As I said in an editorial a few months back, it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that normies, insofar as they’re buying audio gear, are buying powered, self-contained systems—be they powered or active stereo speakers or all-in-one/just-add-speakers components—and as such, I’m going to do my best to work such products into my review calendar. So don’t be shocked if you see me bringing in more products like the Kanto Ren for review going forward, because when I interrogate people at my local record shop about what they’re doing to get sound into the room, it’s products like this that dominate the conversation.
And that’s not merely an attempt to reach a wider audience, by the way. It also gives me a better sense of how more mainstream audio products that reach into our space are targeted at consumers. In the case of the Kanto Ren, it’s pretty straightforward. Yes, if you flip the box around, there’s some cursory stuff about connectivity and such. But for the most part, the box is focused on telling you what the stuff inside is and what it does. “Powered Speaker System.” ’Nuff said, in the words of publishing legend Stan Lee.
Flip the lid and things don’t get a lot more in-depth. In fact, the QR code is the first clue that Kanto isn’t overburdening anyone with literature, and expects most people wanting more information to go online to get it.
Beneath that, you’ll find an accessories box with the expected power cord and speaker cable—this is a powered speaker system, after all, not an active one, so one cabinet has stereo amps built in, along with all the I/O, and the other is just a passive speaker with speaker-level binding posts. There’s also a chonky remote control that’s intuitively laid-out, although there’s no battery anywhere to be seen. You’ll need to add the cost of two AAA cells to your purchase price.
Dig a little deeper, and you start to get the sense of how much effort Kanto put into the packaging of the Ren system. The top cap—made of cardboard and EPE foam—folds back once you’ve removed the accessories box, making it a little easier to pull out from around the speakers.
Here are the two cabinets out of the box, one still in its wrapping and one fully unclothed. I have to admit, dear reader, that I’m disappointed in this photograph, and I spent maybe an hour trying to improve the lighting. Alas, I am no photographer. What bums me out is that you really don’t get an accurate sense of the finish of the speakers here, as my lighting is just too warm, and any attempts at adjusting the white balance after the fact looked off.
Truth be told, the finish of the speakers is a delightful matte gray that’s ever-so-slightly cooler than neutral. There are also black, white, blue, and orange options that look just as lovely on the Kanto website.
And here we see the speaker pair from the back. You might notice something strange here: no reference to which is the left speaker and which is the right. That’s also true of the quick-start guide. I’m going to assume the speaker with the amplification built in and all the main inputs is the left one, since that’s the standard convention. But would a brand-spanking newb know that? Furthermore, am I even correct? I guess we’ll find out. In any event, the user manual explains how to swap channel allocation if the default setting doesn’t work for you.
It’s also worth noting that the Ren is a ported design, which I’m guessing is how the speaker achieves its specified 50Hz low-frequency extension with a mere 5.25″ aluminum cone.
Here’s a closer look at the IO, where you can see the HDMI ARC port (no reference to Dolby or DTS in any of the literature, so I’m guessing that’s just for PCM), the optical in, two line-level inputs (one RCA, one 3.5mm), and the sub out (which automatically triggers an 80Hz crossover). There’s also a USB-C connection, which I’m glad to see replacing the old Type-B standard for DACs. The other USB connection you see on the right side is just for power.
Lastly, here’s a shot of one of the speakers atop one of my Monoprice 42838 stands, on which the speakers will be placed for the bulk of my evaluation. I find that the 42838 is good for providing a sense of scale (compare this image, for example, to that of the KEF Q3 Meta positively filling the thing). I also thought to plop one of my 56mm 3x3 speed cubes on top of the speaker for scale, but I realized in the end it’s better for casting some reflections on the cabinet to give you a better sense of the finish’s specularity or lack thereof.
At any rate, I’m eager to plug these puppies in and get to listening. I’m not expecting the world from a $599.99 (USD) powered speaker system sold primarily on Amazon, but Kanto has a reputation for delivering the goods with such products. So we’ll see. Or hear, as it were. Keep your eyes peeled for my full review, coming in a few weeks.
. . . Dennis Burger
dennisb@soundstagenetwork.com
