Hi all,
I have seen many reviews about speakers in this forum and elsewere which requires separate gear (amplifiers, receivers, sources, etc), but for some people and somebody like me who are on a budget and space / money constraints, a good nearfield active (powered) speaker can do the trick without really spending a whole lot of money and especially useful for an HTPC or Laptop setup.
So I thought that why not share my experience (I am not an audiophile, so please correct my mistakes), with these two very good speakers which are very good for an HTPC or Laptop (atleast in my experience) setup.
And I am not at all comparing the above speakers to an Hifi setup at all, but these can be reasonable midfi solutions, if you really need to get a good sound out of an HTPC (although they are not comparable to a separate speaker and amp).
And lastly I will try to compare without any bias to the given speakers. I have listened to both these speakers extensively (spent around 4 months with each of them), although I couldn't do a side by side comparision.
I have listened to old Rock, Soft Rock, Hard Rock, Dance, Pop, old Hindi, new Hindi, and everything I could throw at them. Both of them were connected to a Creative X-Fi sound card and were run in stereo mode. Also most of the songs were in FLAC format, and few mp3s.
The two speakers I am comparing are :
1) KRK Rokit 5 G2 (read Generation 2).
2) AudioEngine A5.
1) KRK Rokit 5 G2 - Many people would not have heard of the KRK brand (even I didn't knew until I bumped into some forum discussing these). They are called studio monitors which are used for making the re-mixes of the songs and for recording purposes. But they can be used as a good alternative for general listening purposes also. Following are its features:
a) Speaker configuration - Each speaker contains one 5" glass aramid woofer and one 1" silk dome tweeter. Each speaker is bi-amplified, means that there are 2 separate amps driving the woofer and the tweeter. Also the x-over is an active one and it separates the woofer and tweeter frequencies before they get amplified. Woofer amplifier is a rated at 30W RMS and the tweeter amplifier is rated at 15 W RMS, so the total RMS is 45W. So in total there are 4 amplifiers for a pair. Also each speaker has a power cord attached (so you need to have two power sources instead of one for driving one pair).
b) Sound - First, these speakers shine only when the volume is turned up and specially in the bass department. At lower volumes you hardly hear the thump, and its very weak compared to the mid and high frequencies. And because they have the silk dome tweeters they are very smooth and non-fatiguing for hours of listening and they are crystal clear. But the main strength of these speakers is the mid-range, voices come out as if the singer is singing in front of you. They have good separation of instruments and you can hear different instruments individually. The speaker is slightly on the warm side (I didn't get any other word). The only main drawback that I feel is the bass (don't expect much from a 5" woofer), which is good, but can be a little undefined at times. But in its favour the bass is tight and fast. And if you want real bass, then you need to get a good subwoofer for sure. And at loud volume (nearly full at source and on the speaker) it starts to distort as if the singer has started shouting instead of singing.
c) Cost - These can be had for around Rs.19-23K (approx, not sure of the current prices as it depends on the stocks and exchange rates).
d) Build Quality - These speakers are built like a tank for their size. The the finishing is also pretty good. The yellow cone woofer looks attractive (maybe not everybody will like) and to my eyes it looks cool. Also the rectangular front bass port is nice, as it decouples the speakers from the walls.
2) AudioEngine A5 - These speakers are a little different than the Rokits as they are mainly marketed for iPod and PCs. But to my surprise, I found them very similar sounding the KRK rokits. Following are its features:
a) Speaker Configuration : The speaker drivers are very similar to the KRK rokits, consisting of a 5" Kevlar woofer and a 1" silk dome tweeter. But the difference is that they have the normal amplifier setup (which is common in powered speakers), one amplifier driving both the speakers with a passive x-over network. But the quality of the components is top notch which is proved once you hear them.
b) Sound - As like the KRK rokits these have only a 5" woofer and at lower volumes the bass is lacking. The highs are very good and non-fatiguing for extended listening. But as with KRK the mids are where these speakers shine. They differ from the KRK by having a more neutral sound, means a little cooler sound (I didn't get any other words to describe, so hope you get what I mean). Also the bass definition is a bit better than the KRK rokits, (but still lacking). At turning them up to full volume (on source and on the speakers) start to distort (as with KRK)as if the singer has started shouting instead of singing. But really I could not listen at that volume for long.
c) Price - Its available for around Rs.19~21K.
d) Build quality - The build quality is very similar to KRK but the finishing is very different. The KRKs have a matte finish, while these have a shining Piano finish. Also these have the round ports at the back instead of the front, so its important to maintain some distance from the back wall.
I hope that the above review has given some insights to the readers. All your suggestions / corrections are welcome.
