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Kii Three vs. actives with analog crossover

Has anyone had a chance to compare Kii Three speakers to PSI Audio or any other active speakers that use analog active crossover and not DSP, maybe some active 3-way ATCs, etc.?

I am interested in educated opinions on transparency, I know it cannot be generalized in such a way as the whole package defines the sound, but maybe there was someone who had opportunity to compare actives using DSP and analog crossovers.

There are some opinions that DSP cannot deliver as transparent sound due to not powerful enough processing to keep signal integrity and generally subpar DA conversions used to keep the cost down, while others believe analog processing cannot match DSP processing and will degrade quality of sound more.

In addition, PSI Audio has completely different approach, they focus on delivering maximum without using DSP, produce most of their drivers, amps, and have arguably the most sophisticated analog crossover, while on the other hand Kii Audio uses inexpensive drivers, Ncore amps, and focuses on DSP processing.

I am interested in opinions on these actives, not about passive vs. active arguments, I am passed that.



sashav
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
sashav OP
Kii Three vs. actives with analog crossover
Listened to the Kii’s for quite a while seemed to be very detailed, very etched, very impressive, very sterile.
I could not warm to them no matter what the Kii rep tried to make it sound human.
To me there seems to be so much processing going on, it feel/sounds as if it robs all the harmonics from the music, and what your left with is the fundamental with no harmonic decay structure.
And say good by to your cherished dac and amp/s, as they are not needed anymore, you have to use what they give inside, and who knows what they are, as well as being punished by a multitude Class-D amps they use.

Cheers George
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,274 posts
 
“To clarify my question, I do not care about EQ, room modes, etc.”

to further clarify, are these the room modes you are not concerned about... “Room modes are caused by sound reflecting off of various room surfaces. There are three types of modes in a room: axial, tangential, and oblique” 

If these are the “room modes” you are talking about, I think most of agree that they are in fact something you should be concerned about, if good sound is also a concern.  There are of course, different ways to address them.  
sashav OP
72 posts
 
@b_limo
Re: room modes, I will deal with them in other ways, it is not not the driving factor, I will not make selection of speakers based on their ability (or not) to deal with room modes through DSP.
I am interested in educated opinions about digital vs analog cross-over speakers and specific examples of both, PSI Audio vs. Kee/D&D.

sashav OP
72 posts
 
@georgehifi
Beside Kii, did you hear any other active speakers, maybe some PSI Audio or ATCs?
If so, did you notice the same sterile sound devoid of harmonics?

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
sashav OP
Yeah I’ve heard the earlier big ATC 3 way actives for an afternoon, much better maybe not sterile, but still cold, probably had analog active xovers inside and no digital processing going on. (i didn’t get to find out)
But to me they were still fatiguing after a while, good if you played nothing but rock! Maybe they have cheap active xovers or Class-D amps inside that didn’t agree with me on middle of the road or classical or jazz. in the upper mids and highs.

Cheers George
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