Who says good things don't come in small packages? These are the UKI, and they continue Kanto's excellent track record of top-quality speakers and audio devices, albeit in a much smaller package.
They have an official release date of October 26 and will set you back $269, £229, or €269, depending on where you live.
I've been lucky enough to have the Kanto UKI on my desk for the past few weeks — and I might have just found some of the best computer speakers you can buy today.
Adorable speakers
Their build quality still makes them feel like they're worth more than their sticker price would suggest.
Beyond looking great in their green coats, they're well-built. There's a surprising heft to the small speakers, presumably thanks to the decently powerful amp that Kanto has packed inside.
They're not the cheapest desk speakers around — but their build quality still makes them feel like they're worth more than their sticker price would suggest.
They sit on your desk facing straight forward, so if you want to get a proper angle, you'll need to get hold of the extra stands that Kanto produces. I don't really need them, but it's good to have options if you need them.
Connections aren't abundant, but they're not barebones, either. The most notable one here is the RCA connector, which means you can plug in one of the best record players. It will need to have a built-in phono pre-amp, mind you, given that there's not one in the speakers. Still, it's a helpful extra connection.
It's rounded out by a Bluetooth connection so that you can connect wirelessly. It's a shame that it's Bluetooth 5.0 and there's no high-quality codec support, but it's a solid connection that results in great-sounding tunes.
Finally, there's a Subwoofer port on the back, should you want extra bass. For larger rooms, you'll want it; for smaller desk setups, you're going to be pretty much fine.
Because for something so small, the UKI are powerful.
Epic sound
Given how small the UKI are, I wasn't expecting the sound to be as good as it was. The UKI completely blew my expectations out of the water — they're spacious, detailed, and pack in a surprising amount of bass depth considering how small the drivers built in are. It's remarkable.
They're spacious, detailed, and pack in a surprising amount of bass depth considering how small the drivers built in are.
The bassiest of drum and bass tracks shook my desktop, and the hi-hats of my favorite jazz records were plenty crisp enough. They're a great-sounding pair of speakers.
True bass heads might want to invest in a subwoofer, especially if they're being used in a larger room. That'll be super easy to connect up with the sub-out on the back, so you can buy most powered subwoofers, and it'll work fine. Just make sure to set the crossover on the back (if you can) to around 80Hz. (That's where the built-in crossover is on the UKI.)
The perfect desk companion?
I could very easily see these little guys getting a permanent place on my desktop. I'm currently wielding Kanto's larger ORA4, and I love them — but they are quite large.
I still have some more testing to do with the speakers, ready for their full review, but they're currently a guaranteed shoe-in for our best desk speakers guide.
Looking for some compact speakers that sound incredible? You might have just found them.
