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Kii....the future??

kimbleman

kimbleman

pfm Member
So guys,

Traditionally we listen to our music using a bunch of boxes, a turntable maybe, a pair of speakers all linked up with a pile of spaghetti (cables)....oh and all sat on a 'rack' of some description.

I met up with SteveH from these parts last Friday afternoon (myself and my better half Stella as I took the missus along too) for a demonstration of 'another way' to listen to your tunes without the need for clogging up your real estate with said boxes.

So Steve has a lovely house....contemporary with a great listening space, within which sits an unassuming (although to my taste) attractive pair of stand-mount speakers by Kii.

These are Kii Three speakers, containing drivers, Amps and Dacs.....so nothing that Linn are not already providing except in a more compact package.

These have an Ethernet connection (I believe Steve was using bog standard Cat5e) to the controller (small box with a rotary knob for volume) and interfacing his network he's using a similarly diminutive raspberry pi based streamer.

Folks.....sat in the sweet spot (align your head with his log-burner) central to the speakers and wow.....what an audio moment!!! These things sing....detailed (yet with an underlying warmth) and with precise timing....right on the money. For the bass freaks among us.....these bely their compact size and (according to Steve) reach down to around 20Hz (frankly I'm not going to question that) but with a punch (you can literally feel the air move).

It's not often my non-technical partner Stella is impressed by anything HiFi (she does love her music though) but told me if Steve should want to sell them (for some way below the £10k retail price) then I am to buy them and sell all my other paraphernalia!!!

So to all Pink-fishers out there thinking of a directional change (incorporating a move solely to digital) with £10k to burn (less once you've flogged all your old boxes) I'd give a pair of Kii speakers a test drive.

All that's left is for me to thank Steve for ruining my weekend by so completely trashing my current naim system I want to cry.....or sell it all and start again!!

Top bloke too Steve.
 
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I am a big friend of the "other way" - I have a Raspberry Pi driving a DSP crossover, hidden away in a cabinet, with UTP (ethernet) cables to the active amps living in the speaker stands, so only "visible" things are the speakers and the phone or tablet acting as user interface.
 
I'm a fan of the other way also but in this case I mean totally eschewing anything digital other than a digital source. There will be no DSP, Raspberry Pi's, wireless, ethernet, class D or any of that nonsense in my system! Why? Pure prejudice. I don't design, repair, build or use digital audio equipment and therefore I don't want to have it in my system. A big issue with digital is it is virtually impossible to repair it and it is obsolete in a couple of years anyway. I wouldn't have equipment I can't repair or modify as I see fit. Convenience is something I eschew as well and don't even use remote controls. Lack of trailing wires and fitting in with the decor... anyone who has been round my place would laugh as hard as me! Not even a consideration!
I also think analogue is ultimately better, although for vastly more money than digital.
 
It's not a proper hobby if you don't have crap everywhere and lots of stuff to fiddle with...this is a bit like telling the guy with multiple outbuildings full of parts and several classic bikes in various states of rebuild after their most recent breakdowns, that he could buy a new Yamaha and have just as much fun on the road! It might be true, but it misses the point!
 
KEF Wireless LS50 speakers will also do a similar job for £2K. You only need add a working internet and a smartphone.

If I am ever forced to downsize - that is where I will be going.
 
With all your boxes, cables, racks and tables, have you paid any attention to positioning of your speaker and ears in your listening room?

In other words, can you separate the differences that you heard in Steve's room from his equipment and his room compared to your equipment and your room?
 
Guy's
I'm sure it can be done cheaper....and yep Meridain, Linn, etc have been around for a few years doing this sort of thing.....what I was driving at is for anybody thinking of looking into a wholly digital NAS or PC based System, have a listen to these speakers.

I also fully understand some people just love to tinker with their 'boxes' and that for many others (myself included) a £10k spend on my hi-fi kit is below several of my other fiscal priorities....so we use our multiple box solutions.

Bottom line is KiiThree speakers (to my, and my partners ears) sound really rather good!
 
Jeez.....this is all turning a bit 'flat earth' now guys.....and I can say to my ears at least, SteveH's solution definitely sounds better than mine (that's a naim CD5X, Flatcap 2X, Supernait 2 and a pair of naim Ovator 400's....so not exactly a shabby system).
 
