Kali Audio LP-UNF

[dedobot]

Omg man, that's a good news, thank you very much. Was it just quieter, but quality was the same for listening to the music?

Cant speak about quality, I didn't hear difference. But my phone (redmi 5 plus) is 9 yrs old so anyway it's irrelevant for sound comparisons .

 

[TechnoTroll101]

I couldn't wait any longer and ordered the Kali LP-UNF. I listend to them for only about an hour yet, but here is my first impression:

They are GREAT and IMPRESSIVE! I looove the punch these bass drivers can produce: quick, no booming, not muddy.
BUT(!) to me they lack in deep bass AND I get annoying interference noises when connected with a normal RCA cable to my PC.

In comparison to my Heco Aurora 300 which are powered (and supported) by an old Teufel Subwoofer, I've got to say that the Hecos as more pleasing to my ears. There is just one problem with the Hecos: they are not meant to be played in (ultra-) near field. The Hecos sound much better when I'm at least 1m away from them. I know the comparison is unfair because the Hecos get supported by the subwoofer, but I set the crossover at 40Hz! Unfortunately I've got no possibility to add the subwoofer to the Kalis...

I guess the Kalis are more neutral and clearer than the Hecos - the Hecos mind be warmer, but not lacking in details or highs at all! I felt like my ears were exhausted after 1 hour of listening to the Kalis. I never got that feeling with the Hecos.

I can't decide yet which speakers I will keep - one thing which annoys me is the interefence noise (no hiss!) - I don't have it with my Hecos, using the same cable!

 

[dedobot]

I couldn't wait any longer and ordered the Kali LP-UNF. I listend to them for only about an hour yet, but here is my first impression:

They are GREAT and IMPRESSIVE! I looove the punch these bass drivers can produce: quick, no booming, not muddy.
BUT(!) to me they lack in deep bass AND I get annoying interference noises when connected with a normal RCA cable to my PC.

In comparison to my Heco Aurora 300 which are powered (and supported) by an old Teufel Subwoofer, I've got to say that the Hecos as more pleasing to my ears. There is just one problem with the Hecos: they are not meant to be played in (ultra-) near field. The Hecos sound much better when I'm at least 1m away from them. I know the comparison is unfair because the Hecos get supported by the subwoofer, but I set the crossover at 40Hz! Unfortunately I've got no possibility to add the subwoofer to the Kalis...

I guess the Kalis are more neutral and clearer than the Hecos - the Hecos mind be warmer, but not lacking in details or highs at all! I felt like my ears were exhausted after 1 hour of listening to the Kalis. I never got that feeling with the Hecos.

I can't decide yet which speakers I will keep - one thing which annoys me is the interefence noise (no hiss!) - I don't have it with my Hecos, using the same cable!

Go with the USB. I had no issues with initial setup lp-unf on RCA but when tried the digital connection I didn't come back to analog.

 

[TechnoTroll101]

Go with the USB. I had no issues with initial setup lp-unf on RCA but when tried the digital connection I didn't come back to analog.

No noise with USB - but I still decided to keep my Heco Aurora 300 instead and return them.

 

[naagratrax]

Hello,

Does the LP UNF work great for two small Surround ?

No problem with RCA input and an AVR (3800X) ?

Thanks

 

[IdahoJim]

OK, I picked up a pair of the LP UNFs and at first I was impressed. The amount of bass out of a little cabinet is impressive. However, the more I listen to them, the more I am hearing distortion, particularly on vocals and male vocals in particular. Multiple voices seems to emphasize it more. I generally listen at a pretty low level, and it is distracting even at that level. I've tried the RCA inputs and the USB. I'm not sure if there is something in the frequency response curve that is emphasizing some distortion or if there is an issue in the electronics or drivers. When it was delivered, the driver set one edge of the box down and basically dropped the other end about a foot and a half. Maybe something happened there. I don't know

Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm about ready to return these, which would be a bummer because they fit nicely on my desk in my home office.

 

[dedobot]

Hello,

Does the LP UNF work great for two small Surround ?

No problem with RCA input and an AVR (3800X) ?

Thanks

I don't think they're good choice for multichannel, especially when you already have amp in the receiver. The interconnect cable

OK, I picked up a pair of the LP UNFs and at first I was impressed. The amount of bass out of a little cabinet is impressive. However, the more I listen to them, the more I am hearing distortion, particularly on vocals and male vocals in particular. Multiple voices seems to emphasize it more. I generally listen at a pretty low level, and it is distracting even at that level. I've tried the RCA inputs and the USB. I'm not sure if there is something in the frequency response curve that is emphasizing some distortion or if there is an issue in the electronics or drivers. When it was delivered, the driver set one edge of the box down and basically dropped the other end about a foot and a half. Maybe something happened there. I don't know

Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm about ready to return these, which would be a bummer because they fit nicely on my desk in my home office.

