cazzesman Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Thats not good. How old was it? Regards Cazzesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wikeeboy Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 I think it's around 18 months old. Very little use and overall in as new condition. It's only minor but i find it majorly annoying as i like all of my gear to be perfect! I emailed Kii several days ago and still no reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Arnold Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Update on the new firmware: Kii Audio called me about 2 hours after I sent the error log to them. They were very interested in understanding what led to my difficulties and wanted to use the information to improve their knowledge base. I also briefly spoke to them regarding the Kii controller - why I don't like it and how much I would like it to be a roon end-point. The man from Kii Audio hinted that they were working on a new controller. Fingers crossed. I was very impressed by the quick response and the time they allocated to me. BTW, has anyone noticed a change in sound after the firmware upgrade (and after reseting all preferences)? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wikeeboy Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 9 hours ago, wikeeboy said: I think it's around 18 months old. Very little use and overall in as new condition. It's only minor but i find it majorly annoying as i like all of my gear to be perfect! I emailed Kii several days ago and still no reply. Quick update to the above. received a reply (came through last night) regarding the Kii Control. It seems there were a particular batch of the rubber rings that were faulty, its a known issue. Easily fixed by replacing with a new rubber ring provided by PMG/Kii. Phew, we're all good 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleasantSounds Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 On 28/01/2020 at 6:39 PM, wikeeboy said: Has anyone had an issue with their Kii Control where the narrow rubber/grip around the volume dial comes away? I turned the remote gently last night to fire up the speakers and the slim rubber surround simply came away from the dial... Mine has disintegrated in a similar way about 6 months ago. The issue is aparently confined to the early build units (bad supplier chioice) and has been rectified since. PMG used to have some replacement rubber bands, maybe they still do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Update went through with Minimum of fuss. Some OE on my behalf but once I got my act together all good. Saturday with some "Me Time" I will run the Dirac Live through again and see what I get. Regards Cazzesman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Had a solid listen this arvo with the new software installed. MY ears tell me..........more gain, a smother presentation at volume and a tighter, more defined bottom end. I have installed Dirac Live 2.0 software and the Minidsp22d plugin software for the DL 2.0 onto my new W10 laptop, so it will be time for some more 'Sweeps' on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if the new Kii 3 software has had any great effect on the frequency output. Regards Cazzesman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe67 Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 With these speakers I notice they can be run 2 ways 1. With the controller, but this seems to be only if you have digital sources only ie you plug your transport or streamer. 2. Or as " traditional" powered speakers ie you connect a preamp to the speakers via the xlr inputs. Is this correct and if you run them the traditional way , do you lose out on functionality ie dsp, firmware updates , etc ? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 (edited) 44 minutes ago, cafe67 said: With these speakers I notice they can be run 2 ways 1. With the controller, but this seems to be only if you have digital sources only ie you plug your transport or streamer. 2. Or as " traditional" powered speakers ie you connect a preamp to the speakers via the xlr inputs. Is this correct and if you run them the traditional way , do you lose out on functionality ie dsp, firmware updates , etc ? That is correct on the wiring. Note the XLR inputs can be set to Analogue or Digital. Controller adds additional digital inputs, acts as volume, and makes all the configuration much easier. Analogue inputs go through A/D and into same DSP / amplifier path as digital signals, so no functionality lost. That is core to maintaining the cardiod distribution and other smarts fundamental to the systems distinctiveness. Haven't run them without Controller (PMG pretty much sell it as standard now). I sense it leaves volume control to pre-amp / input and would make some of the more sophisticated DSP functions harder to get to (you can adjust Boundary and Contour on speakers, not sure about the latest additions)., but the DSP is still active etc. Edited January 30, 2020 by gibbo9000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray H Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Just had delivery of the BXT modules on e very hot day here in Vic. I wont be able to install them as we are moving back to NSW in the next week. Rom from Sonic Purity was kind enough to do the update whilst here. I would say they (the Kii 3’s) do sound a little different, perhaps more vocal prominence and larger soundstage if my audio memory serves. It was quite quick and seamless, perhaps around 5-10 minutes (I am not convinced it would have been if I had tried to do it). