Question about KRK setup.

[Scrivs]

Hi,

I am thinking of upgrading my current sound system to something a bit better, but I was wondering if the new set that I got in mind isnt a bit useless in my situation...

I have been using the Logitech Z-2300 set for about 2 years now and I'm getting a bit bored of it now actually, so I went looking for someting else here on Head-FI.

And thats when I saw those gorgeous KRK RP5 monitors and the KRK 10s subwoofer, I loved the look of them instantly and went to search for some information about them on the internet.
They are quite expensive, especially if I would also need the 10s subwoofer (which I do), but I am willing to pay that price if they are realy that good.
Its ofcourse a huge improvement to my current system (atleast, I think so

), but I was wondering if they will serve me well for using them only in my bedroom when listening to music... I'm not a producer or anything, I don't have a mixer either, I'm just planning on using them for listening to music only.

So that brings us to my question: Will it be wise for me to buy the KRK set? I read a couple of times that monitor speakers are only helpfull if you are a producer, but is that true?

I rly fell in love with the look of the RP5's and the 10s Sub, but I dont want to spend alot of money on this set when they wont do me any good.

So: Will these speakers also do a great job as bedroom speakers only, along with the 10s Subwoofer?

I hope any1 can help me with this, and that I made myself clear despite my broken English
Thanks in advance.

Cheers.

 

[eric0531]

I can't speak specifically to the KRK monitors.

I replaced a Logitech system for my home office desktop with a pair of M-Audio AV40 monitors, and while I lost a little bass with no subwoofer that was more than offset by much better overall sound quality and imaging. (I use mine almost entirely for music). *But*, at least with the monitors I have the sweet spot is very small. They are great when positioned for a specific near-field sweet spot, but the imaging really suffers with much movement away from that one location. For me that's not a problem as I only use them sitting at my desk, but positioning may be something to consider in your case.

 

[Scrivs]

Ah ok, I understand.

I have the same problem with my current system, but then with my sub... the amount of bass I can hear/feel differs on where I stand in my room.
When I sit behind my desk, the sub is in front of me a litte to the right (like 2 o'clock), but at this position the bass isnt at its best. When I stand directly opposite or next to it, on the other hand (doesnt matter how much space there is between me and the sub), the bass is much heavier and nicer.

So using monitors might cause a similar problem if I'm correct?
The monitors will be placed directly in front of me, 1 on each side of my pc monitor, so at this position they will sound fine right? But as soon as I move away from my desk and stand, lets say, next to the monitors they will sound different?
Is that what you mean?

What Logitech system did you have before the M-Audio AV40's btw?

 

[Armaegis]

I prefer to place them a foot or two away from the screen to each side, and slightly back if you have the space for it.

Walking around the room is going to make things sound different, regardless if you're using monitors or speakers. The effect may be more pronounced with monitors, but it shouldn't be so much so that you'll have to redesign your entire listening environment. In a small bedroom environment, they'll do just fine. This is assuming of course that you have all the right equipment to set the monitors up (they are typically not "plug 'n play like computer speakers are).

 

[.Sup]

Coincidence. I had Logi Z2300s before I moved to KRK setup (see sig). Logitechs were utter crap compared to the highly detailed KRKs. No comparison at all. You could say they are expensive but I will say they are inexpensive as they offer great value for the money. I only use them for listening music.

 

[Scrivs]

Ok thats good to hear.

Though, what is the 'right equipment' you are talking about?
They have in-built amps, so I wont need that ofcourse, but what else do I need besides my pc?

I will buy a new soundcard though, if I have decided to get these monitors.
I'm currently still using my stock soundcard for my Logi set and it works just fine, but I understood that a better soundcard rly is a must for monitors, so thats atleast 1 thing of the 'right equipment' that I'll get

BTW, for those who also had the Logitech Z-2300 set: If I want my next system to have the same amount of bass (or better ofcourse) as the Z-2300, would you recommend me getting the KRK 10s Sub awell?
Or will a pair of RP5s give me enough bass similar to the amount of bass the Z-2300 could produce?

Bass is very important to me since I only listen to real bass heavy electronical music.

