Kali Audio IN-5 - My Current FAVORITE Affordable Studio Monitor Speakers!

*Correction: 160 watts total, not 180.
These Kali Audio IN-5's are excellent affordable studio monitors in my opinion. I'm a fan of the coincident/coaxial/concentric design.

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Disclosure: The Affiliate links above earn me a commission if you purchase using those links. This is at no additional cost to you. Kali Audio did send these free for me to review. My opinion is my own and they did not watch this prior to me posting.

0:00 Intro
0:57 What does it do?
1:39 Who are these for?
2:13 Who are these NOT for?
2:52 What do these do extremely well?
3:34 What do they do okay?
4:14 What are some downsides?
5:00 What are some alternatives?
5:31 Speaker Leaderboard
7:47 Frequency Response Measurements (Technical/Objective Data)
10:52 Conclusion (Buy or Skip?) AFFILIATE LINKS:

Disclosure: The Affiliate links above earn me a commission if you purchase using those links. This is at no additional cost to you. This product was sent free for the purpose of this review.

[joentell]

Correction: 160 watts total, not 180.
These Kali Audio IN-5's are excellent affordable studio monitors in my opinion. I'm a fan of the coincident/coaxial/concentric design.

Disclosure: The Affiliate links above earn me a commission if you purchase using those links. This is at no additional cost to you. Kali Audio did send these free for me to review. My opinion is my own and they did not watch this prior to me posting.

[kaliaudio]

DON'T try to correct the 13kHz with EQ! It's a diffraction artifact, and it doesn't affect reflected or perceived timbre. If you try to correct it for an on-axis single point measurement, you're gonna end up with a big old 13k spike overall.

[ErinsAudioCorner]

I really, really like these speakers.

Great review, as always.

[keepingupwiththejones]

Joe is forever innovating. Like that quick spin of the speaker right at the start. It was like that 360 sports camera where they freeze a play and then spin around . I love finding new things. Like hidden Easter eggs. Love you Joe.

[datdudeinred]

It's funny how yesterday itself i saw your lp6 video from back in the day & was thinking leaving a comment to review in8s. Awesome work as always.

[editorjuno]

The new "2nd Wave" IN-8s (same coaxial midrange/tweeter as the IN-5 but with a bigger woofer and enclosure) are even better and an immense improvement over the previous generation of that model -- 12dB quieter and 3dB louder at max. Their bass extension is so good that I had to reduce the low-pass frequency on my sub to 50Hz -- and if I could, I'd probably set it even lower!

[riteshdhoot]

Amazing speakers. And an even better review. Excellent work Joe !!

[kadiummusic]

I have a pair of these in my small mixing studio and I love them. I'm about to add a Kali WS-12 Subwoofer to the set up so really excited to hear what it sounds like together. 😎

[Psyphonyx_Life]

Very Nice. One more reason for me to ditch separate amps and speakers.. and just use monitors all around.

[aceofspades]

Definitely on my short list for shopping... I heard the Yamaha HS8, Adam A8X, and Focal Shape 65 at a pro audio desktop room at my local shop. The HS8s for the price blew me away... Clearly the Adam and Focal were better but it went from $350 -> $750 -> $1500 per speaker and maybe you get a 10% stepups in SQ. I'm not into pro audio/mixing and mastering but was looking for a desktop application and perhaps midfield listening as well.

[Darkside_C]

Man! Such a detailed review. This is excellent.

[radaget]

In terms of sound quality and listening experience, how would you rate the Kali against something like the Elac Unifi Reference or other Unifi speakers. It's very difficult to find sound quality comparisons between hifi speakers and studio monitors.

[JClay-lfnx]

I know these are intended for mixing...BUT what if you used them in a small living room instead of something like similarly priced KEF or Elacs?

[christopherkiyui]

Honest kiss and tell review by Joe and tell. I have just bought an Adam T75 pair. I wonder how they compare.

[orangeoratory]

If you pair these with a subwoofer, your gonna be having a good day lmao!

[theodoroschronis]

Hello and congratulations for your excellent speakers’ analysis! I would like your opinion on something that is probleming me and I believe that you are the best to help me! I am thinking of buying either the Kali Audio in-8 2nd wave (760 € pair) or the Heco Aurora 300 (383 € pair) What is your opinion? which of the two affected you most subjectively? (soundwise only?). Not considering the addition of an amplifier for the Hecos. Thank you in advance.

[alfahath]

is it good for hifi listening . just for listening and daily use. is it better than hifi speakers in same budget ?

[RileytheBunny]

Have you compared the IN-5s to the LP-6 v2?

[paulstephens]

Hey Joe what do you recommend for a 4 ohm surface mount speakers box speakers for rear of my gmc Savana raised roof van. There’s no place to instal within walk or ceiling and want be able reposition them depending where sited. size approx 8”Hx8”Wx7”D altho interested in Bose like the 301 or other. Placement can be in area above front seats aimed to rear, upper rear corners and midway on each side to swivel front and back. Also for front doors considering Focal, 165FXE (sold my KX2s cause too expensive ) JL 3 or 5, or others. An installer had recommended saving money and get quality Alpines. For rear I still have the little 6.5 boxes that the 165KX2s were installed in so could utilize for something like focal 165CA coax .

[Burritosarebetterthantacos]

Im thinking of getting these too. I have the LP6 but they hiss loud enough I can hear it when editing audio in Fairlight.