Kanto YU2 powered desktop speakers have been a go-to pick the last few years for many people who want improved sound quality from their computer without taking up much real estate on their desk. In fact, we have consistently awarded the YU2 as one of the best computer speakers year after year. Its bigger brothers, the YU4 and YU6, are great editions to the line for someone who wants a little more sound. But time and time again, we see people eyeing the YU2 due to how well it can produce sound for its exceptionally compact size.

Due to its popularity over the last eight years, Kanto has listened to its customers and created a brand new version that is similar to the YU2 with all the upgrades we’ve been asking for. Introducing the Kanto Ora. The perfect speaker for gamers, creators, and musicians looking for a speaker that bridges the gap between your built-in computer speakers and large studio-grade monitors yet still gives you that audiophile-approved sound without taking over your entire desktop.

First, while the YU2’s aren’t going anywhere, the new ORA’s will be a direct step up in features, technology, and sound quality. We’ll discuss the differences between ORA and the YU2 to help you decide if you should upgrade from the YU2’s or if you should spend a few extra bucks for the new ORA’s if you’re in the market for some desktop speakers.

Design & Build Quality

The new ORAs may be inexpensive, but they don’t feel or look like it! They come in a sleek matte black finish and compared to the YU2 speakers, they have a new and improved waveguide for the tweeter and an updated woofer below. The matte black finish is extremely appealing, and we love that it will fit in with just about any decor. However, one thing we love about Kanto speakers in general is their fun color options like white, black, walnut, bamboo, and more. We see how many creators will love the matte black, clean finish on the ORA’s but some people love to have their speakers stand out on their desks, so we would love to see Kanto add more options in the future.

Kanto has also added a small volume knob to the bottom right of the main speaker for quick access to volume control and input switching. This is a massively welcomed feature that we wished the YU2 had, so we were thrilled to see it on the new ORA speaker. No longer are the days of reaching around to the back of the speaker to adjust the volume control and fumbling around to fine-tune it. The new knob feels very nice and I love that when you are connected via Bluetooth and turn up the volume, it shows it on your phone as well. You can also enter pairing mode by just pressing in the knob. Having this knob at just an arms reach at your desk proved extremely convenient during our testing.

They’ve also created a new small LED indicator light as well. The YU2 has something like a miniature bulb that would emit light and, when in a dark setting, could be somewhat distracting. The new ORA has a small pinhole-sized opening where the light emits from so that it’s easy to see at a glance but not overly distracting. This light makes it easy to see what mode it’s in too. When you press the knob, it will blink blue and goes into Bluetooth pairing mode. When connected, it will be solid blue. Again, seeing this at a quick glance helps you determine the status of your speaker instead of playing a guessing game with pressing and holding multiple buttons like some Bluetooth speakers do.

As we mentioned, the tweeter now sits in a waveguide that is slightly recessed and allows a little more control over the directivity of the sound. We also think it elevates the overall look and design of the speaker, mirroring what more expensive studio monitors often look like. It is still a ¾” silk dome tweeter, but the woofer has been upgraded from a 3” composite material used in the YU2 to a 3” paper cone woofer which provides a more natural sound. They’ve also removed the center dome and thinned out the surround of the woofer for an overall cleaner and improved style. Little features like this upgrade the overall look of this speaker and make it look like a true luxury speaker in a miniature size.

The entire speaker unit is similar in size to the YU2 at 3.9” wide, 5.6” deep, and an inch taller at 6.9”. And what’s really incredible is they each only weigh 2.2 lbs. This makes them small and light enough that you could throw them in your backpack and bring them to a friend's for an impromptu recording session and use them as your studio monitors.

When you spin ORA around, you have a larger bass port compared to the YU2 at the top and all your connections on the main speaker. There is a simple Bluetooth 5.0 pair button, a USB-C input, subwoofer out, RCA inputs, your power connection, and speaker out connection to connect the other speaker. And speaking of connecting to the other speaker, they have now included a speaker wire interconnect cable to connect the speakers together instead of the speaker wire that you have to tighten onto the YU2 speaker terminals. This makes it extremely easy to connect up and even break them down to take them on the go and then get back up and running quickly. Compared to the YU2, you are missing the 3.5mm aux input on the ORA’s but to us, we don’t see many people needing one for most use cases these will be used in. In addition, they also have a ¼”-20 threaded insert on the back of each speaker for you to mount on a wall or ceiling with a compatible speaker mount.

