Kii Three - my impressions and pro reviews

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 13.12.2017 at 8:57 AM, GUTB said:

The price seems very steep. For that price you can get a used pair of Raidho D1.1s. Will these actually compete with high end standmounts?

 

You can get Raidho speakers. But these are very different from Kii. And it'd be probably difficult to compare the two as Kii is a closed system. 

[AMR/iFi audio]

22 minutes ago, baconbrain said:

The sleigh has landed ...

 

 

 

Enjoy these and do tell us how are they for you!

[AMR/iFi audio]

2 hours ago, baconbrain said:

Really looking forward to „tinkering“ with this setup and see (or hear) what comes out. Will report back after first impressions.

 

A really nice product to tinker with. It goes on stands in your case, right?

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 24.12.2017 at 6:44 PM, firedog said:

Just finishing up a long listening session with the Kiis - everything from Bach organ music to the Beatles' "Abbey Road".

I really am amazed at how good they sound, with every type of music.....

 

It's cool that you like 'em! What's the distance between you and both speakers? 

[AMR/iFi audio]

27 minutes ago, firedog said:

Approx 2.85m. It's a fairly small room, which is part of the reason I bought the Kiis. I can get full range reproduction (20-20k), lots of dynamics, and still not overload the room. Difficult to do with a conventional system in a room like this. 

 

It depends on a system, but yes, what you did seems reasonable and the solution itself - Kii - is said to be of great quality. 

[AMR/iFi audio]

9 hours ago, firedog said:

Asked Kii if there is any news on the bluetooth update to the controller. This is the answer I got:

 

 

 

Honest reply is always a big plus.

[AMR/iFi audio]

19 hours ago, Kelly said:

After 5 months of flawless operation, my Kii Control has stopped responding to my Apple remote. I have changed the battery and no help. I tried to imprint the remote again and the control is acting strange. If I try to scroll thru which type of remote it does not alternates between RC5 and none selected, then maybe 1 time in 10 it will show Apple. If I attempt to manually select this it just goes back to "none selected." Has anyone had any sort of erratic behavior like this? I reset the Control to Factory settings with no change. I am hoping I don't have to send it in, but I will contact my dealer tomorrow morning.

 

I should add I have tried two different Apple remotes to no avail.

 

We'd write to Kii directly as well. It's highly likely that any tech issues are sent to them anyway and a distributor can make communication a bit longer. We might be wrong, yet this is what we'd do in your place. Good luck!

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 2/6/2019 at 6:21 PM, firedog said:

In any case, they decided they couldn't repair this pair and be 100% sure that they would be "like new" and not cause further problems. So  they offered me a slightly used pair they had on hand for testing, and knew to perform at spec. No charge to me, and I was fine with this. They paid for shipment back and I received the "new" speakers today. They actually look like new and sound fine. So I'm happy. 

 

They handled it nicely, you're happy. Good stuff.

[AMR/iFi audio]

21 hours ago, fpalm69 said:

I too have had great support from Kii Audio.  My Kii Control stopped working so after a call to my US dealer and then to Kii in Germany they did a TeamView to remotely confirm my remote was faulty, which is was, and promptly shipped me a new one.

 

Products this pricey should be supported like so. It's also cool that they worked on the issue remotely. 

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 2/16/2019 at 8:10 PM, simonp said:

Never tried the Supra.

 

Many people label these as excellent value for money. Too many to not investigate a bit at least.

[AMR/iFi audio]

31 minutes ago, baconbrain said:

Verity Audio Sarastro II speakers.

 

That's the third time someone mentioned these particular speakers in farly short time and was very impressed. It's time to see whether these will be shocased in Munich (they were some two or three years ago with Reimyo in one of atrium rooms, weren't they?) and have a listen.

[AMR/iFi audio]

9 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Verity is a brand that has come and gone and come back in a cycle. Perhaps they'll be in Munich.

 

Thanks. They have very cool Arthurian naming patterns. 

[AMR/iFi audio]

12 hours ago, TheStupidOne said:

Fix the room, people! Best investment one can make!

 

Agreed, room sorting should always be high on priorities list.

[AMR/iFi audio]

8 minutes ago, firedog said:

I asked iFi and they claimed they don't do anything that limits power delivery to the Kiis. 

 

Yup! Plus, our return policy is generous. If our product or two don't meet one's expectations, there are no issues with full refunds. 

[AMR/iFi audio]

9 hours ago, baconbrain said:

Active filtering seems to negatively impact the dynamics

 

Many enthusiasts we know would agree with this, yes. 

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 4/9/2019 at 8:23 PM, baconbrain said:

Think the loaner suggestion is a good one.

 

+1. The only viable way to find out what's going on is to find out for yourself. 

[AMR/iFi audio]

21 hours ago, bobfa said:

 

This looks VERY COOL! Enjoy!

[AMR/iFi audio]

3 hours ago, tomjtx said:

old Jeff Rowland preamp

 

... which is a sight to be seen. It aged well.

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 5/4/2019 at 12:02 PM, TheStupidOne said:

My experience with the BXT system was mind-blowing.

 

Surely was good in Munich one year ago.

[AMR/iFi audio]

1 hour ago, baconbrain said:

So finally had the chance to listen to the Bxt Extensions at the High End In Munich over the weekend.

 

They had them setup in such a way that you could turn the extensions on or off during playback which provided a good opportunity to hear titles with or without them. 

 

My impression was very positive and they certainly warrant a dedicated session in a more suitable environment to further explore their full potential.

 

Attached is a pic of rig used to toggle between with / without the Bxt.

 

 

 

Was a good show! I enjoyed Kii this time more than one year ago.

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 5/14/2019 at 5:13 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

These are very competent speakers that I still need to demo properly. 

 

Yup, show conditions are far from perfect, though in Munich many atrium rooms were decent to say the least.  

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 6/1/2019 at 2:54 AM, firedog said:

In my experience, you can still hear the difference between a DSD source and a PCM source sent to the Kiis. 

 

It should be very clear even with speakers far more affordable.

[AMR/iFi audio]

13 hours ago, firedog said:

if the system is decent quality

 

Oh, this always helps!

[AMR/iFi audio]

10 hours ago, Cazzesman said:

Well it has taken me 18 months but I have finally found a 2nd hand pair of Kii 3's in my home town.   1st 2nd hand pair I have seen in Australia for sale.   They were traded in to the local distributor along with the stands and Controller.     Pick up is on Monday so pretty excited.

 

Congrats!

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 6/29/2019 at 5:34 AM, bobfa said:

I would remove the room treatments if possible. Setup and Tune the Kii Threes, then make any decisions.

 

Yes, with speakers like these it makes sense to do as you wrote.