Cheers.

 

[Armaegis]

If you really want that much base, then get a pair of RP5s and the sub like .Sup has listed in his sig. An alternative may be to just get a pair of RP8s instead. Perhaps not quite as much punch, but it'll still be quite strong and will be a lot cheaper (the subs in my local stores are quite expensive).

 

[Scrivs]

Nah, I rly prefer having an extra subwoofer. That just gives the best bass sound imo.
So my guess would be getting a pair of the KRK RP5 monitors and a KRK RP10s sub, will cost me around 550.

Got two more questions... :
1) Are the power cables included? Or do I need to buy those seperately? And if they are included, are those cables suitable for plugin them directly into my pc?

2) Would you guys recommend me getting anything else besides a better soundcard to make the monitors and sub perform properly? Or is getting a better soundcard already enough to get great sound quality?

Thanks for all your help so far. Appreciate it.

Cheers.

 

[.Sup]

Power cord is included but be careful to set the fuse to the correct voltage prior to powering the monitors and sub. You should get a DAC, balanced if possible instead of the soundcard. Also you will need analog audio cables. Those depend on what you will buy- a soundcard or a DAC (though there are balanced soundcards available as well; ESI Julia for example)

 

[Scrivs]

Hmm I see...
And why is a DAC or balanced soundcard realy nescesary? Can you explain that to me plz?
Why isnt a better soundcard enough is what I'm wondering... not that I doubt your opinion, but I just dont know much about these things

I saw that those products are quite expensive and my budget wont be that big anymore once I bought the monitors and sub So I wanna know if spending my money on those things will realy serve me well.
Cuz it would be a waste of my money if the job could also be done with just a proper new soundcard

And again, I'm only planning to use the system for listening to music, I'm not producing or mixing or anything like that and I'm not planning to either

 

[.Sup]

stereo DAC usually have better components and better DAC chips than soundcards, some are quite affordable. Look here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/us...re-one-453559/

They are just discussing affordable but good DACs there. Balanced connection provides better sound quality. For music DAC is the way to go or maybe the ESI Juliad soundcard I mentioned before (if its not out of your budget boundaries).

 

[Armaegis]

One thing that you may not be aware of is that you can't just plug the KRK's directly into the computer without some sort of interface in between. As these are monitors, generally you feed them from a mixer or DAC which has separate line outs for left/right.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Balanced or unbalanced for home use doesn't make a lot of difference. It's more of an issue for studio setups. Balanced is better able to cancel out interference from other nearby cables and signals. Balanced is also better able to do long cable runs. Both of those issues aren't significant for a home desktop setup. I have run my monitors with both balanced and unbalanced signals. My M-Audio FW410 only has unbalanced inputs/outputs so I don't have a balanced source. It's not a big deal. Don't feel you need to go balanced.

A general rule of thumb is if you have an unbalanced source then run unbalanced all the way through to your monitors. If you have a balanced source then try to run balanced all the way through to your monitors.

A quick rundown on cables and connectors.
The KRK monitors have an RCA jack on the back for unbalanced
The 1/4" jack on the back can be used either balanced or unbalanced
1/4" TS (Tip Sleeve) is unbalanced
1/4" TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) is balanced
Use a cable with 1/4" TS connectors for unbalanced
Use a cable with 1/4" TRS connectors for balanced (or use XLR)
You can use a TS to RCA adapter to make a TRS jack unbalanced and use an RCA cable

You'll want to use some sort of external volume control. You can use the Windows volume slider but it is prone to getting reset to 100% volume at unexpected times and scaring the **** out of you when that happens. Use an external volume control. You can use an old pre-amp, a monitor control station, or a passive volume knob.
An inexpensive monitor control box is the Behringer MON800. It only handles unbalanced (RCA or 1/4" TS) signals. Doesn't do balanced.
An example of a passive volume knob is the SM Pro Audio Nano Patch+. It can do balanced or unbalanced.
A used home stereo pre-amp can also work. They're typically unbalanced (RCA) only.

