Kali Audio SM-5

The SM-5 is a powered 3-way studio monitor with a 5-Inch woofer, and a 4-Inch midrange with a coaxial 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter. Part of Kali’s flagship Santa Monica series of speakers, the SM-5 combines Kali’s proven 3-way coincident architecture with uncompromising components to deliver unparalleled imaging, accuracy, and detail for critical mixing applications.

The SM-5 is a powered 3-way studio monitor with a 5-Inch woofer, and a 4-Inch midrange with a coaxial 1-inch metal dome tweeter. The SM-5 features user-definable DSP parameters that allow for each speaker to be fully calibrated in their environment. The DSP features 8 bands of EQ, delay, and trim controls. Users can define different calibration profiles, allowing for placement in different rooms, and tuning to different targets.

Part of Kali’s flagship Santa Monica series of speakers, the SM-5 combines Kali’s proven 3-way coincident architecture with uncompromising components to deliver unparalleled imaging, accuracy, and detail for critical mixing applications.

Like Kali’s acclaimed IN-Series loudspeakers, the SM-5 is an acoustic point source, and special care has been taken with the unique geometry around the midrange to ensure a seamless transition to the edge of the speaker. This gives the loudspeaker an ideal directivity characteristic, resulting in an engrossing stereo image where details are lifelike and crisp. Off axis lobing that is unavoidable in 2-way loudspeakers is virtually eliminated in the SM-5.

The transducers on the SM-5 are similarly precision engineered for high dynamic range, smooth response, and low distortion. The woofer design has been refined, and incorporates features that reduce magnetic flux modulation, bringing distortion down dramatically.

The midrange has been optimized not only for its own frequency handling, but also for its role as the tweeter’s waveguide. The tweeter is an aluminum dome with a special geometry that reduces high-Q ultrasonic resonances, eliminating the harsh sound that can plague metal dome designs.

All of these features contribute to impressive performance from the SM-5. THD of the loudspeaker is less than 1% and lower frequency response is 39 Hz at -10 dB. With 150W of amplificiation, the SM-5 can deliver 117 dB peak SPL, making it suitable for full-range mixing from up to 4 meters away.

The SM-5 can be mounted using hardware from Triad Orbit, or any other speaker mount that uses a 4.25x2 Inch hole pattern and can support the loudspeaker’s 25 lb weight. The precise spatial resolution afforded by the speaker’s architecture make it an ideal solution for immersive mixing.