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Kali Audio IN-8 Studio Monitor Review

Bruce Morgen

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By the way, Kali IN-8 v2 seems to be in stock now from major retailers (bhphoto, sweetwater, etc).

The eBay seller from which I got mine from is also selling them via Reverb. All I can say is that the discount in incredible, especially for a brand-new product that's in such high demand -- and whoever they are, they came through for me, FWIW.

Kali Audio IN-8 V2 [2nd Wave] 2021 Black PAIR
 
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More Dynamics Please

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^ The Reverb ad says the IN-8 V2 are "Mint" and defines that as "Mint items are in essentially new original condition but have been opened or played."
 

Bruce Morgen

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^ The Reverb ad says the IN-8 V2 are "Mint" and defines that as "Mint items are in essentially new original condition but have been opened or played."

Mine were brand new and factory sealed. I can't imagine the same seller delivering anything different via a Reverb listing, but I can only testify as to how mine -- ordered via eBay -- arrived: perfectly intact original Kali packaging.
102_0002~1.jpg
 
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Bruce Morgen

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They're here -- more about them later, which might be a while because they arrived in the midst of a major multi-day apartment reconfiguration project. :cool:View attachment 132007

First impression, running them directly from my (modest, but well-reviewed) DAC via the RCA inputs, without my sub and four extra channels of surround/ambience gear:

[Ted "Theodore" Logan mode on]
Whoa.......!!!! :D
[Ted "Theodore" Logan mode off]

I'd become pretty much convinced in recent years that three-way speakers with built-in, meticulously integrated amplification and active crossover/DSP capability were the future of high fidelity, so I've been dreaming of someday being able to afford a $16k+ Kii 3 setup -- or perhaps settling for a $6k Neumann pair -- to confirm that educated hunch. Now I can quit dreaming and just enjoy a massive improvement to my listening experience, thanks to Charles Sprinkle and the rest of the folks who helped make this product happen. These things are one helluva an accomplishment, especially considering their net cost to me -- after I collect my "eBay Bucks" -- will amount to well under $700, including sales tax. After 50+ years of involvement with home stereo and pro sound gear, it's hard for me to imagine better price-performance anywhere in the audio marketplace.
 

Bruce Morgen

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For the lucky few who've taken delivery of their Second Wave IN-8s and are using them with a sub, where are you setting the sub's low-pass knob? It seems to me that way down around 50 Hz sounds about right seeing has how strong these speakers are down (and a bit past) there, but I'm interested in what other users have concluded about that setting.

Thanks in advance!
 

BYRTT

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...where are you setting the sub's low-pass knob?...

For Amir's sample it looks be close to a textbook 8th order Butterworth rolloff @40Hz as seen in below animation, a note here is that symetrical textbook Butterworth filters don't sum flat as symetrical textbook Linkwitz Riley Filters do :)..

Bruce-Morgen_x1x1_500mS.gif
 

Bruce Morgen

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For Amir's sample it looks be close to a textbook 8th order Butterworth rolloff @40Hz as seen in below animation, a note here is that symmetrical textbook Butterworth filters don't sum flat as symmetrical textbook Linkwitz Riley Filters do :)..

View attachment 132831

Thanks -- but that's for the original IN-8. I suspect my "Second Wave" version is quite similar in that respect despite having a somewhat different woofer and an all-new DSP, but I've yet to see an equivalent graph to confirm that.
 

Bruce Morgen

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Vendors should be clearing stock of IN-8 v1 quickly as word spreads of improvements to v2.

Yup, especially since you can get much more than $30 off on the v2s if you (A) are in the USA and (B) don't insist on buying from one of the big online merchants. The eBay source from which I got mine apparently has a couple of more pairs on offer -- for $680 with free shipping. I'm just sayin'.... :cool:

Kali Audio IN-8 V2 [2nd Wave] 8 inch Powered 3-way Studio Monitors, PAIR [NEW]
 

LightninBoy

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The eBay seller from which I got mine from is also selling them via Reverb. All I can say is that the discount in incredible, especially for a brand-new product that's in such high demand -- and whoever they are, they came through for me, FWIW.

Kali Audio IN-8 V2 [2nd Wave] 2021 Black PAIR

That would raise my "too good to be true" flags , so I appreciate you sharing your positive experience. If I had the room, I'd jump all over this deal.
 

Bruce Morgen

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That would raise my "too good to be true" flags , so I appreciate you sharing your positive experience. If I had the room, I'd jump all over this deal.

It wasn't much of risk given the buyer protection policies of eBay and PayPal.

These things are beyond awesome, BTW! :cool:
 

More Dynamics Please

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... These things are beyond awesome, BTW! :cool:

A key point some are waiting on measured test results to learn about the IN-8 v2 is if Kali's claim of 85 dB continuous with 105 dB peaks at 3.5 meters can be verified. Obviously you can't know that without proper test equipment. But if you've tried listening at theater reference level from 11-12 feet away your impressions would be of interest to anyone considering these speakers for a modest size home theater.
 

Bruce Morgen

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A key point some are waiting on measured test results to learn about the IN-8 v2 is if Kali's claim of 85 dB continuous with 105 dB peaks at 3.5 meters can be verified. Obviously you can't know that without proper test equipment. But if you've tried listening at theater reference level from 11-12 feet away your impressions would be of interest to anyone considering these speakers for a modest size home theater.

Sorry -- my setup is strictly nearfield and I live in an apartment, so I can't confirm that. :(
 

stevenswall

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Sorry -- my setup is strictly nearfield and I live in an apartment, so I can't confirm that. :(

I think I could measure that, as my Genelec GLM system has a calibrated microphone. I could maybe set one of these up and see if I can get the mic 11 feet from it, and then what, get to 85dB with pink noise? And then play something with a large peak that is known to be 105db? I wish these had clipping lights.
 

stevenswall

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I think I could measure that roughly, as my Genelec GLM system has a calibrated microphone. I could maybe set one of these up and see if I can get the mic 11 feet from it, and then what, get to 85dB with pink noise? And then play something with a large peak that is known to be 105db? I wish these had clipping lights.
 

stevenswall

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Sure. I made 1 minor change to make it better.

View attachment 52950

Trying to find a way to make the WAV attached in the quoted post into a filter that would work with a MiniDSP... anyone have and know how to do it with Soundforge?

Looked at the post below showing the values and Q, but it has 17 points to adjust and I'm limited to 10.
 
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