A Fresh Audio Startup: Launched in January 2018 by five former veterans of top audio and speaker company JBL, Kali Audio is a unique startup and boutique operation whose products are designed and engineered in California––and will all be named after a different city or town in the state. According to partner and Director of Marketing Nate Baglyos, the founders formed Kali because they wanted to take matters into our own hands, in a more direct way, building products from an engineering standpoint with many fewer compromises.
“The vision was based on our collective freedom,” he says. “We were encouraged by the freedom to do research and development to create great products. Our experiences working together for several years showed us that when we had the time and freedom to explore, we could make something great. But when we were working against the clock, no matter how things ended up, the results were subpar. If we could put ourselves in charge to prioritize research and development, we knew we could make wonderful products.”
Two Flagship Products: Kali Audio’s first two studio monitors, the LP-6 and LP-8, are part of the company’s initial Project Lone Pine product line. Both models feature advanced waveguides, largest in class magnets and voice coils, and a unique front-firing, low noise port tube. An array of boundary compensation EQ settings, XLR, TRS and RCA inputs and Class D power amps all make the monitors easy to use in any setup. The smaller LP-6 (retailing for $149) has been on the market since September and has received wide acclaim. MC’s Barry Rudolph wrote, “As a second pair or as a primary pair in budget-minded rooms, you really can’t go wrong with these!”
The larger model LP-8 (retailing for $249) offers increased dynamic range, low-frequency extension, and overall output. It is ideal for listening environments where the speakers will be up to eight feet away, as well as for content with highly detailed low end. Users mixing bass-heavy genres like hip-hop and EDM will be particularly pleased with the LP-8. It’s also the ideal choice for film and video production. In the Spring of 2019, Kali Audio will roll out two new items, a subwoofer and Bluetooth box.
A Word from Kali’s Director of Acoustics: Charles Sprinkle says of the monitors, “Project Lone Pine Studio Monitors are the most advanced speakers in their class. They are exceptionally accurate, and the large drivers that we’re using deliver incredible punch and clarity all the way down to the bottom of the frequency response. We were excited to debut them at Rolling Loud because we believe that artists working in hip-hop and other bass-heavy formats can really appreciate the precision and accuracy on the low end, and how well balanced it is to the rest of the response.”
Contact Kali Audio, [email protected], kaliaudio.com
