KRK ROKIT Generation Five Family

The new KRK ROKIT Generation Five Studio Monitors, the latest in the brand's flagship speaker line--come in three sizes/models with five, seven and eight-inch woofers. The woofers use woven Kevlar® aramid fiber cones and proper ferrite magnets. The high frequencies for all three models are handled by one-inch dome tweeters. All three models use a bass reflex design with a smooth-walled tuned port that extends the width of the front of the cabinet. These two-way studio monitors are bi-amped powered using Class-D amplifiers.

The ROKIT Generation Five monitors ship with a stylish, protective grille. An additional non-protective grille is included if you prefer the drivers exposed, but you should take care to place the monitors where the drivers cannot be accidentally damaged. I liked them as they came, with the grilles installed. Know that there is no acoustical difference with either grille.

The monitors rest on a sound dampened material glued underneath the base of the cabinet to lessen the transfer of the cabinet's vibrational energy to whatever surface they are placed on. They also come with foam isolation pads for further sound isolation.

They connect using friction-Lock Neutrik® combo XLR/TRS input connectors for +4dB balanced operation. For -10dBv usage, the manual recommends using an unbalanced adapter cable. However, for the 30-hour break-in period, I used an RCA to 1/4-inch TS adapter plug to connect to my TV's L/R high impedance unbalanced outputs and they worked fine. I did have to lift the ground pin on both the AC power cables.

The primary differences, besides their actual physical sizes: 13.35 X 8.86 X 11.42 -inches (H x W x D) for the ROKIT 7 as tested here--are the size of the woofer size and power output from the two amplifiers. The maximum SPL is listed as 108dB for the ROKIT 5, 110dB for the ROKIT 7 and 111dB for the ROKIT 8. The signal-to-noise ratio varies slightly between models as does the crossover frequency. The ROKIT 7 weighs 16.87 pounds.

Frequency response (+/- 3dB) is 45Hz to 36kHz for the ROKIT 7, 42Hz to 36kHz for the ROKIT 8 and 54Hz to 30kHz for ROKIT5. The ROKIT 7 and ROKIT 8 have identical crossover frequencies of 1.64kHz.

An important specification not often mentioned in monitor specs is coverage angles, which the ROKIT 7 captures at 155 degrees horizontally and 133 degrees vertically. In my studio, musicians hardly ever sit down between takes. So, with good vertical/horizontal dispersion, I know they are hearing how bright (or not) my mixes or recordings are when standing behind me at the listening position.

