Friday, November 19, 2010

KRK 8 G2 Monitor review.

 
A tradesman is only as good as the tools that they use. I have heard “that one” a million times over. Now, however, and for the first time, I understand just what that saying means. From this day on, in my little corner home studio, I have the best tools! They are KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors .

Today, I have “heard” my very own music for the very first time. I have opted to toss out my “el-cheapo” studio reference monitors and install a KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors . I then opened up a work in progress, and “took a listen”. As I worked along, I asked myself a couple of questions; like “Would I be able to hear a difference?”, and “Would I be able to “hear” something new?”

 I would find out in a few moments, as I turned the new monitors on, just what folks mean when they claim that “getting a good pair of quality monitors is just as important as getting a good quality microphone”. I can't simply put into words just how much of a difference there now is in the quality of the music that is coming out of the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors !

Every little nuance of the music is clear and audible now, where as before it was all “missing” in a way. All of this time I thought that I could hear what was happening within my mixes, and now I know that I was wrong. Could this even be possible? Had this quality of “sonic-ness” been eluding me all this time?

The one thing that I can say with words is that “I can now achieve much better results due to the ability to actually hear what is sonically happening within my songs”. Yes, I have the right tools now.

Let me tell you about what has become the most important studio upgrade that I have made in a very, very long time. I am talking about the recent addition of a pair of KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors .  
Yet another old piece of advice that was given to me a long time ago is, “crap in, crap out”. This advice has led me on a mission to obtain better instruments, better microphones, and a better DAW system. However, I stopped there and continued on with less than desirable monitors. These “less than” monitors were actually tuned to sound sweeter. This alone is why my mixes sounded so darn good in the home studio and yet so bad in the car.

I needed to hear what was actually going “to be heard”, raw as it was, and not some engineers idea of a sweet eq'd addition to my overall mix. With all of the attention we give to recording with the best possible gear, top of the line plug ins, and the highest sample rates, to then mix down using the best possible bit rates and conversion file types, isn't it worth it to “hear” what you actually have, and with as amazing detail as possible? I could go on and on about just how good my original music sounds while pumping through the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors , but that would be a given.

Any review or advertisement for the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors will tell you that much. I want to explain how “different” my original music sounds pumping through these monster monitors.

I have never quite “felt” the kick drum “thud” and the bass “woof” before. Notice I chose the word “felt”? I knew that the kick drum and the bass were both working their way through my old monitors, because (although whimpy) I could hear them if I tried hard enough. The KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors have a way of projecting the kick drum and the bass woof to the listeners ears, but also to his or her chest.

I had not ever felt results like this before, but it makes such darned good sense. This is a pleasant thing to boot, as high volume levels are not necessary for mixing (like before I installed the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors ). I liken the difference of the quality of the overall sound detail of my old monitors to my new KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors to the difference between the usual “acoustic night” at the local coffee shop, and a stadium concert featuring a full blown metal band. Perhaps that will “paint the picture” of what I am trying to relate about actually “feeling” the kick drum and the bass woof with the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors .

And now for the guts of the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors .

First of all, you know quality when you feel it. These babies are hefty, weighing in at 26.1 pounds each! This comes from a quality, well built product. Video shielding is built in too, so forget the “colored hot spots” on your tv's or monitor screens. The back of the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors has some knobs and switches, so lets see what is there. First up is the usual on/off switch. This is in part of the internal amps, “amps” as in two! One amp is 70 watts for pushing the glass aramid composite woofer. The second amp is 20 watts, and is for the neodymium soft dome tweeter (with ferro fluid). Peak volume is rated at 106 decibels, so make sure to hang on!

Inputs are either an XLR jack, an ¼ inch mono, 10k ohm, jack, or one unbalanced RCA jack. The two “dial type” knobs are for (top) high freq adjust, and (bottom) volume level. The HF adjust is a “pre-set” type, with four positions. This adjusts the monitors to your listening environment, with settings of -2db to +1db of HF gain.

The front of the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors is as pictured in the images found on this post, but with a little bonus. The KRK logo actually lights up, which I found to be a cool feature. I know at a glance if I left them on by accident (or not). This was not the case with my old monitors.

Wrapping up this review, I need to put into words just what these monitors have done for me, and my music writing/recording process. This is a tough thing to relate. I will attempt to explain, though, so you can all understand where I am coming from.

When tracking, my “input instruments” are now a lot more precise. The old monitors could not “dial in” on what was exactly happening in this important process. Now, however, I can easily hear where a high or low pass filter is needed, and applying such filters is a snap. Compression can now be applied with accuracy, and can be “heard” in my mixes. Where as before I was adding unnecessary EQ boosts and EQ reductions just to get my inputs to translate after the fact, only finding out that I blew it, later, while listening to the finished mix in the car. How much is this worth to you? Again, “crap in, crap out”.

Mixing is no longer a chore, but a fun process! I find myself tweaking what has been tweaked, just because the detail and clarity of the KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors allow for this sort of thing.

