Kali Audio Independence IN-8 3-Way Powered DJ Studio Monitor Speaker

Big and powerful nearfield monitors from the California brand. Tri-amped three-way design with an 8-inch bass driver for serious bass power. Hugely impressive and reasonably priced.

Supplier's notes:
Kali's IN-8 is one of the most innovative studio monitors ever made. Combining the natural advantages of a 3-way design with hyper-realistic imaging of a co-axial mid-range and tweeter, it offers more transparency, lower distortion, and a soundstage that must be heard to be believed.

Power. Detail. Soundstage:

The IN-8 Studio Monitor is a speaker like no other. Using the same woofer and tweeter from Kali's celebrated LP-8, the IN-8 adds a midrange driver that surrounds the tweeter, and acts as its waveguide. 

In doing so, both the tweeter and the woofer are unburdened; with a smaller workload, they are able to play more clearly and with less distortion. 

The coaxial nature of the midrange and tweeter make the IN-8 an acoustic point source. Off-axis lobing is thereby eliminated, resulting in a stereo soundstage that presents the listener with a hyper-realistic level of detail. 

All of this means that the IN-8 is extremely accurate and easy to mix on, and that mixes made on the IN-8 will transfer wonderfully to other systems.

Imaging:

We know. We keep harping on about the "hyper-realistic" imaging of the IN-8. What does that mean?

When you listen to a stereo set of speakers, you're hearing information about where instruments and players were placed when the material was recorded. Even with purely digital material, producers can manipulate physical locations of elements in the mix, and you will hear these on a stereo recording.

Not only does this allow producers to create interesting spatial effects, but it means that you can work faster and with more confidence. An accurate soundstage lets you "see" each element of the mix in front of you, so you can hear exactly what happens when you make changes.

2-way systems with good waveguides, like Kali's LP-6 and LP-8, do a good job at conveying this spatial information. However, because the tweeter and woofer on those speakers (and most studio monitors!) are separate, this information gets lost in the space immediately above and below the speaker. This means that at the listening position, you're not hearing the full stereo picture.

The IN-8 solves this problem. The tweeter and midrange share an acoustic centre, and the woofer is crossed over at 330 Hz, so the distance between the woofer and midrange is well under a quarter wavelength at the crossover point. This means that the IN-8 is acoustically a point source. As such, it has the same excellent directivity that the LP-6 and LP-8 have at their sides in a full 360 degrees around the speaker. You're hearing all of the spatial information at the listening position, so the soundstage that you hear will have every detail that's present in the mix.

Clarity:

The IN-8's total harmonic distortion is less than 1.4%, which is exceptional. This is the result of unburdening both the woofer and the tweeter, so that both are doing less work. The woofer is crossed over at 330 Hz, a full 2.5 octaves lower than on the LP-8.

The tweeter is crossed over at 3000 Hz, nearly an octave higher than on the LP-8. Taking up the space in between in the hero of the IN-8 system: the 4-Inch, profile-optimized midrange driver. This driver has a lot of work to do. In addition to reproducing midrange frequencies, it also acts as the waveguide for the tweeter. This means that the shape needed to be precisely engineered to provide an ideal dispersion characteristic for the tweeter.

It also means that the midrange needs to stay still. In many other co-axial or concentric systems, high excursion from the larger driver causes intermodulation distortion, and degrades the accuracy of the system. The midrange on the IN-8 is limited to less than 1 millimetre peak excursion, making it acoustically stationary while still providing midrange to keep up with the powerful woofer and tweeter.

Frequency Range (Hz)	37 - 25,000 Hz
Inputs	1 x 6.35mm (1/4") Jack Input, 1 x RCA In, 1 x XLR In
Cabinet Dimensions (mm)	441 x 285 x 254
Cabinet Weight (g)	10400

• 8 inch active studio monitor with coaxial 1" tweeter and 4" optimized midrange driver in profile
• Tri-amped design with integrated Class D power amplifier
• Very linear frequency response
• 20 dB Headroom in continuous playback with 85 dB
• Coaxial design has excellent directivity - covers the entire room evenly
• Boundary EQ allows the speaker to be adapted to any environment

Kali Audio Independence IN-5 3-Way Powered DJ Studio Monitor Speaker

Compact three-way monitor design based around an eight-inch woofer and coaxial tweeter / midrange, giving impressive bass extension and very precise imaging.