By the same token My Pal Dave (also of these parts...Mongedave) has a giant pair of Avantgarde Duo's fed from his Dac via a 1watt headphone amp which although massively proportioned can be forgiven for being so, due to the amazing sound quality that comes from them!!!
 
Meridian, KEF etc don’t produce a cardioid response ,aren’t nearly as versatile in terms of placement aren’t ‘full-range’ speaker’s such as the Kiis and Dutch&Dutch are undoubtedly the future.
Keith
 
Did Steve still have his Shahinians there when you heard the Kiis?
Their phase coherence,cardioid response, virtual point source, advantages would have been completely self evident if you heard his old system against the Kii THREE.
Keith
 
No....he did tell me he used to own a pair, but has now been fully converted to his new minimalist approach to sonic heaven so I believe he has flogged it all!? I picked up and purchased his old Mana sound table and Rack....for which with little or no 'boxes' these days he no longer needs!
 
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kimbleman said:
So guys,

Traditionally we listen to our music using a bunch of boxes, a turntable maybe, a pair of speakers all linked up with a pile of spaghetti (cables)....oh and all sat on a 'rack' of some description.

I met up with SteveH from these parts last Friday afternoon (myself and my better half Stella as I took the missus along too) for a demonstration of 'another way' to listen to your tunes without the need for clogging up your real estate with said boxes.

So Steve has a lovely house....contemporary with a great listening space, within which sits an unassuming (although to my taste) attractive pair of stand-mount speakers by Kii.

These are Kii Three speakers, containing drivers, Amps and Dacs.....so nothing that Linn are not already providing except in a more compact package.

These have an Ethernet connection (I believe Steve was using bog standard Cat5e) to the controller (small box with a rotary knob for volume) and interfacing his network he's using a similarly diminutive raspberry pi based streamer.

Folks.....sat in the sweet spot (align your head with his log-burner) central to the pair and wow.....what an audio moment!!! These things sing....detailed (yet with an underlying warmth) and precise, timing....on the money. Bass freaks.....these bely their compact size and (according to Steve) reach down to around 20Hz (frankly I'm not going to question that) but with a punch (you can literally feel the air move).
Click to expand...

Linn is not playing in the same league.

kimbleman said:
It's not often my non-technical partner Stella is impressed by anything HiFi (she does love her music though) but told me if Steve should want to sell them (for some way below the £10k retail price) then I am to buy them and sell all my other paraphernalia!!!
Click to expand...

Was it the sound or rther a combination of design/form factor, absence of cables and impossibility to replace components or add tweaks? :D
 
10k for active speakers will never be the future for the mass

what we need is good fullrange speakers under 3k. something like the Tekton DI, ect are the future
 
kimbleman said:
So guys,

Traditionally we listen to our music using a bunch of boxes, a turntable maybe, a pair of speakers all linked up with a pile of spaghetti (cables)....oh and all sat on a 'rack' of some description.

I met up with SteveH from these parts last Friday afternoon (myself and my better half Stella as I took the missus along too) for a demonstration of 'another way' to listen to your tunes without the need for clogging up your real estate with said boxes.

So Steve has a lovely house....contemporary with a great listening space, within which sits an unassuming (although to my taste) attractive pair of stand-mount speakers by Kii.

These are Kii Three speakers, containing drivers, Amps and Dacs.....so nothing that Linn are not already providing except in a more compact package.

These have an Ethernet connection (I believe Steve was using bog standard Cat5e) to the controller (small box with a rotary knob for volume) and interfacing his network he's using a similarly diminutive raspberry pi based streamer.

Folks.....sat in the sweet spot (align your head with his log-burner) central to the pair and wow.....what an audio moment!!! These things sing....detailed (yet with an underlying warmth) and precise, timing....on the money. Bass freaks.....these bely their compact size and (according to Steve) reach down to around 20Hz (frankly I'm not going to question that) but with a punch (you can literally feel the air move).

It's not often my non-technical partner Stella is impressed by anything HiFi (she does love her music though) but told me if Steve should want to sell them (for some way below the £10k retail price) then I am to buy them and sell all my other paraphernalia!!!

So to all Pink-fishers out there thinking of a directional change (incorporating a move solely to digital) with £10k to burn (less once you've flogged all your old boxes) I'd give a pair of Kii speakers a test drive.

All that's left is for me to thank Steve for ruining my weekend by so completely trashing my current naim system I want to cry.....or sell it all and start again!!

Top bloke too Steve.
Click to expand...
How much is this brand new old technology?
 
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