KRK RoKit 6 G2 Pair as Computer Speakers
Feb 17, 2014 at 12:07 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 15

stealthspark3

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http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/567757-REG/KRK_RP6G2_RoKit_6_G2_68W.html
 
Hi!
 
I'm looking to replace my computer speakers and was wondering if a pair of these KRKs would be a good replacement. I will mainly use them to listen to music of every genre from my computer equipped with an ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card over RCA. I would also like to use them directly connected to my PS2, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. I have a very small room and would mostly be listening from my desk.
 
I noticed the B&H page says "Note! Not recommended for direct connection to computers, portable MP3 player devices or smart phones." Am I going about this the wrong way?
 
Thank you very much!
 
Feb 18, 2014 at 1:09 AM Post #2 of 15
I just bought 2 rokit G2 6's from b&h yesterday.. two for $239 with free shipping..
 
From what i have read on this forum other reviewers have said that there is a slight benefit from running them in balanced mode..  but you have to have a balanced audio source for them.
 
They have also said that they sound great running off your computers sound card or a mp3 player.
 
Im going to be running mine from my pc to usb into my Fiio e17 dac and then from the mini jack to rca into the unbalanced rca on the speakers.
 
I am now looking for something that i can run from my dac into something that i can leave both my speakers or my headphones both plugged in and be able to switch between the two and control the volume from there.
 
should get mine in a week or so..
 
Feb 18, 2014 at 8:22 AM Post #3 of 15
Toddmarking look into a basic audio interface, I use a focusrite 2i4 on my desktop and a Roland QuadCapture on my laptop, both allow you to do exactly what you describe.  
 
Feb 18, 2014 at 9:56 AM Post #4 of 15
From what i have read on this forum other reviewers have said that there is a slight benefit from running them in balanced mode..  but you have to have a balanced audio source for them.


Well, you probably have to disregard some of those testimonials. Balanced can reduce EMI problems, but that's if you have EMI problems to begin with. Otherwise, there would be no benefit at all. Meanwhile, balanced output usually has higher gain (not sure about the Rokits), so unless people are level matching between balanced vs unbalanced, it will sound better because the balanced will be louder, even though the unbalanced should be capable of playing the same volume. So there could be a lot of testimonials in favor of the balanced output that are based on poor comparison methods.

Im going to be running mine from my pc to usb into my Fiio e17 dac and then from the mini jack to rca into the unbalanced rca on the speakers.

I am now looking for something that i can run from my dac into something that i can leave both my speakers or my headphones both plugged in and be able to switch between the two and control the volume from there.


I completely understand wanting to replace it. I think that the E17 is not very user friendly for running both line out and using it as a headphone amp. I hated it for that. I didn't like the way that if you have headphones plugged in, usb or optical, and the line out connected, you end up with cables coming out of it in 3 directions. Awkward to position then and run the cables. Drove me nuts. (lol)

Plus, as I'm sure you probably have discovered, volume control is a pain in the butt. The line out requires one to use the Windows system volume control to adjust the volume, while headphones need to use the built in volume control on the E17. A DAC/headphone amp unit with a pre-amp out for your speakers that is controlled by the same volume control is much more convenient.

So great little portable headphone amp/dac that sound good, but just not very practical as a full time DAC/headphone amp with both headphones and speakers. I haven't tried the focusrite 2i4 that Tablix mentioned, but I have heard good things about. Certainly will be a lot more user friendly.
 
Feb 26, 2014 at 12:59 AM Post #5 of 15
Just got my rokit 6's this evening. Hooked them up to my computer. Mini jack to rca and it sounds good.
 
I think i am going to get the focusrite 2i4 soon, i am always trying to go for a knob whenever i want to adjust the volume.
 
Too bad the focusrite 2i4 will not power my sennheiser hd600's very well from what i have read, but i guess i could use the line out from the focusrite into my e17 for my sennheisers..
 
I am completely stuck in midfi... lol
 
Feb 26, 2014 at 8:57 AM Post #6 of 15
Look into the Maverick Audio Tube Magik D1 Plus. Might be better for your Senns. Rated for 300mW into 600 ohms. You also get a choice of direct line out or pre-amp out, allowing you to choose whether or not to use the tube pre-amp and volume control with your speakers.
 
Feb 27, 2014 at 11:19 AM Post #7 of 15
  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/567757-REG/KRK_RP6G2_RoKit_6_G2_68W.html
 
Hi!
 