Supplier's Notes:
Project Independence

Kali's IN-Series monitors are some of the most innovative studio monitors ever made. Combining the natural advantages of a 3-way design with hyper-realistic imaging of a co-axial mid-range and tweeter, they offer more transparency, lower distortion, and a soundstage that must be heard to be believed.

Performance

Unrivaled Punch and Detail.

The IN-Series monitors are unlike anything you've ever heard. The three-way design lets both the woofer and the tweeter do less work, resulting in better headroom and lower distortion across the frequency spectrum.

At the same time, the coaxial architecture of the midrange and tweeter result in hyper-realistic imaging. This means that you'll be able to hear subtle details in your mix with pinpoint precision. 

The design of the system comes together to allow the IN-Series monitors to act as acoustic point sources. They enjoy all the benefits of both traditional 3-way systems and traditional coaxial speakers, with none of the drawbacks traditionally associated with either. 

All of this make the IN-5 and IN-8 extremely accurate and easy to mix on. You'll be able to work faster and with more confidence, and your mixes are going to translate to other systems with less work. 

IN-5:
160W
Class D Power

39 Hz
Lower Frequency Response

< 2% System THD
85 dB @ 1M

115 dB
Max SPL

Powered: Yes
Amp Class: D
Power Config: Tri-Amped
LF Power: 80 W
Mid-Range Power: 40 W
HF Power: 40 W
Total Power: 160 W
LF Driver: 5" Paper
Mid-Range Driver: 4" Optimized Profile Paper
HF Driver: 1-Inch Textile Dome
Freq. Response (-10 dB): 39 Hz - 25 kHz
Freq. Range (i3 dB): 47 Hz - 21 kHz
LF to Mid-Range Crossover: 280 Hz
Mid-Range to HF Crossover: 2800 Hz
Recommended Listening Distance: 0.2 - 2.2 Meters
Max SPL: 115 dB

• Co-Axial Midrange and Tweeter
• A three-way with impeccable imaging.
• 8-Inch Woofer
• Powerful, clean bass. Crossed over at 330 Hz to make the IN-8 an acoustic point source.
• Low Noise Port Tube
• Precisely engineered using airflow simulations for powerful bass without port noise.

Kali Audio LP-8 (pair) 6-Inch Pro DJ Studio Monitor Speakers

Kali Audio LP-8 (pair) 6-Inch Pro DJ Studio Monitor Speakers

The LP-8 was designed to have increased dynamic range, low-frequency extension and overall output. With unparalleled accuracy and listening comfortability, the LP-8 is perfect for the bass-oriented producer or engineer. Subwoofers and three-way speakers often create more issues than the ones they remedy due to their complicated phase relationships. Kali Audio has taken this into consideration with their monitors and the bass sounds perfectly in phase in a comfortably large sweet spot; their monitors’ subtle yet effective dispersion design works excellently in transparently transmitting audio.
The 3-D Imaging Waveguide allows you to hear a 3-D soundstage from a stereo pair of speakers.

The LP-8 has the clean, punchy bass of a front-ported speaker with very low noise from the port tube.
With 85 dB continuous output at 2.8 meters (roughly 6 feet,) and 20 dB of headroom, the LP-8 is plenty loud for almost every 1 or 2 person listening space. This includes home studios, editing bays, and most control rooms.

Bass on the LP-8 is delivered by a larger magnet and larger voice coil than any comparable speaker on the market. This gives you more accurate bass response that extends lower, so you can dial in exactly the low-end sound you need.
Kali Audio’s signature Boundary EQ settings help you achieve optimum sound in your recording environment while maintaining neutral sonic reproduction in a variety of settings.

“Kali Audio has solidified themselves as not only a contender in the pro studio monitor market, but a frontrunner in studio monitor technology and advancement.” – Charles Hoffman for Sonic Scoop

“For me they are a steal and they fill a space in my monitoring setup that I sorely needed: Monitors that I can actually use all day.” – Admiral Bumblebee

“The larger model offers increased dynamic range, low-frequency extension, and overall output. It is ideal for listening environments where the speakers will be up to 8 feet away, as well as for content with highly detailed low end. People mixing bass-heavy genres like Hip-hop and EDM will be particularly pleased with the LP-8. It’s also a wonderful choice for film and video production.” – Music Connection

“This makes the The LP-8 perfect for the bass-oriented producer or engineer. Subwoofers and three-way speakers often create more issues than the ones they remedy due to their complicated phase relationships. Fortunately Kali Audio has taken this into consideration with their monitors and the bass sounds perfectly in phase in a comfortably large sweet spot; their monitors’ subtle yet effective dispersion design works excellently in transparently transmitting audio.” – Alexander Hume, Dance Music Northwest

