OK. Now that we've agreed on the looks (have we?), second main reason I chose this is because of the price. I went on a hunt for an pair of affordable pair of studio monitors with professional features and this seem to be a good choice with a price tag of US250 to US$300 a pair depending on the store or distributor. I was lucky enough to get a discounted price of US$250 at a local distributor whom I knew. Another feature I was looking for in studio monitors was that it should be powered and bi-amped (two separate amps for the tweeter and woofer). By being being bi-amped, a monitor would not choke or will not be confused when different frequency ranges are played. By logic, speaker movements vary with different sounds or frequencies and by having two separate amps, these frequencies are shared and not jumbled up as one. Comparing to other monitors which only have a simple amplifier, bi-amped monitors deliver more crystal-clear and well defined sound which allows a studio engineer to dissect parts more intricately. By the way, the model I have are the ones made in US, now, there are the RP-5 G2 which are China made. There's a little difference on the design of the cabinet but the claim is that the performance and quality is the same. Maybe I'll check it out some other time.
The distinctive yellow woofer cone design of the RP-5 is made of woven-glass Aramid composite... mmm.. I don't really have an idea what that is but according to the manufacturers it is more tough and well able to handle the frequencies it is assigned to. For the tweeter there is a 1 inch neodymium soft-dome with ferrofluid (whew! more scientific words irrelevant to sound). The tweeter and the woofer has independent systems which its own set of transducers, electronics and enclosures.
The dimension of the RP-5 measures 10 7/8 x 7 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches. the cabinet is made of medium-denzity fiberboard with multiple braces inside and a central septum. The main color is flat black and its corners and edges are rounded which they say reduces sound diffraction resulting in better audio imaging. There is also a bass port hole at the cabinet's front bottom side.
Now for frequency range, the KRK RP-5 is rated with a frequency response of 53 hertz to 20 khz at ±2 dB. Crossover is at 3khz made possible by a 24db/octave crossover filter. The tweeter amp is powered at 15W while the woofer is at 30W, with both amps low-noise and distortion. The DMOS audio amplifiers with the RP-5s are made by SGS-Thomson.
Let's look at the back. There an adjustable input sensitivity knob that goes from -30dB up to -6dB and also a high-frequency switch with four positions; -2, -1, 0 and +1dB. I like the inputs because it has a XLR, TRS Balanced and RCA unbalanced jacks which make it convenient to be set-up with whatever connection one wants or what is available. There is a 110/220 VAC IEC main connector for the power cable a an on-off power switch. Most monitors have the power switch at the back. Manufacturers should consider on putting them in front because at times it becomes quite tiring to stretch all the way to the back of the speakers to reach them. Anyway, I guess they wanted to engineers to do some stretching exercises from time to time...hehe
For the sound performance, RP-5s are great for mixing most types of music except those which need a lot of bass or low frequencies such as Hip-Hop and R&B. Since the low frequency is only up to 53 hertz, if you plan to mix lower than that, you should the KRK RP-10 subwoofer to complement the RP-5s to ensure you are hearing all the frequencies and just doing guesses or mixing by the numbers. I have worked in studios with monitors such as Genelec, Mackie and Yamaha and I must say that although the price of the RP-5 is just a small fraction of these monitors, the sound quality is really not that far. Maybe If I didn't know the difference with the speakers I would judge that the sound quality is the same. Before getting the KRK RP-5 I have worked with an old pair of passive Alesis monitors and sad to say, most clients requested for revision-remix. After getting the RP-5s, almost all projects were nailed at first submission. Well, it is unfair to judge the Alesis studio monitors because as I've said, they're old and passive, and maybe, my ears are just not used to them. In the end, how use what you have is always a big factor. For using studio monitor speakers, whatever it is you have, I suggest using them first as sound reference before putting them o actual mixing work. Listen to different genres of music, watch a movie and use it for audio, play it while you sleep. When you're ears have become accustomed to the sound your studio monitors produce, it would be easier to do mixes with quality results.
I use my RP5s with a Line 6 Pod Studio KB37. Check out what I have to say about the KB37, another great and affordable gear which is an ideal must have for home studio start-ups.
***A Gizmo Guerilla Music Gear Review
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