Although Kali Audio is a fairly new brand, they've already started to form a great reputation within the close-knit community of recording hobbyists. Despite their affordability, the LP6 monitors project audio with incredible fidelity, allowing you to mix your music with excellent precision. One of the features present in the second wave of Kali monitors is a clever Boundary EQ adjustment, which provides several positions to select preset compensating EQ curves depending on where the speaker is positioned. On a stand in free space (the ideal position for the loudspeaker) the EQ can be disabled.

Acoustic measurements can be grouped in a way that can be perceptually analyzed to determine how good a speaker can be used. This so called spinorama shows us just about everything we need to know about the speaker with respect to tonality and some flaws: The waveguide on Project Lone Pine monitors allows you to hear spatial details and a soundstage that is wider, taller, and deeper than the space between the speakers themselves. High dynamic range, low distortion Founded by some former JBL staff, Kali arrived on the scene in 2018 with a range of inexpensive US‑designed and Far East‑manufactured monitors. It’s been an impressive effort so far. The subject of this review is the first of what Kali have christened their ‘second wave’, characterised by a host of technical improvements. These are said to comprise 12dB less amplifier noise, re‑profiled and lower‑mass driver diaphragms, improved cabinet construction, more precise DSP, revised EQ presets and, finally, a little less input sensitivity. The first of these improvements is particularly welcome because one of my criticisms of the IN‑8 was that amplifier hiss was audible. I may as well confirm straight away that this problem has been fixed. The IN‑5 is effectively silent when idling. Let’s Get PhysicalSpecs wise the LP8 frequency response is rated at 39Hz – 25kHz (-10dB) and 47Hz – 21kHz (±3dB). Max SPL is 115dB, and system distortion is rated at <3% (80Hz – 1.7kHz) and <2% above 1kHz, reference a 90dB output SPL at a distance of 1 m. The crossover point is 1.5kHz. You rarely see such a usefully low crossover point in a monitor of this price. They’re usually somewhere around the 2-3kHz range, where the ear is most sensitive to crossover distortion, phase and timing errors. On-axis response measured on a ground plane with 1/6th octave smoothing For a primer on what the data means, please watch my series of videos where I provide in-depth discussion and examples of how to read the graphics presented hereon.

When it came to listening, as usual I fed the IN‑5 with a diet of Pro Tools sessions and favourite CDs. I’ve experienced some high‑end monitors recently, and while the IN‑5 perhaps doesn’t, unsurprisingly, provide the extraordinary detail and natural clarity of some of those models, it nonetheless made a positive impression. While I found the IN‑5’s inherent tonal balance slightly dull, its midrange emphasis provided a good dose of useful mix detail. There’s not so much mid emphasis that it risks mixes not translating well though, and the slight dullness can also be effectively ameliorated using the +2dB HF EQ option. The benefits of the midrange/tweeter dual‑coincident format are very clear, with the IN‑5 showing strong image focus and really good consistency at different listening positions.

3-D Imaging Waveguide

The rear of the LP-6 features carefully tuned controls, providing compensation EQ settings to find the best possible sound. Kali Audio calibrated their EQ tuning at The Village Studios in Los Angeles. This combined with the low and high-frequency trims, ensures the studio monitor can adapt to any space. Measurements are provided in a format in accordance with the Standard Method of Measurement for In-Home Loudspeakers (ANSI/CTA-2034-A R-2020). For more information, please see this link. The dual layer, large diameter voice coil on the LP-Series helps keep the sound clear and free of distortion. Low noise port tube Settings wise I used the aforementioned dip switch settings for a monitor on a speaker stand less than half a meter from the wall and left everything else alone… initially anyway. The excellent news is that the response across the frequency range does seem to be largely accurate. The bass is tamed and tight for the most part and not coloured.