“The LP-6 and 8 are designed with quality at the forefront – as many have said before us, quality in, quality out.” – Alexander Hume for Dance Music NorthWest

Transparent Sound
The Lone Pine Series is designed to allow you to hear every detail that’s happening in your mix. This starts with an exceptionally accurate frequency response. Whatever is present on your mix is what you’ll hear in these monitors. Nothing is boosted or suppressed to cover flaws or try to sound more pleasing. With the LP-8, you can mix with more confidence, and you can also be assured that your mix will translate as best as possible to whatever systems your audience is using.

3-D Imaging Waveguide

How Does it Work?
Every time you hear a loudspeaker, you’re hearing both the direct sound from the speaker, and reflections from the speaker’s signal bouncing off of objects in the room. When those reflections are congruent with the direct sound from the speaker, listeners perceive a better sound overall, and are able to make out very subtle details like where microphones are placed in a room. When done very well, the stereo image will be three-dimensional, representing a sound stage that is wider, deeper, and taller than the speakers themselves. This gives you a very high degree of confidence in your mix. It allows you to mix faster, and produce better mixes overall.

Low Noise Port Tube

How Does it Work?
On most port tubes, air leaves at different speeds from different points of the opening, creating noisy turbulence. This turbulence can be heard as “chuffing,” or an audible air sound coming from the monitor. This sound will add to the noise floor and obscure the details of the low end. The port tube on LP-8 was designed to ensure that all of the air leaves the port tube at the same velocity. This helps add to the low end response of the speaker, while keeping the bass clean, tight, and devoid of extra noise.

High Output

At continuous reference-level output, the LP-Series monitors have at least 20 dB headroom at the listening position. The LP-8 can handle large setups easily. Ample headroom ensures that even loud mixes with high dynamic range will come through clearly.

Bass Power
Bass on the LP-Series monitors is delivered by larger magnets and larger voice coils than any comparable speakers on the market. This gives you more accurate bass response that extends lower, so you can dial in exactly the low end sound you need.

Easy to Use

Boundary EQ Control
A speaker’s given position in a space can drastically change it’s frequency response. A speaker placed against a wall or on a desk will sound very different than a speaker placed on a stand, even in a well-treated space. Hard surfaces like walls, desk tops, and recording consoles can change the low end frequency response of the monitor, and degrade the overall clarity of the sound. Happily, most of the common positions are fairly predictable and easily corrected. Kali’s team did their Boundary EQ tuning at The Village Studios in Los Angeles, and came up with boundary compensation EQ settings to help you get the optimum sound for where you need to put your speakers. Combined with the LF and HF trims, this will ensure that the speakers sound their best no matter what room you’re mixing in, or where the speakers are placed.

Easy Connections
The LP-8 features balanced XLR and TRS inputs, and an unbalanced RCA input. The RCA input can be set to -10 dBu sensitivity when you’re using consumer devices like a laptop or smartphone’s headphone jack.

Class D Power
The integrated Class D Power amp delivers clean, reliable power that’s optimised to this speaker. The LP-8 uses 40W for the 1” soft dome tweeter. 60W for the 8-Inch woofer.

Kali Audio LP-6 (pair) 6.5-Inch Pro DJ Studio Monitor Speakers

Kali Audio LP-6 (pair) 6.5-Inch Pro DJ Studio Monitor Speakers

The LP-6 was designed with complete accuracy in mind. You need to hear every detail when you are mixing, after all, and any colouration in the EQ will have you adjusting to compensate, giving your resulting mix an incorrect boost or cut in that area. Kali claims that there is no such colouration, ‘Nothing is boosted or suppressed to cover flaws or try to sound more pleasing’.

The 3-D Imaging Waveguide allows you to hear a 3-D soundstage from a stereo pair of speakers.
The voice coil on the LP-6 allows the speaker to have very high excursion, resulting in clearer sound with lower harmonic distortion, and exceptional dynamic range.