The Rear Panel of the ROKIT 7 Generation Five includes an amber-colored function screen that lets you adjust settings for for the EQ, Setup and more, as well as fine-tuned the operating level.  LCD Function Screen, Setup The monitors have an amber-colored, LCD DSP function screen in the center of on the rear panel, just above the four M6 mounting points. This uses the familiar cursor/data entry scheme with a single knob to scroll around menus followed by a "push" to select a highlighted choice or to dive into a submenu section for more. When the monitor is first powered up, the LCD screen shows a fader to adjust the operating level in 0.1dB steps based, on a +4dBu factory-set input sensitivity. In this way, you may adjust the monitor's level to match other monitors in your room, solving a common issue when switching between monitors while playing music. The LCD screen also shows the currently running Voicing Mode, its frequency curve and any EQ changes already stored. EQ Function/Voicing Modes For instant access from the startup page, pushing the function knob will get you to the home page with three windows: EQ (highlighted), Setup, and Back. Scroll and push the knob once to enter any of these sub-section windows. The EQ function is one of the newest features added to this generation, is used to select between three Voicing Modes: Mix, Create, and Focus. All three Voicing Modes can also have an EQ preference applied on top of their built-in curves with that same EQ held until changed on the other two modes. All three monitors in the line have the same set of Voicing Modes but each is optimized specifically to the particular model. Mix mode has a flat frequency and phase response for mixing, mastering, and critical listening. Create mode is suggested for writing, producing, and casual listening. It has a pleasant-sounding "smiley curve" with a lowered mid-range and slightly boosted top and bottom, and is good for listening at a lower volume. By contrast, the Focus mode has a broad (Q) boost at 1kHz for hearing vocal lyrics and other critical midrange elements in your mix. I like this to "dig out" obscured lead vocals to hear lyrics clearly. Equalizer Details The high frequencies are adjustable in +/- 2dB steps for high-shelving at 10kHz and +/- 1dB for a peaking EQ at either 10kHz, or 3.5kHz or flat. Sometimes, more difficult rooms with low frequency modal problems might require more EQ points. The KRK ROKIT 7s have two EQ positions in the bass: +/- 2dB at 60Hz using a shelving EQ and -2db at 200Hz for a peaking EQ. Low EQ also has a position that provides -2dB cut at both 60Hz and 200Hz for more correction when the monitor is placed too close to walls, where Surface-Boundary Interference Reflections (SBIR) can create problems. Setup Page The Setup page is for setting up overall system preferences. You'll have to scroll around the menu to find what you want to change from factory settings. Selecting a parameter makes it adjustable with the knob. Parameters are available for the brightness and contrast of the backlit display, whether the KRK logo is on, off or dimmed, a factory reset for all parameters (if you get lost), and a power-save feature where the monitor goes to sleep when there is no audio input for 30 minutes. Once you've got a setup "dialed in," you can lock it down so no further adjustments can be made until you purposely, unlock them. Even if the LCD is not lit, pushing on the knob awakens it. Studio Setup and Mixing on the KRKs The KRK ROKIT 7s were perfect for my small mix room which is just 9.5-feet wide with an 8-foot ceiling. I removed my previous studio monitors, and placed the KRKs on my Sound Anchor stands, angled them inward, and set them at the recommended height (where my eyes are looking in at the space between the woofer and tweeter). I had them at 36-inches above my reflective hardwood floor, 36 inches from both the left and right walls, and 36 inches apart to obey the rule of the "Magic Triangle." The Listening Position is out front at the third corner of an equilateral triangle, where the front left and right corners dictate the location of the L/R monitors. With the default factory settings, my initial impression was that they were lacking a little in bass (at least in my room), so I switched to the flat Mix mode and dove into the EQ page. I scrolled to Low EQ and added a +2dB shelf at 60Hz. This worked well to keep my mixes from being bass heavy. If you are working in ATMOS or 5.1/7.1 mixing and require an LFE channel or mixing in a larger room, or simply like more subsonic level, KRK recommends the S8.4 Powered Subwoofer ($369MSRP). I was happy with the bass sound. Once setup this way in my mix room, the ROKIT 7s performed well for mid-volume-level mixing. They have good, clear stereo imaging and I sometimes used the -2dB at 10kHz shelf if they seemed a little bright when playing back mastered bright pop songs. It is nice to have this option and I wish the DSP functionality had a Bluetooth app for my phone--then I could sit at the listening position to hear the EQ changes. While I had the ROKIT Generation Five monitors set up in my studio, I had to mix a new artist, who wanted to sit in to see my process. They were amazed that their music could sound so balanced when mixed on these monitors. A rough mix passed the car test well. Not too booming in the bass and the low mid-range was balanced, plus, the stereo effects--reverb and delays, sat well. I think these new KRK ROKIT 7 Generation Fives are the best version yet of these already popular monitors!  Barry Rudolph  Barry Rudolph is a recording engineer/mixer who has worked on over 30 gold and platinum award-winning records. He has recorded and/or mixed Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, The Corrs, Mick Jagger and Rick Rubin. Check: Wikipedia A three-time Grammy-winning engineer, Barry has his own futuristic music mixing facility called Tones 4 $ Studios. He is a lifetime Grammy-voting member of NARAS, and Contributing editor for Mix Magazine. Check out: www.barryrudolph.com     www.gearlust.com  KRK Systems  Web: KRK Systems Product: ROKIT® 7 Generation Five Powered Studio Monitor Speakers. Price: $269 USD Each Pros: The Mix, Create, and Focus Voicing Modes are very useful in the studio. Cons: Nothing, but an update could include a Bluetooth app that mirrors LCD Function. Barry Rudolph is an L.A.-based recording engineer. Visit his Web site at: WWW.BARRYRUDOLPH.COM Click Here To Return To The Directory Of Mix Magazine Reviews Copyright © By Future Plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.  All Rights Reserved. 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