Kali LP-6 2nd Wave Experience

[Bust3r]

They're just little anti-slip feet, not there to provide any sonic benefits.

Exactly. I want to raise these off the desk a little, would these be ok?

https://www.amazon.com/Gator-Frameworks-Desktop-Monitor-Speaker/dp/B084HPVQBK/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=studio+monitor+stand&qid=1678595709&sr=8-4

 

[VeerK]

I got a new pair of LP6-V2 on a discount.

Pros: Amazing bass and midrange (I used the factory recommended DIP 1, 2, 3 config for desktop + stands, 50cm listening distance)
Zero idle hiss.

Cons: Highs, imaging and off-axis not on par as cheaper 305p. Female voices and cymbals lack the sparkle of the 305p and iLoud MMs.
No indents below and above 0dB on volume adjustment, making it PITA to accurately adjust volume next to a wall.
No auto-standby for people who wants it like me.

IMO the 305p is still the better speaker.

Are they still available at a discount from where you purchased

 

[Protowarr]

Could more members provide input if there is any hiss from these speakers?

Could someone comment on how good these sound compared to some passive speakers(if possible with a good amplifier) in the same price range?

Thanks!

 

[Bust3r]

Could more members provide input if there is any hiss from these speakers?

Could someone comment on how good these sound compared to some passive speakers(if possible with a good amplifier) in the same price range?

Thanks!

At 0 db (center position) there is some hiss but its barely audible. If its dead quiet you will hear it (and that's with just about anything) but if you have anything else going on around you like TV/people/general life noise then it gets drowned out easily and its a non issue.

 

[Protowarr]

At 0 db (center position) there is some hiss but its barely audible. If its dead quiet you will hear it (and that's with just about anything) but if you have anything else going on around you like TV/people/general life noise then it gets drowned out easily and its a non issue.

Thanks for the info! That is unacceptable to me, I saw some comments saying how the 2nd wave doesn't have hiss so I wanted to double check!
Now I'm not sure whether to get something like neuman kh-120 or passives..

 

[Palladium]

Thanks for the info! That is unacceptable to me, I saw some comments saying how the 2nd wave doesn't have hiss so I wanted to double check!
Now I'm not sure whether to get something like neuman kh-120 or passives..

Hiss is not remotely an issue on the V2 unless you live in anechoic chamber.

 

[Protowarr]

Hiss is not remotely an issue on the V2 unless you live in anechoic chamber.

Hiss is not remotely an issue on the V2 unless you live in anechoic chamber.

Are you sure? I listen to speakers quite often at low volume during the night when everything is dead quiet.

 

[Bust3r]

Thanks for the info! That is unacceptable to me, I saw some comments saying how the 2nd wave doesn't have hiss so I wanted to double check!
Now I'm not sure whether to get something like neuman kh-120 or passives..

There will always be hiss in powered speakers, (the edifier 2K MKIII hiss comes to mind, its quite loud) but like others have said you're only going to hear it on the LP-6 if you have a dead quiet area.

 

[VeerK]

There is definitely hiss when I put my ear right up to the LP6 v2 but functionally when I'm at normal distance on my desk I can't hear it. I'm currently going PC + PS5 + MacBook to LG 48 C1 OLED to HDMI EARC Extractor to TOSLINK to MINIDSP to Topping D90 to Topping A90 to Kali LP 6v2, flawless chain and phenomenal sound. I'm using Amir's EQ settings from the V1 and it's excellent!

 

[dananski]

Are you sure? I listen to speakers quite often at low volume during the night when everything is dead quiet.

For my two cents, the hiss from the LP6 v2 starts to get lost in the quiet room noise floor / my tinnitus when I'm about 2m away (on axis), and the tone of it is quite low and inoffensive. I find that to be extremely quiet for a powered monitor, my point of reference being the other extreme - the HEDD MK1 series generally have a fair bit of noise. Worth saying my passive speaker setup puts either of these powered speakers to shame in this regard. But even low volume listening should drown out the Kali's hiss, so I wouldn't rule them out for it. It shouldn't be a problem unless you plan to sit in complete silence getting bothered by it but not switching it off!

 

[Protowarr]

For my two cents, the hiss from the LP6 v2 starts to get lost in the quiet room noise floor / my tinnitus when I'm about 2m away (on axis), and the tone of it is quite low and inoffensive. I find that to be extremely quiet for a powered monitor, my point of reference being the other extreme - the HEDD MK1 series generally have a fair bit of noise. Worth saying my passive speaker setup puts either of these powered speakers to shame in this regard. But even low volume listening should drown out the Kali's hiss, so I wouldn't rule them out for it. It shouldn't be a problem unless you plan to sit in complete silence getting bothered by it but not switching it off!

Thanks for the info, I went with a passive setup in the end, aboslutely zero noise of any kind at any distance. I figured only neumann actives don't hiss, but they are way overpriced for sound quality.

 

[AnalogSteph]

For my two cents, the hiss from the LP6 v2 starts to get lost in the quiet room noise floor / my tinnitus when I'm about 2m away (on axis), and the tone of it is quite low and inoffensive. I find that to be extremely quiet for a powered monitor

Still, up to 2 m still strikes me as fairly high. What is the input volume control set at, and where the streamer's output volume? (I would want to have the latter somewhere around -30ish dB.) I wouldn't hold it against the Kalis if the limiting factor actually turns out to be DAC or ADC noise.