Kanto also includes small, self-adhesive rubber feet that you can place on the bottom if you wish to sit these directly on your desk. But we highly recommend you add on their speaker stands, specifically made to fit ORA. They have some that are super low profile and slightly tip the speakers up towards your ears and have some foam padding that will add further isolation. Next, they have ones that raise the speaker up about 3 inches to be closer to the ear level for a better performance.

Features & Technology

With USB-C becoming so popular, we were really excited to see this on the back, making it much easier to connect to our computer or laptop. In addition, that subwoofer out lets you pair up with any subwoofer but matches perfectly with the Kanto SUB8V, a very powerful, compact sub. What’s really cool about this connection is that the ORA’s crossover network automatically kicks in and crosses the sound over at 100Hz to a sub when it is connected, letting the ORA focus on vocals and high frequencies while the sub handles the low-end duties. This allows the ORAs to play even louder without distortion since it can focus on those mid and high frequencies alone.

The ORAs provide 100 watts of peak power and 50 watts RMS of DSP-tuned, bi-amplified Class D power that gets shockingly loud and low for their very small size. Most entry-level powered speakers use just one amp that drives everything inside one speaker box and use passive crossovers to route the signal to each driver, which means they have to use devices to passively filter the sound out. When you have a separate amplifier for each speaker driver, as these Kanto-powered speakers do, you can use an active electronic crossover which is far more efficient. The ORAs also utilize digital signal processing, or DSP, to perfectly set up for the specific drivers to extract the very best performance from the speaker.

There is just something about an active speaker where you have a separate amplifier for each speaker driver that brings the sound to life and lets you hear all the details, especially when it comes to recording music or editing videos. Another cool feature is the RCA inputs that let you hook up legacy gaming systems or other analog gear.

Performance

We set the ORAs up at a typical desk setup in our office that we use for video editing, casual music listening, and general use like watching YouTube videos. The setup was super simple as we used a USB-C to USB-C cable to plug into our MacBook Pro, and it instantly recognized it, and we were up and running.

Immediately, we noticed how much the bass performance had improved over the YU2 speakers. We turned them up pretty loud, and they went shockingly low without distortion. Add in the Kanto sub, and not only did our entire setup sound more dynamic, but it improved the mids and highs dramatically due to the sub handling the entire low end. And we love the fact that it automatically crosses the sound over with a subwoofer, so it’s truly just plug-and-play without any worries of having to set anything up.

When we listened to music with the ORAs, they had great clarity and precision in the high frequencies. The mids were well-balanced, and the vocals sounded extremely realistic. And this proved important when it came to video editing or even producing music. Hearing the instruments and voices how they were recorded is important so you can accurately adjust them to your liking. We must admit that using these as reference monitors with how small they are made us skeptical of their quality. But we were pleasantly surprised and extremely happy with their performance.

It’s also great to have options of stands that match perfectly. We really liked the stands that raise these up closer to your ear height for a better listening experience. And the volume control knob made volume adjustments super easy with a knob on the front of the speaker. Overall, the ORAs were easy to use, sounded fantastic, extremely compact, and proved to be perfect for a desktop setup without taking up too much space.

Overall Recommendation

If you’re looking for a pair of desktop speakers that are compact and easy to use, you have to seriously consider the Kanto ORAs. Add one of their speaker stands and a Kanto subwoofer, and you have yourself an insanely good desktop sound system for a very affordable price. We highly recommend the ORA’s as some simple and great-sounding computer speakers that won’t take up much room but sound way better than the speakers built into your computer.

We’re here to help!

If you have more questions about the Kanto ORAs or any other audio or video gear, reach out to our team of experts or stop by one of our award-winning showrooms, and we‘d be happy to help you!

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