- Ram.
I have seen many reviews about speakers in this forum and elsewere which requires separate gear (amplifiers, receivers, sources, etc), but for some people and somebody like me who are on a budget and space / money constraints, a good nearfield active (powered) speaker can do the trick without really spending a whole lot of money and especially useful for an HTPC or Laptop setup.
So I thought that why not share my experience (I am not an audiophile, so please correct my mistakes), with these two very good speakers which are very good for an HTPC or Laptop (atleast in my experience) setup.
And I am not at all comparing the above speakers to an Hifi setup at all, but these can be reasonable midfi solutions, if you really need to get a good sound out of an HTPC (although they are not comparable to a separate speaker and amp).
And lastly I will try to compare without any bias to the given speakers. I have listened to both these speakers extensively (spent around 4 months with each of them), although I couldn't do a side by side comparision.
I have listened to old Rock, Soft Rock, Hard Rock, Dance, Pop, old Hindi, new Hindi, and everything I could throw at them. Both of them were connected to a Creative X-Fi sound card and were run in stereo mode. Also most of the songs were in FLAC format, and few mp3s.
The two speakers I am comparing are :
1) KRK Rokit 5 G2 (read Generation 2).
2) AudioEngine A5.
1) KRK Rokit 5 G2 - Many people would not have heard of the KRK brand (even I didn't knew until I bumped into some forum discussing these). They are called studio monitors which are used for making the re-mixes of the songs and for recording purposes. But they can be used as a good alternative for general listening purposes also. Following are its features:
a) Speaker configuration - Each speaker contains one 5" glass aramid woofer and one 1" silk dome tweeter. Each speaker is bi-amplified, means that there are 2 separate amps driving the woofer and the tweeter. Also the x-over is an active one and it separates the woofer and tweeter frequencies before they get amplified. Woofer amplifier is a rated at 30W RMS and the tweeter amplifier is rated at 15 W RMS, so the total RMS is 45W. So in total there are 4 amplifiers for a pair. Also each speaker has a power cord attached (so you need to have two power sources instead of one for driving one pair).
b) Sound - First, these speakers shine only when the volume is turned up and specially in the bass department. At lower volumes you hardly hear the thump, and its very weak compared to the mid and high frequencies. And because they have the silk dome tweeters they are very smooth and non-fatiguing for hours of listening and they are crystal clear. But the main strength of these speakers is the mid-range, voices come out as if the singer is singing in front of you. They have good separation of instruments and you can hear different instruments individually. The speaker is slightly on the warm side (I didn't get any other word). The only main drawback that I feel is the bass (don't expect much from a 5" woofer), which is good, but can be a little undefined at times. But in its favour the bass is tight and fast. And if you want real bass, then you need to get a good subwoofer for sure. And at loud volume (nearly full at source and on the speaker) it starts to distort as if the singer has started shouting instead of singing.
c) Cost - These can be had for around Rs.19-23K (approx, not sure of the current prices as it depends on the stocks and exchange rates).
d) Build Quality - These speakers are built like a tank for their size. The the finishing is also pretty good. The yellow cone woofer looks attractive (maybe not everybody will like) and to my eyes it looks cool. Also the rectangular front bass port is nice, as it decouples the speakers from the walls.
2) AudioEngine A5 - These speakers are a little different than the Rokits as they are mainly marketed for iPod and PCs. But to my surprise, I found them very similar sounding the KRK rokits. Following are its features:
a) Speaker Configuration : The speaker drivers are very similar to the KRK rokits, consisting of a 5" Kevlar woofer and a 1" silk dome tweeter. But the difference is that they have the normal amplifier setup (which is common in powered speakers), one amplifier driving both the speakers with a passive x-over network. But the quality of the components is top notch which is proved once you hear them.
b) Sound - As like the KRK rokits these have only a 5" woofer and at lower volumes the bass is lacking. The highs are very good and non-fatiguing for extended listening. But as with KRK the mids are where these speakers shine. They differ from the KRK by having a more neutral sound, means a little cooler sound (I didn't get any other words to describe, so hope you get what I mean). Also the bass definition is a bit better than the KRK rokits, (but still lacking). At turning them up to full volume (on source and on the speakers) start to distort (as with KRK)as if the singer has started shouting instead of singing. But really I could not listen at that volume for long.
c) Price - Its available for around Rs.19~21K.
d) Build quality - The build quality is very similar to KRK but the finishing is very different. The KRKs have a matte finish, while these have a shining Piano finish. Also these have the round ports at the back instead of the front, so its important to maintain some distance from the back wall.
I hope that the above review has given some insights to the readers. All your suggestions / corrections are welcome.
- Ram.
