I am having a little bit of fun today with this Kanto YU6 and the Klipsch The Fives article that I am putting together. I have looked at the Klipsch The Fives a few times now so I am pretty familiar with what they are offering. However, I think that the Kanto YU6 speakers are a very interesting matchup for them as they do seem to be compared online quite a bit. I thought I would give my honest opinion on both sets of speakers and then ultimately decide which I feel are the best.
The Price
I think looking at the price in this two speakers and these comparison articles, in general, is always the right place to start things off. There is not a massive difference in the price between these two, but there are some other factors at play which we do have to take into consideration as we look at them.
Kanto YU6:
There are multiple versions of the Kanto YU6 and they are priced differently on Amazon. The version that I got to check out was the walnut version and these are priced at $429.99 the bamboo style are also $429.99. The most expensive versions are the gloss white and the gloss black which are currently priced at $449.99. The cheapest versions are the matte black and matte white which are priced at $399.99. To be honest, if I were buying these, it would be the matte black that I would go for. I think the asking price here is not bad at all, but I have heard many people say that they feel you need a subwoofer to get the best out of these, which does add to the expense.
Klipsch The Fives:
The price of the Klipsch The Fives has fallen a bit since I last looked at these speakers. The matte black version of these speakers (the ones I have looked at) are priced at $589 which I think is a fair price. If you decide that you want the walnut version of these speakers, you are looking at $649.95 which is a hell of a jump up just for a different color of wood, isn’t it? You can find these for around 500 bucks on eBay, which puts them much closer to the pricing of the Kanto YU6 speakers.
The Verdict:
I know that the Kanto YU6 speakers are cheaper, but I think I have to give this one to the Klipsch The Fives, but only the matte black version, I think the price for the walnut version of these speakers is a bit on the overpriced side if I am being honest with you guys. The fact that many people have said they use a subwoofer with their Kanto speakers makes me question that price.
The Design
As I start the design category of this Kanto YU6 with the Klipsch The Fives battle, I am still not sure which way I am going to go. Now, these are available in different styles, but the two I am talking about are the matte black for Klipsch and walnut for Kanto. These are two very cool looking speakers, but I do prefer one over the other.
Kanto YU6:
While this Live Unboxing Of The Kanto YU6 and SUB6 video is looking at the gloss black version of these speakers, you can still get a good idea of what this looks like and the dude also shows you the Sub6 which is designed to go with these speakers. I like how the Kanto YU6 have a real modern style to them. These do not take up a ton of space, coming in at 6.89 x 8.07 x 10.71 inches and they have a very solid build quality about them. There is no grille on the front of here which I actually like as it gives the speakers some real style. One of the speakers has your power button and a volume dial on it, but these are done in the same black style as the actual speaker so you do not actually notice it a whole lot which I like.
The back of the speaker is very cool, the main one has all of your connectivity options for you to play around with. The Kanto YU6 has plenty of options for you guys. There is your RCA input, optical port, aux port, and a subwoofer port as well. I like the way that things are laid out in the back, it makes connecting your various devices nice and easy. In all, the whole design of these is very cool and very stylish. The remote control that comes with the Kanto YU6 speakers is pretty neat. It is not large, but it has a bit of a chunky feel to it which I like. It is packed with buttons too, giving you plenty of control over the speakers which is something I always like.
Klipsch The Fives:
I am so glad that it is the black version of the Klipsch The Fives I got to test out as I think these have some real 80s style to them which I am a huge fan of. The wood you have used is nice and thick and the build quality of these is great. They are nice and compact too as the dimensions are 9.3 x 6.5 x 12 inches. The top of one of the speakers has a volume dial and an input selection dial which I like as it looks pretty neat. The speaker grille they have used here is really cool, it has a silver effect to it and it has a real retro style about it which I have warmed up to the more I have seen it. However, I do think that these look even cooler without the grille on the front of them, although I do get a kick out of the self promotional Klipsch logo that is on the front.