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 14 minutes ago, Ray H said: Just had delivery of the BXT modules on e very hot day here in Vic Congratulations! Love to hear your thoughts on the difference the BXTs make when you have them settled in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Arnold Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Excellent! The BXT are on my "to do" list. I hope that they sound as good at your house as they did in the showroom - which is to say amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Arnold Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 19 hours ago, cazzesman said: Had a solid listen this arvo with the new software installed. MY ears tell me..........more gain, a smother presentation at volume and a tighter, more defined bottom end. I have installed Dirac Live 2.0 software and the Minidsp22d plugin software for the DL 2.0 onto my new W10 laptop, so it will be time for some more 'Sweeps' on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if the new Kii 3 software has had any great effect on the frequency output. Regards Cazzesman I'd agree with that assessment, Cazzesman. I sent an email to Kii Audio asking if they had changed anything to do with the sound and they claimed that they did not. This confuses me as I now have three people claiming that the sound changed in the same way after the upgrade. Whatever the case they still sound amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wikeeboy Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 29 minutes ago, Prince Arnold said: I'd agree with that assessment, Cazzesman. I sent an email to Kii Audio asking if they had changed anything to do with the sound and they claimed that they did not. This confuses me as I now have three people claiming that the sound changed in the same way after the upgrade. Whatever the case they still sound amazing. Exactly the same comments are made when Devialet firmware is changed. The line from the engineers is they have not done anything to change the sound, yet comments from users categorically say the opposite. Go figure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted January 31, 2020 Volunteer Share Posted January 31, 2020 (edited) 52 minutes ago, Prince Arnold said: I'd agree with that assessment, Cazzesman. I sent an email to Kii Audio asking if they had changed anything to do with the sound and they claimed that they did not. This confuses me as I now have three people claiming that the sound changed in the same way after the upgrade. Whatever the case they still sound amazing. I'm quite familiar with @Prince Arnold's system and I had a listen this afternoon. To me it sounds like the bass is a bit deeper and tighter than before. Not easy to make a comparison because he had to change some of the EQ settings after the firmware update so it's hard to tell what was caused by the update itself. In any event, every time I hear these speakers I'm astounded. The clarity, the imaging and the clean clear deep bass - I'd challenge anyone to put together a system of separate components that would sound anywhere near as good for the same price. As for the BXT's @Prince Arnold, you know you need them Edited January 31, 2020 by sir sanders zingmore typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Prince Arnold said: The BXT are on my "to do" list. I hope that they sound as good at your house as they did in the showroom - which is to say amazing! I have been avoiding listening to the BXTs for fear it would stimulate the same reaction the 3's did when I listened to them - that 'must have' type of feeling. So care to offer a teaser of what the change is? I am sure it is amazing, just hard to imagine in what way! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Gibbo with the new Low Pass filter available you can grab those 2 subs from Perth in the For Sale section and set them up with the 3's. https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/300609-fs-subs-jl-audio-e112-x-2/ https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/minidsp-2x4-hd Regards Cazzesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe67 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 21 hours ago, gibbo9000 said: That is correct on the wiring. Note the XLR inputs can be set to Analogue or Digital. Controller adds additional digital inputs, acts as volume, and makes all the configuration much easier. Analogue inputs go through A/D and into same DSP / amplifier path as digital signals, so no functionality lost. That is core to maintaining the cardiod distribution and other smarts fundamental to the systems distinctiveness. Haven't run them without Controller (PMG pretty much sell it as standard now). I sense it leaves volume control to pre-amp / input and would make some of the more sophisticated DSP functions harder to get to (you can adjust Boundary and Contour on speakers, not sure about the latest additions)., but the DSP is