Can you share a short record of it?
Right now Im playing MJ's version of "Come Together". Voices are crystal clear.

 

[dedobot]

I disabled USB selective suspending in Power options, and all power management features in Device Manager, but that didn't fix the issue. Is there another setting?

I got it too. For second time past last 3 months. The speakers stays ON 24/7 and this morning for second time there wasn't any sound from them. On Windows side everything is fine . Switching lp-unf OFF-ON solved the problem. It can be some weird power saving, firmware bug or an component issue.

 

[IdahoJim]

OK, I picked up a pair of the LP UNFs and at first I was impressed. The amount of bass out of a little cabinet is impressive. However, the more I listen to them, the more I am hearing distortion, particularly on vocals and male vocals in particular. Multiple voices seems to emphasize it more. I generally listen at a pretty low level, and it is distracting even at that level. I've tried the RCA inputs and the USB. I'm not sure if there is something in the frequency response curve that is emphasizing some distortion or if there is an issue in the electronics or drivers. When it was delivered, the driver set one edge of the box down and basically dropped the other end about a foot and a half. Maybe something happened there. I don't know

Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm about ready to return these, which would be a bummer because they fit nicely on my desk in my home office.

I'm thinking I wasn't hearing distortion in the speakers. I think I am just hearing details, sometimes not-so-good details, in the recordings. Going from my old Yamaha NS-10Ms to these is revealing a lot of high frequency detail it didn't have before. I still want to run REW, now that I bought a miniDSP and a UMIK-1 (and an RSL Speedwoofer 10E). Just haven't gotten around to it yet. I think some room treatment may be in order as well.

 

[dedobot]

I'm thinking I wasn't hearing distortion in the speakers. I think I am just hearing details, sometimes not-so-good details, in the recordings. Going from my old Yamaha NS-10Ms to these is revealing a lot of high frequency detail it didn't have before. I still want to run REW, now that I bought a miniDSP and a UMIK-1 (and an RSL Speedwoofer 10E). Just haven't gotten around to it yet. I think some room treatment may be in order as well.

Definitely. I listen mostly dj's sets and now I can hear very minor vinyl pops and noises which I didn't notice with mine former focal aria 948 even though focals are speakers with clear highs .Waiting ahead of yours measurements.

 

[dedobot]

Well.. there is something wrong with those Kalis . Listening at moderate level the bottom song the living room is energized with strong and clean bass. I was looking for where the subwoofer was, assuming my wife and some friend were playing a joke on me Simply amazing.

 

[Pioykowsky]

For me, I have almost abandoned the idea to buy the Kali's, but in the end I think I will go for them. However for an unexpected expenses probably not now.

 

[Yersinia Bestmate]

Got a Kali LP-UNF pair about half a year ago to my laptop set and I've been satisfied with these speakers. They're not the most sturdiest but I think one cannot expect for more at the price they're sold. Soundwise these are very nice indeed. Practically inexistent tweeter hiss, ok bass extension for the size (but needs a sub imo), very clear mids/highs and good imaging. They sit perfectly on isoacoustics tabletop stands and I think they don't look that bad either. In hindsight should've waited a bit and buy the white ones though.. Well, anyway.

Running them out of the balanced line outputs of an SMSL dl200 dac/hpamp and feeding an old - and quite crappy - AudioPro Sub Soniq SW (DIY replacement already on the drawing board) via the rca outputs. The whole trio is EQ'd to control the worst room modes and the effects of the table at the spot. I use these mostly for casual listening to music and gaming.

Sry. for the low quality photo.

 

[ngcaobaolong]

Does anyone have to re-plug the power cable once in a while ? Mine stopped working after a few day, no led and no sound but still appear in windows speaker menu. Need to re-plug the power cable for it to start working again.

 

[staticV3]

Does anyone have to re-plug the power cable once in a while ? Mine stopped working after a few day, no led and no sound but still appear in windows speaker menu. Need to re-plug the power cable for it to start working again.

Had the same issue with another audio device.

Instead of plugging the speaker out and back in again, try going to the sound control panel->Right-click Kali->Disable device, then right-click Kali->Enable device.

Doesn't fix the underlying issue, but with the sound control panel pinned to the task bar (link), it might be a less hasslesome workaround than messing with cables every time.

 

[dedobot]

Does anyone have to re-plug the power cable once in a while ? Mine stopped working after a few day, no led and no sound but still appear in windows speaker menu. Need to re-plug the power cable for it to start working again.

Yes, my post #350 above. With difference that speakers leds works but no sound. On windows side everything is fine too. I use Off/On switch to resurrect them.

 

[dedobot]

Had the same issue with another audio device.

Instead of plugging the speaker out and back in again, try going to the sound control panel->Right-click Kali->Disable device, then right-click Kali->Enable device.

