At ISP Música Magazine we were delighted to receive two pairs of KRK monitors from Zentralmedia (its distributor in Spain and Portugal). Specifically, the ROKIT RP5 and RP7 G4 models, with 5" and 7" woofers respectively. The update from the G3 series to the G4 amounts to a reinvention of the family's design and architecture. It aims to deliver a professional listening experience, with quality similar to what you get from much higher-priced products.
Where We Came From and Where We're Going
ROKIT G4 is an engineering development that redefines the company's monitor concept. This new series is made up of four different pairs, differing mainly in size, power and woofer size. They come in 5", 7", 8" and 10" versions.
Statement of Intent
The manufacturer has put its efforts into building a family of monitors that truly deliver clear, faithful reproduction of mixes. With the earlier versions, many users set the level control one notch down to get a very flat response. With the G4, the idea is completely different.
Why? Because the low-end definition is more precise, and it doesn't need to be boosted or cut to be felt or tamed.
To feed the souls of bass lovers, you can always use the 2 dB low-end boost relative to the FLAT position, although in principle it shouldn't be necessary.
Why Kevlar® in the Tweeter and the Woofer?
This material is a rigid fiber with certain acoustic properties. Among them, it stands out for its ability to deliver very clear and authentic sound (faithful, true to life). The intent in using this material in both the tweeter and the woofer is to match the frequency spectrum, providing a more realistic clarity of the soundstage, reducing listening fatigue and giving the mix a solid character. After many pre-development tests, the conclusion was that both the high and low frequencies were tighter and more precise. Homogeneous.
In addition, this material has inherent damping properties that reduce resonances in the tone. As explained by the lab that developed them: "we understand that the speaker diaphragm's aperture extends beyond the component's passband".
In plain English, you get a better perception of similar frequencies sounding at the same time. For example, it's easier to pick out a kick drum when the bass is playing on top of it. In short, more precise listening helps you make the right decisions in the mixing and mastering process.
Good Materials at Aggressive Prices
It's truly surprising that KRK can offer a family of monitors in Kevlar® (which is by nature a more expensive material), as well as build in an LCD on the back of the monitor that gives us precise adjustments for volume, EQ, DSP and general setup.
The evolution from the predecessors is easy to see, since besides the rigid fiber, we find a new front-firing bass port that sends its punch out the front instead of the back (against the wall?), as well as DSP that we control from the rear LCD mentioned above.
Both pairs (RP5 and RP7) have anti-vibration pads on the bottom. They're the same as those built into the G3 models, since their contribution to the sound has proven good. They isolate the cabinet from the desk, stands and so on, resulting in a tighter, more defined low-end threshold.
As for materials, let's close this note by mentioning the Class D amplification, which has also evolved notably over the last five years. It offers somewhat higher power, runs cool and is generally lighter, which ultimately helps make a more portable, dynamic and powerful monitor.
The Sound on the Test Bench
We played several samples through both the 5" and 7" pairs, and also compared them with another brand (higher priced) with 10" woofers and another with 8".
On both the KRK 5" and 7" models, we were struck by the wide spectrum of the low end, which, well defined, offered coverage similar to what we got from the 10" units of the pair we were comparing against.
They certainly delivered an excellent stereo image: wide, deep and clear. To these traits we should add the good taste in how the midrange is handled. I think it's a complex frequency zone that sometimes turns nasal or artificial, spoiling the virtues we've achieved in the other bands. In this case the mids are natural and balanced, and they blend beautifully into the tonal balance we describe.
Advantages of DSP
The possibilities of EQ via DSP are similar to those offered by the switches on the G3 (or other monitors). The key difference is that we find 5 different options offering different low and high-frequency alternatives (both shelving and peaking). As a result, the options for listening and correcting room coloration are greater.
The DSP offers 25 voicing possibilities (5 lows x 5 highs, 5x5=25)
We also poked around the KRK Audio Tools app, which seems to be very close to hitting the market and will bring new utilities (such as pink noise generation and a real-time spectrum analyzer) that will suggest the best settings for KRK pairs based on their position and listening results.
Conclusions
After testing, we determined that the user clearly comes out ahead with this kind of development, since, with much smaller investments, you get products that deliver a quality that used to be hard to achieve at these prices. We're talking 189€ and 259€ (KRK ROKIT 5 and 7 G4, respectively).
They compete comfortably in quality and price with other brands, and their listening quality is clear, defined, open and realistic.
• Table based on the tests carried out on the KRK ROKIT 5 and 7 G4 models.
