New Kii Seven

[Trouble Maker]

Do you understand what the other woofers are doing?

 

[Arnas]

Do you understand what the other woofers are doing?

What do you mean? It says it has 1 high, 1 mid and 2 woofers. Am i missing something?

 

[Grotti]

What do you mean? It says it has 1 high, 1 mid and 2 woofers. Am i missing something?

The woofers on the sides are necessary for cardioid radiation and not ment to provide additional or lower bass response in the first place...

 

[firedog]

Lots of Standmounts reach this low with single woofer... This is really bad.

Why is it "bad"? If it's good quality reproduction, many people will find it all the bass they need.

 

[Arnas]

The woofers on the sides are necessary for cardioid radiation and not ment to provide additional or lower bass response in the first place...

So 2 driver dont bring more depth and just there for acoustics? Edifier s3000pro with 1 driver can go 38hz deep with small cabinet so i expected much bigger speaker like this ATLEAST to match and it cant even do that!
You still need subs with these so i have a hard time seeing how these can compete with something like Kef l60 that goes much deeper or any other small floorstand.

 

[dominikz]

So 2 driver dont bring more depth and just there for acoustics? Edifier s3000pro with 1 driver can go 38hz deep with small cabinet so i expected much bigger speaker like this ATLEAST to match and it cant even do that!
You still need subs with these so i have a hard time seeing how these can compete with something like Kef l60 that goes much deeper or any other small floorstand.

Cardioid bass radiation is mainly intended to combat the SBIR (Speaker-Boundary Interference Response) null caused by the wall behind the speaker. This is a common source of "bass suckout" so making loudspeakers that are less affected by it seems like a pretty good idea IMHO. For this to work the loudspeaker-wall distance should be appropriate (i.e. so the null is within the cardioid radiation range).

If the SBIR null is resolved in a different way (e.g. by pushing the speakers away from the wall so the SBIR null moves out of the loudspeaker operating range, or by having loudspeakers soffit mounted, or by absorbing the back wave) then cardioid bass is not beneficial anymore.
But as you can see, there are cases when it helps!

 

[Soniclife]

The woofers on the sides are necessary for cardioid radiation and not ment to provide additional or lower bass response in the first place...

In the 3 below about 70hz they stop doing the cardioid shaping and transition to adding bass, I would expect something similar with these.

Have they said at what frequency the cardioid goes down to on the 7?

 

[Doenerkunde]

I wonder how just a pair of side-firing woofer can do cardioid.
Unless the 5-in midrange is actually a mid-woofer.

Thats the thing that makes me wonder. They explicitly state "5 Inch midrange" and "two 6.5 Inch woofers". Other companys that were successfull with cardoid bass like ME Geithain or Dutch&Dutch solved the problem mechanically with damped and controlled openings in the back of the cabinet. Maybe there are controlled openings in the back of the Kii Sevens cabinet hidden somewhere?

 

[vermouth]

Some info here on how it works:

Taking Music Beyond the Next Level - Acoustic and Technological Innovation

Kii Acoustic and Technological Innovation What Should A Speaker Do? Speakers are designed to create the illusion of a live performance, yet most fail to achieve this promise. At Kii, we’ve overcome various technological obstacles to craft one of the most advanced speaker systems available. Our...

kiiaudio.com

 

[Soniclife]

Thats the thing that makes me wonder. They explicitly state "5 Inch midrange" and "two 6.5 Inch woofers". Other companys that were successfull with cardoid bass like ME Geithain or Dutch&Dutch solved the problem mechanically with damped and controlled openings in the back of the cabinet. Maybe there are controlled openings in the back of the Kii Sevens cabinet hidden somewhere?

View attachment 316508

Just think about the side drivers being used to produce the same cancellation as the side vents in the 8c, it doesn't matter to acoustics what produced the sound, just that it shapes the sound correctly.

 

[meracus]

Heard it this Saturday , with Bruno putzey presence in the room ( a great psychoacoustic effect !! )
I though they were excellent , I noticed a few slots at the back which was a notch below precision work , but maybe a proto at this Stage
I went back to the room because it sounded very good compared to many

 

[Doenerkunde]

Just think about the side drivers being used to produce the same cancellation as the side vents in the 8c, it doesn't matter to acoustics what produced the sound, just that it shapes the sound correctly.

Wouldn't that imply that the 5" front driver is in fact a midwoofer instead of a midrange? In the Kii Three the front driver ist crossed over at 220hz.

EDIT: Would the following scenario be plausible? Lets say the front driver plays down to ~100hz and is high pass filtered. The sidewoofers are crossed over at lets say ~220hz. The sidewoofers play out of phase between 100hz and 220hz and thus make the speaker cardoid down to 100hz. Below 100hz only the sidewoofers play. The cardoid behavior would move up in frequency compared to the Kii Three. The front driver could more plausibly be characterized as a midrange as it is high pass filtered.