Doesn't fix the underlying issue, but with the sound control panel pinned to the task bar (link), it might be a less hasslesome workaround than messing with cables every time.

Doesn't help. I tried everything on the computer's side w/o success. Including the device uninstall .

 

[dedobot]

Need to add observation that the issue depends of windows volume. Never got it if its under~40%.

 

[Pioykowsky]

I have my Kalis for about a week now, and here are my impressions.

The look. This shouldn't be important factor when choosing your audio system, but let's be honest - it is. For me it was one of reasons I was thinking about buying something else. Good news here. They are not as ugly as on the pictures, mostly thanks to the plastic not looking as cheap in real life. Still not the most beautiful speakers, I'd prefer them to have front covers which I just like, and to be rectangular, instead of leaning towards front. It's almost like they are meant to stand over your head so they look a little bit down. Standing on the desk without stands looks kina awkward, so maybe I'll buy some cheap ones.

Connectivity/functionality. Mine are connected to Win11 PC via USB and occasionally to my phone via BT. I was not convinced to remote-less control, but in the end it is actually great. They just work with PC, and when I connect BT device, they switch to this input and also just work. I disconnect BT - they switch to PC again. Works well no matter if PC is turned on or off. However, lack of remote volume control rather disqualifies them from optical input for me - but I actually think this speakers are verry much made around usage scenario like mine, USB and/or BT where it just works as it should.
I swapped sides of them following the Kali guide yt video. So I have the active speaker on the right side, not the left.
However I must honestly say, that in 1st or 2nd day of usage they also frozen like mentioned above. I connected BT and there was no sound, despite my phone reporting that music is playing. My solution was to turn on PC and play some sound from it. Once I've done that the BT started working as well. So seems they can freeze from time to time and there are a few ways to reset them. Well, that's pitty, but let's hope it won't happen more often than once a few months.
BT reports AptX HD, and sound quality is good. Actually I have impression it's even a bit better with BT than with PC. Makes no sense for me, so probably placebo, but yeah.
BT range is quite good.
They are super quiet when turned on but no input. No need to turn them off overnight.

Sound Quality. The actual reason to buy them

Highs are really good. They are very detailed and pronounced, but also calm to you ears. Many budget systems have high tones "painful", or at least not pleasant to your ears. Sorry I don't know how to describe it better, I'm not native english, but I think everyone knows what I mean. This effect is almost or not existent at all with Kalis. Depends on source, loudness etc., but really good overall. String instruments or drum cymbals - really clear, present and enjoyable.

Mids are verry good as well. Vocals are upfront and present, loud and clear. Exactly the way I like. I was using Edifiers R1855DB for a moment and I hated how moved back, hidden, the vocals were, to the point barely audible sometimes. Kalis are much different. They are also so detailed, I can even hear vocalist voice flaws. This is something definitely new for me and I really like this sound.

Bass is exactly when it needs to be, but - the same if not more importantly - it's not when it shouldn't. I hate when bass overwhelms and covers all the rest, the whole sound is 'bass driven'. It is exactly the case of Edifiers R1855DB for me. Kalis have enough bass to slam when it's meant to, but not too much so it dominates. This is rather an personal preference, but I really cannot understand how people complain they should be paired with subwoofer, or even that some Edifiers should be paired with subwoofer. So they have really good overall quality while also fitting my preference.

As I have written in connectivity, BT works flawless and I'm surprised how good quality it sounds. Maybe someone knows if there are any better custom drivers for Windows?

I also wouldn't pay too much attention to this "Ultra Nearfield" thing. When laying on the couch 3+ meters away from them, they still sound as good as described above. When not being in the center in front of them, they also still do.

Overall, I find them sound really, really good while also fitting my preference for neutral and detailed, not bass-dominated sound. The difference between them and Edifier R1855DB is really big ant noticeable. Please don't consider it as Edifier hate, after all Kali's costs almost triple the price. But I'd say if you can afford and care about music quality you listen, they are definitely worth it! Fun fact - in living room I have R2750DB that I really enjoy, much more than this R1855DB I compared to. However I wasn't listening to all 3 in the same room and this is something it also makes a difference.

I don't regret I went for them instead of DAC/AMP + Passive system. They are just as good. I don't have direct comparison, but around $300 for the device and passive speakers is not much, I don't think I'd have the same or better effect. It would be really interesting for me to compare them to Loxjie A40 + Cambridge SX-50 set, but honestly I don't want to spent money just for experimenting. I'm really happy as it is. All together, it makes me verry happy I have bought them.

 

[Volutrik]

Mine will be delivered today. Planning to compare them to the very good 70€ Edifier MR4.

How did the soundstage feel comparing the MR4 and LP UNF? I wanted to know if its worth the extra money. Even considering buying the MR3. Thanks.