I now trust what I am now hearing, and it relates as I mix my tracks down for other stereo systems. Before, it was a crap shoot, but not any longer. Look, if you want to stop wasting time and get the best tracks, mixes, and finished exports possible, upgrade your monitors! They are a very important link in your chain of tools. Your music is important to us all!!! When affordability is an issue, like to all of us home recording nuts, KRK delivers the most “bang for the buck”, hands down, time and time again!
Do yourself a favor and listen to a pair of KRK RP8 G2 Rokit Powered Studio Monitors for yourself. You will hear just what I am writing about. You can thank me later! Please stay tuned for a demo video that is in the works. I want to give you all a listen, using a decent microphone.

24 comments:

  1. Thank you for this beat making software! I really need this in my line of work.
    pc recording software

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  2. If you were blown away by upgrading to the RP8-G2 (I am quite happy with my RP6-G2s) you should really invest a couple hundred in DIY Sound treatment, your mixes will become much clearer.

    Put it this way, crap in is crap out. But grace out bouncing off walls turns into crap all over again.

    JR

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  3. Yep! I have just moved into a new place, but am also looking into that very step. Thanks for the sugestion!

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  4. wow. Ur review realy made wish i owened the krk 8g2 pair. Im also a mixing engineer but i cant afford any of the decent monitors. I love mixing. I guess i just love a good quality sound. Thank you for the inspiration. One day ill afford to get the best monitors.

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  5. If you are a mix engineer, how can you get a good mix without a good pair of monitors? You must have a "ground zero" for reference. Thanks for your comment!

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  6. i got a pair of these 8g2's for an awsome 40 beans a pop. but i got a small studio. i would like to have something smaller but would have had to fork up a whole nuther 200 dollars. would it be worth it to sell these and get the 6inch monitors. Iam also a dj and im wondering how would these 8g2s sound in live performance?

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  7. Thanks for the review. I just bought a pair today after several recommendations from engineers and love em'!

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  8. hey steve this is arnold am planing to buy rokit 8 but my room is not soundproof and not acoustic done so which 1 u suggest me plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me out and i do electronic musiz

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  9. Arnold, Love to help you!
    Do you want to email me at Kern@HomeRecordingWeekly.com ? Sounds like you need some acoustic treatment info? Hit me up, and we will hash out the details for you. I reccomend that you get the Rockit 8's and some simple treatment too. Email me!

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  10. Would these be appropriate for use as performance speakers? I am a vocalist and perform for private functions for groups from 20 ppl to 100 ppl. using pre-recorded backgrnd tracks and need some boost and better coverage for my All In One Karaoke system. I was thinking of buying some "karaoke specific" Madboy speakers, but these are cheaper and easier to find. What do you think?

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  11. I just had a long test listening session at our local store here. I actually went in to get the Event 20/20 V3, because of the good revies and my memories of the original ones back in the 90s. Thank god I listened first, was so disappointed. So I checked for alternatives, and was pretty much blown away by the RP8s. Yes the VXTs sound even more precise but then for almost double the price, and the Rokits were close. To my ears the RP8s were far better than the Events and also clearly better than the Yamaha HS80Ms. Being an ADAM Audio fan for years I must admit that I liked the VXTs better over the A8s from ADAM because they seem to be less tiring in the high freqs, but equally precise. Well its more a question of taste in that region I think.

    When saying that the Rokits are close to the VXTs I would also say that they're not directly competing to the ADAMS or Dynaudios etc. but then again - and this is the amazing thing to me - not too far behind! Not at all.

    I am pretty sure nobody will "mildly smile" at you when you say you did the mix on RP8s.

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  12. Am I to assume that you purchased KRK Rockitt 8's? You call them Rp 8's, but fail to mention that you purchased them. Glad that you agree with KRK quaklity, of audio representation antway! Thanks so much for your coment, and glad to hear that you like KRK as much as I do. If you like their headphones, stand by for some news in a day or two, here on my blog, hint, hint, good things are coming!

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  13. Oh yes sorry; indeed I did purchase them they call them RP8s over here in G-Zone.

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  14. Thanks for sharing your day, and your findings here on Home Recording Weekly! I couldnt agree more!

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  15. about to get this speakers... do they come in a pair or ill have to pay double the price of the singles?

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    1. I would think that it depends on where you purchase them. Perhaps sweetwater or some place that sells a lot of them, would put a set of them togather for you? Thanks for the comment/question.

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  16. Hi all. A little help please. My husband and I love to watch movies and listen to music. Can we use these RP8 G2 for that? Any help will be very much appreciated. Thanks all.

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    1. You could, but that is not what they are designed for. They have a flat freq response. You do not want that when watching movies. What you want is a home speaker set up, with a surround sound speaker setup.

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  17. I am really proud to say that since i was using my rokit 8's nearly one year are the brilliant two pair of monitors that i found..No doubt i can say if, you are the person to make your own picture the feeling you can make by these two friendly guys make..Please try these out and you will see the difference to be honest.

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    1. Yes Sandun, I agree totally. Thanks for the comment!

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  19. Thanks for sharing such a useful information. Make your music audible with KRK Studio Monitors which produces best quality audio.

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