still active etc. Oh so you can run them with the controller and also traditionally with a preamp ?, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 31 minutes ago, cafe67 said: Oh so you can run them with the controller and also traditionally with a preamp ?, The short answer is yes. For example, the core of my setup runs digital into Kii Controller (either direct or via miniDSP SHD) but Turntable output goes to XLR on speakers as Analogue. The speakers are where the main smarts are, the Controller is more of a remote that extends digital inputs and provides volume control (incl remote if you want). Volume control covers digital and analogue so I don't need a separate pre-amp for Turntable volume in my case. Alternatively you could set Controller to full volume and run a traditional pre-amp into the XLR connectors. I thought about that but after some early listening didn't hear any advantage so I took the radical downsize in component approach. I guess you could run without the Controller at all with the XLR pre-amp inputs. But further to your initial question, without a Controller you would be limited to the DSP corrections accessible in the speakers (Boundary and Contour), and not the advanced ones in the latest updates. And you may need to borrow someone's Controller to do firmware updates. Hope that helps. Gibbo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 1 hour ago, cazzesman said: Gibbo with the new Low Pass filter available you can grab those 2 subs from Perth in the For Sale section and set them up with the 3's NIce thought @cazzesman, but I think that may prove terminal for the marriage. Part of the 'internal' justification for the Kii's was getting rid of the subs that could not find a position that suitably balanced sound with WAF - so the tiny foot print of the Kii's needs to stay. Now the BXT's wouldn't technically violate that would they . . .? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe67 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 4 hours ago, gibbo9000 said: The short answer is yes. For example, the core of my setup runs digital into Kii Controller (either direct or via miniDSP SHD) but Turntable output goes to XLR on speakers as Analogue. The speakers are where the main smarts are, the Controller is more of a remote that extends digital inputs and provides volume control (incl remote if you want). Volume control covers digital and analogue so I don't need a separate pre-amp for Turntable volume in my case. Alternatively you could set Controller to full volume and run a traditional pre-amp into the XLR connectors. I thought about that but after some early listening didn't hear any advantage so I took the radical downsize in component approach. I guess you could run without the Controller at all with the XLR pre-amp inputs. But further to your initial question, without a Controller you would be limited to the DSP corrections accessible in the speakers (Boundary and Contour), and not the advanced ones in the latest updates. And you may need to borrow someone's Controller to do firmware updates. Hope that helps. Gibbo Thank you for the informative answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 (edited) Just noticed that Kii seem to be doing rolling upgrades through the download link. When I upgraded a couple of weeks ago was DSP: 4.8 and PIC: 3.8. Now 4.9 and 3.9 respectively. And Kii Control has gone from 2.3 to 2.4. Haven't found any more notes on updates. Edited February 9, 2020 by gibbo9000 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 On 31/01/2020 at 1:53 PM, Ray H said: Just had delivery of the BXT modules on e very hot day here in Vic. I wont be able to install them as we are moving back to NSW in the next week. Rom from Sonic Purity was kind enough to do the update whilst here. I would say they (the Kii 3’s) do sound a little different, perhaps more vocal prominence and larger soundstage if my audio memory serves. It was quite quick and seamless, perhaps around 5-10 minutes (I am not convinced it would have been if I had tried to do it). Come on Ray, what's the verdict??????? We are all living gratuitously through you and your new BXT's. Regards Cazzesman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazzesman Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 What I love about the Kii 3's is the coherency they give to the music. Nomatter how cluttered a tune gets they just make it so understandable. I was smashing out Porcupine Tree - Deadwing - Arriving Somewhere but not Here. In the middle stanza, where it goes hell for leather, the driving bass line from Edwin and the Harrison drumming are so clear and clean with the Kii's. Love them to bits. Regards Cazzesman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray H Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 1 hour ago, cazzesman said: Come on Ray, what's the verdict??????? We are all living gratuitously through you and your new BXT's. Regards Cazzesman This moving house business is a process I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy...I will definitely be setting up the BXT’s in the next couple of days, so should have an initial impression soon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpeg.a4b7d7f34dec3344afad6af9c8fd6c9d.jpeg)
Recommended Posts