The SM-5 is an active 3-way studio monitor with a 5-inch woofer, a 4-inch midrange driver and a coaxial 1-inch metal dome tweeter. The SM-5 has customisable DSP parameters that allow the speaker to be fully calibrated to its environment. The DSP has 8 bands with EQ, Delay and Trim controls. This allows different calibration profiles to be defined, enabling placement in different rooms and tuning to different targets.

Part of Kali’s flagship Santa Monica speaker series, the SM-5 combines Kali’s proven 3-way coincident architecture with no-compromise components to deliver unrivalled imaging, accuracy and detail for critical mixing applications.

Like Kali’s highly acclaimed IN Series speakers, the SM-5 is an acoustic point source and special care has been taken with the unique geometry around the midrange driver to ensure a seamless transition to the edge of the speaker. This gives the speaker an ideal directivity pattern, resulting in a captivating stereo image where details are reproduced faithfully and clearly. The off-axis lobing that is unavoidable with 2-way loudspeakers is virtually eliminated with the SM-5.

The SM-5’s transducers have also been precisely engineered to ensure a high dynamic range, smooth response and low distortion. The woofer design has been refined and incorporates features that reduce the modulation of magnetic flux, dramatically reducing distortion.

The midrange driver has been optimised not only for its own frequency transmission, but also for its role as a waveguide for the tweeter. The tweeter is an aluminium dome tweeter with a special geometry that reduces high-Q ultrasonic resonances and eliminates the harsh sound that can occur with metal domes.

All these features contribute to the SM-5’s impressive performance. The distortion factor of the speaker is less than 1 % and the lower frequency response is -10 dB at 39 Hz. With an amplifier power of 150 W, the SM-5 delivers a peak sound pressure level of 117 dB, making it suitable for full-range mixes from a distance of up to 4 metres.