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I have now heard the Kii Three!

If I was starting again this is the direction I would go. As it stands I am rather attached to my multiple boxes LPs/CD's. I hope to try some active speakers soon & this could open the door to more radical changes.
 
I thought the Kii + BXT was probably the best sound at the Munich show. Unfortunately Mr Kii was dismissive and rude when we asked him to play some music we recognised, even though the room was nearly empty at the end of the trade day.

When I had the Kii3s at home I thought the bass was the biggest weakness. My impression is that the BXT fixes this.
It could be concluded that the overblown and boomy bass produed by almost all the big speakers at Munich was down to the room, however the Kii/BXT bass was just superb, so this is clearly not the case!
 
I can only speak for F115, (one of the first floor rooms at the MOC) but there the walls were thin fibreboard, with glass walls/windows at both ends, there was very little reinforcement for bass frequencies.
Keith
 
Purité Audio said:
I can only speak for F115, (one of the first floor rooms at the MOC) but there the walls were thin fibreboard, with glass walls/windows at both ends, there was very little reinforcement for bass frequencies.
Keith
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Why would a speaker with cardioid bass care what the wall behind it was made of?
 
The Kiis are pretty much immune to the room, but traditional speakers aren’t of course, and it was traditional ( horns in this case) speakers that we used in F115.
 
I am not sure how anyone can listen to a system properly at a show no matter how well it’s set up.
I find I need complete peace and quiet and no distractions.
And even then I need to live with something for a while before I really get it.
I would have sent a lot of stuff back over the years on first listen, under pressure to like it there and then :)
Long story short I wasn’t too sure about my Kii to start with but I now find them absolutely stunning after a few weeks.

I have them set as corner - about 10/12 on the dial to even out the sub 50hz bass that would otherwise bounce off the front / side wall which are only about 30 cm away.

Bass is there in spades if it’s meant to be. Eg Massive attack Mezzanine - really rich and deep and musical even on 20% volume. But on other pop and rock Like QOTSA / Foo Fighters it’s not as obvious as it wasn’t recorded that way - but is definitely all there amongst the other instruments right where it should be :)
And I get no bass boom at all in corners where I had big issues before with Devialet Phantom gold even after going through Dspeaker antimode.

I am also especially impressed with the “attack” if that’s the right word. Again even on quiet volumes snare drums / breakbeats / transient sounds are so precise and forward and “razor Sharp” for want of a more hifi word :) Black Origami has loads of percussion and they really shine.

But never comes across as dry or clinical for me - I guess it’s all down to personal taste.
 
AndyU said:
Why would a speaker with cardioid bass care what the wall behind it was made of?
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I think they are only cardioid above 50hz. For the low frequencies they can just be lowered to account for the fact they will be amplified if close to a reflective wall - therefore making them flat again as if the wall wasn’t there making it louder.
I think :)
 
Rather an interesting thread - as it has reminded me that I actually heard the Kii speakers at the Ascot event. They had such an effect on me that I forgot to mention them in my post!

More seriously, I did think they were pretty good speakers but the detail and bass reminded me too much of my old Focal Diablos - too clinical. I found that a bit of a turn off. In fact the epitome of what I expect to hear at a hifi show - very 'hihi' rather than natural. I preferred Titans at the show - and Magico but that was a silly price system
 
ex brickie said:
Rather an interesting thread - as it has reminded me that I actually heard the Kii speakers at the Ascot event. They had such an effect on me that I forgot to mention them in my post!

More seriously, I did think they were pretty good speakers but the detail and bass reminded me too much of my old Focal Diablos - too clinical. I found that a bit of a turn off. In fact the epitome of what I expect to hear at a hifi show - very 'hihi' rather than natural. I preferred Titans at the show - and Magico but that was a silly price system
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That was my impression, somehow my favourite music became impressive hifi. That is not a criticism as such, as they are great monitors and ideal for some non classical genres. For me, however, I was always aware of hearing hifi rather than music. They certainly needed the BXT module, which of course makes them very expensive. I did like the design though and for anyone with limited space they could be a good compromise.
 
From the comments of those hearing the Kii 3 at HiFi shows and elsewhere, to what degree is familiarity with room effects on bass and other parts of the frequency range, having on listeners hearing such “clean delivery” for possibly the first time from a HiFi system?

For example, many audiophiles seemingly prefer, or are more comfortable with a bit of distortion and colouration.

Runs for cover.........
 
FL390 said:
From the comments of those hearing the Kii 3 at HiFi shows and elsewhere, to what degree is familiarity with room effects on bass and other parts of the frequency range, having on listeners hearing such “clean delivery” for possibly the first time from a HiFi system?

For example, many audiophiles seemingly prefer, or are more comfortable with a bit of distortion and colouration.

Runs for cover.........
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That’s a good point. The same is often said of people hearing electrostatics for the first time; they can sound very odd until you realise that it is the conventional boxes that are odd. The first time I heard electrostatics was at the science museum, a very long time ago, I was startled by how realistic the sound of a piano coming from them was.

In some ways this new breed of loudspeaker goes half way to realistic sound by sorting out some of the room problems, but to get a convincing illusion of the original performance the total of loudspeaker and room has to be considered. IME and IMO if you reduce the effect of the room too much the sound becomes more like “hifi” and less like an illusion of the real thing. It’s a question of which balance of approaches works for the individual and as such there is no absolute right and wrong way of doing things.

Having a rather lively room I thought that this new breed of speaker would solve all my problems. In coping better with room they, sadly, threw the music out with the bath water.
 
FL390 said:
From the comments of those hearing the Kii 3 at HiFi shows and elsewhere, to what degree is familiarity with room effects on bass and other parts of the frequency range, having on listeners hearing such “clean delivery” for possibly the first time from a HiFi system?

For example, many audiophiles seemingly prefer, or are more comfortable with a bit of distortion and colouration.

Runs for cover.........
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I’ve heard them twice at different shows, with and without the BXT module. The BXT module helps. My impressions were very similar to camvertons, very “hi-fi”, very processed and electronic. Superficially impressive, fine for Diana Krall in the background, but not at all fine for classical music. I have spent 50 years or so listening to the “clean delivery” of real orchestras, choirs, chamber groups, pianos, and assorted other real instruments, so I think I have a clue what things should sound like, and I certainly don’t prefer distortion and colouration.

edited to add after seeing camvertons last post: I agree with you about electrostatics. Back in the day I had some ESL 57s, there were things they did that I have not heard bettered.
 
Woodface said:
I don't think the Kii 3 is expensive in the context of hi-fi
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With the bass module, which they need, they are 2-3 times the price of a decent Quad electrostatic system. They don’t sound as natural as the Quads but are much more convenient not needing separate amp or DAC and not being bloody great monoliths sited way out into the room. Both systems would need a sub to give that solid foundation to the bass although the Kiis get lower without, measurably so in fact, shame it doesn’t sound like it. I say that not because I like overblown deep bass, far from it.

So yes, they are expensive, albeit with decent sound for some situations but better sound can be had for much less.
 
I stand corrected, I am getting them mixed up with D&D, sorry, £30k is a lot. Thought they were in that ball park.
 
Woodface said:
I stand corrected, I am getting them mixed up with D&D, sorry, £30k is a lot. Thought they were in that ball park.
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It’s the bass units that bump the price up; the top speakers on their own are £10kish so those are in the same ballpark as the D&Ds.
 
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