 

[boXem]

Wouldn't that imply that the 5" front driver is in fact a midwoofer instead of a midrange? In the Kii Three the front driver ist crossed over at 220hz.

EDIT: Would the following scenario be plausible? Lets say the front driver plays down to ~100hz and is high pass filtered. The sidewoofers are crossed over at lets say ~220hz. The sidewoofers play out of phase between 100hz and 220hz and thus make the speaker cardoid down to 100hz. Below 100hz only the sidewoofers play. The cardoid behavior would move up in frequency compared to the Kii Three. The front driver could more plausibly be characterized as a midrange as it is high pass filtered.

Or it's just a shortcut done by a marketing guy.

 

[Soniclife]

EDIT: Would the following scenario be plausible? Lets say the front driver plays down to ~100hz and is high pass filtered. The sidewoofers are crossed over at lets say ~220hz. The sidewoofers play out of phase between 100hz and 220hz and thus make the speaker cardoid down to 100hz. Below 100hz only the sidewoofers play. The cardoid behavior would move up in frequency compared to the Kii Three. The front driver could more plausibly be characterized as a midrange as it is high pass filtered.

That's exactly how I would guess it works, hopefully we will find out.

 

[Pearljam5000]

 

[racingpht]

Wouldn't that imply that the 5" front driver is in fact a midwoofer instead of a midrange? In the Kii Three the front driver ist crossed over at 220hz.

EDIT: Would the following scenario be plausible? Lets say the front driver plays down to ~100hz and is high pass filtered. The sidewoofers are crossed over at lets say ~220hz. The sidewoofers play out of phase between 100hz and 220hz and thus make the speaker cardoid down to 100hz. Below 100hz only the sidewoofers play. The cardoid behavior would move up in frequency compared to the Kii Three. The front driver could more plausibly be characterized as a midrange as it is high pass filtered.

That is logical, Although 100hz is very much a "bass" frequency compared to traditional midranges. DD8c achieve this cardioid frequency with a 8 inch long throw woofer.

In many announcements it was said that
"In addition it equips the Kii SEVEN with a Cardioid Sound Dispersion pattern down to the low-mid and bass frequencies, providing even and highly detailed bass and significantly reduced acoustic interaction with the room."

 

[Puddingbuks]

I heard the Kii Seven yesterday and today at the dutch audio event. Demonstrated by DJ Bruno, the master himself Bruno Putzeys.

Demo was 15 minutes long each time with different music every 2-3 minutes.

Some of the tracks played:
- Bruno Mars - Chunky
- Charly Antolini - Sticks to me
- Rammstein - Los
- SYML - Fear of the water
- Hedegaard - Ratches

The Seven sounds amazing. Crysal clear details, clean/undistorted, uncolored, punchy with great stereo image. Bruno showed off what a little powerhouse this speaker is. A track like Ratches at high volume surely showed that the Seven can play loud, with lots of tight, deep bass. Not 20hz deep @ deafening levels, but simply unbelievable for this speaker size.

I’ve heard lots of speakers/setup in two days and 60 rooms, but this Kii Seven is one of the best. Amazing considering many of the other setups had tens of thousands euros worth of streamers, dacs, cables, cable lifters, hifi racks, power conditioners, power cables, pre amp, poweramp, etc. All of that is not needed with the Kii to reach a very high level of music reproduction. Higher than many of the “big” setups at the show. In the end it’s the sound that matters and Kii has created an amazing all in one speaker with the Seven.

I will most likely buy a pair when they are available in Q1 2024.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Isn't the price a bit high if for a little more you can get much bigger speakers like KH420 or 8361?

 

[Grotti]

Isn't the price a bit high if for a little more you can get much bigger speakers like KH420 or 8361?

It depends on your needs...In my case i would have to place the speakers on a lowboard....I simply have no free space for a KH 420. And a 8361 as a "compact speaker" on a lowboard is a no-go...So the Kii Seven comes at a very steep price but if it measures as good as the subjective experience indicates, i might put it on my list.

 

[Puddingbuks]

Isn't the price a bit high if for a little more you can get much bigger speakers like KH420 or 8361?

The KH420 is butt ugly and way to old school (no dsp, is no roon endpoint, no tidal/spotify/qobuz connect, not wireless) for me. It’s just a simple active speaker with an analog input. Also not cardioid.

The 8361 is a lot more expensive and misses also some of the Kii Seven features, like cardioid, wireless streaming. And also ugly. Pricewise, the 8351b fits perfectly. Heard them also at the show and they were fantastic.