Kali Audio LP-6 vs LP-8 or something else?

[u/fuckyocouch96]

Currently looking to upgrade my studio monitors and could use some advice. I produce ambient drone-ish electronic music and have been using a crappy old pair of m audio monitors I found for dirt cheap a few years ago and I've made it work for me. I've recently started playing some live shows and on the club system I was noticing how much low end I'm missing and that when it is present it's poorly shaped and just sounds overall bad. I produce in a pretty small room that is untreated because its a shared office with my partner so getting a sub seems like a recipe for disaster. After doing some research it seems like the Kali Audio Lp's are the way to go, both in upgrading my monitors in general, as well as being able to hear some more low end info without bringing a sub into a problematic space. My question is if low end is a priority, would the LP-8's be worth it? I'm concerned that they might be to much for the space but also I've heard that if I really want low end that it's worth getting the larger speaker. The 6's are a more ideal size for my space but I'm worried the won't deliver when it comes to low end and I'll be in a similar situation.

[u/atopix]

My question is if low end is a priority, would the LP-8's be worth it?

In a small untreated room? Probably not. The LP-6 will be more than enough and if you need to check your low end, use a decent pair of headphones. Recommended read: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/learn-your-monitoring

And more speaker recommendations in the wiki but the LP-6 will be just fine of an upgrade from the M-Audios: https://www.reddit.com/r/mixingmastering/wiki/gear

[u/fuckyocouch96 → u/atopix]

thank you I appreciate the feedback! I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD-400's that I've used for close to a decade and they give me such bad ear fatigue so it might be time to upgrade both.

[u/JunkyardSam]

What's your room like? Following Andrew Scheps's advice -- you can make a huge difference just by loading up the room with dense furniture. Sofa, ottoman, loveseat, bed... Angled bookshelves in the corners with books pulled out unevenly to form an irregular surface... Carpet. Tapestries, wall hangings. Stuff from your ceiling, even... All that stuff adds up to form a night and day difference compared to one of those empty untreated minimal hardwood floor rooms on r / musicbattlestations.

Kali LP-6 or LP-8 is a great affordable option. Make sure you get the "second wave" or 2nd Gen speakers. They fixed an annoying standing noise issue the first round had.

Kali was a company started by some guys from JBL, and they had to be competitive out of the gate with their first speakers, and that's what the Lone Pine series offered. They have dip switches in the back that are helpful with room placement and tuning them to be a little brighter or darker, or boosting or rolling off some of the bass.

I would plan your purchase in part based on size. The LP-8s are pretty big, and are a bit awkward for desk positioning. They work better on speaker stands, which likely means further away from you than you probably want in an untreated room.

The LP-6s (or IN-5s if you can stretch the budget!) would be better for a desk. With regard to positioning -- you'll probably want them close enough to you that the tweeters are at ear level, maybe about arms length away. You want the speakers to hit your ears well before any reflections do. The Kalis are front-ported which should help.

As far as the lows go --- the LP-8s do indeed go down low. Low enough that you probably won't desire a subwoofer. I haven't heard the LP-6s, but a Kali representative downplayed the idea that they are significantly different in the low end. Official stats claim the LP-8s go down to 37hz and the LP-6s go to 39hz.

But again, size will be a determining factor. I've had them on my desk, pulled away from the wall a couple feet. That helps a lot. They're so big, though, that I ended up with them on stands in the corner of the room and... That's not ideal, although it's fine for kind of blasting the music when people are over.

I do like them enough that I'll probably upgrade to IN-5 or IN-8s eventually (I like Kali!), but it's not urgent.

The official stats claim they are pretty flat: https://www.kaliaudio.com/lone-pine-studio-monitors#Overview-Section-Lone-Pines --- of course your room can change that, especially in the low end or around ~180-220 hz or so?

If you want to hear low end, though, I think you're going to be happy. They go boom. Maybe too much boom for the room. (Again, dip switches in the back which help with that.) I paired mine with a couple of Avantone Mixcubes which I keep closer in a desk position. Very different sounding speakers, for another perspective.

Anyhow, good luck with your purchase, and welcome to the Kali club! Do consider the IN-5s though if they are in your range. I'm leaning toward those for my next. They're smaller than the 6s obviously, and perfect size for a desk.

[u/fuckyocouch96 → u/JunkyardSam]

Thanks for the reply! Luckily even though the room is small, it's carpeted and the walls are covered with shelves, tons of art, plants, a big tapestry, and we have a couple bookshelves as well as another desk and big chairs so that should help quite a bit. I do have very little room to place speakers anywhere but my desk so I think the LP-6's will be the move just to be safe and I'm sure I'll be thrilled with hearing anything close to 39hz after using monitors that I believe have a steep drop off of any response past the low 50's.

[u/JunkyardSam → u/fuckyocouch96]

Awesome, I think you'll enjoy them! Again, make sure you get "second wave" / 2nd gen speakers. Once you look for it you'll notice it's on most listings... but double check.

[u/djleo_cz]

I own the LP-6 V2 and don't think I need a subwoofer. Bigger speakers will probably give you more subbass, but as it was mentioned it won't be that useful in an untreated room. LP6 are also pretty large and if you have room for that, place them on speaker stands. I had to buy a large dining table just to be able to have them on it.

[u/Styrant]

I usually recommend starting with smaller monitors like the LP6 or IN5, then adding a subwoofer later if needed, like the Kali WS-6.2 you get a few benefits this way:

1. Better bass extension: Even the LP8 doesn't reach very low (only around 45Hz), while adding a WS-6.2 subwoofer extends down to about 31.5Hz (hz values are in ±3 dB) they do reproduce sound lower than this but giving you the +3 value tells you up to where its solid below that hz it starts to reduce in power. The official specs list the bass extension as 39hz LP6, 37hz LP8, and 27hz WS-6.2, but keep in mind these values are at -10db, meaning by the time it reaches that value the power of that frequency is 10db lower than actual volume, that's why I prefer listing the ±3 dB values they give meaning they are within a 3db window higher or lower than 0db.
2. Clearer midrange: The subwoofer handles the lowest frequencies (everything below 80zh in the case of the ws-6.2), allowing your monitor's woofer to focus on reproducing the high bass to high mids.
3. Flexible room setup: Most rooms have bass cancellation around 60-120Hz due to SBIR. Having a separate subwoofer lets you position bass frequencies differently from your main speakers, potentially improving sound quality and reducing phase cancellation. There are two different philosophies on adding a sub. Some counter the suggestion by saying a subwoofer in an untreated room would be out of control, but I'm of the opinion that you can't easily mix what you can't hear, even if it is untreated.

[u/Darealjoemamasmama]

I love Kali monitors. That being said, your room is just as important or more important than the speakers. I know no one wants to hear that, bass traps and absorption/diffusion are not as sexy as buying monitors. Also, I can say that room correction is worth its weight as well. I have soundID. All three together should be your end goal. GIK acoustics has some great info on their website. Going DIY for room treatment is always a cheaper route. You would be better served spending less on the monitors and more on these other items.

[u/fuckyocouch96 → u/Darealjoemamasmama]

I appreciate that and my end goal would be to eventually have my own space that I can treat, But unfortunately it's a shared space so there's very little I can do when it comes to treating it. Not really an issue of monitors being sexier just having to work with the space I have

[u/malaclypz]

Maybe the Kali IN-UNF? I have a small untreated space too, and this setup is perfect. The sub is amazing.