The back of the speaker is very impressive as it is stacked with different ports for you to play around with and connect your devices with. You have an aux port, phono in, optical port, USB port, your phono in, and most surprisingly of all there is an HDMI Arc port on the back of here. First time I saw this I was pretty blown away by this. I think that Klipsch has done a great job making sure that you are covered no matter what you want to connect to these speakers. I have to say that I love the remote control that comes with the Klipsch The Fives. It kind of reminds me of a remote for a Fire Stick, it gives you complete control over things and it feels great to hold too.
The Verdict:
I want to start by saying that I actually do like the design of the Kanto YU6 speakers, I like how they have a modern style to them and think that the build quality is pretty awesome too. However, for my personal taste, the Klipsch The Fives wins this one hands down. I much prefer the overall style, but I think the fact it also has an HDMI Arc port gives you an extra dimension of connectivity that you do not get with the YU6.
The Sound
As is the case with all these speaker comparison articles I do, these two speakers main event category is looking at the sound. I have to say that for smaller speakers, these do pack a real punch and I had a great time listening to some of my favorite albums through these. I did use my Sony PS-LX310BT which has become my go to turntable as of late.
Kanto YU6:
The sound quality that the Kanto YU6 provides is not bad at all. Before I tested these for myself, I had read some people say that you really need the accompanying Kanto SUB6 6-inch Powered Subwoofer (which costs an extra 200 bucks) to get the best out of these speakers. I did not have that sub to hand and I wanted to experience just these speakers connected to my turntable. The first album I tested with these was Louder Than Noise: Live In Berlin by Motorhead as I wanted to hear something loud, fast, and powerful. I was actually quite impressed with the sound here and while the bass and power is lacking just a tad, I have to say these had way more kick than I thought that they would.
I also wanted to listen to something a bit “smoother” so I went to my jazz collection and picked out, Duke Ellington & John Coltrane. At the mid-range, these speakers really do hit the sweet spot and this was out of the box! I am sure that with some real breaking in, these speakers would really be something special. I did decide to try these out with a subwoofer and I used my Sony SACS9 10-Inch Active Subwoofer and these really did come into their own. I think if you have a subwoofer or are willing to buy one, you will be very impressed with the sound quality that these speakers provide. However, I do think that the major criticisms I read about the lack of bass and power are a bit harsh.
Klipsch The Fives:
I highly recommend that you have a watch of this Klipsch The Fives _(Z Reviews)_ Best Sounding Klipsch? video. They do a great job of showing why these are such great speakers. The Klipsch The Fives have that Klipsch quality about them in terms of their build quality and that also rings true for their sound quality as well. I have spent a lot of time with these speakers and tested pretty much every kind of music you can think of with them. In my opinion, Forrest Gump – The Soundtrack is one of the greatest soundtracks ever made, the music in that movie was such a huge part of it. Anyway, I fired this record up and had these things pretty damn loud and I was very happy with what I was experiencing. So much so that I ended up forgetting I was supposed to be testing these and just kicked back and listened to the record.
If you have read any of the other comparison articles I have written, you know that I am a huge lover of live music, an album I finally managed to add to my collection recently was Arctic Monkeys Live at the Royal Albert Hall. I can hand on heart say that live music here is amazing. In a direct comparison with the Kanto YU6 speakers, I have to say that these do have more raw power and bass to them and that it is quite noticeable if you listen to them back to back.
The Verdict:
While the Kanto YU6 speakers impressed me far more than I thought they would, even in the power and bass department. I have to say that the Klipsch The Fives are the winner when it comes to the overall sound quality. I have yet to hear someone say they were disappointed with the Klipsch The Fives, but I have read a few people complain about the power the YU6 has to offer.
What Is The Best?
If you have been keeping score in these two speakers fight to the death, you know that this has been a clean sweep for the Klipsch The Fives. There is nothing wrong with the Kanto YU6 speakers at all and I liked them. However, in a direct comparison, I just do not see any universe where I would recommend them over The Fives. The Klipsch The Fives are just awesome speakers and can bring any kind of music to life in a fantastic way. I think if you are willing to pay the extra money on a decent subwoofer, things might be closer, but then the price difference really does become more of an issue.