Operating out of Metro Vancouver, BC, Kanto has been designing and manufacturing audio products since 2007 and along the way, created a full line of speakers and audio accessories for “laid-back listeners, hardcore gamers and vinyl enthusiasts alike.” Kanto is now shipping its TUK “high-performance powered stereo speaker system with wireless capability.” As the company states, TUK is the most advanced speaker system ever offered by Kanto and combines exceptional sound with flexible connection options and remote-control operation.
At the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) 2019 show, Kanto had two separate demonstration rooms. One room to show the whole range of powered speakers, subwoofers and speaker accessories, where the company was also debuting its popular YU6 powered speaker system in a new walnut finish - the YU6 Walnut ($429.99).
The other demo room was solely dedicated to listening sessions of the new Kanto TUK, suited for nearfield and desktop listening. As Kanto explains, the TUK was designed for true high-end powered speaker performance, combining high-quality wireless Bluetooth music streaming with Qualcomm aptX HD and AAC, plus analog and digital audio inputs. In addition, like other Kanto powered speakers, TUK has a phono preamp and RCA phono input to use with a turntable, a built-in headphone amp and a USB DAC. In addition to Bluetooth capability, the speaker includes analog line inputs, an optical digital input, and a subwoofer output with selectable high-pass filter and a handy USB charging output.
To deliver on the promise of high end sound, the TUK features a newly-designed 28 x 35 mm Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter. The AMT tweeter is complemented by an aluminum concave-cone woofer and a powerful 65 watt-per-channel stereo amplifier. The amplifier was designed to perfectly match the drivers for a smooth tonal balance and the integrated digital signal processing (DSP) allows optimizing the sound reproduction, including saving custom EQ settings for each input. An active crossover, when enabled, filters out frequencies below 80Hz and sends them directly to a connected subwoofer.
A very smart detail, considering that only one of the speakers features all the connections and delivers power to the second one, is the ability to swap the left and right channels, when cabling or the location of the power outlet requires the active speaker to be placed on the right.
TUK has an elegant, minimalist design and is available in matte black and matte white finishes. It comes with a remote control, magnetic detachable fabric grille, speaker wire, power cord, 3.5 mm to RCA cable and a USB DAC cable, all available for $799 US, $999 Canadian (MAP).
www.kantoaudio.com
