Kii Audio - Three

Keith, with the Kii controller due only in Q1 206, would you be aware of the options for controlling the volume when using the digital input?

With the analog input, I suppose one can use a pre-amp or the internal volume control of, say, the DAC.

Thanks.
 
I have just asked Chris about the controller, when we discussed it before, he intimated it wouldn't be unlike the Grimm remote interns of function, ie volume and source selection.
I will update as soon as I hear.
KR Keith.
 
Kii Threes at the Gydotron Audio show in Belgium

12031452_634606220009625_299879313734917048_o.jpg

If I may quote Jem666 from another forum, who attended the event:

"Two observations right of the bat. Although bass was articulate and musical, it was not felt, but one can put that on the roomsize's account. Secondly the imaging was simply otherworthly. I appreciate that the tracklist favoured music that made the speakers strut their stuff, but I have never, never ever heard such accuracy. It left me speechless and with a rather awkward feeling of shock and awe as my brains were trying to process what I just experienced."


"Part of the hobby is mixing, matching, tuning, swapping components; with these speakers ADC/DAC, DSP and Amps are all incorporated in the speaker and they are engineered and matched for maximum performance. It is an engineering marvel that delivers on its promise "Face the Music". To hear width, depth, spacing between instruments in an acoustically compromised setting with this level of accuracy was mindblowing.

The search for purity of sound through choice of components becomes obsolete and irrelevant. I'm struggling with this. For me, at the end of the day, it is all about the music...with this level of performance, it shouldn't matter what makes the air molecules vibrate...but abandoning my beloved McIntosh Proac setup is just something I'm not ready for...yet. Although I know the Kii Three would solve my acoustical issues as they minimize bass buildup behind corner placed speakers as is the case at my place.

I thought I knew what it meant to hear a holographic soundstage...haha...not...until I heard the Kii's. They just deliver pure music, the closest to live music as I can remember...compared to the Coltranes, also at the Gydotron showcase, they were lightyears ahead...it just doesn't compute."
 
Latest info on the Kii remote - taking longer than anticipated:

This will be called the Kii CONTROL.

The Kii Control will function as your digital preamp to switch between multiple sources and control the volume within the Kii Three.
It will also offer a second digital input and a USB input to directly connect your Mac or PC. The Kii Control easily connects to the Three via a single CAT5 cable and can be IR controlled.

A pair of Kii Threes, a Kii Control and any music streamer or CD drive can make up a modern, minimal yet outstanding hifi system for your home.

Affordable, elegant and easy to use, but still offering a perfectly audiophile listening experience! We plan to release the Kii Control in Q2 / 2016 for a very affordable price.
 
Yesterday the day was finally there to hear the Kii speakers in a demo in The Netherlands.
That is a great speaker! From the very first moment the sound was good and big, not something you would match with a speaker that size. The bass is truly remarkable. Behind the speaker is no bass! The bass frequencies are neutralize by phase counteracting by the DSP's. So no disturbing room issues or reverb due to bass building up behind the speakers in the corners. The thing that is impressing most is the imaging. These speakers create a wonderful and surely correct representation of the room the music was recorded. The sound is really addictive and I am sure this will be a big hit.
Now do I consider these speakers to replace my 802 Diamonds? No. The Kii is a small speaker. Even though they play big and pretty loud (thanks Kii team for demoing in this realistic way) they are not capable of playing as big and still relaxing as the 802Di. Also the amount of detail in the high is not there. The diamond tweeter is there for a reason...

I do consider to buy a pair for in the kitchen / dinner room. And if Kii comes with the 5 or 7 or whatever they will call a bigger version and they will use a tweeter with more detail I am in!

Kiidemo.jpg
 
Its measured response tick all the boxes , the science seems solid , unfortunately it wont allow you to overcome physics and those already with large format speakers maynot be swayed.




Its technically strong thou and this may be the all in one active speaker to break the mold .....
 
Let me first say I'm sure they will be high performance speakers, the design approach is solid.

However, I have a bit of experience myself, and of all the things that are important when designing a loudspeakers, IMO by far the #1 most important part of the final result is the drivers used. The drivers set the performance ceiling for just how good a speaker can be. It's the designers job to extract 100% of what's possible, but if the drivers are compromised you're throttling back the performance potential from the start.

With the Kii, the Seas DXT tweeter is a good tweeter but nowhere near the top of the food chain. I don't like their faceplate/waveguide design with the intentional diffraction rings to boost sensitivity and provide some directivity control. It works in those ways, but also introduces significant and measurable energy storage. And again IMO, time domain performance is extremely important in the overall perceived sound of a driver. If a driver, such as the tweeter used by Kii, stores energy it will obscure detail and tonal accuracy is compromised by the harmonics smearing together. And their woofers I don't know anything about other than they're aluminum cone, which given the fact that the tweeter can't go any lower than 1600-1800hz, would give cause for concern. Many aluminum cones of that size have problems crossing over that high, but I'd need more data before saying anything other than suspicions.

