Kali Audio IN-8 Studio Monitor Review

[Oukkidoukki]

Well that was weird.....2 way model was praised in many places. Yamaha hs line is intresting and All these coaxial super stuffs like geithain rl 944, Genelec 8331......and then kii three and amphion one 15.............but most intresting would be a speaker pair that costs 500$....co-axial, digital in......and is as good as those i mentioned.

 

[ta240]

And that's why paid reviews should never be trusted.

But, but, but, these guys are just like you and me. They love audio and are excited to share their discoveries.
Wait, these videos are really nothing more than TV infomercials where they sound really excited about the latest wonder product?
And people love the 'reviewers' because they are finding 'affordable' products for the little guy. But instead they are often talking the little guy into buying yet another low to mid priced, questionable piece of equipment that likely won't be any better than their current one. Rather than saving up and just buying one good quality component that will last years and years.

The amount of product they are able to move for companies still boggles my mind.

 

[aarons915]

In less than a week, we have our first example of the benefits that this Klippel measurement system can provide to consumers. I'm a fan of coaxials as well but this is clearly not a great speaker, thanks for saving some of us the hassle of trying this one out and returning it.

 

[Severian]

The issues in the upper frequencies are perhaps not terribly surprising as a result of trying to design coaxial drivers to a very aggressive price point. The very weird overall tonal balance is baffling to me though.

 

[williamwally]

Thank you for the inclusion of where the xovers are in the polar map.

What is happening with the mid/woofer xover? That does not look like a smooth transition, to even my untrained eyes, which is very surprising.

Would fiddling with the dipswitches help any of this?

 

[pozz]

So could that mean that the speaker + room response would measure quite different if it were placed close to the wall?

In any actual room you'd see a variety of modal effects below the transition frequency of 200Hz to 400Hz, like the dreaded ~63Hz null due to 8 foot ceilings.

So the graph isn't a guide on how to place your speaker, just an indication of what you can expect in a good scenario.

 

[Xyrium]

In any actual room you'd see a variety of modal effects below the transition frequency of 200Hz to 400Hz, like the dreaded ~63Hz null due to 8 foot ceilings.

So the graph isn't a guide on how to place your speaker, just an indication of what you can expect in a good scenario.

This is why I have my cave in the basement with only 7.5' ceilings; it really isn't because my wife relegated my "stuff" down there, no, really....

 

[LTig]

If this performance warrants a decapitaded panther, I expect we will shortly see only parts of panthers lying around (1or 2 legs, a foot, ...). I mean this speaker is very cheap for an active 3-way with 8" woofer and you get what you pay for.

I'm wondering how a much worse measuring speaker for 5 to 10 times the price would be rated. Looking at you, Zu, Devore, horns, ML, ...

 

[q3cpma]

Thanks for this, quite the surprising result, I'd say; I had my doubts about a 3-way with this price, corner cutting had to be done somewhere. Guess they really marketed themselves well.

 

[amirm]

Does the software allow normalization for contour plots? Would make the directivity more readable..

It lets you change their colors or if you want them displayed. Nothing much past that. I need to export the data and plot it elsewhere for something different. If anyone knows of a graphics app or website that creates 3-D graphs from these, let me know. Short of that, I may have to write something in matlab.

 

[DLS79]

@amirm Have you determined what kind of data/graph you are going to use so people can quickly look and compare different models? For example how you compare amps with SINAD, SNR, and Impedance .

 

[amirm]

Wait, these videos are really nothing more than TV infomercials where they sound really excited about the latest wonder product?

From what I see, yes. They get free samples, do a video on it and call it good. There are some exceptions. The one video I saw had the person from Kali there:

 

[JohnBooty]

And that's why paid reviews should never be trusted.

Well, yeah, but...

I do agree with you.

Some reviewers do get straight-up paid by the manufacturers. As we know from this past summer's debacle, the guy from New Record Day was paid directly by Tekton for coverage - Google for details if you want to catch up on that whole mess.

I think the challenge, though, is figuring out which reviews are paid and which reviews are simply hobbyists who got a review pair for free.

(Amir falls into the latter category for some reviews, so don't automatically dismiss this category as irrelevant)

There are a lot of free review copies sent out. As most of us know the manufacturing cost of electronics is very low compared to the MSRP. So sending out review copies is a very cost-effective way to get coverage.

In my limited experience (got some review units to review on Reddit) the manufacturers were very cool both times. No pressure for positive results. In my case I did outdoor measurements and some speaker disassembly, so folks didn't have to simply take my word for it -- there was data to back up what I was saying. Then again it's not like our reach was big enough for the manufacturers to care too much I guess haha.

 

[amirm]

@amirm Have you determined what kind of data/graph you are going to use so people can quickly look and compare different models? For example how you compare amps with SINAD, SNR, and Impedance .

Yes, I am working on it. It is slow burn since I have to figure out the proper data to export, process and then produce scores. It is quite time consuming and I have to do it between reviews, forum postings, and chores around the house. For now, some of the things that go into those metrics I mentioned in words in the review.

 

[amirm]

I think the challenge, though, is figuring out which reviews are paid and which reviews are simply hobbyists who got a review pair for free.

(Amir falls into the latter category for some reviews, so don't automatically dismiss this category as irrelevant)

Only a small fraction of what I review comes from manufacturers. This one was purchased by a member as mentioned.

 

[JohnBooty]

From what I see, yes. They get free samples, do a video on it and call it good. There are some exceptions. The one video I saw had the person from Kali there:

Haha I love "the person from Kali there" like it was just a random employee! It's Charles Sprinkle, instrumental in the JBL 3-series, 7-series, and M2 who was hired away by Kali.

Edit: Correction, it's not Charles Sprinkle in that video. Thanks and apologies to @amirm. I had it confused with this video with the same interviewer that actually featured Charles Sprinkle. D'oh. It's this one:

 

[amirm]

Thank you for the inclusion of where the xovers are in the polar map.

What is happening with the mid/woofer xover? That does not look like a smooth transition, to even my untrained eyes, which is very surprising.

Would fiddling with the dipswitches help any of this?

I don't think so. The dip switches seem to boost low and highs, not the middle. The issue is not an overall tonality issue but a rough frequency response.

 

[amirm]

Haha I love "the person from Kali there" like it was just a random employee! It's Charles Sprinkle, instrumental in the JBL 3-series, 7-series, and M2 who was hired away by Kali.

I suspect he has been crying hard without access to multiple anechoic chambers, double blind listening tests, and access to Harman portfolio of harman patents in the new job. Let's remember that the innovative waveguide came from Harman luxury group (Revel, Automotive Sound), not from the JBL group.

 

[BYRTT]

So could that mean that the speaker + room response would measure quite different if it were placed close to the wall?

Should be a big yes, but also will imagine it wouldn't help the benched response because if you lookup the picture into post #1 showing back panel connectivity and EQ settings we see dip switches is set to free standing and the guide there show dip switches should be set to other position if wall support is close.

 

[617]

Amir, Kali published CLF data for their other products. I think we should request that data from them to see if it confers with your measurement. Tellingly, Kali offers no data for this model, not even a FR plot.

I'm frankly amazed this speaker doesn't perform better given the apparent care in the design and the qualifications of the designers. I do hope Kali chimes in soon.

My suspicion is that the cut at around 300hz is intentional to make the speaker sound a bit less chesty when used on a desk but who knows honestly.

Very much look forward to Kali Lp6 review if it happens.

EDIT: I have reached out to Kali to see if they can furnish a CLF file or FR plot for this model.