Kali IN-5 Studio Monitor Review

[Bruce Morgen]

Can someone help me out? I just bought a single kali in5 to use it as a center channel. Currently using rca connection. Unfortunately, i noticed a buzz sound when i turn up the gain control on the rear panel of the speaker and when i use hdmi connection on my processor. The buzz sound will go away if i disconnect the hdmi connection.
I tried using different power outlet but no success.
What could be the issue?

The problem would seem to be in the HDMI signal chain (AVR? PeeCee video card? TV?) and not the IN-5. I take it the buzz gets lower in volume when you set the IN-5 gain control lower, e.g. at the center detente, correct?

 

[Ricardojoa]

The problem would seem to be in the HDMI signal chain (AVR? PeeCee video card? TV?) and not the IN-5. I take it the buzz gets lower in volume when you set the IN-5 gain control lower, e.g. at the center detente, correct?

Thx for ur repy. The problem is caused by the hdmi arc. I disconnected it and use new connection. Problem solved.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Thx for ur repy. The problem is caused by the hdmi arc. I disconnected it and use new connection. Problem solved.

All's well that ends well!

 

[Anti-Climacus]

Found a discount by a local dealer the other day and pulled the trigger on a pair of IN-5s for 590 € (down from around 700) and I am absolutely astonished by what comes out of these speakers! Reference point for the last 2 years was the Adam T5V which, while nothing extraordinary, is still a pretty decent option I think for nearfield. But those Kalis are in another league altogether: they can play louder, deeper and cleaner and certainly have a wider dispersion pattern courtesy of the coincident drivers, whereas the little Adam had a very narrow sweet spot and the whole soundstage fell apart as soon as you moved your head right or left and most importantly as you stood up (although that's a limitation of two-way designs in general). Also, I don't feel they lack "air" or openness (as Erin pointed out in his review) - I find that the tweeters give you all the information but without being fatiguing as was often the case with the T5V and their AMT tweeter's infamous 5 Khz and onward peak. But the real show stealer is indeed the bass which is insane given the size of the woofer and the cost of the speaker.

I can confirm that they are indeed extreme value for money, even if the build quality is not on par with Genelec or Neumann but of course you pay for that with the premium prices of the latter. The dip switches are very handy for a crude "room eq" and the self-noise is non-existent from 120 cm away where I sit. I was hesitant at first whether this was going to be a real upgrade or not but my expectations have been far exceeded. Kudos to Kali!

 

[witwald]

Note: The roll off rate of this speaker is sharp...

I estimated the low-frequency roll-off rate to be 26.8 dB/octave. That's very close to the textbook 24 dB/octave roll-off rate of a B4 Thiele-Small vented box alignment.

 

[hardisj]

I estimated the low-frequency roll-off rate to be 26.8 dB/octave. That's very close to the textbook 24 dB/octave roll-off rate of a B4 Thiele-Small vented box alignment.

Yes. But that's a sharp rolloff. At least compared to other ported alignments with extended bass alignment. (and, obviously, sealed alignments)

 

[witwald]

Yes. But that's a sharp rolloff. At least compared to other ported alignments with extended bass alignment. (and, obviously, sealed alignments)

Agreed. The 24 dB/octave roll-off is sharp, especially when compared to a 12 dB/octave roll-off produced by a sealed enclosure. Other ported alignments will have a similar roll-off rate, as that is simply the nature of vented-box systems.

What prompted me to write was that the comment "The roll off rate of this speaker is sharp" appeared to me to imply that this behaviour was somewhat unusual, which it isn't. Were you trying to comment on the fact that the knee of the low-frequency response curve is quite sharp relative to other ported loudspeakers, which it is? Small (1971) had a good example of the different types of knees and roll-off rates in one of his papers:

(Source: Small, Richard H. (1973). Vented-Box Loudspeaker Systems Part I: Small-Signal Analysis. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, Volume 21, Number 5, pages 363–372)

The above figure shows the more rounded response knees associated with the QB3 family of vented-box alignments. Their initial roll-off rate is 3rd-order rather than 4th-order in nature, but it asymptotes to 4th-order as the frequency gets lower. The B4 alignment is the maximally-flat Butterworth 4th-order high-pass filter response shape.

