Ableton Forum

Worth it? I really need a set of monitors but I can't afford anything great right now. I'm actually selling some other gear so I can purchase some monitors.

people really like them on this forum. for cheap I'd rather try to find good monitors used. YMMV, have fun, new monitors are a joy.

Tone Deft wrote:people really like them on this forum. for cheap I'd rather try to find good monitors used. YMMV, have fun, new monitors are a joy.

Been looking but haven't found much.

I used to own a nice pair of KRK V8 monitors but i had to sell them due to some $$$$$$ issues that came up. Anyho, i currently have the Rokit 8's and they seriously don't sound that bad. Its not the best monitors i've owned but they mosdef get the job done. Pretty much all the mixes i've done on them translate pretty much strait up to whatever speakers I a/b them onto. For the money they really can't be beat....until i have some bank to spend on some genelecs

ive read so much good about them, then i turn around and read so much bad about them. they are soooo subjective.

Damon_Chambers wrote:ive read so much good about them, then i turn around and read so much bad about them. they are soooo subjective.

thats how most gear is, lol. Its always better to try it out yourself to get an educated opinion on the subject

KRK has just released a newer Rokit series. (yesterday)

Will be really interested to hear the reviews on them. And if people think they are better than the old Yamaha HS80m's

there great moniters --- just make sure u get the SUB to cover the low end too -

I've got the RP8s - they're the only pair of dedicated monitors I've ever owned (last speakers were Tannoy hifi's) so I can't give you any sort of comparisons with others. But I can tell you that the RP8s go down to 45Hz which is pretty helpful - but what would really help would be some better treatment for the room they're in. Additionally, I've heard detail out of those monitors which I missed on my current headphones, Beyerdynamic DT250s.

You know, there is another alternative; a REALLY good pair of headphones - like AKG K701s for instance. As long as you've got a selection of other playback systems to reference your mixes on, it would be way better to mix on a good pair of headphones rather than some mediocre monitors, which would cost about the same. I'm going for a pair myself, having read some very, very good things about them in mixing roles.

But going back to the RP8s, for the price they're a very good monitor.

Quote from Sound On Sound review:
"These may not be KRK's most expensive monitors, but they are ideally suited to the majority of project studio applications, delivering clarity and a decent amount of bass extension in a compact and affordable package. I really liked working with the Rokit 8s, but when switching to the Rokit 5s there was no sense of being fobbed off with a small sound — these are great little monitors for this UK price. All speakers built to a cost involve design compromises, but I feel the designers have done well in this respect to deliver a range of well-engineered, affordable active monitors with no significant vices. Whatever corners have been cut, they don't affect the ability of these monitors to let you hear a properly balanced mix with clarity and detail."

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug04/a ... krokit.htm

Tone Deft wrote:people really like them on this forum. for cheap I'd rather try to find good monitors used. YMMV, have fun, new monitors are a joy.

Here's what I've found. I own and am currently using the RP8s. They do not work well for my needs. The reason is simple. The inexpensive Rokit 8s sound excellent. Problem is, they make the mix sound better than it really does. They are not truly flat which in my opinion is the most crucial aspect of a monitors functionality. The trick when buying cheap monitors (300.00 and down ea.) is to start small. The RP5s are much more accurate in most cases than the 8s. People do not typically have ideal studio listening areas that are looking for cheap monitors to begin with. If they did they would most likely be looking for mid to high end stuff. If your dedicated studio space is smallish (the same or under 10x10x12) and is not idealized with mathematically applied ceiling baffles and various absorbing and reflective acoustic treatments, GO SMALL.

As MR. Deft said, if at all possible, buy used to get better stuff, but be CAREFUL. People dump abused stuff all the time and you might be buying a pair of monitors that will cost more to renovate than what you paid for them used to start with. A good idea would be to go to the engineer/recording union and check out their classifieds. Most of those techs are very up front and will let you know why the equipment is for sale and what if anything they would recommend doing to the equipment you are thinking of purchasing from them.

I will also say as a side note well worth mentioning that KRK suck in the customer service dept. One of my RP8s front plastic mounting bezel or whatever you wanna call it is coming unglued around the bottom speaker. You can run your finger around it and it will stick back down for a day and then pop back away from the cabinet. I have owned them since they were new for about 2.5 years. That's pretty lame IMO. I called them and left a very polite message and they never even returned my call.

The old adage that "you get what you pay for" is not always true, but in the case of studio monitors, I believe unfortunately it is. 500.00 for me is not just chump change and even if the damn things are not completely accurate by any stretch, at least they could hold up structure wise.

that's my $.02

They are good IMHO. Hold up and (usually) surpass the stuff in it's price range such as Alesis, M-Audio, Samson etc. Although for a little more the Event ALP's are (to my ears) slightly more responsive.

How 'flat' they are is really dependent on your monitoring environment. In a poorly treated room they (any monitor) isn't going to tell you the right story. In a well treated room, they are very neutral.

But there are plenty of decent alternatives, so listen to a few before making a choice, don't just pile in there and to hell with the consequences...

[quote="leedsquietman"]They are good IMHO. Hold up and (usually) surpass the stuff in it's price range such as Alesis, M-Audio, Samson etc. Although for a little more the Event ALP's are (to my ears) slightly more responsive.


Ironically my old event 20/20 monitors always gave me ear fatigue after working on them for more then two or three hours. I never had that much a problem one i got My V8's......random i know.....

leedsquietman wrote:They are good IMHO. Hold up and (usually) surpass the stuff in it's price range such as Alesis, M-Audio, Samson etc. Although for a little more the Event ALP's are (to my ears) slightly more responsive.

How 'flat' they are is really dependent on your monitoring environment. In a poorly treated room they (any monitor) isn't going to tell you the right story. In a well treated room, they are very neutral.

But there are plenty of decent alternatives, so listen to a few before making a choice, don't just pile in there and to hell with the consequences...

+1, good for the price range.

Definitely do some comparison listening, bring a CD of your own stuff, and see which montors reproduce the mix closest to the way you intended.

I ended up getting the 5's because others in the price range (even with larger diaphragms) didn't sound as good. And look for what's on sale, give that a listen-- I was bummed sometime after buying to see the Rokit 8s going on sale sometime later for way cheap

DrXparaMental wrote:...Problem is, they make the mix sound better than it really does...

I had a slightly different experience with these monitors the first time I started using them - compared to the Tannoy hifi speakers I was upgrading from (which are obviously designed to hype/flatter sounds), the RP8s sounded awful, really bad. Realised it was because they have a very different frequency response in comparison to my old hifi Tannoys and were therefore a lot flatter and more truthful, in my experience.

DrXparaMental wrote:...Problem is, they make the mix sound better than it really does...

Doc - what does that mean?

good monitors are transparent. if they make the mix sound better then they compliment the producer's crappy style.

these monitors are in most gear shops, they suck donkey dick, I wish people would stop putting this kind of crap on a pedestal. they're just cheap ass speakers, nothing more, nothing less. there is worse but FFS get over it. I'm no pro but fuck me this forum has some real fucking n00bs on it.


if you're cheap and you want speakers, go for it. I just don't get all excited over Fischer Price gear. (on a monday morning. )