The LP-6 has the clean, punchy bass of a front-ported speaker with very low noise from the port tube.
With 85 dB continuous output at 2 meters (roughly 6 feet,) and 20 dB of headroom, the LP-6 is plenty loud for almost every 1 or 2 person listening space. This includes home studios, editing bays, and most control rooms.
Get accurate sound from your speakers no matter where they’re placed in the room
Kali Audio’s signature Boundary EQ settings help you achieve optimum sound in your recording environment while maintaining neutral sonic reproduction in a variety of setting

“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. They really are some of the best monitors you can get at this price and can easily out punch models twice their price or more.” – Andy Jones, MusicTech

“..the company has already received rave after rave review for its LP-6 monitor speaker. I’m falling in line with another rave – the LP-6 is a slam-dunk winner.” – Steve Guttenberg, CNET

“I’m mixing music on them right now and bass-heavy genres like Hip-hop and EDM translate better than ever. The artists and producers I mix for are all very satisfied with the results.” – Barry Rudolph, Music Connection

“These compact monitors from new company Kali Audio strike an enticing balance between performance and affordability.” – Sound On Sound

“Outperforming numerous competitors at significantly higher price points, Kali’s debut LP-6s are the best studio monitors under US$500-period.” – DJ Booth

“Kali Audio LP-6 Studio Monitors: The Best Budget Nearfields, Period” – Dance Music NW

Transparent Sound
The Lone Pine Series is designed to allow you to hear every detail that’s happening in your mix. This starts with an exceptionally accurate frequency response. Whatever is present on your mix is what you’ll hear in these monitors. Nothing is boosted or suppressed to cover flaws or try to sound more pleasing. With the LP-6, you can mix with more confidence, and you can also be assured that your mix will translate as best as possible to whatever systems your audience is using.
The LP-6 monitors are very accurate throughout their frequency response. The measurements you see were conducted by Pro Sound Testing in Greenville, IN.

The LP-6 has the lowest distortion in its class; a full 6 dB lower than its nearest competitor. This is achieved via design considerations that optimise woofer performance. Like our frequency response data, this data was collected by Pro Sound Testing in Greenville, IN.

3-D Imaging Waveguide

How Does it Work?
Every time you hear a loudspeaker, you’re hearing both the direct sound from the speaker, and reflections from the speaker’s signal bouncing off of objects in the room. When those reflections are congruent with the direct sound from the speaker, listeners perceive a better sound overall, and are able to make out very subtle details like where microphones are placed in a room. When done very well, the stereo image will be three-dimensional, representing a sound stage that is wider, deeper, and taller than the speakers themselves. This gives you a very high degree of confidence in your mix. It allows you to mix faster, and produce better mixes overall.

Low Noise Port Tube

How Does it Work?
On most port tubes, air leaves at different speeds from different points of the opening, creating noisy turbulence. This turbulence can be heard as “chuffing,” or an audible air sound coming from the monitor. This sound will add to the noise floor and obscure the details of the low end. The port tube on LP-6 was designed to ensure that all of the air leaves the port tube at the same velocity. This helps add to the low end response of the speaker, while keeping the bass clean, tight, and devoid of extra noise.

High Output

Image result for Kali Audio LP-6

At continuous reference-level output, the LP-Series monitors have at least 20 dB headroom at the listening position. The LP-6 has enough output for most 1-2 person setups. Ample headroom ensures that even loud mixes with high dynamic range will come through clearly.

Bass Power
Bass on the LP-Series monitors is delivered by larger magnets and larger voice coils than any comparable speakers on the market. This gives you more accurate bass response that extends lower, so you can dial in exactly the low end sound you need.

Easy to Use

Boundary EQ Control
A speaker’s given position in a space can drastically change it’s frequency response. A speaker placed against a wall or on a desk will sound very different than a speaker placed on a stand, even in a well-treated space. Hard surfaces like walls, desk tops, and recording consoles can change the low end frequency response of the monitor, and degrade the overall clarity of the sound. Happily, most of the common positions are fairly predictable and easily corrected. Kali’s team did their Boundary EQ tuning at The Village Studios in Los Angeles, and came up with boundary compensation EQ settings to help you get the optimum sound for where you need to put your speakers. Combined with the LF and HF trims, this will ensure that the speakers sound their best no matter what room you’re mixing in, or where the speakers are placed.

Easy Connections
The LP-6 features balanced XLR and TRS inputs, and an unbalanced RCA input. The RCA input can be set to -10 dBu sensitivity when you’re using consumer devices like a laptop or smartphone’s headphone jack.

Class D Power
The integrated Class D Power amp delivers clean, reliable power that’s optimised to this speaker. The LP-6 uses 40W for the 1” soft dome tweeter. 40W for the 6.5-Inch woofer.