Kali Audio IN-8 2nd Wave

As someone who has used a lot of nearfield monitors over the years, I have to say that the Kali Audio IN-8 2nd Wave monitors are a cut above the rest. We recently purchased a pair of these monitors, and I have been blown away by their performance.

The sound of these monitors is incredibly well-balanced, with a clarity and detail that is hard to match. They have excellent translation, which means that the mix you hear on these monitors is likely to sound great on other playback systems as well.

The tweaking backend on these monitors is also exceptional. You have a lot of control over the sound, with options to adjust the high and low frequencies, as well as the overall volume. This level of versatility allows you to fine-tune the sound to your specific needs and preferences.

Overall, I highly recommend the Kali Audio IN-8 2nd Wave monitors to anyone looking for exceptional nearfield monitors with balanced sound and versatile tweaking options. They are a great investment that will help you achieve a more accurate and detailed mix.

To start off: I did end up getting the matching 6” sub as well, cause the bass just wasn’t there for me and I’ve tried them in two different small rooms. I don’t do music where bass is the focus, on the contrary you want some bass but absolutely not too much and I needed the sub to hear below 100 hz. Idk if it’s the room size or w/e. If you get by with checking sub 100hz on headphones then you probably will be fine without it.

That said, these are great. I’ve used a bunch of budget monitors over the years and have done a lot of tracking and attending mix sessions in studios equipped with more expensive genelecs. But this is the first time I’ve walked out of a session, got in the car, listened to the bounce and heard the exact same thing I just heard 5 minutes ago. Then come home and put on the stereo or headphones and, again, the same thing. They just translate. Even on my damn iPhone.

Character wise they feel quite flat, which compared to other speakers in the price range seems a bit mid-forward. Maybe a bit subdued treble which improves if you just sit a bit off axis. I don’t think it’s bad though, I can still judge the treble fine but without ear fatigue.

There’s a ton of mid-range detail. Great for working with rowdy diy rock sub-sub-subculture music with lots of noisy roomy instruments, and probably other genres that mainly live in the mids. If something sounds bad then it’s instantly noticeable. If it sounds good, then it sounds good. I don’t have to second guess myself with these.

The only thing lacking is the DSP. The dipswitches aren’t very usable. It would have been better to just have genelec-style switches with shelves and a few boost/dips throughout the spectrum. Like, I couldn’t fix my bass problem because the low-end shelf also raises low mids which there is plenty of. And all of the different boundary settings will raise and cut a bunch of different spots which may not be appropriate in your specific setting (even tho it technically matches the illustration). In real life there are more things in a room than just 4 walls and whatever the monitors sit on.

They are presented as the best BUDGET 3-way speakers because they literally have no competitors at this price point... It seems like a lot people these days are blown away by marketing strats & what's on paper rather than what they're actually hearing...
What you get is a cheap looking speaker with a cheap build quality that delivers decent highs, a clear midrange with a good stereo image and high spl... Now you may ask.. well what about the low-end? Exactly... In comparison to other 3-way speakers they just sound lifeless to me, you can barely feel the low-end energy even in bass heavy music. I'd only consider pairing them up with a good sub, but then again, why get 3-way speakers in the first place if you need a sub to hear what's happening in the lower range..

Disclaimer: I am a beginner when it comes to recording equipment, but I am playing guitar since 20 something years, also in a professional capacity.

These speakers make a great homesetup for me to record and mix guitar stuff coming out of my kemper going into a Focusrite interface.
I am thinking with this setup the next time we produce a record I can do all guitar recording at home which is really awesome :)
Also build quality and overall feel of the speakers is really good. I think for the price point of below 1000€ this is really the best choice one can make. Did some A/B testing with other models at a friends place and the Kali speakers really stood out in terms of clarity and adapting linearly to equalizing settings

I bought these speakers after reading positive reviews of them, and also the other Kali powered monitors.

At around £650 for a pair these are the most expensive monitors I have yet bought (they are for a home studio). A three way design splits the bass and mid drivers which means these speakers have good lows and a clear mid-range.

I have used cheaper powered monitors (Yamaha HS5 and Mackie MR624) and these are definitely a step in quality. They are quite large and therefore I have them on stands around 1.5m from my listening position.

They go plenty loud enough and have sufficient low end that I don't feel the need to use a sub-woofer.

A great pair of speakers that I am really happy with.