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#FutureFi The Clock is Ticking! I see a shift in some areas of our listening systems. There is a growing movement of systems that are mechanically less complex. Speakers Systems such as the KEF LS50, LSX, or the Elac Navis ARB-51 reduce the need for racks of equipment in the listening space. On the other end of the speaker cable, we have single package systems, such as the Naim Unity Atom or the NAD M10. There is a third #FutureFi trend where the speaker system design also includes the ability to help correct for room issues along with the reduction of components. The Pro Audio market might have a partial lead on this, but Home HiFi is following along. There are systems such as the Beolab 90 at the very top end of this spectrum. I have been enjoying the Kii Three System from Kii Audio while I have been concentrating on the things that feed music to the Kii Threes. I have "blissfully ignored" the room and a couple of other items on my looking forward checklist. This week I decided to move the needle on some other parts of systems design. I am also expanding my world a bit on the speaker front to do a subjective listening test of the Dutch and Dutch 8c and then a comparison of them to the Kii Three's. These two speaker systems are designed to present a time coherent wavefront and to dramatically reduce the effects of many room issues by focusing the sound towards the listener. Both speakers are close-set to the front wall of the room, which makes them more family-friendly. They are both have similar goals but with significant differences in approach. For the next month, I will have both speaker systems available to listen and compare. I will start by setting the Kii Three's aside for a while and learn how the Dutch and Dutch 8c feel in the room. I hope that a month is enough time! Both the 8c and the Kii Three's have a single input that is either AES or Balanced. The Kii Control adds other digital inputs and a volume/power control where the 8c Connects to ethernet for speaker system control. I will be using the AES inputs for most of this testing. I have several goals: I want to understand what the Dutch and Dutch 8c means to the home audio user. How does it fit? I want to contrast that against the Kii Threes. The third factor is the BXT modules on the Kii's. The BXT changes the Kii design by presenting the system as a line source rather than a soffit. What does all of this feel like in the room? Then expanding my learning, I will look to implement room correction on both speaker systems. I am not sure where this will go yet, as I have not thoroughly planned it. I am studying REW as a tool to start. Bob ----------------------------------------- Incoming Inspection Unboxing IMG_1014.mov A Visual Comparison Let the listening begin