Klawitter Designs, the new speaker company from Keith R. Klawitter, is ready to bring to market their new KD Elite studio reference monitors. Following the NAMM 2017 presentation, the monitors generated legitimate interest in the market, they even distribution deals in place, and the company is preparing to get into serious business mode with manufacturing. Apart from Keith R. Klawitter - the original designer of the ubiquitous KRK monitors and one of the world’s foremost studio speaker designers - the company also involves Joey Wolpert on business development, and Michael Marans, in charge of sales and marketing. Wolpert worked for years as a recording engineer (Natalie Cole, Bette Midler…), and worked with AKG Acoustics, Harman International, and other notable pro audio companies. Michael Marans was a partner at noted monitor manufacturer Event Electronics during the heyday of the home studio revolution, and has been deeply involved with music technology as a musician, author, and sales and marketing executive for over 35 years.
Now, armed with newly-completed product designs, proprietary advanced technology, and a management team of industry veterans, Keith R. Klawitter is determined to once again deliver revolutionary monitoring tools to the industry. Klawitter Designs is coming to market with a new flagship monitor system, the Elite 192kHz Ultra High Definition Titanium Nitrate Transducer studio reference monitors, speakers in which technical performance details such as frequency response, imaging, dynamic response, linearity, and phase coherence are expertly dialed-in and executed, representing the culmination of Keith’s 30+ years of work.
Some of the key ingredients that set the new Klawitter Designs Elite monitors apart include new Acoustic Cabinet Control curved enclosures, constructed from multiple precision-milled layers of HDF, and with computer-designed interior surfaces that virtually eliminate the nodes and problem reflections inherent in traditional straight-side cabinet designs, while also yielding a remarkably rigid, sturdy cabinet with exceptionally low-resonance.
The KD Elite monitors boast custom carbon fiber/Kevlar low frequency transducers with a claimed response down to an amazing 29Hz @ -1dB (!) on the 8” model and 39Hz (also @ -1dB) on the 6.5” version. These are paired with a custom Ultra High Definition high frequency driver, a 1” inverted dome that’s coated, using a proprietar" process, with titanium nitrate. As the company explains, “The coating process imparts not only the beautiful gold color to the driver, but dramatically lowers 2nd and 3rd order harmonic distortion to a previously unattainable level. The end result is a system that delivers unrivaled frequency response: 29Hz – 24kHz, +/-1dB on the Elite 8s and 39Hz – 24kHz, +/-1dB on the 6s.”
The biamplified KD Elites are driven by state-of-the-art Class D amplifiers that provide 500 Watts per side (390 Watts LF / 110 Watts HF), yielding output levels of >108dB RMS (>113dB peak) on the 8s and >106dB RMS (>110dB peak) on the 6s. According to Klawitter Designs, this enables the monitors to play very loud, but also show extreme frequency linearity across the entire volume range, including accurate low volume reproduction.
System control is provided courtesy of advanced 192kHz DSP, allowing for exceptionally fine resolution adjustments to be made at all critical points in the system. This is evident in the Elite crossover, which is managed entirely in the digital domain. ”Comprised of multiple sharp-sloped filters (custom-programmed by Keith), the Elite crossover eliminates the distortion and frequency loss problems inherent in traditional crossover designs, both active and passive. This UHD DSP is also used to precisely dial in system performance (equalization, driver time-alignment, etc.), ensuring that each Elite monitor performs not only to its own exacting specifications, but is also perfectly matched to other Elites in a system, from a simple stereo setup to a full-blown surround-sound array,” they explain.
In a somewhat unusual move, Klawitter Designs decided to offer the first run of Elite speakers to go to backers of the Indiegogo campaign, before they are sold to audio retailers and system integrators all over the world, leveraging the marketing dynamics of the crowdfunding platform to propel the brand. Offering a bit of “motivation” in the form of a 33% price discount for participants in the pre-launch campaign, backers will be able to save up to $2,000 on a pair of Elite 8s or $1,875 on a pair of Elite 6s. Still the asking price -
US $3675 or US $3999 for a pair of Elite 6 or 8 monitors, respectively - is a little steep for traditional crowdfunding platforms, making this campaign interesting to follow for other audio companies. There’s no denying the impact of crowdfunding campaigns these days and they certainly help solving some of the dilemmas of the first manufacturing batch, by creating a solid stream of firm orders, when successful. We wish Klawitter Designs all the best.
www.indiegogo.com/projects/klawitter-designs-elite-studio-monitor-speakers#/
