The volume control is indented in the central position, which is recommended for normal use, though while slight adjustment may be necessary in some situations, monitoring levels should be controlled from your mixer or DAW.

In practical terms, what this means is that you’re hearing spatial details in the recording that allow your brain to place elements of the recording in the space around you. This gives the speakers a more natural, lifelike feel that exposes more of the detail of the material that you’re working on. This level of detail makes it easier to make critical decisions, as well as making these monitors pleasurable to mix on and listen to in general. 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.Kali Audio’s three-way IN-8s are unusual yet highly competent monitors. If you favour tonal integration, sharp focus and a holographic soundstage above all else, they’ll likely cater to all your monitoring requirements. Do I really need this?

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. The waveguide on the Lone Pine Series studio monitors ensures that the directivity of the loudspeaker is smooth throughout its frequency response. What’s more: it’s calibrated so that the sound power of the loudspeaker helps you to perceive sound accurately. This design, say Kali, delivers a “stereo soundstage that presents the listener with a hyper-realistic level of detail. The soundstage that you hear will have every detail that’s present in the mix”. Since I reviewed them I’ve had numerous requests to look at their entry level range. Project ‘Lone Pine’ consists of two models, the LP-6 and LP8. Now in their second wave ‘V2’ iterations, the model number designates the size of the midbass driver (six and eight inches respectively), but otherwise the two share a similar feature set. Naturally the LP8s have a slightly larger cabinet, approximately two inches (50 mm) taller and 1 inch (25 mm) wider and deeper, and 1.5KG heavier.Kali Audio is certainly one of the most successful new manufacturers of studio monitors, and the IN series is especially popular. The new Kali Audio IN-UNF builds on some of the same tech like coaxial mid and high frequency drivers, but in a compact 3-part system made to sit on your desk. I compared the LP-6s with a pair of RCF Ayra 5s that I’ve had for many years. They were my first reference monitor and a more apples to apples comparison. Also front-ported, they lose an inch to the LP-6s in the midbass driver but use a rectangular slotted port design, albeit less elaborate than the port of the Kali. The E8XT is a big, powerful monitor that doesn’t overstep the mark. Simple to set up and, importantly, excellent value for money. KRK’s Rokit monitors look and sound the best yet, and the RP7 represents an excellent balance of power, footprint and price. Diagram 2: A measurement of the IN‑5’s frequency response, from 100Hz‑20kHz. Second‑ and third‑harmonic distortion is shown in the dotted traces (green and red, respectively).

I was always impressed by the level of bass the Ayras could produce given their small driver and cabinet and that holds true to this day, though there’s no doubt the Kali LP-6 has the edge. More so than the extra inch of cone surface would suggest. The larger cabinet helps, but no doubt the efficiency of the driver and the clever port design are major contributors. Not to mention the more modern amplifiers, a total departure from the fully analogue, archaic class AB amps of the RCFs.Do we recommend it? A little like the IN-8’s themselves, WS-12 is overkill if your studio is small – this thing is huge – but it is a great option for bass producers. 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. Kali's latest speakers demonstrate some serious electro-acoustic know-how — and represent remarkable value for money. In all our years testing monitors there is really no better feeling than playing a mix you have been working on through better monitors; just hearing the clarity, the extra width and extra dynamic range. So far I like them more than the Eris, full and big sound, they seem even through out the full range frequencies (mayby and that's a big maybe, they have a touch sweeter highs). Zero hiss, several settings to adjust them for your room/placement. Unfortunately, I can't directy compare them with the Eris since they are not operational.

In the second option, which I've called 'Conservative', the port is tuned to 30Hz, which results in an increase in the -3dB point to about 70Hz and a drop in 50Hz group delay to about 5ms (yes, the group delay increases significantly at lower frequencies but they are not so musically significant). The system also rings only for a cycle.I mention the LP‑8 because the IN‑8 is actually somewhat related. The architecture of the LP‑8 is a 200mm bass/mid driver integrated with a generously waveguide–loaded 25mm fabric dome tweeter. For the IN‑8, Kali have borrowed the low-frequency elements of the LP‑8 — a similar driver, similar enclosure dimensions and reflex port — but swapped out the waveguide and tweeter for a concentrically arranged compound mid driver and tweeter. It essentially turns the two-way LP‑8 into a three-way design — one that offers the significant benefits of dual-concentric, or rather, dual-coincident, drivers. The WS-6.2 takes up slightly more than one cubic foot. It is about the same size as most 8-inch studio monitors, or about half as large as comparably performing subwoofers. This makes it ideal for use under your desk, or in other positions where space is at a premium Specs 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 Note that the bass unit needs to be located on a desktop, as it is not designed to be floor‑standing and will most likely sound wrong if placed on the floor. It can, however, be set up either horizontally or vertically, so you can choose the arrangement that suits your desk layout.