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Kali IN-5 announcement

daftcombo

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THD < 1% at 85dB between 220 Hz and 6.800 Hz is not that impressive.
 

ernestcarl

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I'd really like to see a phase response graph. I'm trying to look for cheaper speakers that are similar enough in phase to my S8 coaxials so there's less need for me to use convolution to manually match phases between all the channels in a surround sound system.
 

cursive

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I'd really like to see a phase response graph. I'm trying to look for cheaper speakers that are similar enough in phase to my S8 coaxials so there's less need for me to use convolution to manually match phases between all the channels in a surround sound system.

Is that the Presonus Sceptre S8 you're reffering to? I've always wanted to buy a pair of those, I'd love to see Amir measure more coaxial type monitors to have a nice set of comparisons.
 

ernestcarl

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Is that the Presonus Sceptre S8 you're reffering to? I've always wanted to buy a pair of those, I'd love to see Amir measure more coaxial type monitors to have a nice set of comparisons.

Yep. I've modified these a bit internally though. And lost the boxes a long time ago. Can't send these for review.

What's missing in many reviews is the phase... a lot of people think it's minimally important -- even if that is so (which I don't believe) -- it's really nice if you want to mix and match between speakers that they have at least similar enough phase profiles to start with.

Might be of interest:
 
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cursive

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Yep. I've modified these a bit internally though. And lost the boxes a long time ago. Can't send these for review.
Any thoughts on how they sound overall, there seems to be a lot less reviews on these vs other monitors. Care to elaborate on what modifications you made?
 

ernestcarl

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Happy to see they're addressing the noise. Makes me think they're reading this forum.

$349 for a 3 way coaxial is impressive, to say the least.

Yeah, I agree.

Call me cheap... but even the "cheaper smaller" two-way S6 is a bit much for me at the moment. LOL
 

HooStat

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We're happy to send one, but I believe Amir likes to get them "off the shelf" so that there's no possibility of us applying any special polish, knowing that it will be measured.
With the number of speakers that seem to arrive with "shipping damage" I think I would rather you take a picture of one coming off the line (or allow Amir to pick a random number corresponding to a stock list) and send a speaker directly. Faster, easier, and safer.
 

Matias

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We're happy to send one, but I believe Amir likes to get them "off the shelf" so that there's no possibility of us applying any special polish, knowing that it will be measured.
How about what Topping did: let him buy one and you refund him. After the test Amir sends the speaker back to you, and you can use it for internal analysis as well. Everyone is happy.
 
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stevenswall

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It's amusing it took until 2021 for a company to publicly acknowledge hiss is a common complaint for active speakers. :D

Kali privately reached out to me to address my concerns about the hiss, and it has taken some time for them to develop and amp that has the performance they need at this killer price point. Personally, I view them different now: The IN-8 as I understand it, they made with feedback from producers who typically didn't care about the hiss or said it wasn't a consideration when buying monitors.

These were a response to user feedback concerning the hiss, smaller speakers, and an even better price point.
 

stevenswall

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This is awesome, the self noise has been one of my biggest complaints about powered monitors.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that this IN-5 model has more power than the IN-8. 20 more watts to the woofer, and they rate it at 1dB higher SPL. The IN-5 has paper cones, where the IN-8 has coated paper. Seems like the IN-5 has several benefits of being a newer design.

Agreed. My first powered speakers were Harman Kardon Soundsticks back when I only focused on headphones for sound quality... They didn't hiss noticeably, and I was livid when I discovered most monitors do.

Is coated paper listed on their site for the IN-8? I thought they were plastic/poly cones. Initially the paper cones on the IN-5 made me wonder if that was for cost cutting, but even if it was, more consistency is a good thing and it doesn't hamper their sound. In some ways they sound about as deep as the IN-8, which is odd to hear because they are smaller boxes with smaller drivers. Looks like the specs only show 2hz difference between the F3 points.
 
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cursive

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Agreed. My first powered speakers were Harman Kardon Soundsticks back when I only focused on headphones for sound quality... They didn't hiss noticeably, and I was livid when I discovered most monitors do.

Is coated paper listed on their site for the IN-8? I thought they were plastic/poly cones. Initially the paper cones on the IN-5 made me wonder if that was for cost cutting, but even if it was, more consistency is a good thing and it doesn't hamper their sound. In some ways they sound about as deep as the IN-8, which is odd to hear because they are smaller boxes with smaller drivers. Looks like the specs only show 2hz difference between the F3 points.

I loved the soundsticks back in the day. Such a futuristic look at the time, I think I was mesmerized no matter what they sounded like.

The specs snapshot I posted earlier in the thread shows they call out paper for the IN-8 as well as the IN-5, but on their main page for the IN line of speakers it mentions it's poly coated paper on the IN-8. You can also see that the 8in has a different finish on the drivers with a bit of shine, it's not quite as matte as the new IN-5.

Of course when you think paper drivers, it might sound underwhelming, but it's obviously a specialized pulp, most are pressed, and can be extremely lightweight and stiff. I've seen quite a few high end drivers that have paper cones.
 

thewas

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$349 for a 3 way coaxial is impressive, to say the least.
Although the IN-8 are just $50 more which made them even more impressive.
I hope they corrected the directivity/on axis problem around 10 kHz which was for me personally more the dealbreaker than the hiss.

1613459689609.png
 

daftcombo

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We're happy to send one, but I believe Amir likes to get them "off the shelf" so that there's no possibility of us applying any special polish, knowing that it will be measured.

Do you have your own measurements to show us already perhaps? :)
 

Kachda

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We're happy to send one, but I believe Amir likes to get them "off the shelf" so that there's no possibility of us applying any special polish, knowing that it will be measured.
I’m not so sure of that, topping has sent several of their dacs to test right around the time they release it to market. Maybe check with amir, I understand the condition is that he will publish the results whether good or bad.
 
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