In this review, we will be comparing Sonos Five and YU, two Powered Bookshelf speakers from Sonos and Kanto. Being Powered speakers, they both have built-in amplifiers so you don't need an external power amp or an integrated amp to power them.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Sonos Five and Kanto YU first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the Sonos Five and Kanto YU compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
Drivers
Both Sonos Five and YU are 2-way speakers.
| Driver |
Sonos Five |
Kanto YU |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
3 x 0.8-inch
|
1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
- |
|
Woofer
|
3 x 2.75-inch
|
1 x 4-inch
|
Sonos Five features a 3 x 0.8" Dome Tweeter and 3 x 2.75" Cone Woofer . On the other hand, the YU features a 1" Silk Soft-Dome Tweeter and 1 x 4" Kevlar Woofer .
Frequency Response
Sonos Five has a frequency range of whereas YU has a frequency range of 60-20k Hz. With a minimum frequency of Hz, the Sonos Five can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the YU's min frequency of 60Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Bookshelf class in our database.
Sonos Five has a front firing port whereas YU has a rear firing ports. Sonos Five's front-firing port gives more flexibility in placement in regards to proximity to walls compared to Kanto YU with its rear-firing port.
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Sonos Five's and Kanto YU's external dimensions. Sonos Five has external dimensions of 201.6 x 363.5 x 174.6mm ( 7.9375 x 14.3125 x 6.875inch) whereas Kanto YU has external dimensions of 220.0 x 140.0 x 190.0mm ( 8.7 x 5.5 x 7.5inch) .
Sonos Five is 18.4mm shorter and 15.4mm less deeper than Kanto YU but it is also 223.5mm wider.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Sonos Five is approximately 634.7cm2 / 98.4inch2 and base area of the Kanto YU is approximately 266.0cm2 / 41.2inch2. The Sonos Five requires 139% more surface area than the YU which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.