I'm looking to replace my computer speakers and was wondering if a pair of these KRKs would be a good replacement. I will mainly use them to listen to music of every genre from my computer equipped with an ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card over RCA. I would also like to use them directly connected to my PS2, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. I have a very small room and would mostly be listening from my desk.
 
I noticed the B&H page says "Note! Not recommended for direct connection to computers, portable MP3 player devices or smart phones." Am I going about this the wrong way?
 
Thank you very much!

What speakers did you have before?
 
Feb 27, 2014 at 4:28 PM Post #9 of 15
I have a pair of studio monitors also and I love them.  Unfortunately my kid doesn't allow me to use them very often.  I don't think I can add much to the above posts but for my setup i went with an Emotiva XDA-2 DAC/Amp.  It has balanced preamp outputs for studio monitors and it sounds great to my ears so there's another option instead of the focusrite (I hear good things about this product also).  i would suggest running the studio monitors in balanced mode for the same reason that cel4145 suggested but it's not the end of the world if you don't.
 
Apr 24, 2017 at 9:19 PM Post #10 of 15

I have the KRK ROKIT5's hooked up to my iMAC with just a stereo headphone jack to left and right RCA plugs setup --- and they are amazing!
I seldom play with balance and tone settings anyways as I prefer to listen to my music as "normal" without segments of the audio spectrum altered or "boosted"---
so these are another dimension of clarity from your standard desktop computer speakers!
 
TRUE sound -  not artificial bass as with many of the large advertiser brands!
Being self powered- they have tons more oomph than the audio circuits in any computer so these things can easily get you in serious trouble with neighbors!
 
May 2, 2017 at 10:39 PM Post #11 of 15
Have you thought about the Little Dot MKIII tube headphone amp? It is a awesome unit with preamp outputs, would go nicely with the Rockits AND will do wonders with your headphones too.

Here's some food for thought. In reality you want to keep the sound card's volume level at 100% for maximum signal to noise and audio resolution. When you lower the volume through Windows (or Mac) you are actually reducing bandwidth in the digital signal which significantly degrades the sound quality. Keeping the volume control TRUE ANALOG will sound best. That's how I have my Xonar DS set up in my DAW. It actually sounds far better than my blu-ray player. In my setup I have a good ol' Kenwood KA-5700 integrated amplifier feeding a pair of monitors modeled after the Rogers LS3/5A speakers sitting on each side of my computer monitor. Just for fun I added a Dayton Audio APA-150 amp crossed over at 60Hz to a Dahlquist DQ-1W subwoofer and the Xonar DS has a Burr Brown OPA2134 output (which is only $3 for the chip from Digi-Key) and for an office stereo all I can say is WOW. The ONLY noise source in the entire setup is my computer's cooling fans.

Now, if only I could convince the wife to let me turn up the volume ...
 
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May 3, 2017 at 4:05 AM Post #12 of 15
I have these exact speakers. The biggest annoyances using them as computer speakers,
  1. Power switches on the rear of each speaker making it possibly inconvenient to shut off that way.
  2. Volume trim as opposed to traditional volume, so external control (passive preamp?) might be necessary.
 
May 3, 2017 at 5:00 AM Post #13 of 15
These are really designed to be used with an audio interface or monitor controller (basically a pre-amp) with a volume pot.

It really isn't recommended to just hook these up to your computers 3.5mm headphone output - yes it can be done, but it's a far from optimal configuration.

There are some cheap as chips USB audio interfaces from the likes of Focusrite and Steinberg, amongst others, which will work well with the Rokits, and I'd recommend getting one if you're going to use them a lot,

If you do go down the USB audio interface route then you'll need to factor in 2 TRS to XLR/TRS balanced cables for most lower end interfaces - most use a balanced TRS output, although some like the Focusrite Solo have standard RCA outputs, and some others may have XLR outputs.

I use mine with a Steinberg UR22 interface, and so far I'm happy with it.
 
May 3, 2017 at 6:40 AM Post #15 of 15
I noticed the B&H page says "Note! Not recommended for direct connection to computers, portable MP3 player devices or smart phones." Am I going about this the wrong way?

That's because each cabinet has its own amp circuit with its own gain control. You need a separate preamp unit for unity gain, and as much as possible, not use Windows volume control.

No need to blow a lot of money on that though - the KRK's have RCA inputs so just use a Schiit Sys.
 

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