Kii THREE - DSP Active Speaker System
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Ten years on, the Kii THREE is still rewriting the rulebook. Conceived in 2014 and launched in 2015, it was Kii Audio's first statement that a compact, fully active DSP speaker could outperform traditional big boxes in real rooms. A decade later, the SAME core platform is still in production, still at the top of its class, and still evolving. In fact, the Kii THREE has spent the last ten years quietly setting the bar for modern active loudspeakers—a gold standard that feels as natural in a reference studio as it does in a living room. Because our own DSP and firmware power every Kii THREE, we've spent the last few years adding refinements, features, and ecosystem upgrades rather than forcing owners to buy a “Mark II.” From Kii Control and the BXT bass extension to ongoing firmware improvements, each update improves existing systems rather than making them obsolete. In that sense, Kii isn't just a loudspeaker manufacturer – it's a technology company whose software and engineering keep unlocking more performance from the hardware you already own. When you invest in a Kii THREE, you're not buying a snapshot in time. You're stepping into a long-term platform: a reference-grade monitor that has already proven its durability in studios, living rooms, and custom installs worldwide, and that continues to benefit from the same team that created it. That's why we don't think of the Kii THREE as a “typical active speaker" – it's a future-proof tool for people who expect their loudspeakers to keep up with their music for years to come.
Each Kii THREE contains six channels of DSP, D/A conversion and power amplification. Few companies could pull off such a densely packed design with truly world class performance electronics. But then again, few active speakers are designed by people who have previously turned high end power amplification and digital conversion around.
Each Kii Three holds 6x250W power amplifier boards, designed by Bruno Putzeys using the latest iteration of the Ncore class D technology which he invented for Hypex. Unique to the implementation used in the Kii Three is a combined voltage/current control loop that goes beyond merely a better amp – it actively improves the distortion performance of the drive units which contributes significantly to the extreme resolution of the speaker.
Naturally, this means that the performance of the AD/DA conversion has to match that of the amps. This task fell to Bart van der Laan who has a long track record designing DSP and converter boards for high-end professional audio equipment. Kii Audio’s implementation is a runaway success: a complete pass through the AD/DA circuitry of the Three’s signal processing board is entirely inaudible, a feat not duplicated by the most expensive audiophile standalone units.
Alongside the Active Wave Focusing filters the DSP is responsible for keeping the drive units within their safe operating range by gently adapting the filters instead of brutally limiting the signal, allowing the Three to play significantly louder and cleaner than much bigger traditional designs.
On the input side there is a choice of analogue, digital inputs. All digital inputs are up-sampled and reclocked using Kii’s own jitter rejection algorithm that guarantees actual “bits is bits” audio performance for any digital source.
The electronics package alone sets a milestone. What it does in concert with the unique acoustic design defies imagination. You have to hear it to realise the magnitude of the revolution the Kii Threerepresents.
The Secret of Big Speakers
Kii’s mission for the Three was to break the sonic mould of compact speakers. Powerful small speakers with deep bass have been around for a while now but none so far sounded like a big speaker. The Three is built to fix that.
Basic acoustics tells us that a classic box speaker only directs sound towards the listeners from the midrange up while bass frequencies are radiated all around. The frequency where this change happens depends on the size of the box front (the “baffle”). The smaller the baffle, the higher the frequency at which bass is still radiated all around instead of directed towards the listener.
That in short is why big speakers have so far delivered much more precise timing and detail in the bass and low mids than small speakers: the room gets less chance to interfere. And that is what Kii has now managed to make a compact speaker do.
System Consists of:
- 2 x Kii THREE speakers in high gloss white, graphite matt metallic or any custom color of your choice
- 1 x Kii Control offers volume control, input selection with touch switch operation, additional software menu, OLED display and is IR ready.
- Inputs: USB, SPDIF, TOSLINK, AES, ANALOGUE
- All necessary cables are included
Technical Specification:
- DSP controlled monitor speaker system.
- 4 x 6.5” woofer, 1 x 5” midrange, 1 x 1” waveguided tweeter.
- Amplification: full custom class D, 250W per drive unit, arranged in 6 groups.
- Active Wave Focusing crossover filter
- Frequency response: 20Hz (-3dB) – 25kHz, flatness ± 0,5dB (*)
- Integrated tone control
- Phase response: selectable, linear phase or minimum latency
- Protection limiters
- Controlled Directivity: 4.8dB (54Hz - 1kHz, slowly rising thereafter)
- Size: 20x120x40cm, 8”x47”x16” (WxHxD)
- Weight: 51kg (112lbs)
- Inputs: Analogue, AES/EBU, KiiLink
- SPDIF, TOSLink, USB on Kii Control
- Selectable correction for free-standing, near wall or in corner (14 positions)
- Automatic Standby Mode
Available in White / Graphite / Custom Finishes. Contact us for more information
Read about Stereophile Magazine's 'Component of the Year' Award