KRK V4 Series 2 Powered 2-Way Active Monitor

Feature:
These speakers are loaded with useful features, however, one of them didn't work well for me, and I am missing some sort of protection for the drivers. 1) 110V-230V power supply. Many manufacturers only provide 110V power supplies, presumably to either cut costs or to prevent gray import/export. For me, this was a deciding factor, as I move about from time to time. 2) Limiter. Great protection for the drivers, and I have yet to notice any ill effect to the sound quality. Admittedly, I don't drive them all that while mixing. Clip LED also provided. 3) -30db to +6db sensitivity adjustment. 4) auto on/off feature. I like this a lot, however the feature does not work well for me, the speakers constantly turn off during quiet passages. What I'm missing: 1) the bottom of these speakers has a nice thick, inlaid rubber mat, which is nice, but there seem to be no places to really mount them. Since they sound best free-standing on speaker stands, I'd really like to be able to fix them without resorting to using big velcro straps. 2) with the universal power supply and the small size, these just shout "travel with me, take me in your carry-on bag". I'd love it if KRK offered some minimal detachable protection for the drivers. I'd be perfectly happy to pay extra for something optional you can snap on. Those would also be useful in any home studio with small children in the house.

Quality:
About as solidly built as it gets, they put a lot of other speaker cabinets to shame... Since Zzounds asks here to answer about worries something might break, I will mention that they do share the lack of a protective front with the majority of studio monitors, for the purpose of a more pristine audio quality. They also lack a way to attach a mounting bracket. To sum it up, the only worry about something breaking would come from external influences, like falling off your stand or something poking into one of the cones by accident. One of my main reasons to go with these over the M-Audio monitors was a forum discussion about the internal solidity of the drivers and how well the magnets are attached to the rest of the driver. Two people had a problem with the M-Audio woofer Magnets falling off during transport, while others were testifying to the solidity of the KRK driver design. Having had a woofer magnet fall off during the shipping of a pair of Alesis M1 active monitors a few years back, I was sensitive to this subject and with the audio quality of both having been reviewed well, internal build quality was my reason #2 for purchasing these.

Value:
There are other quality speakers for less money, but KRK's reputation for not cutting corners seems well deserved. Judging the value based on 2007 discounted prices amounting to $400 for a pair.

Desirability:
I think desire like love should be reserved for humans. Desire or Love for objects is a degradation of consciousness.

Sound:
I'd call the sound pleasant, crisp, detailed, I can listen to them for many hours without getting fatigued. Bass isn't strong but stays tight, and is certainly stronger than you'd expect from this size speaker. It wisely gets rolled off at 60Hz at 12db/octave. The bass can change a lot depending on how you position these. I liked them best free-standing on speaker stands. On a desk surface, bass response increases at the cost of definition, if you also have them against the wall, it gets a little tubby, but you can't blame KRK for that. I think they're great for mixing, with the obvious risk of making somewhat bass heavy mixes when using small monitors. One day, I might buy the matching V8 Subwoofer for them.

Ease of Use:
The manual has useful information about positioning and proper hookup. I have no idea how fast the limiter is, but chances are that its not fast enough to protect the drivers from you hot-plugging your audio cables, so anyone new to this should read the section on how to hook them up twice and not forget it.

Support:
no contact yet

Overall:
I think these will last a lifetime, after all, there are re-coning services, should the baffles go after 10 years or so... I hope they'll have that new virtual speaker technology worked out before these baffles turn to dust, so I can reduce my traveling weight and size further.

Feature:
These speakers are loaded with useful features, however, one of them didn't work well for me, and I am missing some sort of protection for the drivers. 1) 110V-230V power supply. Many manufacturers only provide 110V power supplies, presumably to either cut costs or to prevent gray import/export. For me, this was a deciding factor, as I move about from time to time. 2) Limiter. Great protection for the drivers, and I have yet to notice any ill effect to the sound quality. Admittedly, I don't drive them all that while mixing. Clip LED also provided. 3) -30db to +6db sensitivity adjustment. 4) auto on/off feature. I like this a lot, however the feature does not work well for me, the speakers constantly turn off during quiet passages. What I'm missing: 1) the bottom of these speakers has a nice thick, inlaid rubber mat, which is nice, but there seem to be no places to really mount them. Since they sound best free-standing on speaker stands, I'd really like to be able to fix them without resorting to using big velcro straps. 2) with the universal power supply and the small size, these just shout "travel with me, take me in your carry-on bag". I'd love it if KRK offered some minimal detachable protection for the drivers. I'd be perfectly happy to pay extra for something optional you can snap on. Those would also be useful in any home studio with small children in the house.

Quality:
About as solidly built as it gets, they put a lot of other speaker cabinets to shame... Since Zzounds asks here to answer about worries something might break, I will mention that they do share the lack of a protective front with the majority of studio monitors, for the purpose of a more pristine audio quality. They also lack a way to attach a mounting bracket. To sum it up, the only worry about something breaking would come from external influences, like falling off your stand or something poking into one of the cones by accident. One of my main reasons to go with these over the M-Audio monitors was a forum discussion about the internal solidity of the drivers and how well the magnets are attached to the rest of the driver. Two people had a problem with the M-Audio woofer Magnets falling off during transport, while others were testifying to the solidity of the KRK driver design. Having had a woofer magnet fall off during the shipping of a pair of Alesis M1 active monitors a few years back, I was sensitive to this subject and with the audio quality of both having been reviewed well, internal build quality was my reason #2 for purchasing these.

Value:
There are other quality speakers for less money, but KRK's reputation for not cutting corners seems well deserved. Judging the value based on 2007 discounted prices amounting to $400 for a pair.

Desirability:
I think desire like love should be reserved for humans. Desire or Love for objects is a degradation of consciousness.

Sound:
I'd call the sound pleasant, crisp, detailed, I can listen to them for many hours without getting fatigued. Bass isn't strong but stays tight, and is certainly stronger than you'd expect from this size speaker. It wisely gets rolled off at 60Hz at 12db/octave. The bass can change a lot depending on how you position these. I liked them best free-standing on speaker stands. On a desk surface, bass response increases at the cost of definition, if you also have them against the wall, it gets a little tubby, but you can't blame KRK for that. I think they're great for mixing, with the obvious risk of making somewhat bass heavy mixes when using small monitors. One day, I might buy the matching V8 Subwoofer for them.

Ease of Use:
The manual has useful information about positioning and proper hookup. I have no idea how fast the limiter is, but chances are that its not fast enough to protect the drivers from you hot-plugging your audio cables, so anyone new to this should read the section on how to hook them up twice and not forget it.

Support:
no contact yet

Overall:
I think these will last a lifetime, after all, there are re-coning services, should the baffles go after 10 years or so... I hope they'll have that new virtual speaker technology worked out before these baffles turn to dust, so I can reduce my traveling weight and size further.