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Second Wave Kali IN-8 Announcement: -12dB self noise

I'm thinking about ordering them from Sweetwater if they are as good as people think and say they are. I'm still on the fence between the T8V's and HS8's though. Need to go hear them.

Yamaha's are not neutral...so they're not on my radar. My bro has the HS5, so I know their sound signature.

Kali IN-8v2 are US$400/ea, and Adam T8V are US$300/ea.

Ignoring the +33% price difference, I don't think Adam T8V can compete with Kali IN-8v2's in any significant fashion.

IN-8v2 have the advantage:
- Flat on axis response (we know is good thanks to the teaser estimated in-room response)
- Coaxial source, which guarantees great horizontal and vertical dispersion/directivity (which you can extrapolate from IN-8v1 review)
- Low hiss noise (I have no reason to doubt this)
- Distortion handling (i'm hopeful that this will be good, based on the last youtube talk)

This looks like a winner in my eyes...eagerly awaiting Erin's review to see if there's any hidden issues...but I'm hopeful.
 
Yamaha's are not neutral...so they're not on my radar. My bro has the HS5, so I know their sound signature.

Kali IN-8v2 are US$400/ea, and Adam T8V are US$300/ea.

Ignoring the +33% price difference, I don't think Adam T8V can compete with Kali IN-8v2's in any significant fashion.

IN-8v2 have the advantage:
- Flat on axis response (we know is good thanks to the teaser estimated in-room response)
- Coaxial source, which guarantees great horizontal and vertical dispersion/directivity (which you can extrapolate from IN-8v1 review)
- Low hiss noise (I have no reason to doubt this)
- Distortion handling (i'm hopeful that this will be good, based on the last youtube talk)

This looks like a winner in my eyes...eagerly awaiting Erin's review to see if there's any hidden issues...but I'm hopeful.

I was about to buy the A7X's but after reading here and finding out how old the design is I started thinking a bit different.
I really like the airiness of ribbons or AMT's.
I won't be using them for mastering or anything of the sort.
I just want the best I can afford for my new computer build I am calling the Beast Build.
I am used to a flatter sound of good monitors as my first DIY was basically a large set of studio monitors designed by guys at HTguide which measured flat.
I also want a sub which will be all connected to my Gustard x16 but coming from DIY audio and having 2 - 21" subs in my room I'm having a hard time spending $600 on a studio sub like the JBL or Adam as they seem tremendously over priced.
 
When I took the back play off of an IN-8 v1, it looked like the jumper was soldered... Not sure if it's just the EU ones that have standby enabled and allow you to disable it. Can't find the pictures I took unfortunately to confirm.

Kali eliminated the standby feature on IN-8 v1 units manufactured after March 27, 2020. I believe this feature may not have been working properly on many units and perhaps there was no simple fix so they decided to just eliminate it.
 
Kali eliminated the standby feature on IN-8 v1 units manufactured after March 27, 2020. I believe this feature may not have been working properly on many units and perhaps there was no simple fix so they decided to just eliminate it.

Given a switching PSU and highly efficient monolithic Class D amplification, that feature isn't really all that useful anyway -- it's sort a holdover from the early days of active speakers, when there was still considerable current draw and heat happening, even in the absence of signal input. My old Infinity subwoofer, with it's hefty linear PSU, is from that era, so its ATO (automatic turn-off) feature makes total sense -- the modern Kali stuff, not so much.
 
Most people don't know that there are ZERO disadvantages beyond cost for all applications besides main monitors.

Coaxials make the center image tighter, which can be a negative or positive, depending on listener preference. I prefer a tighter image, as it sounds more realistic for human voice(which is what's most important to me). Some seem to prefer a more diffuse center image, though, including Amir and Toole(I kinda do too for symphonic music). Amir actually has a very strong preference for more diffuse imaging, so much so that he's willing to trade worse tonality/directivity in order to make the imaging less sharp. Note what had to say in regards to the Triangle Espirit Antal Ez tower vs the Revel M16.

As a way of comparison, I put my Revel M16 next to the Triangle on a stand. While tonality and to some extent clarity was better on the Revel, the sound was clearly localized to a smaller source vertically, leaving a preference for the Triangle for the larger, more realistic image it portrayed.

So for some, the tighter center image that coaxials give is actually a pretty sizeable negative.
 
So for some, the tighter center image that coaxials give is actually a pretty sizeable negative.

Tighter vertically sure, but that is how all instruments work. They aren't sending out quashed sound waves mostly horizontally.

Also I think a tighter phantom center is due to narrow dispersion, which isn't inherent to a coaxial driver.
 
^I am regular visitor to your website so afaic, you don't have to :)
 
@hardisj Please, with cherry on top, post nearfield measurements of port and transducers in future. It is invaluable to us, that understand the principles, to be able to see what is happening and why.
 
@hardisj Please, with cherry on top, post nearfield measurements of port and transducers in future. It is invaluable to us, that understand the principles, to be able to see what is happening and why.


Sometimes I honestly just forget and don't have the time to go back. This is such a case.
 
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The Kali PowerPoint presentation was admirably forthcoming about the silicon side of their "2nd Wave" stuff -- these chips are very sophisticated, highly integrated devices, folks.

TI TAS5805M

TI TAS5825P
Curious is that those amps support digital input, so Kali could have added the ability for feeding aes signal directly with minimal cost.

Room for another line of products maybe.
 
Curious is that those amps support digital input, so Kali could have added the ability for feeding aes signal directly with minimal cost.

Room for another line of products maybe.

I'd be surprised if they didn't have capabilities like that in mind already.
 
The Kali rep said it was possibly on the horizon in one of the Kali threads here just recently IIRC..
 
Makes me not wanna buy the in-8 v2 now :D

The market for AES/EDU capability is pretty small in the sub-$1k/pair monitor category, so I'm sure the Kali folks won't mind if you prefer to wait. :cool:
 
The market for AES/EDU capability is pretty small in the sub-$1k/pair monitor category, so I'm sure the Kali folks won't mind if you prefer to wait. :cool:
Yeah, but if the cost to add those capabilities is minuscule, then why not?
They can even go over 1k i guess.
If I am not wrong the cheapest good monitors with digital input are KH80, which have minuscule woofers, so market opportunity: 5 & 8-inch woofer with digital input.

I'm just dreaming bc i want benefits w/o breaking the bank.
 
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