Kanto Obi3 G2 Review

Kanto spent over a decade building powered speakers before it made a turntable. The original Obi3 arrived in November 2025 as the company's first source component, and it sold well enough that Kanto followed up with a second generation less than a year later. The Obi3 G2 launches at $249.99, $50 above the original's $199 price, with real engineering changes behind the jump rather than a simple color refresh.

We got hands-on time with the Obi3 G2 around its debut at Audio Advice Live 2026, where Kanto paired it with the brand's also-new second-generation Tuk and Tuk Grand speakers. Here's what carries over from the original, what changed, and what to pair it with.

What Carries Over From the Original

The Obi3 G2 keeps the same core build as the first Obi3: an engineered wood plinth, a weighted aluminum platter, and a J-shaped aluminum tonearm with a cue lever. The wood plinth is denser than the plastic housings on the cheapest all-in-one record players, which keeps vibration away from the stylus. The weighted aluminum platter adds rotational mass, which helps keep speed consistent turn to turn.

The J-shaped tonearm carries a proper offset angle to keep tracking error low across the whole record, and the tonearm bearing has surprisingly little play for the price. A loose bearing lets the arm shift slightly as the stylus pulls against the groove, which adds extra noise and a less precise stereo image. You can't judge bearing quality from a photo or a spec sheet. Finding one this tight at $250 is unusual, since tight bearings typically show up on turntables costing quite a bit more.

Bluetooth 5.3 and a built-in switchable phono preamp also carry over, so you can run the Obi3 G2 wired into an amp or speaker with a phono input, or skip cables and stream straight to a Bluetooth speaker. The same Audio-Technica AT3600L cartridge comes pre-installed and pre-aligned, and it still ships with a dust cover, felt mat, 45 adapter, RCA cable, and ground wire. It's still a manual deck, so you cue the tonearm and lower it yourself, but auto-stop is here too: the platter stops spinning on its own once a side ends instead of leaving the stylus sitting in the runout groove.

Adjustable Counterweight and Anti-Skate

The original Obi3 had a fixed, non-adjustable counterweight and a fixed anti-skate setting. That's fine for casual use, but it means tracking force was whatever Kanto set at the factory, with no way to dial it in if you changed cartridges. The G2 adds an adjustable counterweight and a dedicated anti-skate control, so you can set the proper tracking force yourself.

Too light, and the stylus can skip and skate toward the inside of the groove. Too heavy, and you're grinding down the stylus and the vinyl every time you play a record. Kanto specs a tracking force of 3.5 grams plus or minus 0.5 grams for the AT3600L, and the G2 lets you check that with an inexpensive gauge instead of trusting the factory setting.

The adjustable counterweight also opens up a real upgrade path. The AT3600 is the same cartridge used on the popular Rega P1 and P2, rebadged as their carbon cartridge. Its conical stylus won't dig into the groove as aggressively as an elliptical one, so it won't reveal as much noise on older or well-worn records, though it also won't pull out quite as much fine detail. Audio-Technica makes an elliptical version of this exact stylus, the ATN3600LE, as a drop-in replacement. You don't need to replace the whole cartridge, only the stylus itself.

A Motor That Corrects Its Own Speed

Every turntable spins a record at a set speed, 33 1/3 or 45 RPM, and any wobble in that speed shows up as an audible flutter, most noticeable on sustained notes like a held piano chord or a long vocal. The original Obi3 ran an open-loop motor with no feedback, rated at plus or minus 1% speed variation, meaning the motor spun at whatever speed it landed on with nothing checking its work.

The G2 adds a speed sensor that monitors the motor continuously and corrects it in real time. Instead of drifting over the length of a side, the platter holds one steady speed from the first track to the last, which helps music sound more locked in with no waver on long notes.

A Heavier Chassis to Cut Down on Vibration

Speakers push sound through the air and into whatever surface a turntable sits on, and a lighter turntable picks up more of that vibration through its own body. That vibration travels up through the plinth into the platter and into the stylus, an extremely sensitive component built to pick up tiny movements in the record groove. Vibration from the room mixes into the music as extra rumble or muddiness.

The original Obi3 weighed 8.6 pounds. The G2 comes in at 12.1 pounds, and that extra mass soaks up more vibration before it reaches the stylus instead of passing it straight through. Between the steadier motor and the heavier chassis, the G2 should sound noticeably cleaner and more stable than the original.

Pitch Control Carries Over, Even Though It's Less Necessary Now

The pitch control knob carries over from the original too, shifting playback speed up or down 10% from center. It's mostly a DJ-turntable feature you don't see on home hi-fi decks, and it's fun to mess with if you want to hear a record at a different tempo. With the new speed sensor handling correction automatically, you don't need it for that purpose anymore.

