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Need help grasping how to connect active speakers to a sub - Kali LP-UNF / Kali LP-6 v2 with sub

WhyNot

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Hi all,

I'm pretty new to audio equipment, the best piece I got at the minute is Philips Fidelio x2HR headphones so that can probably tell you a lot already about my knowledge on this topic (hint: almost non-existent) :p

I'm looking to up my audio game a bit, mainly for video games and especially movies on my desktop PC (sometimes music listening). The room I'm in is quite small at approx. 4m x 2.5m (13.12ft x 8.20ft). Possibly switching this equipment between PC and TV sometimes if possible?

Anyway

I've been researching non-stop for the last 3 days straight but find it hard understanding all the connections and the separate equipment I'd need. I think I understand some of it but can't fully see the endgame for me.

So I've looked into some active powered stuff as passive equipment just seems like it would be too much of an investment. The active powered stuff that is looking like the best is something from Kali, like the Kali LP-UNF or Kali LP-6 v2 but here's the part I don't really understand :

people mention that you don't need an external DAC or an audio interface for these speakers to connect to certain subwoofers such as the Kali WS 6.2 but I don't really understand how do I connect such a combination to my PC? I don't understand how some are able to connect the Kali LP-UNF to a subwoofer and what implications there are for loosing any quality by doing so?

Am I correct in understanding you can't just connect these to any subwoofer such as the BK Electronics subwoofers but only to certain ones with passthrough capabilities such as the WS 6.2? Would I be able to go for a cheaper subwoofer with an audio interface?

I'm quite lost in all of this as I'm looking for the simplest, most elegant solution to two speaker system with a sub for both PC & TV for mainly movie watching and video games. Am I correctly thinking that the Kali speakers would be best for this? Would the most elegant solution be to simply get an audio interface (but which one, does it even matter?) and then not have to worry at least for the LP-6 v2s? Would I be able to connect the LP-UNFs to such an interface as well even though they don't have the XLR output? In this scenario would LP-UNFs or LP-6 v2s be better?

All and any help is much appreciated, I'm sure you can tell I'm a complete newbie and I apologise for questions that may seem stupid but I'm genuinly lost right now
 
Welcome to ASR and the wide world of audio!

For an active monitor like the LP-UNF that doesn't perform bass management on its own (it does not have a built-in crossover, as far as I'm aware, nor a subwoofer out) you'd generally use a subwoofer that can perform the crossover functionality, like the WS 6.2. You would connect the PC to the subwoofer, then the subwoofer to the speakers, like so (excuse my quick and dirty diagram):

1735860230491.png


Hope this makes sense.
 
Welcome to ASR and the wide world of audio!

For an active monitor like the LP-UNF that doesn't perform bass management on its own (it does not have a built-in crossover, as far as I'm aware, nor a subwoofer out) you'd generally use a subwoofer that can perform the crossover functionality, like the WS 6.2. You would connect the PC to the subwoofer, then the subwoofer to the speakers, like so (excuse my quick and dirty diagram):

View attachment 418208

Hope this makes sense.
This helps tremendously, seriously ! Thank you :) Can I ask does this impact anything negatively? I'm only asking because I've watched a video from the Kali youtube group that mentioned the TRS ports those are for like "professional" setups? I assume the reason for using an audio interface or a DAC would be just sound consistency or something?

Could I also ask how would this work for a sub out monitor such as the LP-6 v2? Would I be able to go for a different subwoofer then? I'm wondering how do these other subwoofers work such as this one, they don't seem to have these XLR ports, do these only work with audio interfaces etc? :

https://bkelectronics.co.uk/P10-150-GEM-White

Thank you for replying btw, trying to learn as much as possible how this all works :)
 
You could also do USB from computer to DAC then to the subwoofer > speakers or something like Minidsp to speakers/subwoofer and do crossovers in the Minidsp and use any subwoofer you prefer.
 
