KRK RockitG2 - 5 vs 6 buying advice

[voltronic]

Hello world,

I am in the market for a good set of monitors (budget around $300), and I have heard great things about the KRK Rockit 5s. I was all set to get them, until I recently found that a few stores are selling the Rockit 6s in the limited edition Ferrari gray for the same price as the 5s ($150 each).

So the question is not if the 6s are worth the extra money, since I can get them for the same price as the 5s. It's are they worth the extra space they take up on my desk, for only 4 more Hz in the low end and more power.

Thanks to all!

On a related note, anyone looking for cheap monitors should NOT purchase the Alesis M1Active 520. That is what I have now, and they have lousy electronics as far as I can tell. There is a pretty high level of hiss even with no signal present, and I have never had any speaker system pick up EMI/RFI like these do.

[jgimbel]

I've got the 5s. I'd rather have the 6s, or 8s for that matter. The 5s are pretty nice for what they are and their price, but I do with they had a bit of a fuller range. I'd say for the 6s if they're the same price. Added benefit is if you ever decide to sell them you'll be able to get more money for them than the 5s, despite dropping the same dime on them.

[Snarl 12/8]

4Hz is a lot in the low end.

So is 4 hurts, but that's another story.

Ultimately though, specs can only tell you so much, but if you want to be able to tell what's going on down there come mix time, you probably want every Hz you can get.

[kinger]

After reading a Sound on Sound review, I ended up buying the 6's. The reviewer's opinion was that the 5's were too thin, the 8's were too boomy and the 6's were just right. Feel free to insert a suitable Goldilocks reference here. I've been very happy with mine in a small-ish treated room, though I definitely wouldn't want any less bass response. I've found them well-balanced and my mixes translate well.

[calaverasgrandes]

usually two speakers with nearly identical specs otherwise, if one only goes 5 hz or so lower it will seem like more. It isnt just about the extension of the bass, but the "voice" of the speaker will be lower. Also an active with twice the watts will do better at bass freqs.
My RP5G2s arent bass masters but they are good enough. After the Monitor ones they replaced they are great. (freaking monitor one note more like).

[jgimbel]

Yeah I don't trust the low end in my mixes on my 5s. Not that it's not there (I need some more bass trapping too, it's a little boomy here) but I can't hear as much of what's going on down there. For me what I like about them is that they're not "exciting" sounding. They're not going to make your mixes sound amazing if they're not, but when you get it right, they sound really nice. I find them to be really great in the high end, you can hear a lot of complexity but they're not harsh or shrill. They were my first real monitors, and I've used and heard others since, but stuck with these.

[Wagz]

I have the RP5's first gen lying around in our dining room at work, been using them for throw around speakers as of late. Not too much of a fan of the (original) rp5s no bass response and the highs were always over flattering, had to crank them all the way down to be able to mix in a way that translates ok. Have no idea how the second generation does with this. Working on the KRK V6 right now, translate much better.

Looking to uprade to something else fairly soon though.

[calaverasgrandes]

Me at this point I feel like I can't be bother to upgrade until I can afford to spend a wad of dough. Everything I try out is either just as good as the KRK's or way better, and way expensiver.
I'm also quite bummed because both Adam and Dynaudio stopped making small format passives in the last couple years. Which kinda hoses both my plans for nearfields. So now I got this Adcom hooked up to some way too big JBL installation speakers. They sound good but have diffraction issues.

So until then I get 'er in the ballpark on the KRK RP5G2's and tweak the funny shit with my AKG240m's.
Sum total spent $380 dollars.

[jgimbel]

Me at this point I feel like I can't be bother to upgrade until I can afford to spend a wad of dough. Everything I try out is either just as good as the KRK's or way better, and way expensiver.
I'm also quite bummed because both Adam and Dynaudio stopped making small format passives in the last couple years. Which kinda hoses both my plans for nearfields. So now I got this Adcom hooked up to some way too big JBL installation speakers. They sound good but have diffraction issues.

So until then I get 'er in the ballpark on the KRK RP5G2's and tweak the funny shit with my AKG240m's.
Sum total spent $380 dollars.

+1. For what they are, the KRKs really aren't bad at all. It's like a lot of things, like mics, converters, preamps, where there's a range of kind of shitty products and some that are solid for what the are (like the KRKs IMO) and it takes a pretty nice jump in price before there's a really huge improvement. Like with mics, the large diaphragm dynamics are always $250-$400 or so, and there's a lot of shitty mics around that range and lower, but then above that mics really jump up to around $1000 before you're getting to the "low budget studio mics", or "high budget prosumer", whatever you want to call it. Not that there's nothing in between, but I don't find nearly as many mics at the $700 price point (though I'm dying for a Lauten Audio Clarion!).

[Producer/Engineer]

So the question is not if the 6s are worth the extra money, since I can get them for the same price as the 5s. It's are they worth the extra space they take up on my desk, for only 4 more Hz in the low end and more power.

YES.

get these: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MoPAD

and at least sound treat your "first reflection" points to start:

http://www.atsacoustics.com/cat--ATS-Ac ... --100.html

[calaverasgrandes]

I would say do your first reflection points before you get the mopads.
Way more critical IMHO.

[voltronic]

OK, so the consensus seems to be to go with the 6s - that's what I will do. As far as taming reflections and isolation, I plan on using the same ghetto DIY stands I have my current monitors on, about 5" up off the desk, and with layers of the grippy rubber shelf liner for isolation / anti-skid purposes.

Thanks for all of the thoughtful responses - I'm glad I finally stopped lurking on this great forum.