Kanto has replaced the TUK. There are two speakers where there was one: the Kanto TUK G2 at 899.99 dollars a pair, and a larger Kanto TUK Grand at 999.99.
The Kanto TUK G2 in the burl finish, photographed by Kanto next to a turntable it can no longer connect to directly
Both are in our database. I went to update the rows this week and one column changed in a way that matters more than the rest of the specification put together.
Quick facts
- The TUK G2 is 899.99 dollars a pair, the TUK Grand is 999.99, both from US dealers.
- The G2 keeps the same 5.25 inch woofer, the same AMT tweeter and the same 130 watts as the 2019 Kanto TUK. It is not a louder or deeper speaker.
- The Grand steps up to a 6 inch woofer, 160 watts and 40 Hz against the G2’s 50 Hz.
- Both gain USB-C and Bluetooth 5.4. The old TUK had optical only and Bluetooth 4.2.
- Neither has a phono stage. The 2019 TUK did. That is the whole story of this launch.
What actually changed
Put the G2 next to the speaker it replaces and most of the specification is identical. Same 5.25 inch aluminium woofer. Same 28 by 35 mm AMT tweeter. Same 130 watts RMS and 260 watts peak. The frequency response moves from 50 Hz to 20 kHz up to 50 Hz to 22 kHz, which is 2 kHz added at the top of the range, above where almost nobody hears anything.
The 28 by 35 mm AMT tweeter and 5.25 inch aluminium woofer, carried over from the 2019 TUK
So the G2 is not a bigger or louder TUK. It is the same speaker in a new cabinet with new connections. The cabinet is genuinely new: 12 inches tall against 10.9, and 12.35 pounds against 9.9. That is a quarter more weight for the same drivers, which usually means bracing and wall thickness.
The connections are where the real work went. Bluetooth moves from 4.2 to 5.4 with aptX Adaptive. USB-C arrives, at 24 bit and 96 kHz, so the speakers work as a computer output without an adapter. Optical stays. The subwoofer output stays.
And the phono stage goes
The 2019 TUK had a built-in phono preamplifier. You could run a turntable straight into it. Neither new model can do that.
The TUK G2 rear panel. Optical, USB-C, RCA line in and a subwoofer output, but no phono input and no ground post
Audio Advice, who launched both speakers, asked Kanto about the cut directly. The answer was that most turntables under 600 dollars now ship with a switchable phono stage of their own, so the one in the speaker was being bypassed by a lot of owners.
That is a fair reading of the market. It is also the kind of reasoning that is true on average and no help at all to the person it does not describe.
Who this rules out
If you own a turntable without a built-in stage, the TUK G2 is not a one-box answer for you any more. You need a separate phono preamplifier, which is 80 to 150 dollars for something decent, plus another interconnect and another mains socket. On a 900 dollar speaker that is not ruinous, but it is a box you did not need before and it changes what the speaker is for.
It is worth being precise about how unusual that feature is. Of the 130 powered speakers we list, 22 have a phono input. Another 40 we have not recorded either way, so treat 22 as a floor rather than a complete count. It has never been common.
Kanto themselves still make two. The Kanto YU4 at 450 dollars and the Kanto YU6 at 540 both keep theirs. Neither has the AMT tweeter, and both sit well below the TUK in price and power, so this is a step down rather than a sideways move.
Around the money the G2 asks, these are the powered speakers we hold that still take a turntable directly:
The old TUK is still in our database too, and still sold in places, so that remains an option while stock lasts.
| FEATURE and SPECS COMPARISON | |  |  |  |
| Model | Kanto TUK | Kanto TUK G2 | Kanto TUK Grand |
| Speaker Type | Powered Bookshelf | Powered Bookshelf | Powered Bookshelf |
| Enclosure Type | Ported | Ported | Ported |
| Driver Setup | 2-way | 2-way | 2-way |
| Max Power (RMS) | 130 watts | 130 watts | 160 watts |
| Max Power (Peak) | 260 watts | 260 watts | 320 watts |
| Tweeter | 1.0625 x 1.375" AMT Tweeter | 1.1" AMT Tweeter | 1.1" AMT Tweeter |
| Woofer | 1 x 5.25" Aluminum Woofer | 1 x 5.25" Aluminium Woofer | 1 x 6" Aluminium Woofer |
| Frequency Range / Low | 50Hz | 50Hz | 40Hz |
| Frequency Range / High | 20kHz | 22kHz | 22kHz |
| Grille | Yes | No | No |
| Phono Input | | | |
| Height | 277.8mm | 305.0mm | 350.0mm |
| Width | 179.4mm | 184.0mm | 218.0mm |
| Depth | 276.2mm | 254.0mm | 295.0mm |
| Weight | 4.50kg | 5.60kg | 7.80kg |
| Aux Input | RCA | RCA | RCA |
| MSRP(pair) | 900USD | 900USD | 1000USD |
| Check Current Price | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
The Grand, and whether the extra 100 dollars is worth it
The TUK Grand is the more interesting of the two if you were never going to plug a turntable in. A 6 inch woofer instead of 5.25, 160 watts instead of 130, and a quoted 40 Hz instead of 50.
The TUK Grand, the larger of the two, with a 6 inch woofer and 160 watts
That 10 Hz is the part worth paying attention to. The step from 50 Hz to 40 Hz is where the bottom of a bass guitar and the lower half of a kick drum live. It is a more useful 100 dollars than most 100 dollar steps in this category, and it is the difference between wanting a subwoofer immediately and being able to put that off.
The Grand is also noticeably bigger: 13.75 inches tall and 17.2 pounds against the G2’s 12 inches and 12.35 pounds. On a desk that matters. On stands it does not.
Kanto TUK G2 Powered Bookshelf Speaker Key Specs
- 2-way Bass Reflex Design
- 1.1" AMT Tweeter
- 1 x 5.25" Aluminium Woofer
- 50-22k Hz Frequency Response
- 130-watt RMS ( 260-watt Peak) Class D Type Integrated Amplifier
- Power Range: up to 130watts RMS
- 24-bit Max Depth / 96 kHz Max Sample Rate
- Built-in 5.4 Bluetooth
- Wired Subwoofer Output
- Handheld Remote
- Weight:12.35 lbs / 5.60 kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 12" x 7-1/4" x 10" / 305.0 x 184.0 x 254.0mm
- Read the Review
Worth a watch
If you want to see them rather than read specifications, there is a good walkthrough of both models on YouTube here, including the finishes, which do not photograph well on a white background. Kanto is offering five, three of them colours rather than black or white, and the burl in the picture at the top of this post is the one that looks least like a computer speaker.
What we would want to know first
Nothing here is measured. Every number is a manufacturer specification, and the frequency figures in particular are quoted without a tolerance, so 40 Hz on the Grand and 50 Hz on the G2 are not directly comparable to a speaker that publishes its numbers at plus or minus 3 dB.
We also have not heard either speaker. What we can tell you is what changed on paper against the model they replace, because we were already holding that row.
If you bought a TUK for the phono input, does dropping it change your mind about the G2, or was that stage always going to be replaced by a better one?
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