 

[BoredErica]

@hardisj Are there any plans to calculate how far away one has to sit for drivers to fully integrate? Amir posted this once but hasn't posted it much since. (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...helf-speaker-review.11144/page-12#post-317201)

I think such calculations if possible would be useful for nearfield monitors/bookshelf speakers.
Thanks

 

[hexinho]

Not sure if this is the right or best place to ask, but I do notice that the Kali subwoofer (WS12) has settings to 'pair' with the LP6, LP8/IN8 but there doesn't seem to be a setting for the IN5, does anyone know why that is the case?

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Not sure if this is the right or best place to ask, but I do notice that the Kali subwoofer (WS12) has settings to 'pair' with the LP6, LP8/IN8 but there doesn't seem to be a setting for the IN5, does anyone know why that is the case?

I believe the WS-12 was introduced before the IN-5 which would explain why there's no IN-5 setting. It's possible they may have added an IN-5 setting to the WS-12 but didn't change the original WS-12 image on the website. But of course that's something that would need to be clarified with Kali.

 

[bathroomskank]

I've enjoyed those speakers for a month now, but one of them is starting to produce some discrete but still annoying sizzling. So I guess it's defective, maybe I could have I played music too loud ? My setup is PC->MiniDSP->Kali In 5 (TRS)

 

[dickiefunk]

How do these compare to the Neumann KH120?

 

[stevenswall]

I've enjoyed those speakers for a month now, but one of them is starting to produce some discrete but still annoying sizzling. So I guess it's defective, maybe I could have I played music too loud ? My setup is PC->MiniDSP->Kali In 5 (TRS)

Does the noise happen when everything but power is unplugged? Do other speakers buzz when plugged into the same circuit?

 

[ernestcarl]

How do these compare to the Neumann KH120?

Dunno as I haven't heard the IN-5 personally... but I'm sure the on-axis dip in the frequency response will be relevant -- so maybe slightly more muted HF "sparkle" in the IN-5 would be one of the more obvious sound differences.

 

[AudioJester]

How do these compare to the Neumann KH120?

I have IN5v2 and KH120.
Both are exceptional, I prefer the IN5v2.

 

[ernestcarl]

I have IN5v2 and KH120.
Both are exceptional, I prefer the IN5v2.

There’s no version 2 of the IN-5. You mean you have the IN-8 v2?

Anyway… What I would like to find out myself is how they sound at a further distance, say, at 3+ meters. The KH120 has a sound power dip somewhere in the mid-HF as well which makes them “dull” the further away you listen. I was hoping to eventually replace my LSR305 rear surrounds in a desk 7.1c setup (fronts at less than 1m are KH120) where even with numerous EQ attempts the LSRs just sound too “different”. Unfortunately, I suspect the “far-field” distance and compromised room positioning might just make whatever monitors I throw back in those corner rears of the room sound somewhat off — no matter if the speakers’ brand/models do happen to match.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

There’s no version 2 of the IN-5.

It's complicated. The IN-8 came first. The IN-5 was introduced later with improvements over the IN-8. Those improvements were incorporated into the IN-8 and Kali rebranded it IN-8 2nd wave or v2. While the IN-5 might be considered the beginning of Kali's 2nd wave it still exists in its original version so there's no separate v1 and v2 as there is with the IN-8.

 

[AudioJester]

Well it says 2nd wave?

 

[AudioJester]

View attachment 219565

Well it says 2nd wave?

I think Iam wrong, the second wave is just a branding. Looks like thereis only 1 version of the IN5.

 

[ernestcarl]

I think Iam wrong, the second wave is just a branding. Looks like thereis only 1 version of the IN5.

I thought 2nd meant there was a previous version. Hmmmnn… oh well