enclosures pair a 3/4 inch silk dome tweeter with a 3 inch woofer. A 2-way crossover divides the signal at 2.5 kHz. The Class D amplifier delivers 25 W RMS per channel into 4 ohm, which Kanto also states as 50 W total RMS or 100 W peak. Rated response runs from 80 Hz to 20 kHz within a tolerance of 6 dB, sensitivity is 84 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, input sensitivity is 550 mV and harmonic distortion stays below 0.1 percent. Each box measures 10 x 15 x 13.5 cm (W x H x D). The active speaker weighs 1.4 kg and the passive one 1.3 kg, and the boxed pair comes to 3.6 kg.

Engineering and use context

Only two sources connect - a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack and a USB-B port. The USB input feeds an internal DAC accepting data up to 16-bit/48 kHz, so a computer can send a digital stream and skip its own onboard converter; the host simply selects USB Audio DAC as its output device. A rear knob combines the on/off switch with volume, and a single LED on the front baffle shows status. Power comes from an external AC/DC adapter that accepts 100 to 240 V at 50 or 60 Hz, and a bass reflex port sits on the back panel. Kanto supplies 3 m of speaker wire, a USB cable, a 2 m mini-jack cable and eight self-adhesive rubber feet, and covers the system with a 2-year limited warranty.

Pairing

Because the amplifier is built in, the YU2 must never be wired to the speaker outputs of an external stereo amplifier. Sources such as phones, CD players, media players or game consoles plug into the mini-jack input, with an RCA to 3.5 mm lead for line-level gear. A turntable needs a phono stage between it and the speakers, since the YU2 has no phono input. The mono RCA subwoofer output hands low frequencies to a powered sub, and Kanto names its sub6 and sub8 as matching options. Kanto also offers S2 desktop stands, which give 16 degrees of upward tilt.

Alternatives

The Kanto YU4 steps up to 4 inch Kevlar woofers, Bluetooth with aptX and a built-in phono preamp.