[quikgp]

Ok, so I've searched relentlessly over the internet and I cant really find a direct answer to the question I have:
 
I currently have a set of Krk RP5's (gen II) that I'm auditioning and I like them - they are a definite improvement over the Audioengine A5's they replaced. However, I'm not crazy on the asthetics of the KRK's and on top of that, the equator D5 seems to be all the rage at the moment and I constantly read posts on forums about the D5 "blowing the krk out of the water" and competing with monitors as much as 2 or 3 times the price. Here is the problem: all of these posts are about mixing audio and I have no desire to do this. I merely want to listen to music through active speakers and I'm curious how these 2 would compare for that purpose only
 
Best I can tell from reviews, the KRK's are a little V shaped, and the Equator D5 is more neutral or mid/high forward.
 
Any thoughts from anyone?
 
Thanks! 

 

[john57]

The  Equator D5 are richer sound monitors as compared to the Tannoy 501 that I also have. They are both near Field monitors and sound best no greater than 6 feet.

 

[ray890]

I just got the D5s mainly for music listening myself.  I'm using them in an untreated (but not really reverberant) room, propped up near-ear level (I'm gonna build "DIY bookshelf speaker stands" soon)  I'm JUST using them with the on-board laptop's output connected to my mixer right now but I'm expecting my "Dac Destroyer" DAC to be delivered soon.  The sensitivity levels are set to the minimum setting (they're set at max by default)
 
These really make a huge difference coming from my cheap hifi+amp setup that didn't sound bad despite it has a smiliy-curve sound and I'm used to the sound from my Sennheiser HD518 headphones.  The sound from the Equators sound just as good if not better than my HD518 headphones.  I can EASILY tell the difference between 128kbps and 320kbps MP3 files which is a very good sign.  Also, I notice that the sound stays pretty much the same as I move around the room with these for the first time, I bet that's due to the fact that they're co-axial.
 
The bass is decent sounding as long as I don't expect to hear much of the very deep bass.  I found myself plugging the ports and setting them to boundary 2 (I'm just concerned that the extra excursion caused by closing the ports may give the drivers potential to get damaged, boundary 2 compensated it's extra excursion through slight bass reduction).  As the room I placed them in is also a home theater room, I've connected the secondary audio output of my mixer to my home theaters subwoofer (thats at the other side of the room btw), and set the volume level very low so it doesn't overpower, especially considering it has no high-pass control on it.  I ended up liking the extra extension produced by it. (It's a VERY good thing that the subwoofer has two inputs on it)
 
I barely received my Equator D5s a few days ago and already I can easily recommend them.

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

For the price, the Equator D5s are a great performer. Their sound signature is rather neutral.