I use a Roon Nucleus and have no issue with the Kiis not being Roon Ready. I plan to get a set of the speakers later in the year and Roon-certified or not, the Nucleus will be plugged into the Kii Control via USB. This configuration they sound sublime.
Agree that this will work (and sound sublime). Iām just asking for icing on the cake.
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This is of course a good solution, but Iād want the Kii Control close to my listening position. None of my play back hardware is anywhere near the listening seat. My Roon Core is several meters away in a different room. I guess I could move the microRendu closer to the listening seat or even use two Kii Controls (if it is possible to connect two at the same time).
I think a better solution is a networked endpoint. The Allo DigiOne or Signature with a Neutrik 75-110 adapter should work well on the AES/EBU input of both the Kii and D&D 8C.
Did Kii reply about your HAT idea?
I havenāt demod them yet but Iām the same, I think the Kii Control was a bit ill conceived if Iām honest - who would want cables dangling from their remote? Surely the input box should have been one thing and a wireless remote another. Anyway I shouldnāt judge it until Iāve tried it. But I do know the main thing Iāll miss about the Devialet is the remote!
Yes, I must admit the wireless Devialet remote is very sexy indeed. Kii Audio are supposedly developing a new control unit, so we must wait and seeā¦
sort ofā¦ Iāll send you a PM
As far as I know they arenāt planning anything like Roon integration. But the Control works great direct USB to your server or with any ethernet>USB/AES/SPDIF streamer/renderer in between. And many of those are Roonified.
I also wish they had a device like the Devialet Remote. But I do quite well with an Apple remote - it does volume changes and source changes - so I rarely need the actual control.
AFAIK, the new control unit is going to be just a bigger, more pre-amp like version of the present Control. But who knows? Kii havenāt said anything about it.
Iām still waiting for activation of Bluetooth, which was supposed to be last year. So probably better that they donāt promise something that doesnāt get delivered.
An Apple remote works great for the basic functions you need.
The 8cās are setup at darkhaus for a coming review. Itāll be interesting to read, hopefully with a comparison to the Kii Threeās.
Let us hope Darko gets a pre-release of the 8c firmware with RAAT. Heās a fan of Roon so that should be extra interesting!
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Does Darko own a pair of Kii Threes as they always seem to be in the background on many of his photos (in that lovely red)? Or has he just had them on long term loan for evaluation? Not that I am for a moment suggesting that this will colour his review of the Dutch& Dutch8C, but those adverts on his site for Kii3 are pretty much in your face all the time at the top of the page.
I do think Mr Darko reviews equipment fairly and as a professional, who would compromise his own business, would not put himself in a situation you describe.
Also looking forward to this review and comparison, although Darko tends to like everything in my opinionā¦ or at least heās not that critical. His site is paid for by advertising I guess, not that Iām in any way implying it impacts his reviews. 
If dealers ever get more demo stock in where I live, Iāll be doing my own Kii Three / 8c shootout. Iāve been told next week for quite a while now, which when combined with being ānearlyā RoonReady for two years is getting me more nervous, but letās see how they both look and sound in the flesh.
Edit; looks like weāll have to wait a bit longer. Two articles from the q1 list - including 8cs - have just been moved to ālaterā
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At the end of the day, it matters little what Darko thinks about these two speakers or anything else really. There are many reviews on both speakers and they all seems to arrive at the same conclusions. If Darkoās opinion differs markedly then there is something up.
A more pressing concern here in the UK is what impact Brexit is likely on have on the prices of these speakers. Chances of them getting any cheaper as a result are close to zero, so I expect currency fluctuations to raise the price sooner or later.
Sterling fluctuates all the time, always has. Itās been looking stronger lately, in fact the strongest itās been for some time. Personally Iād gamble on it going higher (I have in fact), this means lower cost for Euro goods. Markets discount news, itās difficult to see any real downside, most are looking for difficulties ahead. The economy seems stubbornly robust, presumably a source of irritation for the doom-mongers (Mark Carney etc, sad example of a BOE chief). Whether a stronger sterling will actually trigger a price drop is anybody guess, UK distributor will likely lap up the extra profit. Buy direct maybeā¦3 % cheaper already.
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Hi JD, just a few comments on what is not quite correct in your description of the Kii THREEs. 1. The Kii Control is not meant to be run by cable through the room - it is IR capable. 2. The bigger punch is an air displacement artifact that you get when you use bigger woofers. Please know that this artifact is not on the recording - it is produced by the driver and makes you believe there is more bass. 3. Hardness in the treble: The Kii THREEs measure totally flat in the top - should that be too much or too little for an individual listening room or listeners ears we have incorporated a semi paramentric shelve EQ to compensate for that. Have fun with your purchase - Kii Audio
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Hello Kii Audio,
Thank you for taking your time to write. IR capable remote is a plus, thank you for clearing that out for me. Ive also heard you are working on a new remote as well ? And i also agree that you can make corrections to change the sound to your liking. Once again, Kii3 is an fantastic speaker, no doubts about it. But this is based on my experience, and what i heard to make my mind and witch speaker to buy.
MY ears liked the D&D8C. I am not speaking for all of us, just ME.
I want to make shure, that i didnt start this topic to speak bad about other active speakers. This thread is for sharing experiences and why we picked the D&D 8C and those who have an interest in them.
I dont have the speakers in a studio, working with recording. I have my speaker in my living room. I love to listen to music, and are not afraid to test new speakers. So once again, my posts are just based on what I heard and why i picked them. I also think the 8C looks better , again, MY opinion.
Kii3 measures superb, so does the D&D 8C.
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Hi
doesnāt the Control get itās power via the cable? If the Control can be battery powered, how long would batteries last? Does it support all functions (apart from streaming audio) in battery mode?
Hi Ogs, it uses a CAT6 cable to run all Audio and controls to the Kii THREE speaker - POE powered. IT also has an IR receiver so you can use a standard Apple remote from your seating position. The Kii Control is more like a digital Preamp/USB Interface than a āRemoteāā¦
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Thanks
That is how Iāve understood the Control. Is the IR receiver in the Control?
Sorry @J.D this is getting a little OT.