All user reviews for the KRK Rokit Powered 5

As I started building my home studio, it was apparent I needed a decent pair of monitors. I went to Guitar Center and these were the best sounding monitors that I could afford ($300 for the pair). They are active monitors, meaning they have built in amplifiers and do not need to be connected to a power amp. They can accept 1/4", XLR, or RCA inputs. The high frequencies can be cut but -2 or -1 dB, or can be boosted by +1 dB. The volume of the monitors can be changed from -30 dB all the way to + 6 dB, depending on your input or output needs. Since these are active monitors, a user would likely set this value once and change the volume level on his or her mixing console. All of the inputs, control knobs, and power switch and supply are located on the back.

SOUNDS

These monitors produce a flat response with a great deal of depth to material being played. If you have never heard music through studio monitors before, you will probably be surprised at what a difference playing back your favorite records through these speakers can make. That being said, if you were to lay out a lot more money for more expensive monitors, you would be totally blown away by the little nuances that you would be able to easily pick out within professional studio recordings. The monitors themselves produce very little noise when playing back silence, which is not noticeable at all once music kicks in. These speakers do a great job with mid-range to high-end sound, but do not produce a lot of bass. This is partly because they are designed to produce a relatively flat response among all of the frequencies, but in addition, they are only five inch speakers and cannot replicate the bass frequencies as larger speakers can. Pair these speakers up with a subwoofer, and tune your sound system appropriate between these monitors and your subwoofer, and you'll have a great little setup.

OVERALL OPINION

These are great monitors for entry level, but do not approach any of the higher end gear that KRK has manufactured. For the price, these are a good speaker, and occasionally you'll see them on sale for less than the $300/pair that I paid. I eventually replaced these monitors with KRK V8's that I got for a steal. At that point, I took my Rockits and made them my home stereo speakers paired with a Cambridge Soundworks subwoofer. They excel at this, and a I get a great, full sound out of a relatively compact package.

1" silk dome tweeter, 5" aramid glass woofer. Good choice of inputs (xlr, trs, rca), main gain control knob (-30 to +6 dB) and high frequency control knob (-2 to +1 dB). could use a crossover control know but it's not really necessary.

Price paid

$300 USD

SOUNDS

Incredible sound, great response for a 5 inch woofer.

OVERALL OPINION

Very easy to use, just plug in the power, plug in your input, put the knobs to 0 dB, turn on and play away.

Well built, solid as a rock.

This the best purchace I've ever made for music production, given I haven't purchased much. Also, I do believe these are the best monitors you can find for $300 or less.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: hollip3020 ( 6-, 2005)

Love the slotted hole versus the standard round. I think it gives a better sound.

Price paid

$240 USD

SOUNDS

These monitors sound really good, I was skeptical at first when I saw them in guitar center. But I'm definitely glad I decided to go with these. I couldn't believe the low end that I get from only the 5" woofer. I live in an apartment so I can't play these too loud. So the 4" might would even do the job for me in my situation, but I haven't listened to those.

OVERALL OPINION

Very well built, KRK's signature yellow woofer is definitely an eye catcher as well. These monitors are very heavy especially for a 5" set. I think the slot style hole for the bass definitely makes a difference compared to the normal round hole found on most speakers.

Very easy to use. Plug up the power then plug them into your sound card.

This is the first set of monitors I've owned so I can't compare these to a lot of others out there, but for the sound, quality, style, and price. I don't think you can beat these. $240 flat including shipping on ebay (brand new still in the box)

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: thasyndicate ( 7-, 2005)

Mulitple input options, powered (bi-amped). You can't go wrong.

Price paid

150.00 each

SOUNDS

I was in the market for some replacement monitors. I A/B'ed the against the M-Audio monitors. These blew the M-Audios away. They sound very precise, and clean without alot of sound coloring. I can't find a weak spot in these monitors aside from if they are pushed beyond their limit (which is the case with far more expensive monitors).

OVERALL OPINION

Very easy to use.

They feel heavy and durable, I love the finish and the yellow coned woofers.

Great sound quality, great value, great price, great look. You can't go wrong with these.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: dutty (January 1-, 2005)

Nothing really. Its a monitor. So it needs on and off switching and some inputs. It even has a knob to adjust the HPF.

Price paid: 199 euro's each

SOUNDS

Soundquality is the best you can get at the price for sure ! The RP5 sounds very tight, detailed with good stereo imaging. Compared to KRKs own V4, this one is much better. Also compare it to behringer, the budget genelec, phonic and alesis, this one is still the way to go ! I have them for ore then a year now and I love them ! The soundquality you get for the price is very good ! 9 out of 10

OVERALL OPINION

Well in fact, the first couple of months I had it, it sounded to me that one of the cones was a bit on the loose. Just not fitting tight into its mounted surface. However 2 weeks after it I never heared the rattling and stuff again so I dont know what it was but it seems it self repaired? I would say very good quality

I love them really ! I would replace them with a new pair if they broke down. The sound is very good and I just love it !

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: SantiBanks ( 6-, 2006)

These are a pair of entry-level, home studio active monitors. When I bought them I wanted a step up from desktop computer speakers that could represent the highs and bass that you lose with speakers like that. I was using them for my home studio - just recording some of my own music at the time. They are active, so they require no external amp. I had them hooked up via XLR to my soundcard, playing from a windows DAW.

SOUNDS

The frequency response is not all that neutral. Since they are only 5 inch speakers, the bass is not that well represented. I also found that when you tried to turn up the speakers to high volume to hear the bass better, everytime you'd get a mass of bass energy, such as a kick drum or loud bass note, everything else seemed to temporarily attenuate in the mix until the bass energy subsided. Now that kind of happens psychoacoustically normally - but there was definitely something happening there that this speaker could not quite handle very well. The highs are not that smooth, although the imaging is fair. Not great, but fair. The sound on this speakers also sounds somewhat muffled, which makes me think there's a deficiency in the high mids and/or highs. The transients in the mids are okay, but again they become a bit of a problem when you have a lot of bass energy.

OVERALL OPINION

I bought these speakers about 3 years ago, but have sinced gotten a pair of JBL LSR4328. What I liked about them is that they are so cheap, that the improvement in sound that you can when going from desktop computer speakers is a no brainer improvement. Frankly, when I bought them, I didn't hear as well as I do now, so they sounded great at the time. This makes me say that these might be a good pair to get for the home recordist looking for their first pair of active monitors. What I liked least is that the sound quality is simply not very impressive - it's just not accurate. The bass problems coupled with the muffled highs make me think that these could be a problem to mix on. That said, for the price, these are probably still a good buy for the home studio as you get accustomed to critical listening. I wouldn't get them again now, but I did enjoy them for a year or so after buying them.