CE Pro October 2021 - 66

CE Products
FIELD TEST | EDITOR'S PICK | NEW PRODUCTS
Small-Footprint
K-array K1 System
Delivers Big-Time Fun
By Robert Archer
OVER THE YEARS the lines
between the commercial
and residential electronics
industries have blurred. A
good example of a company
that's crossed over from
the commercial sector into
residential is the Italian audio
manufacturer K-array.
The company manufactures
systems that include
line arrays that have been
used by A-list touring acts
and is now taking its engineering
concepts into the
world of home audio. K-array
offers a complete product
selection of audio components
for residential applications
that combine high-performance
engineering and
Italian industrial design.
K-array sent me its baseline,
introductory solution
for residential use - the K1
system - and I set up this
tiny three-piece satellite/
subwoofer system in my
dining room, listening to
content from Apple Music
via my iPhone.
K-array's Lyzard KZ1
speakers are just 1.45
inches and incorporate
half-inch transducers.
Features & Setup
K-array designed the K1
system as a small-footprint
solution that blends unobtrusively
into a variety
of home environments. On
its website you'll find the
K1 speaker system under
" lifestyle " products that like
headphones are ideal for
everyday use, and I would
agree. In terms of applications,
I could certainly see
it in today's home offices
to connect to a computer;
it can also be used as a
discreet audio solution for
AV systems in apartments
and condominiums; and
as a low-profile system for
bedrooms or other secondary
rooms.
As I noted earlier, the
66 | CE Pro October 2021
The K1 combines a pair of low-profile speakers less than 2
inches tall and a subwoofer, ideal for secondary rooms.
satellite/subwoofer system
features a pair of the company's
1.45-inch Lyzard-KZ1
loudspeakers that incorporate
½-inch transducers.
(That is not a misprint ... yes,
the speakers are less than
2 inches tall!) The system's
companion active subwoofer
augments the Lyzard KZ1s
and also serves as the amplifier
that drives the speakers.
The amplifier section of
the subwoofer module supplies
the KZ1s with 20 watts
per channel of power, and
it delivers 40 watts to the
module's 4-inch woofer.
Supporting a range of
installation scenarios, the K1
system offers a 3.5mm stereo
input, an optical digital SPDIF
input, a USB 2.0 port, an
HDMI input, and wireless 5.0
Bluetooth connectivity.
Additionally, the system
comes with a 3.5mm stereo
output and an IR remote
control.
Setting the system up
could not have been any
easier and only takes a few
minutes.
After unpacking the K1, all
I needed to do was to plug
the preterminated speaker
cables that are hardwired directly
into the KZ1s into the
subwoofer module's left and
right speaker outputs. From
there I placed the speakers
in their little speaker stands
and " toed-out " the speakers
slightly to help make sure I
get the coverage I was looking
for within my dining room.
Finalizing the setup and the
Bluetooth pairing was simply
a matter of initiating that
wireless protocol for the K1
system and finding the Bluetooth
device in my iPhone's
settings. Lastly, I toggled
through the preset equalization
(EQ) curves and chose
the one I thought sounded
optimal for my location.
Performance &
Conclusions
I found the K1 system to
not only be fun, but a nice
talking point for guests when
I would show them where
the music was coming from.
Because the KZ1s' speakcepro.com
http://www.cepro.com
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