You could also do USB from computer to DAC then to the subwoofer > speakers or something like Minidsp to speakers/subwoofer and do crossovers in the Minidsp and use any subwoofer you prefer.
Gotcha, would DAC be preferable here over an audio interface or am I getting confused (very possible). I tried looking into the Minidsp but not entirely sure what it does exactly
 
Not sure what you mean the LP-6 v2 only has analog in you need a DAC before the speakers. It could be from a computer if it has analog out , stand alone dac, preamp
Ahhh, okay that makes sense. I'll keep this in mind for tomorrow and I'll do some more research on it, thank you, really appreciate the help and the replies from you as well
 
This helps tremendously, seriously ! Thank you :) Can I ask does this impact anything negatively? I'm only asking because I've watched a video from the Kali youtube group that mentioned the TRS ports those are for like "professional" setups? I assume the reason for using an audio interface or a DAC would be just sound consistency or something?
Should have no negative impact. The reason to use XLR to TRS is because that preserves the balanced nature of the cabling. You can also go XLR to RCA and that would likely work fine also, but there's no advantage to doing so. XLR/TRS is used for balanced cables, which is used in the professional world as it prevents noise on long cable runs as are common there. For home setups it's generally unnecessary and RCA (unbalanced) works fine for the short cable lenghts there. But again, there's no disadvantage either, except that balanced cables and connections are generally a bit bulkier and more expensive.
Could I also ask how would this work for a sub out monitor such as the LP-6 v2? Would I be able to go for a different subwoofer then?
The LP6-v2 would work the same way, except that the individual right left/right speakers have their own input rather than having all the inputs on one speaker and then a cable that connects the primary speaker to the secondary. So the diagram would change to this:

1735863402037.png


You'd still need a subwoofer with inputs, outputs, and a built-in crossover function like the WS 6.2 (though that's hardly the only subwoofer with those features). You could also just go straight XLR with those, rather than XLR to TRS, as unlike the UNF the speakers have XLR inputs.

I'm wondering how do these other subwoofers work such as this one, they don't seem to have these XLR ports, do these only work with audio interfaces etc?
Honestly, the simplest setup that would enable you to use most any subwoofer wouldn't be going the active monitor route. I might suggest considering the Wiim Amp, which is a combination streamer, DAC, and amplifier. Then you can hook up any passive speakers you like using standard speaker cable. It also has a subwoofer out, an RCA port which you would connect to the corresponding RCA input that pretty much any subwoofer on the market has. The Wiim Amp can handle the bass management through the Wiim app which is pretty straightward. For starters, you would probably just want to set an 80Hz crossover.

Then, as you get more comfortable, you could start experimenting with more advanced stuff that the Wiim has to offer, such as equalization and room correction. If you want. Or you could just get it working and enjoy it. :)
 
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Gotcha, would DAC be preferable here over an audio interface or am I getting confused (very possible). I tried looking into the Minidsp but not entirely sure what it does exactly
Let's start with terminology what do you mean by "audio interface" ? Are you looking professional interface like a Motu with a microphone preamp, loop back, etc..? Or something to connect your computer and TV for games, music and movies which could be a DAC like a Schiit, Topping etc..?
The difference with the Minidsp has a DAC in it and can set crossovers for your subwoofer and desktop speakers. it has 4 outputs
 
Welcome to ASR and the wide world of audio!

For an active monitor like the LP-UNF that doesn't perform bass management on its own (it does not have a built-in crossover, as far as I'm aware, nor a subwoofer out) you'd generally use a subwoofer that can perform the crossover functionality, like the WS 6.2. You would connect the PC to the subwoofer, then the subwoofer to the speakers, like so (excuse my quick and dirty diagram):

View attachment 418208

Hope this makes sense.
That looks a little unusual, with L&R connecting a mono sub to one speaker. Is this supposed to be a mono system? or is the LP-UNF one of those stereo pairs with some of the functions for both boxes located in just one of them?
 
You could also do something like a WiiM Streamer which has subwoofer out and can set your crossovers .
Computer/TV > WiiM Ultra > Subwoofer/Kali Speakers
 
Should have no negative impact. The reason to use XLR to TRS is because that preserves the balanced nature of the cabling. You can also go XLR to RCA and that would likely work fine also, but there's no advantage to doing so. XLR/TRS is used for balanced cables, which is used in the professional world as it prevents noise on long cable runs as are common there. For home setups it's generally unnecessary and RCA (unbalanced) works fine for the short cable lenghts there. But again, there's no disadvantage either, except that balanced cables and connections are generally a bit bulkier and more expensive.

The LP6-v2 would work the same way, except that the individual right left/right speakers have their own input rather than having all the inputs on one speaker and then a cable that connects the primary speaker to the secondary. So the diagram would change to this:

View attachment 418220

You'd still need a subwoofer with inputs, outputs, and a built-in crossover function like the WS 6.2 (though that's hardly the only subwoofer with those features).


