sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Just received a new pair of KSDigital C88 reference speakers and they are pretty great. I've been interested in active speakers for a while, and these are some of the best I've heard. Others I have owned include Martin Bullfrogs, Adam F5 (excellent for the porce), ME Geithain Rl903 (these are probably really the best), Aktimate minis (so fun!) And Phantoms (bass!). I quite like using studio monitors and pro gear in general because I feel like it's get close to how the producers hear the music when they make it. Also, the threads over on the pro music boards reveal a community obsessed with nuances of sound quality just as much as home audiophiles, but with a different flavour. Anyway, here are pics of the C88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandpkumar Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Nice..........congratulations! I too run active DSP speakers now after having spent a decade with passives. Out of curiosity, which are those speakers underneath the KSD? Looks very interesting.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 Those are a pair of diy actives I purchased off a fellow SNAer. 12"woofer, 6"mid and 4 titanium tweeters powered by a pair of hypex amps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Here's my 2 cents worth of Appreciation I would never go back to passives having had actives for the past 8 years. SGR's and Kii 3's are the bomb. Regards Cazzesman 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 9 minutes ago, cazzesman said: Here's my 2 cents worth of Appreciation I would never go back to passives having had actives for the past 8 years. SGR's and Kii 3's are the bomb. Regards Cazzesman Kii3s are amazing, I agree! I've only heard SGR once and maybe not in the best setting. I'd love to hear them in a decent room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Misterioso Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Hi S., What made you replace the MEGs? Still using the Funk preamp? Cheers, J. (still happy with Quested V2108, now using a Makua preamp) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 Hi J. 23 minutes ago, Misterioso said: Hi S., What made you replace the MEGs? Still using the Funk preamp? Cheers, J. (still happy with Quested V2108, now using a Makua preamp) I'm still using the MEGs! It will be a long time before I part with them! The KSD are in my studio and the MEGs are at home. The Funk is having a rest at the moment. I'm currently using an RME ADI 2 DAC pre and it is great! I sold the Lampi a while back and sort of regret it, but this gets back to something close: decent hi-end sound anyway. Makua is some pretty serious kit! Would love to hear it some time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Misterioso Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 3 minutes ago, sleach said: I'm still using the MEGs! It will be a long time before I part with them! Good to hear. Great speakers, indeed. 4 minutes ago, sleach said: Makua is some pretty serious kit! Would love to hear it some time Anytime. Would be interesting to compare the Makua with the RME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBurns84 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 45 minutes ago, cazzesman said: Here's my 2 cents worth of Appreciation I would never go back to passives having had actives for the past 8 years. SGR's and Kii 3's are the bomb. Regards Cazzesman Count me in x3. Having had the SGR actives for 7 years, 6 being in the form of the MK1 iteration, dont think it will ever go back to passives. Pity they dont have some DSP room correction kit built in, but i'm solving this with my Dirac minidsp kit coming next week. Perhaps MK3 will take form on this. Stuart has done so well with the MK2 upgrade. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Love active speakers. People underestimate the impact having perfectly matched amplifiers to speakers. No hassles trying to match power amps to speakers and it works out cheaper in the long run with active speakers. I had 3 SGR actives for 6 years and now using Devialet Phantom Golds. Have used a number of different room correction software on them, the latest being convolution on Minimserver. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunno77 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 I'd happily live with some of the actives out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 45 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said: Love active speakers. People underestimate the impact having perfectly matched amplifiers to speakers. No hassles trying to match power amps to speakers and it works out cheaper in the long run with active speakers. I had 3 SGR actives for 6 years and now using Devialet Phantom Golds. Have used a number of different room correction software on them, the latest being convolution on Minimserver. My favourite thing about the Phantoms was the enormous sound you get from miniscule size. I loved playing them a nightclub volumes! My least favourite thing was Spark, and I feel much happier now using an external DAC so I can have a volume knob! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gat474 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 ATC actives for me over the past four years. Won't go back. Dialled in with JL subs an active ATC centre speaker. Have to make do with passive ATC's as HT rears though, what a let down! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steever Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 I loved my Nak Dragons. Running passives again though. I wouldn't think of running passive in my car again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandpkumar Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Mine are Meridian DSP5Ks - completely active with built in DAC to boot. Moved from a pre-power combo and passive speakers - much happier with the current setup 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, sleach said: My least favourite thing was Spark, and I feel much happier now using an external DAC so I can have a volume knob! Could have got a remote. https://www.devialet.com/en-au/accessories-phantom-premier-remote/ Not cheap, does the job well... Edited July 26, 2019 by Snoopy8 Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Can't see having anything but actives these days. Though I hope I'll never have to move the SGR Illuminators any time soon. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Haven't heard everything out there in the active world, but the Kii, Dutch & Dutch, Linn and Meridian are all fantastic. Next speakers for me will be the Kiis, unless the Meridians win me over! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 4 hours ago, Snoopy8 said: Could have got a remote. https://www.devialet.com/en-au/accessories-phantom-premier-remote/ Not cheap, does the job well... I did have one of them! But then I dropped it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandpkumar Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 3 hours ago, Hydrology said: Haven't heard everything out there in the active world, but the Kii, Dutch & Dutch, Linn and Meridian are all fantastic. Next speakers for me will be the Kiis, unless the Meridians win me over! Meridians are the way to go...........but then I'm biased since I have them. Which model are you looking at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleasantSounds Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 I started my active journey with Yamaha HS8 monitors supported by the Temblor T10 sub. Worked pretty well, but as soon as the Kii 3 became available in oz, I got them. They work so well I can't imagine ever replacing them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, anandpkumar said: Kii, Dutch & Dutch That's where I would go. The Kii with the bass modules.... But I am biased since I really like the aesthetics of pro studio monitors! Edited July 26, 2019 by sleach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleach Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 11 hours ago, PleasantSounds said: I started my active journey with Yamaha HS8 monitors supported by the Temblor T10 sub. Worked pretty well, but as soon as the Kii 3 became available in oz, I got them. They work so well I can't imagine ever replacing them. You went from Hs8 to Kii? That's quite a step up! Congrats! Do you use subs with the kiis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleasantSounds Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 59 minutes ago, sleach said: You went from Hs8 to Kii? That's quite a step up! Congrats! Do you use subs with the kiis? The HS8 just confirmed for me that this is the right direction, but the sub even though it helped a lot was never spot on. When I heard the Kiis I knew right away that they've got the sound I wanted, and financially this was the right time for me to take that step. The room they're in is fairly small (home office), so it really helps that I could do away with the sub, plus the room modes are under control, even with the placement a few inches from the side walls. Sub definitely not needed - here's the in-room FR graph before corrections: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Misterioso Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Happy with my active speakers as well. Just add a dac with volume control (and preferably a phono stage) and you are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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