 

[dananski]

I figured only neumann actives don't hiss, but they are way overpriced for sound quality.

I think Neumann tend to be among the best for minimal hiss in actives, and some seem pretty reasonable prices for the performance, but I've not heard them myself.

 

[dananski]

Still, up to 2 m still strikes me as fairly high. What is the input volume control set at, and where the streamer's output volume?

Yeah, but bear in mind that's with no computer fans or people around. A car going by a few blocks away is much louder. I keep the speaker volume at exactly mid-way, and for a floor noise check, no input. For the sake of completeness, I had a Topping E50, (on standby, not that it produces any audible noise floor), 5m TRS cable to the speaker, nothing else but the power connected, the dip switches didn't make a noticeable difference, and the room is quite sound-absorbing with lots of fabric and a king-size bed between me and the speaker.

 

[arvidb]

I've had my Kali LP-6 v2s for close to six months now. I use them for listening to music at my computer. They are hooked up to a Lexicon Alpha "DAC" using balanced connections. Volume pots are turned down to 9 o'clock. Listening distance ~80 cm.

My computer usually has a single fan running - it's a Noctua cpu fan running at <300 rev/min and it's inaudible to me (as in: turning the computer off makes no difference to the noise level in the room AFAICT). I have a highway some 500 m away and it can be quite loud during rush hour, but it's often not audible at nights or weekends. My computer monitor is generally the noisiest thing around (PWM hum).

With the highway quiet and the monitor turned off, and switching the power to the Kalis on and off listening for any difference (ear aimed at speaker on tweeter axis, power switch in hand), I can detect some very tiny noise at about 50 cm distance. It's completely unintrusive though down to maybe 30 cm. I consider myself very sensitive to hiss, but it's a non-issue for me with these speakers under the conditions stated. I have no known hearing issues and I believe I hear up to about 16 kHz still, at 45 yo (self-tested with some test tones from Youtube...).

To be clear: I've never detected any noise from these speakers during normal use. If I had, I'd have been annoyed by it.

On another note, I'm still thralled about the imaging from these speakers; all the details I hear in the music and the ability to localise them! I've discovered entire new genres of music since I got them; genres I didn't find interesting before! I could be easily impressed though since my earlier computer speakers were generic, low-cost, and decades old. These are my first monitors.

 

[Mikul]

Yes, thank you, it was a nice trick to try.

Meanwhile, I got a reply from Kali support:


They also provided dip-switch modes breakdown, not sure whether this is a secret or not. It might useful for the others, so I post it here.

Spoiler: DSP Presets

1. Preset 0:
   1. Anechoic tuning
   2. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 1.7
2. Preset 1:
   1. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 1.4
   2. Peaking EQ
      1. f = 136.4 Hz
      2. Q = 1.4
      3. Gain = +1.6 dB
3. Preset 2:
   1. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 1.2
   2. Peaking EQ
      1. f = 200 Hz
      2. Q = 3.0
      3. Gain = +3.0 dB
4. Preset 3:
   1. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 2.0
   2. Peaking EQ
      1. f = 234 Hz
      2. Q = 3.5
      3. Gain = -4.0 dB
5. Preset 4:
   1. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 2.0
   2. Peaking EQ
      1. f = 250 Hz
      2. Q = 0.7
      3. Gain = -2.4 dB
6. Preset 5:
   1. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 1.7
   2. Peaking EQ
      1. f = 300 Hz
      2. Q = 0.7
      3. Gain = -2.0 dB
7. Preset 6:
   1. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 1.4
   2. Peaking EQ
      1. f = 415 Hz
      2. Q = 1.6
      3. Gain = -3.2 dB
8. Preset 7:
   1. System High-pass: 2nd order high-pass
      1. f = 47 Hz
      2. Q = 1.4
   2. Peaking EQ
      1. f = 275 Hz
      2. Q = 3.0
      3. Gain = -2.7 dB

Hey, what version are these switches for?
these are v2 versions, but they differ about the pictures

 

[Bust3r]

Hey, what version are these switches for?
these are v2 versions, but they differ about the pictures

They look the same to me. Only difference I see is one pic is bigger than the other. I have the LP-6's, the pics here are same as on the back of mine.

 

[badspeakerdesigner]

Looks like my friends LP6 V2 suffered from the amplifier firmware issue. It took a total of 5 email messages with Kali to have new amps sent out. Now that's what I call customer service. I was so enthralled with the service that I'm ordering a pair myself, but perhaps the LP8. I feel comfortable supporting a company that is so transparent with their products (who else gives you clf?) and has such good customer service.

 

[Theodore8]

Purchased a pair two weeks ago, and playing them from my Allo Boss 2 DAC, used as Roon renderer. Paid retail price of 220€/pce.
Untreated room, but 10ft ceilings, heavy 10ft curtains along one entire wall, and furnished.

My entirely subjective impressions:
- I hear absolutely ZERO hiss
- Extremely high quality of imaging/soundstage (for that price)
- Plenty of bass
- More volume than I will ever use (unless I want the neighbours to kick me out)
- More detailed sound than KEFs (which to me sound silky), but less detailed than Focals (of course, this impression is most probably due to the room, but I share it anyway)

=> overall, in my view, a very attractive ratio of quality and features vs. the price (at retail)

 

[PeterNL]

Hey, what version are these switches for?
these are v2 versions, but they differ about the pictures

Yes they differ but don't know why (second raw, second and third pictogram are different).
Here is my amp plate: