Toronto Audiofest 2019

Kii Audio Powered Speakers, Oracle Turntable, Benz Micro Cartridge, Nordost Cables

Robert Schryer  |  Oct 21, 2019

As noted in the spec sheet being handed out in Executive Stereo's room, each Kii Three loudspeaker ($CAD23,000/pair), which stands all of a foot high (the bottom portion of the speaker in the photo is a subwoofer, which was not being used during my visit), is stuffed with six drivers, six amps that generate a total of 3000W, and six DACs.

When I read that, I admit: The purist in me balked. There's no way these speakers will sound pure, I thought smugly. I was wrong. In fact, the Kii Audio Threes, which use digital signal processing to control the relative phase and timing of its drivers, sounded exactly that: pure. Connected directly from a laptop via a handheld controller (imagine a portable preamp), a configuration that does away with interconnects or speaker cabling altogether, the music that filled the room sounded rich and full, even at very low volume, with wonderful color and tactility.

Nordost cabling was then used to plug an EAR 88PB phono preamp ($CAD5400) directly into the Kii's analog input (switching between digital and analog sources is done via the Kii controller), while record-playing duty was performed by an Oracle Paris turntable ($CAD4950 with tonearm) fitted with a Benz Micro Ace cartridge ($CAD595). Compared to the purely digital setup, I heard improved musical flow and more bloom and dimensionality from instruments through the analog rig.

COMMENTS
tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 21, 2019 - 1:18pm

You don't seem like a balker, of course, you're looking at a Room with $30,000 worth of balk. ( probably more considering those Sub woofers and Cabling )

Active LS out of Northern Europe have already dominated the Pro-Audio World.

But...

I kinda agree, the conservative Quad Elecronics appeals to my 1950s sensibilities.

I know many people with Actives that abandoned Passive w/pricy Cabling.

Actives solve many problems quite well.

What saves any existing Audiophile is the extravagant abundance of outstanding "Previously Loved" Gear for less than 1/10 th. the Price of this Glorious New Technology.

Yet:

Demo Meridian Actives are nearly given away. ( here in Florida where they are sold as part of a Home Theater System )

Tony in Venice

ps. Genelec is easily worth owning.

JRT's picture
Submitted by JRT on October 21, 2019 - 5:11pm

(self-moderating edit: I removed a spam-like link to a website of a Canadian vendor selling this Kii system)

The powered bass bins are "BXT extension modules", and cost more than the monitors.

The system is comprised of: (in Canadian Loonies)
2 x Kii Three speakers ($9995.00/each)
2 x BXT extension modules ($13995.00/each
1 x Kii Control unit ($2500.00/each)

Total with system discount is $46995.00 Canadian.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 21, 2019 - 4:34pm

You better be careful here, that new Editor will get after y'all, deservedly !

Well, I guess we're learning what a well engineered system can do when we civilians turn the smart guys loose and don't insist on helping by some odd favorite pre-amp or other such mistake blundering.

I still have a problem trying to connect the Dots here:

How can a set of Mono Amps for $170,000 be Justified? What Planet are we on?

I'm having trouble justifying $50,000.

Probably, the guys Owning this level Gear are members of Golf Clubs that I'll never be invited to.

Oh well, at least we get to learn of Reviewer's Glowing afterglow.

Tony in Venice

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on October 21, 2019 - 6:23pm

... the speaker makers start putting power meters in them of the ostentatious kind you see from McIntosh or D'Agostino.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on October 21, 2019 - 6:58pm

Analog meters or digital meters or digitally (DSP) controlled, analog meters? :-) .......

JRT's picture
Submitted by JRT on October 22, 2019 - 5:42pm

Something like this?

https://www.waves.com/plugins/vu-meter

https://www.waves.com/1lib/pdf/plugins/vu-meter.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtT5QKCf-UY

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on October 22, 2019 - 6:34pm

Meters like they have on CH Precision gear (amps etc.) ........ They look more modern ........ The display should have touch screen with various displays and scroll through capabilities ........ Think, smartphone, smart watch, tablet displays type ....... We are talking about wireless, Wi-Fi, WiSA capable, active loudspeakers here :-) .........

JRT's picture
Submitted by JRT on October 22, 2019 - 5:47pm

Active loudspeakers of the type where everything is integrated into each of the individual loudspeakers spreads things out and requires more of everything, eg, more power supplies, and that increases costs.

When all of the amplifiers are in one enclosure, then the associated power supplies can be shared, the enclosure is shared (most especially the front and rear panels), circuit board real estate can be shared, fewer chassis connectors are needed, less switch gear is needed, etc.

All of that saves cost. Regardless pricing, cost matters, except in products utilizing the marketing gimmick of displaying an ostentatious disregard for product cost (OTL tube amplifiers, magic snake oil electrical cables, etc.).

allhifi's picture
Submitted by allhifi on October 26, 2019 - 5:01pm

T-in-V: What "sensibilities" existed in the 1950's ? Nice try. Nostalgia waxes a bit too poetic sometimes, as in this time.

AND: " ...Demo Meridian Actives are nearly given away."

Cruz, Meridian Active is crap -a Bobby Stuart fantasy that generates big talk -and small dividends. Heck, consider Mostly Quacky Audio ...

P-in-Ham.

Kal Rubinson's picture
Submitted by Kal Rubinson on October 21, 2019 - 2:48pm

Surely, no surprise since the Kii Three was Stereophile's Products of 2017 Overall Component of the Year.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/stereophiles-products-2017-overall-component-year
https://www.stereophile.com/content/kii-audio-three-loudspeaker

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 21, 2019 - 4:43pm

They were around $14,000, seems rather low in price.

Did you keep them?

How was it that you got to review this kind of product ? You even did those B&O powerhouses, I almost reserved a night at the Mark Hotel in NY,NY just to hear them. The Mark Hotel has B&O in every Room.

Tony in Venice

Kal Rubinson's picture
Submitted by Kal Rubinson on October 21, 2019 - 5:49pm

1. $14,000USD, not Canadian.
2. No but it was a tough choice.
3. I review them because I am curious and these are valid and novel design efforts.
4. I've heard the B&O's in a number of places but they do not always sound as good as they could. Who knows how much care was taken at the Mark Hotel and whether it was maintained.

Jim Austin's picture
Submitted by Jim Austin on October 21, 2019 - 7:50pm

"The Mark Hotel has B&O in every Room."

Really? That's just down the street from Kal! Kal, did you arrange this? ;-)

Seriously, is this a real thing? Wish it were in my neighborhood. I'd put up all my guests there!

Jim Austin, Editor
Stereophile

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 22, 2019 - 5:59am

Mark Hotel has B&O Systems in every Room not the big B&O Loudspeaker System , that Kal reviewed, in every room.

The Mark has a mega buck Super Suite that comes with a Valet and other extremes.

As it happened, my son was Staff at the Mark and I could've had a "Family" rate.

Even so, as wonderful as that big B&O might be, it isn't something I would own.

Tony in Venice

ps. Today, more than ever, Pride has become a Nationalist Consideration, Jason Stoddard's Schiit, Paul McGowan, Klipsch, etc. are the sorts of things I'm proudly promoting. I wear a Bernie Sanders Hat with a "Made in USA" sticker.

ps. 2. ) Funny thing: I seemed to have missed-out on Mr.Deutsch's entire Era of writings. His being presented with an Award triggered a rearward glance in Stereophile's Archives ( back to 1990ish ).
This man started out writing 5,000 word pieces of facinating thoughts & useful opinions. I'm in for some dam good Binge-reading.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 22, 2019 - 6:01am

Mark Hotel has B&O Systems in every Room not the big B&O Loudspeaker System , that Kal reviewed, in every room.

The Mark has a mega buck Super Suite that comes with a Valet and other extremes.

As it happened, my son was Staff at the Mark and I could've had a "Family" rate.

Even so, as wonderful as that big B&O might be, it isn't something I would own.

Tony in Venice

ps. Today, more than ever, Pride has become a Nationalist Consideration, Jason Stoddard's Schiit, Paul McGowan, Klipsch, etc. are the sorts of things I'm proudly promoting. I wear a Bernie Sanders Hat with a "Made in USA" sticker.

ps. 2. ) Funny thing: I seemed to have missed-out on Mr.Deutsch's entire Era of writings. His being presented with an Award triggered a rearward glance in Stereophile's Archives ( back to 1990ish ).
This man started out writing 5,000 word pieces of facinating thoughts & useful opinions. I'm in for some dam good Binge-reading. Thank You !

Jim Austin's picture
Submitted by Jim Austin on October 22, 2019 - 6:09am

The Mark has a mega buck Super Suite that comes with a Valet and other extremes.

I assume that's the kind of valet that helps you get dressed, not the kind that parks your car. Having dressed myself for more than half a century,I would find that very strange.

I've never heard the big B&O in a familiar room and system, but I know that Kal was intrigued by them, and we share some tastes.

Enjoy the deep dive into Bob's writing. I only really discovered it not too long ago when I binged on older preamplifier reviews. Good stuff--you're in for a treat.