My point is drivers used make or break a speaker. In this case the drivers aren't anything to get excited about.
 
Purité Audio said:
I used to have 802's and then 800's and they are decent speakers, but their Fr is hardly flat,I
always found the treble a little hot, as corroborated by their measurements.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/bw-802d-loudspeaker-measurements#PEFKHZcjxWVg6WXd.97

It does take a while to get used to a flatter response but IMHO in the end more rewarding.
Keith.
Click to expand...
Keith, I don't have the 802D. I have the Diamond which is a completely different character. Nevertheless, frequency response might not be flat. I do hear what I hear however.

a.wayne said:
Its measured response tick all the boxes , the science seems solid , unfortunately it wont allow you to overcome physics and those already with large format speakers maynot be swayed.
Click to expand...
Yes that is what I have experienced. Although they have made a huge step.

Vapor1 said:
With the Kii, the Seas DXT tweeter is a good tweeter but nowhere near the top of the food chain.
Click to expand...
This is why I didn't like the high. Now I know the reason.
 
The 802D had the diamond tweeter as did the first iteration of the 800, as I mentioned it does take a while to get used to a flatter response, excess HF is often perceived as greater resolution.
Ultimately a flatter response allows one to hear exactly what is on the disc, the B&Ws aren't bad though.
Keith.
 
Vapor1 said:
Let me first say I'm sure they will be high performance speakers, the design approach is solid.

However, I have a bit of experience myself, and of all the things that are important when designing a loudspeakers, IMO by far the #1 most important part of the final result is the drivers used. The drivers set the performance ceiling for just how good a speaker can be. It's the designers job to extract 100% of what's possible, but if the drivers are compromised you're throttling back the performance potential from the start.

With the Kii, the Seas DXT tweeter is a good tweeter but nowhere near the top of the food chain. I don't like their faceplate/waveguide design with the intentional diffraction rings to boost sensitivity and provide some directivity control. It works in those ways, but also introduces significant and measurable energy storage. And again IMO, time domain performance is extremely important in the overall perceived sound of a driver. If a driver, such as the tweeter used by Kii, stores energy it will obscure detail and tonal accuracy is compromised by the harmonics smearing together. And their woofers I don't know anything about other than they're aluminum cone, which given the fact that the tweeter can't go any lower than 1600-1800hz, would give cause for concern. Many aluminum cones of that size have problems crossing over that high, but I'd need more data before saying anything other than suspicions.

My point is drivers used make or break a speaker. In this case the drivers aren't anything to get excited about.
Click to expand...
Look at the frequency response both on and off axis, look at the step response , SEAS make superb drivers and their implementation in the Kii design is in a class of their own.
Keith
 
@ Glareskin, thanks for the impressions. Looks like you are not the only one who commented on, and was amazed by, the sound staging abilities.

Based on what I understand from Kii, the expected bigger and floorstanding model is expected to be out only in 2017. Hopefully, they can accelerate the roll out. The Kii controller was due in Q1 2016 but has been rescheduled for Q2 2016 - were using a blacked out Grimm Audio USB interface for the demo?

Bruno kept the SEAS DXT tweeter (from the Grimm LS1) but changed the mid/woofer drivers for the Kii Three. So, hopefully, by the time the floorstander is out, the tweeter would have been upgraded (with accompanying changes to the mid/woofers too).
 
There was conjecture, on the What's Best Forum, that the SQ on active speakers with onboard dac's will suffer if they are being fed by an additional DAC because the signal is being converted an extra round. This may be why the Kii's reportedly sounded much better by Sunday at RMAF after the PS Audio Dac was removed and they played the speakers direct from a digital source. But I have to wonder, wouldn't Bruno, the brains behind the Kii's already have been aware of this...? It strikes as a little odd that they didn't have their speakers set up optimally until the (second, or third?) day of the show.
 
I wasn't impressed by what I heard at RMAF on Friday and Saturday. Not sure if it was the room, speakers or source.
 
I agree

What I heard Saturday in the Kii room was BAD. I can't think of one positive to it. But shows are hard so that doesn't mean bad product. But the sound was terrible.
 
Willco said:
There was conjecture, on the What's Best Forum, that the SQ on active speakers with onboard dac's will suffer if they are being fed by an additional DAC because the signal is being converted an extra round. This may be why the Kii's reportedly sounded much better by Sunday at RMAF after the PS Audio Dac was removed and they played the speakers direct from a digital source. But I have to wonder, wouldn't Bruno, the brains behind the Kii's already have been aware of this...? It strikes as a little odd that they didn't have their speakers set up optimally until the (second, or third?) day of the show.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this. If it was as bad as a lot have reported they should have heard this within the first few hours of setting up the room. Strange it took them two full days to figure this out.
 
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