I’m thinking of getting a pair of Kali Audio LP-6 Active speakers for desktop use in my home office. I’d be grateful if members who own these, or have had personal experience with these, could advise about the following:
- These speakers have an RCA input. How bad is the hum from the speakers when connected via RCA to a typical DAC? How are you feeding input signal to your Kalis? I would like to stay away from using a PC as much as possible, so I was thinking of using a DAC (that would get input from a chromecast device via optical, and maybe sometimes via USB from a PC). The reports of hum in active speakers when used with RCA/unbalanced inputs is what’s pulling me back.
- I would like some sort of volume knob so I can control their volume conveniently. For that, I was thinking of getting a DAC (like an iFi Zen DAC, or a FiiO K5 Pro) with a volume knob. This is why I’m asking about how well these speakers work with an RCA signal from a DAC. Do you have any alternate suggestions?
- I also considered getting a pro USB interface like a Focusrite Scarlatti Solo or an Audient EVO 2/2, that would give me a volume control, and also let me use balanced inputs to the speakers. But that would tie me down to using a PC, and I would not have any other inputs. I’m also not sure how well this would work for just listening to music. I‘m also not sure how well Roon would work in this setup (with the PC as an endpoint: I run a ROCK on the network as server).
- Are there any DACs with preamp knobs and balanced outputs (TRS or XLR) under 20k INR? An optical input would also be great. That would basically tick all my boxes! I know the Zen DAC has a preamp/knob and balanced outs, but the 4.4mm pentaconn balanced cable required for the balanced output to active speakers is very expensive, and not available in India.
Thanks in advance! Please feel free to add unrelated advice and comments on using these speakers.
- These speakers have an RCA input. How bad is the hum from the speakers when connected via RCA to a typical DAC? How are you feeding input signal to your Kalis? I would like to stay away from using a PC as much as possible, so I was thinking of using a DAC (that would get input from a chromecast device via optical, and maybe sometimes via USB from a PC). The reports of hum in active speakers when used with RCA/unbalanced inputs is what’s pulling me back.
- I would like some sort of volume knob so I can control their volume conveniently. For that, I was thinking of getting a DAC (like an iFi Zen DAC, or a FiiO K5 Pro) with a volume knob. This is why I’m asking about how well these speakers work with an RCA signal from a DAC. Do you have any alternate suggestions?
- I also considered getting a pro USB interface like a Focusrite Scarlatti Solo or an Audient EVO 2/2, that would give me a volume control, and also let me use balanced inputs to the speakers. But that would tie me down to using a PC, and I would not have any other inputs. I’m also not sure how well this would work for just listening to music. I‘m also not sure how well Roon would work in this setup (with the PC as an endpoint: I run a ROCK on the network as server).
- Are there any DACs with preamp knobs and balanced outputs (TRS or XLR) under 20k INR? An optical input would also be great. That would basically tick all my boxes! I know the Zen DAC has a preamp/knob and balanced outs, but the 4.4mm pentaconn balanced cable required for the balanced output to active speakers is very expensive, and not available in India.
Thanks in advance! Please feel free to add unrelated advice and comments on using these speakers.
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