zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Sound:
Crisp, clean, and accurate without being lifeless or harsh. The bass is impressively loud and extremely tight. The one flaw is that the deepest bass, below 80Hz-ish is a little weak.
Feature:
Combo XLR-TRS connectors are nice, but the limiter and auto-off features are useless because you can't adjust the thresholds. Granted, I listen at very low volumes, but I have yet to hear the limiter work and when set to auto the speakers turn off during quiet passages.
Ease of Use:
If you need the manual, you're hopeless. 'Nuff said.
Quality:
Very sturdy. Aside from the speaker cones, they can't take some serious banging around. They've seen the inside of a moving truck 5 times and been thumped occasionally by instruments, but they still look brand new.
Value:
I AB'd these with the offerings of Mackie, Alesis, M-Audio, a few Yamahas, and the other KRK's, and these demolished all of them. Buy these. You won't be sorry.
Manufacturer Support:
I e-mailed them once about an RMA (it turned out to be a cable problem), and they responded rapidly, if a bit brusquely.
The Wow Factor:
Very sleek, nice finish, and the yellow speaker cones are surprisingly tasteful. They look good enough to put out in a living room, IMO.
Overall:
I'll be adding a sub soon, but they've been just fine on their own for the last 3 years. If they broke, I'd buy another pair, no question.
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Sound:
For bass, look elsewhere (these are four inch woofers!) But the bass they do deliver is clear. For rap, RnB, techno, etc., probaly not the best. For bands, rock, pop, acoustic, vocals, they are super. They sound as great or as crappy as your mix. Very transparent for the cost--$500 a pair.
Feature:
It has everything you're likely looking for in a monitor. No frills.
Quality:
the build quality is fantastic. Speakers are heavy for their size. Solid construction.
Value:
There are suddenly a handful of $300-a-pair reference monitors out there. In my opinion, many fo these are fantastic deals for the home recording enthusiast. Audio snobs will spit and laugh at these products. Pay no mind--They are fine. If you can't make good music mixing on monitors in this product range, you just have no talent at it. That said, the KRK v4s are a little pricier than others in this price class. They offer less bass and volume in exchange for better components and overall clarity. They are perfect for the bedroom producers of the world--they are tiny, high quality, easy to use, don't fatigue the listener and are generally an enormous leap forward from consumer speakers or headphones one might be employing to track and mix. For $500, they will bring you joy for a good long while.
Manufacturer Support:
Two e-mails--two prompt replies.
The Wow Factor:
It's not that sexy. It's small and it you can't use it to throw big house parties. but is practical. It gets a 5 for sexy and 9 for practicality.
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Overall:
Don't let the size fool you- you won't believe the sound that comes from these speakers. Very well-balanced, non-fatiguing. Mixes on these little speakers translate very well. Great size for transport from studio to studio. Add a sub if you need accuracy below 70Hz. If you like to mix at jet-engine levels, opt for the V-8's. Otherwise, there's plenty of volume here. For home studio and portable reference I cannot recommend these speakers enough....
Sound:
I tested these monitors with many others in it's price range, including 8 inch monitors. I thought these sounded the best. It's hard to believe these little monitors can produce the sound they do. Bass is strong, but the frequency does not go as low as some bigger monitors. Mids are crystal clear and stand out the most. Treble is crisp but not fatigueing at all.
Feature:
Auto on/off switch, limiter, input combo.
Quality:
This is one of the highlights of this product. The caseing is rock solid, not made of plastic or wood like other monitors.
Value:
They are expensive, especially for 4 inch woofers, but hey all monitors are expensive. You get what you pay for.
Manufacturer Support:
Haven't had to use it.
The Wow Factor:
One of the better looking monitors out there in my opinion.
Overall:
I expect tot use these monitors for a long time. No need to upgrade any time soon. Overall I am happy with my purchace.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Manufacturer Support:
no contact yet
The Wow Factor:
I think desire like love should be reserved for humans. Desire or Love for objects is a degradation of consciousness.
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.
3 of 3 people
(100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Manufacturer Support:
no contact yet
The Wow Factor:
I think desire like love should be reserved for humans. Desire or Love for objects is a degradation of consciousness.
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.
2 of 2 people
(100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
Sound:
Very flat. Very accurate. Very good stereo image. Plenty loud. For the price I don't think you can beat this monitor. Also it has a suprising amount of bass power for such little monitors.
Feature:
It has what you need.
Ease of Use:
easy to use.
Quality:
Very good quality. Built like a tank.
Value:
I don't think there is a better value out there. These speakers are way more accurate than the RPK series and more accurate in the mids and highs than the V6 imo.
Manufacturer Support:
I haven't needed any support so until i know otherwise I will rate them high.
The Wow Factor:
Very attractive.
Overall:
Overall this is the best monitor in it's price range. Period. Mixes translate to other systems very well using them. Very accurate. Incredible value.
Sound:
Very flat. Very accurate. Very good stereo image. Plenty loud. For the price I don't think you can beat this monitor. Also it has a suprising amount of bass power for such little monitors.
Feature:
It has what you need.
Ease of Use:
easy to use.
Quality:
Very good quality. Built like a tank.
Value:
I don't think there is a better value out there. These speakers are way more accurate than the RPK series and more accurate in the mids and highs than the V6 imo.
Manufacturer Support:
I haven't needed any support so until i know otherwise I will rate them high.
The Wow Factor:
Very attractive.
Overall:
Overall this is the best monitor in it's price range. Period. Mixes translate to other systems very well using them. Very accurate. Incredible value.
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