Kanto YU6 Bookcase Speakers? Good option for me?

A few months ago I purchased a Rega Planar 3 Turntable and a Rega Fono MM MK3 phone stage.

I have been meaning up to upgrade my speakers ..... I have been looking for speakers that will tick all the following boxes:

1. Superb sound
2. Will complement and get the best out of my turntable
3. I have a very small space to put speakers - room is at a premium
4. I am on a budget ,approx 400-500 euros is about my limit I can spend on this

I have come across Kanto YU6 Bookcase Speakers which seem to check all the boxes and fit the bill...?
The Kanto speakers have built in phono , would that make my Rega Fono MM MK3 phone stage
redundant or can I still use it?
Any help appreciated... any other suggestions welcome

Thank you in advance

 

I have these. I use them with a Bluesound Node2. They have a built in phono preamp. Sound pretty darn good.

 

Built-in amplifier, phono pre-amp, digital inputs, subwoofer output, Bluetooth streaming capability, and powered USB output that can be used as a charger as well doesn't really seem like an audiophile level speaker.

You must have an amp if you have a Rega Planar 3 Turntable and a Rega Fono MM MK3 phone stage. So why a speaker that has all that? Better to buy a real speaker that will give you your #1 requirement: Superb sound. Most any small speaker will meat your #3 and #4 requirements, but #1 means you have to buy something other than the Kanto.

Here is how I made a similar decision:

I tried out several new speakers in your price range. My overall conclusion is new speakers in this price range are outstanding. I love vintage and have a pair of mint vintage Dynaco A10's, but new speakers have much more fidelity and finesse.

I really liked the Klipsch R-15m. They played substantially louder at the same low amp level compared to other brands (because it's sensitivity is something like 92db and others in this price range are around 87). But the bass was weak. The specs on the low hz limits match what I was hearing, so that was to be expected. When listening to a stand-up bass bowing you could hear the bass but it was thin. The positives were the high trebles, mids, and the soundstage. The horns really created a phenomenal soundstage in a small area.

Wharfedale Diamond 220 & 225 really colored the music. I'm a musician so I know what instruments and voices should sound like. These speakers were far from neutral. Directly compared to the Klipsch R-15m the music sounded different. Manipulated. Especially on voices they sounded a bit muffled. Mids were also a bit more muffled at lower volumes.

Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 in this price range was somewhere between the Klipsch R-15m and Wharfedales.

I would have kept the Elacs, but then I discovered the Dali Zensor line. I have the Zensor 1 in my listening room now.

Dali seems to be the best for me. Although sensitivity is only rated at 86.5db, it still plays with lots of preciseness and separation of instruments at low volume levels. Mids are well defined. I notice a big difference in mids between Dali and Wharfedale's. Also the bass. Oh my the bass. You can hear the vibrato when bass instrument in orchestra is bowing. When bass instrument finger picks the strings you can hear lower frequencies on the Dali than the others. High trumpet sounds like a trumpet. I love how Miles Davis horn and both Cannonball and Coltrane sax sounds on Columbia CD version of "Kind of Blue". They're in my room playing, man.

I read a review of the Dali Zensor 1 speaker (Stereophile?) where reviewer compared it to speakers in $1,000 range. In fact he didn't know it was a sub $500 speaker when he tested it. Must be reason why these have an almost cult following with several passionate user groups.

Any of the the speakers above will far exceed the Kanto. I think the Kanto would be a very poor choice.

I tried all of these in my 10x10 room with 7' ceilings. Carpeted basement cement floors with sheetrock over cement walls. Sheetrock ceiling. Speakers were 5' apart and 36" high, and my listening spot was 4'-5' away from them. Tested at approx. 20% volume via Peachtree Nova 65SE amp and NAD C516BEE CD player.

 

The OP doesn't have an amp. Amp + speakers would go way over his stated budget.

 

No I do ,I have a Rega Fono MM MK3 phone stage

 

I don't think that Rega Fono will drive speakers. It's a phono preamp.

 

I have an sony multi channel AV receiver ,,would that do it?

 

Yes, you could use many non powered speakers with that.

 

Thanks my friend

 

I'm looking at the Dali Zensor 1 speakers now over the Kanto...half the price and twice the sound by what i have read!

 

Depends on your goal. I like the Kanto as I didn't want a receiver in the bedroom, I can control the Bluesound Node2 from a tablet, it has bluetooth if I need it; and the sound is quite good enough for the bedroom. I have 2 other much better stereo systems in the house.

 

I love my Kanto YU6 speakers. I have them as a second system which I use by my apartment balcony window so I can sit out there using my iPad and not have to use headphones. The sound really is amazing. I was always down on blu tooth but these sound great.

I also tried using them over at a friends house for a couple of months in a bigger living room space and they really were excellent at filling the room with a fantastic sound. Eventually I'm going to down size from my separates and big Dynaudio speakers. When I do, I will grab the 8" Kanto sub woofer and just live with that set up. I tried the phono input as well and it sounds good with my Technics turntable.

Just my two cents of experience.