The volume knobs on the back of the monitors are for setting a reference level. Typically to match the level of other monitors in the studio. At home you don't have other monitors to match to so just set the volume to whatever you want the maximum possible volume to be.

 

[Scrivs]

Uhm... this gets kind of confusing for me tbh xD
As Ham Sandwich said, balanced or unbalanced doesnt rly matter to me since the difference isnt that big for my situation. And if unbalanced will cost me less money its fine by me.
So I think it would be best for me to just stick with unbalanced right? To save me some money.

I gotta say that I wont have much money left after I bought the sound system, mostly because I rly didnt expect that I had to buy so many extra things to make them work properly Once again, I dont know that much about these sort of things, so thanks alot for the help

So as a recap of what extra's I realy need:
- Is that TS to RCA adapter nescesary? You say that that one makes the TRS jack unbalanced, but dont the monitors already have an unbalanced jack on the back?

- Is a DAC still a must for my situation or not? Or will something like that Behringer MON800 do fine?

- A passive volume knob is needed. The SM Pro Audio seems like a good choice to me, or is there anything cheaper? As long as it does the job.

- I understood that I also need a whole lot of extra cables? What kind of cables exactly and how many for each monitor and sub?

- Will I still need to buy a better soundcard for my pc after all this? Or doesnt the quality of my soundcard matter when I have all the other equipment?

I'm sorry for asking you all these questions, but I rly didnt expect that I needed all this. So I honestly have no idea what I need exactly, what is useless for my situation and what is a must, and what would be the cheapest for me but still give good quality.

Thanks again for all the information and effort you guys put into me, I realy appreciate it.
Without you I would probably went to the store, bought the monitors and discovered at home that I need a whole lot more to get them work xD

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif Balanced or unbalanced for home use doesn't make a lot of difference. It's more of an issue for studio setups. Balanced is better able to cancel out interference from other nearby cables and signals. Balanced is also better able to do long cable runs. Both of those issues aren't significant for a home desktop setup. I have run my monitors with both balanced and unbalanced signals. My M-Audio FW410 only has unbalanced inputs/outputs so I don't have a balanced source. It's not a big deal. Don't feel you need to go balanced. A general rule of thumb is if you have an unbalanced source then run unbalanced all the way through to your monitors. If you have a balanced source then try to run balanced all the way through to your monitors. A quick rundown on cables and connectors. The KRK monitors have an RCA jack on the back for unbalanced The 1/4" jack on the back can be used either balanced or unbalanced 1/4" TS (Tip Sleeve) is unbalanced 1/4" TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) is balanced Use a cable with 1/4" TS connectors for unbalanced Use a cable with 1/4" TRS connectors for balanced (or use XLR) You can use a TS to RCA adapter to make a TRS jack unbalanced and use an RCA cable You'll want to use some sort of external volume control. You can use the Windows volume slider but it is prone to getting reset to 100% volume at unexpected times and scaring the **** out of you when that happens. Use an external volume control. You can use an old pre-amp, a monitor control station, or a passive volume knob. An inexpensive monitor control box is the Behringer MON800. It only handles unbalanced (RCA or 1/4" TS) signals. Doesn't do balanced. An example of a passive volume knob is the SM Pro Audio Nano Patch+. It can do balanced or unbalanced. A used home stereo pre-amp can also work. They're typically unbalanced (RCA) only. The volume knobs on the back of the monitors are for setting a reference level. Typically to match the level of other monitors in the studio. At home you don't have other monitors to match to so just set the volume to whatever you want the maximum possible volume to be.

The Nano patch is crap. Have a look at Level Pilot instead.

Regarding balanced, its true there are less interferences and you can use longer cables but there is a difference in sound quality as well. You're not gonna say people go with balanced headphones cos they need longer headphone cable are you?

Scrivs to get the very best out of your KRK setup go balanced but if you're on a tight budget go unbalanced. You don't need an adapter if you're going unbalanced. Certain Xonar cards have RCA output, same with the monitors so all you need are 2 RCA male to male cables. Or you could get a 3.5 stereo to 2x RCA cable (you got that one bundled with your Logitechs) and use you onboard or your existing sound.