Price and the One Thing We'd Change

The upgrades pushed the price up $50, from $199 to $249.99, and it's worth it for the speed-correction sensor, the heavier plinth, and adjustable tracking and anti-skate. The Obi3 G2 lands in a good spot against its competition at this price. It's well built and covers what most people need to get started with a turntable.

The one change we'd still like to see is adjustable feet, so the deck can be leveled perfectly on an uneven shelf.

Five Finishes, Up From Three

The original Obi3 came in black, white, and green. The G2 comes in five: Matte Black, Matte White, Matte Walnut, Matte Green, and a new Matte Ice Blue. The walnut is the pick if you want the turntable to blend into a living room setup instead of looking like tech gear. The ice blue stands out on a shelf next to darker gear if that's what you're after.

Kanto's Obi3 Accessory Lineup

Kanto built out a full accessory line to go with the Obi3 G2:

• TT-AM: An anti-static acrylic mat that replaces the stock felt mat, meant to tighten up bass while cutting resonance
• TT-CRM: A cork and rubber blend mat built for a quieter, lower-static surface with more grip during playback
• TT-AKIT: A setup kit bundling a stylus force gauge, a cartridge alignment protractor, and a bubble level, which is what lets you use the new adjustable counterweight correctly instead of guessing
• TT-GKIT: A silicone record roller paired with stylus cleaning gel
• TT-SB: A two-in-one carbon fiber record brush with a stylus brush built into the handle

Debut at Audio Advice Live 2026

The Obi3 G2 made its first public appearance at Audio Advice Live 2026, paired with Kanto's brand new second-generation Tuk and Tuk Grand speakers. The Tuk Grand is Kanto's first real step upmarket for its speaker line, with a 6-inch aluminum woofer and a reworked AMT tweeter pushing 320 watts peak power. The standard Tuk got the same tweeter update along with a squared-off cabinet redesign. A full review of both speakers is coming soon.

What to Pair the Obi3 G2 With

If you want to keep the system affordable, the YU4 is the natural match. It's an active bookshelf speaker with Bluetooth and a built-in phono preamp of its own, but we'd recommend using the Obi3 G2's built-in phono stage instead when setting it up. For a desktop setup, the ORA4 is worth a look too. It doesn't have a phono input, but that's not a problem since the Obi3 G2 has one built in.

Want more power behind a refined AMT tweeter? The second-generation Tuk is the step up. For a larger room, the Tuk Grand brings a 6-inch woofer that reaches down to 40 Hz, a real jump in low end over the standard Tuk.

If you want one system to double as your TV sound, the REN is worth a look. It doesn't have a phono input either, so you'd set the Obi3 G2 to line out the same way as the ORA4. The reason to pick the REN over the YU4 is its HDMI ARC input, which delivers TV audio through one remote instead of two.

Final Thoughts

The Obi3 G2 is the turntable to point people toward if they're starting a vinyl setup from scratch and want the flexibility to go wired or wireless without spending a lot of money. It costs less than most of its direct competition, it gives real control over setup instead of locking everything at the factory, and it slots straight into Kanto's own speaker ecosystem if you want to build out from there.

For someone upgrading from an old all-in-one record player with a built-in speaker, the Obi3 G2 is a real jump in build quality and sound without moving into a whole different price category. And if you already have a system with a phono input sitting unused, this is a cheap way to finally put it to work.

FAQs

How much does the Kanto Obi3 G2 cost?
The Obi3 G2 launches at $249.99, $50 more than the original Obi3's $199 price.

What's different between the Kanto Obi3 and the Obi3 G2?
The G2 adds an adjustable counterweight, a dedicated anti-skate control, a closed-loop motor with real-time speed correction, and a heavier 12.1-pound chassis, up from 8.6 pounds. It's also available in five finishes instead of three.

Does the Kanto Obi3 G2 have Bluetooth?
Yes. It has Bluetooth 5.3 for streaming straight to a Bluetooth speaker, plus a built-in switchable phono preamp for a wired connection to an amp or powered speaker.

What cartridge does the Obi3 G2 use?
The Audio-Technica AT3600L, pre-installed and pre-aligned. It's the same cartridge used, rebadged, on the Rega P1 and P2.

Can you upgrade the Obi3 G2's stylus?
Yes. The Audio-Technica ATN3600LE elliptical stylus drops onto the same AT3600L cartridge body, so you don't need to replace the whole cartridge to get more detail out of the record.

Is the Kanto Obi3 G2 a manual or automatic turntable?
It's manual, so you cue and lower the tonearm yourself. It does have auto-stop, which stops the platter once a side ends.

What colors does the Obi3 G2 come in?
Matte Black, Matte White, Matte Walnut, Matte Green, and Matte Ice Blue.

What speakers pair well with the Kanto Obi3 G2?
Kanto's own YU4, ORA4, Tuk, Tuk Grand, and REN all pair well. Only the YU4 has its own phono input, so with every other option, you'll use the Obi3 G2's built-in phono preamp.

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