Today we compare two studio monitors with 6.5inch woofers - new on the market Kali LP-6 and well established Yamaha HS7. Which one is better? Which one should You choose for your home studio? Let's find out!
Build Quality
Both Yamaha and Kali look well dressed in white, but it is Yamaha that is more stylish and better finished. HS7 will not look out of place on a shelf in modern living room, it is that stylish IMO. Kali looks good for a studio monitor, but trails behind Yamaha when it comes to overall design and materials used, for example LP6's front panel is made of plastic rather than MDF like in HS7, also the vinyl used to cover the rest of the cabinet is better in HS7. White LED backlit Yamaha logo on HS7's front panel also looks better than the blue LED status light in Kali. One advantage of Kali is the fact that it has auto standby function that Yamaha lacks. Kali also has more extended tone controls on the back panel that help to adjust the frequency response to your room acoustics. Both Kali and Yamaha have audible levels of hiss, but neither one is really bad in this regard, they are at the normal studio monitor level, audible while idling but not while music is playing. Kali LP6 has a front bass reflex port while Yamaha has one on the back of cabinet, but in this particular comparison did not make big difference.
Sound Quality
Both LP6 and HS7 has solid sound quality but different ccharacter to their sound as there are some slight acents in their frequecy responces. Yamaha has "lighter" more forward and analytical sound thanks to slight lift between 3.5kHz and 5.5kHz follwed by a bit of a drop between 6kHz and almost 10kHz. This character causes vocals to come forward and be more "in your face" and distorted guitars to be more present, same with cymbals.
Kali have more even and balanced sound across the mids and upper mids, but suffers a bit of a lift in low mids, giving the male vocals too much "body" and a hint of boominess. LP6's upper mids and low treble sounds clean and detailed but also sweeter and smoother than in HS7. Treble in Kali sound better integrated with the midrange with a bit of a boost in upper treble (starting at around 15kHz basically out of reach for human hearing), while Yamaha have a boost in treble starting from around 10kHz meaning the overtones from cymbals snare and high-hat are a bit emphasised. Soundstage of Yamaha comes forward to listener but lacks a bit of depth while more laid back soundstage of Kali seem more detailed and 3D.
Both Kali and Yamaha are reaching down to around 40Hz in room, but Kali does that with more sense of slam and authority but also with a bit of looseness, especially when placed on desk. Yamaha has bass that is better suited to desktop use, as it has bass that semm tuned for this kind use from the factory. In result Yamaha shows more details and has more control in lower, mid and upper bass ranges. Kali on the other hand have more headroom and is more suited for mid field use on stands IMO.
Check out in room frequency response of Yamaha HS7 and Kali LP6 measured at 1meter using UMIK-1 microphone:
Here is a sound comparison video of Yamaha and Kali from my YouTube channel:
Conslusion
In the end these are two solid studio monitors with unique sets of pros and cons, but for music production at home I would choose Yamaha HS7. Kali is not far behind though, especially if you have the space to place it on stands. LP6 would also be a great choice for music listetning thanks to smooth and detailed sound that is a joy to listen.
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