Adam T8V vs Kali IN8 which is a better choice?

Picking between Adam T8V and Kali IN8 studio monitors can be tricky even for a sound-quality expert. This is because manufacturers have spared nothing when making these sound monitors. 

Adam Audio has over two decades of experience in making some of the best loudspeakers in the market. The German company has invested in rare earth magnets, impressive geometry tricks, and unique diaphragm foils, enabling it to make world-changing loudspeakers. Where Kali lacks experience, it recovers in its enthusiasm, dedication in R&D, and a non-compromising zeal when it comes to giving the very best that there is.

The Adam T8V is undoubtedly an excellent investment for anyone who wants to work with monitors compatible with 8″ drivers. This product is competitively priced. Many of its peers are exorbitantly expensive. The Adam T8V allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds. On the other hand, there is the Kali IN8, which is designed and made in California. Kali has designed the IN8 stereo to give the listener a hyper-realistic level of detail, and the sound quality you get to hear will encompass every detail present in the mix. 

Both of these fantastic products offer great value for the money, but as you already know, the devil lies in the details. So let us take a look into what unique features make each of these speakers stand out. This way, you will quickly pick yours, whether for entertainment or your career.

The profile of the companies

Adam Audio is a German company specializing in the design and manufacture of loudspeakers. The company has over the years been able to tap into the latest technological innovations, which have led to ensuring that its loudspeakers are accurate and transparent and offer rare high definition crispness of sound. Indeed the company’s motto holds ‘always raising audio reproduction standards.’

Kali Audio was established in January of 2018. The company has since then distinguished itself as a company that uses engineering to create value in the products it makes. This California Company has invested heavily in R&D, and this helps it deliver quality loudspeakers that fit any budget. 

The physical size

When it comes to speaker cabinets, size plays a significant role in determining the dynamics of the sound output. At a glance, you will find the Kali IN8 to be bigger than the Adam T8V. The Kali IN8 boasts a height of 17.75 by 10 inches width while the T8V has measures 15.75 by 9.8 inches. Take a close look, and you will discover that the T8V has a depth of 13.1 inches which makes it slightly bigger than the Kali IN8, whose depth is 11.25 inches. 

Given that both the speakers are equipped with 8″ woofers, the Adam T8V will deliver deeper bass at lower ranges. At a glance, this means the Kali IN8 will serve best in smaller rooms than the T8V. However, it is the T8V that is best designed for small studio spaces. The Kali IN8 has an inch wide tweeter, while the Adam speaker has a 1.9″ tweeter.

Technical specs

Adam Audio uses X-ART or eXtended Accelerating Ribbon Technology, producing sound using a pleated diaphragm that moves air 4 times faster. You will experience the hallmark of this technology all over the T8V speaker. The Adam T8V is wired to support all of the modern music and audio sources. The input options supported here are 1 x XLR and 1 x RCA. Of course, the U-ART accelerated ribbon tweeter that boasts of an HPS waveguide, and the large rear-firing bass reflex port makes the speaker uniquely positioned in the market. Adorned on the Adam T8V is a 90W Class D bi-amplification. 

For the Kali IN8 speaker, the maker invested in a Tri-Amped design encompassing a Class D power amp. The speaker further comes with improved transducers and incredibly lower levels of distortion. The speaker delivers a whole 6dB less than its closest rival. Another plus that the IN8 boasts of is the boundary EQ which allows you to tailor it to any environment. Kali IN8 comes with expertly balanced XLR and TRS inputs. Its RCA input is unbalanced. It is front-ported and compatible with any music source you throw at it. 

Design

Many buyers of speakers consider the design because a good number use such speakers in their homes. As such, such a speaker must complement the aesthetics of the house. To this end, both the Adam Audio T8V and Kali IN8 don’t disappoint.

The T8V cabinet exudes a rear-firing bass reflex port fixed to a metal plate that holds a variety of controls, among them the driver crossovers and equalization. The speaker’s size and design allow you to use it in a small control room or even a broadcast application. The Kali IN8’s most endearing innovative design feature is its low-noise port tube. The tube offers a clean punchy low end, and it doesn’t emit any turbulence. With the IN8 speaker, all the air comes out from the tweeter and the woofer simultaneously, allowing it to deliver clean punchy bass. The seamless curve of the two speakers makes the IN8 more home appealing. 

Performance

The one thing that the Adam T8V beats the competition is U-ART accelerated-ribbon tweeter. This tweeter affords your ears ultralow distortion because it has been built to the tightest tolerances. These low distortions allow the tweeter to extend the frequency range to reach a max of 25kHz. For the pro sound enthusiasts, this means an enriched sound that comes with astounding detail and without making you tired even after hours of listening. The T8V has an 8″ woofer that works exceptionally well because included in the package are a powerful magnet and an expertly aligned voice coil. This woofer will extend responses to as low as 39Hz, giving you the capacity to monitor nearfield in small control rooms. 

The Kali IN8 comes with a 2-way studio monitor. This allows its tweeter and woofer to produce energy simultaneously, thus creating an interference pattern at the speaker’s crossover spot. The Kali IN8 drivers are situated very near each other, within a quarter wavelength, which helps eliminate the interference issue. 

Price

Generally, the bigger the speaker, the pricier it is. But in this case of comparing Adam T8V to Kali IN8, the larger Adam Audio T8V will cost you less than the smaller Kali IN8. The Kali Audio targets a clientele that they hope appreciates the R&D, the engineering, and the modern innovativeness that goes into producing each unit. On the other hand, Adam Audio enjoys early entry into the market advantage and economies of scale for being around longer and being a more prominent player in the market. 

The critical differences

When shopping for the ideal 8-inch powered studio monitor, you will need to consider several factors. Here, we have looked at the main differences between the Adam Audio T8V and the Kali IN8 studio monitors. Though both of them produce an exemplary quality of sound and every nuance gets to reach your ears, there are a number of differences that separate these two. 

When it comes to powering the units, the Kali IN8 is tri-amped while the Adam T8V is bi-amped. Another apparent difference between the two speakers is the size and the type of tweeters used. The T8V tweeter measures 1.9″ and is made of U-Art Accelerated ribbon. The Kali IN8 tweeter measures 1″ and is made from textile. The T8V uses a maximum power of 90W Class D while IN8 uses 140W Cass D. since these two products come from different manufacturers, you will find that the design of each is unique. The Adam T8V has a more masculine design, while the IN8 has a somewhat compromised configuration that includes curves and a signature low-noise port tube. 

The Verdict

Comparing the Adam Audio T8V to the Kali IN8 studio monitors, you will find that even though they generally serve a similar purpose, they are designed with the needs of specific users in mind. The Kali IN8 is a terrific product carrying a fantastic price, and it is big, wide, and offers spacious sound. The flexible dip switch operation allows for easy setup. The downside to buying the IN8 is that it is an overkill for small studios. 

When it comes to the Adam Audio T8V, you get to enjoy a lower base extension, making it ideal for home studio spaces. Because of the T8V’s strong extension of power and bass, it is ideal for those working in music genres that emphasize on bass, such as hip-hop, dub, and ambient. The dispersion-control feature and the U-ART tweeter make this a valuable sound monitor at a very competitive price.

It is then clear that the Kali IN8 is best suited for larger studio spaces while the Adam T8V is ideal for home, small audio spaces.

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