Jim Austin, Editor
Stereophile

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 22, 2019 - 7:00am

The place caters to folks like Oprah who travel with Staff. It's not a comfortable cozy sort of arrangement, the whole place stays Formal, the Valet helps with clothes & towels ( jeeves ).

Binge reading:

Stereophile's Archives seems an immense body of work. I even happened upon a late 1990s interview with Mike Moffat ( including a photo of Mike showing him as rather young person ).

Now, I'm realizing that Stereophile has become "The Curators" of all things Audiophile. A kind-of Encyclopedia Britannica or even a Oxford English Dictionary ( lexicon ) of the Audiophile World, NOT a Marketing Tool for Advertisers .

Thanks

Tony in Venice

supamark's picture
Submitted by supamark on October 23, 2019 - 1:10am

I really appreciate Stereophile's dedication to putting its archives online, they're both a great resource on older/classic gear but often just plain good reading as well.

I wish your sister pub Sound and Vision did that with the Stereo Review archives (but turn comments off to avoid Julian Hirsch hate lol). But then, I'm saddend that we'll likely never see the archives of Audio Magazine online (assuming anything more than print copies in people's attics even exists) because they didn't really make it to the internet age. At least many of Audio's stable of reviewers are still active at AVTech and elsewhere (like LG and I think TJN here).

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on October 29, 2019 - 9:32am

... Stereo Review and Audio - among many other titles - are available on this site:
https://www.americanradiohistory.com/index.htm

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on October 21, 2019 - 4:50pm

KR is working on 2020 product of the year award winner the new Lexicon SL-1 :-) .........

supamark's picture
Submitted by supamark on October 22, 2019 - 1:05am

that Harmon chose the Lexicon brand to release this, instead of one of the speaker focused brands.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on October 22, 2019 - 8:53am

Lexicon has a long history/experience in signal processing ......... This includes DSP and their famous Logic-7 ........ Harman uses Logic-7 in several automobile audio systems under their own different brand names like Revel, harman/kardon etc. ....... The 'SoundSteer' technology used in the SL-1 speakers, most likely implement a lot of DSP ......... Those SL-1 speakers are also Wi-Fi and WiSA capable ....... Those speaker drivers and amplification technology were most likely provided by other Harman brands like Revel, JBL, Infinity. Rotel, Mark Levinson, Crown etc. :-) ..........

supamark's picture
Submitted by supamark on October 23, 2019 - 12:50am

Please don't condescend to me. I know who Lexicon is, I was a professional recording engineer and was working with (and owned a few of) their delays and reverbs 35 years ago. They were astonishingly terrible at user interfaces, I hope that's improved. We only put up with the interfaces because they made very good reverb and delay units.

The comment was obviously about the speaker part, it's not their forte and marketing it as a, "Revel w/ DSP by Lexicon," speaker would have been more logical in my view. but then turning Lexicon into a "lifestyle" product company is weird to me as well - their roots are in pro audio going way back.

also, why do you use different user names on the various AVTech sites? Is it because you spam (aka sh*tpost) so much, or to know which platform generated which reply?

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on October 23, 2019 - 8:10am

See KR's 2017 CES report for Stereophile, about the Lexicon SL-1 ......... That show report is available online ....... KR writes favorably about the SL-1 ......... That is the reason why, I was suggesting to KR to review them for Stereophile ......... If he reviews them, we will know about their performance and sound quality, in more detail ........ We will also possibly know their measurements by JA1 ....... I haven't heard them personally (yet) :-) .........
Like you mentioned, they may indeed be Revel speakers with Lexicon technology and amplification by Harman's other brands ........ Revel probably did not want their name put on them, because they compete with their own passive speakers which cost less .......... Those SL-1 speakers cost almost twice as much as Revel's top of the line Ultima Salon2 :-) ........
BTW ...... I'm not condescending you, and I don't spam :-) ..........

supamark's picture
Submitted by supamark on October 22, 2019 - 12:51am

For me, a big proponent of active monitors, my main issue with the ones with DSP built in is that you cannot choose your DAC(s). The difference between DAC types (like R-2R vs delta/sigma) can be pretty significant.

If they want to make serious inroads w/ audiophiles they should give the option to use your own DAC (S/PDIF digital out(s) + direct to amp inputs, like a tape loop from ye olde days). Since the DSP is based on the acoustic output of the speaker the DAC doesn't matter to its functionality.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on October 22, 2019 - 8:38am

Those speakers come with a 'wireless controller hub' called SLC-1 ........ That hub has several inputs ....... Take a look at their product brochure ........ That hub may be able to serve that purpose, you are mentioning :-) .........

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