Honestly, the simplest setup that would enable you to use most any subwoofer wouldn't be going the active monitor route. I might suggest considering the Wiim Amp, which is a combination streamer, DAC, and amplifier. Then you can hook up any passive speakers you like using standard speaker cable. It also has a subwoofer out, an RCA port which you would connect to the corresponding RCA input that pretty much any subwoofer on the market has. The Wiim Amp can handle the bass management through the Wiim app which is pretty straightward. For starters, you would probably just want to set an 80Hz crossover.

Then, as you get more comfortable, you could start experimenting with more advanced stuff that the Wiim has to offer, such as equalization and room correction. If you want. Or you could just get it working and enjoy it. :)
Brilliant, thank you for the write up, it honestly clarifies so many things for me. Appreciate it greatly, need to research some good passive speakers then and might go that route instead, I also assume this would allow to change things out more easily in the future
 
Let's start with terminology what do you mean by "audio interface" ? Are you looking professional interface like a Motu with a microphone preamp, loop back, etc..? Or something to connect your computer and TV for games, music and movies which could be a DAC like a Schiit, Topping etc..?
The difference with the Minidsp has a DAC in it and can set crossovers for your subwoofer and desktop speakers. it has 4 outputs
This one's on me for sure, Im not grasping the terminology fully yet I think. I definitely meant just a bridge to connect between the computer / TV and the speakers and subwoofer, sounds like the DAC fits the bill just got confused by seeing people mention audio interfaces such as the Scarlett Solo and thought that could work in some fashion.

From what I'm gathering with a DAC it'd be possible to get any subwoofer and speakers as like you say the DAC would be performing the crossovers?
 
That looks a little unusual, with L&R connecting a mono sub to one speaker. Is this supposed to be a mono system? or is the LP-UNF one of those stereo pairs with some of the functions for both boxes located in just one of them?
Is it unusual? Not sure. I haven't used that style of subwoofer and active monitors myself, but it seems pretty straightforward: the sub takes in the left and right channels, applies the crossover filter, and then passes the filtered left and right channels to the corresponding outputs that then go to the speakers.
 
You could also do something like a WiiM Streamer which has subwoofer out and can set your crossovers .
Computer/TV > WiiM Ultra > Subwoofer/Kali Speakers
Gotcha, with this setup am I safe using any subwoofer?

I think I just got too tangled into the Kali LP-UNF and couldn't understand how to get them sorted with a sub but I might go with passive speakers if a DAC or this WiiM is a better option
 
Again all, sorry if I'm still confusing some stuff a bit, trying my hardest to get an idea and understand this better, I appreciate the help from you all
 
Is it unusual? Not sure. I haven't used that style of subwoofer and active monitors myself, but it seems pretty straightforward: the sub takes in the left and right channels, applies the crossover filter, and then passes the filtered left and right channels to the corresponding outputs that then go to the speakers.
What you describe in this sentence is not unusual at all. But what you showed in the first diagram was both L&R going from one sub to one main. I am the antistereophile around here. I love mono and think stereo is usually found somewhere between a ridiculously overrated scam and positively evil but mono is afaict quite uncommon in active desktop/bookshelf monitor world, isn't it?
 
Gotcha, with this setup am I safe using any subwoofer?
Yeah, the Wiim Ultra (or Pro or Pro Plus) are just like the Wiim Amp, except they don't have amplification. So you could do all the same things, except instead of connecting to passive speakers directly, you'd either need a separate external amp or you could connect them to active speakers like the Kali.
 
Gotcha, with this setup am I safe using any subwoofer?

I think I just got too tangled into the Kali LP-UNF and couldn't understand how to get them sorted with a sub but I might go with passive speakers if a DAC or this WiiM is a better option
With WiiM Ultra streamer you can connect your computer and TV and use the subwoofer you linked above and the Kali LP-6 v2 speakers. Or other subwoofer and active speakers if you choose.
 
What you describe in this sentence is not unusual at all. But what you showed in the first diagram was both L&R going from one sub to one main. I am the antistereophile around here. I love mono and think stereo is usually found somewhere between a ridiculously overrated scam and positively evil but it's still quite uncommon in active desktop/bookshelf monitor world, isn't it?
Oh I see. The Kali UNF takes everything into one speaker and then has an interconnect between that primary speaker and the secondary one that passes the audio for that channel (and I believe power as well). I guess it might have been clearer in that aspect if I showed the second speaker and the interconnect cable, but it didn't seem necessary at the time.
 
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