Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Anyone hear these new monitor speakers from Kali Audio...?

Anyone hear the new monitor speakers from Kali Audio...?

They are getting rave reviews from the pros and enthusiasts alike.

https://www.musictech.net/reviews/kali-audio-lp-6-review/

Don't be swayed by reviews. They all say the same things. This line from your linked review is boilerplate typical:
"The LP-6s deliver a sound that punches well above their price point. If you were to blind test them against speakers a lot higher in price tag, I’m pretty sure you’d be surprised as how well they stand up."

It's always the same. Every product is said to compete against others that cost much more ... which is, of course, not possible.

+1 on this request. It's healthy to be skeptical of reviews, but there are many LP-6 reviews out there at this point and not one of them is negative. The LP6's definitely merit a test listen and I hope to free up soon to try them out.

I've listed them shortly, using my VSTi piano and as a price are OK and acceptable, especially just for playing.
Probably they are available in many music stores. You could to listen then personally.

IIRC the people that designed this speaker came from JBL, and inspired by the LSR 305 (something along those lines) which has been very popular, this may well have contributed to the hype train somewhat, they have been promoted/marketed heavily I noticed.

Otherwise I have no idea, never heard them. Presumably at that sort of LSR 305 price point give them a try, I wouldn't expect wonders but good bang for the buck, there is so much competition around this price point these days.

This is what Guttenberg had to say recently

https://www.cnet.com/news/kali-audio-lp-6-a-knockout-speaker-with-a-surprisingly-affordable-price/

I did notice the hiss levels were quite noticeable and lacking depth in soundstage in the JBL 305 too when I tried them ages ago, it seems to be present in these too according to this review, and not too refined as he puts it, as is the case with most monitors at this price point ... often times.

I recently got back into Piano and upgraded an old Casio to a Kawai MP11SE, which stretched my budget. I wanted to keep the speaker cost down. Based on reviews I had found, I tried the Kali LP-6's.

Pro's:
- They sound very good for the price
- Basic equalizer adjustments with dip switches
- XLR & TRS input
- Responsive customer support

Con's:
- Hiss... On one of the reviews, someone had posted that it was only noticeable right at the speaker. This was not true for both of mine. The hiss was audible at 5' away and very annoying at the piano seating position.

The hiss is there with only the power cord connected and no difference with the speaker volume dial position all the way down. I contacted Kali and their response was to try a Furman power conditioner. I wanted to keep the speakers and was concerned that dimmers or other interference was the issue so I tried the power conditioner. It made zero difference, which indicated the internal amp was the source.

So I returned the Kali's for Yamaha HS-7's which are about twice the price. The HS7's have a very slight hiss right at the speaker and inaudible at the seated position. Huge difference!

For the money, I think Kali's would be worth considering for their intended purpose of music mixing or listening away from the speakers. But the hiss was too loud for Piano in my opinion.

Jeff

Guttenberg says that they're a bit bright & gritty, but didn't say whether the EQ (DIP switches) improved that partcular aspect or not.
Re the hiss, I tihink that would only bother me if I could hear it during actual playing.

Greg.

The changes with the equalizer dip switches were subtle to my ear, but I do not have any room acoustical treatment.

The hiss was most distracting to me when I stopped and paused playing. The only way to know for sure if it is going to be an issue is trying them at home.

When I was at the music shop, I noticed all the monitor speakers had a hiss. Just some where louder then others. They didn’t carry the Kali’s in store.

They sound great for the price in my opinion for general listening. Just test with only the power cable connected to get the sound floor from the speaker to see if it is ok or not.

There are a lot of things that can cause hiss. Cheap cables being a biggie, and the input master volume set too high. I have a set of JBL-308's after I ordered them, I saw some reviews about them having bad hiss. When I installed them I plugged them into my FA-08 and there was a loud hiss. Turning the input on the speakers down to about 75% instead of fully maxed out and using a pair of balanced TRS cables completely erased any hiss. In fact I sometimes forget to turn them off after turning the piano off. I can't hear anything out of the speakers when the FA-08 is off.

I have a Roland CM-220 set two satellite speakers with a sub it was marketed as a keyboard amp. When I bought it there were reviews on the internet complaining about hiss.
Again yes, if the master volume is at or near 100%, very loud hiss! Back it off and use a decent set of cables, no hiss. I use these speakers with my gig rig at home. A Kurzweil SP6 and a Behringer Deep Mind 12 or sometimes a Roland VR-09. No hiss, at all.

Both of these systems can be very LOUD. Lowering the master volume to about 75% on both systems can still produce sound levels louder than a real grand piano playing fff. Louder than I ever want to play them in my house! I shoot for the loudest I want the piano to ever ever be at about the 2 o'clock position on my piano. I set the volume on the speakers to the point where that is the case. Which is usually about 60% - 75% of the speakers input volume.

I do the same with PA systems, it limits how deaf your audience will be in the case of feedback. I see quite a few bands have their powered speakers maxed and use the mixer to adjust volume. Lowering the speaker input a bit does the same thing, lowers the noise level when nothing is going through the system.