Kanto was founded in January 2007 in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, by David Reid, whose background in telecommunications and years of experience designing OEM products for major consumer electronics companies gave him a clear vision for a brand of his own: stylish, high-quality audio products offered at genuinely excellent value. That vision paid off almost immediately, with an award-winning Apple docking station in the company's very first year.

Kanto quickly carved out a distinctive niche with its all-in-one powered speaker systems — compact bookshelf and desktop speakers with built-in amplification, Bluetooth, and digital inputs, designed for listeners who want genuine hi-fi sound without the space or complexity of a separate amp. The acclaimed YU series became something of a modern classic, while the flagship TUK speakers, complete with a built-in phono stage and AMT tweeters, and the reference-grade ORA desktop monitors pushed the brand further upmarket. Kanto's 2025 launch of the Obi3, its first turntable, marked a natural next step into vinyl playback.