Kali Audio has dropped a new model in its ultimate speakers range, Project Santa Monica, adding to an already impressive roster of high-quality monitoring options. The new SM-5 joins the previously released passive model, the SM-5-C, alongside the Project Lone Pine, Project Independence and Project Watt series’ of nearfield monitor and subwoofer products.
Designed for high-end critical listening where accuracy and detail are paramount, the SM-5 follows the same three-way speaker arrangement as the SM-5-C, with a coaxial design for the tweeter and four-inch midrange driver, both above a five-inch woofer.
The midrange driver and tweeter are mounted flush to the baffle and physically time-aligned to aid in phase coherency. The result is what Kali Audio promises to be “an engrossing stereo image where details are lifelike and crisp.”
The one-inch dome tweeter is constructed from aluminium with both driver and woofer crafted from paper, all meticulously designed for accuracy. To aid this, the monitors have a front-mounted port design, with a low-noise port tube located below the woofer.
Much like the existing Kali Audio active models, the SM-5s include a balanced XLR input, joined by additional AES/EBU digital inputs and an Ethernet network port on the rear. There’s a volume dial and you can also tweak the EQ settings courtesy of the eight dip switches.
Further fine-tuning can be achieved via the Kali Control Panel software, where you’ll find all the options for the room calibration function. The software communicates to the speakers in online mode, via the Ethernet port, or offline mode via a hidden USB port.
Further control includes the touch-capacitive Kali Audio logo on the front of the speaker, which gives you both sleep/wake functions and allows you to switch between different tuning modes.
The SM-5 monitors are priced at $1,699 each and for more information check out the Kali Audio website now.