KRK V88

Thomas, What do you think of the KRK V88? They call this a near/mid-field, but I can't find an actual maximum recommended listening distance for them. Also, they have a LF "adjust" control which changes the -3bB frequency, but I'm not sure this is sufficient adjustment for soffit mounting. What speaker would you recommend for soffit mounting at under $3k/pair? Thanks! Scott

Scott, The V88 doesn’t appear to make any previsions for soffit mounting. That's fine, because I really would not recommend this speaker anyway. It's deficiencies are too numerous to list, but suffice it to say I would give it a grade C at best, especially considering the price. For $3k I could build you a pair of monitors whose sound quality would be difficult to beat at any price. :) Thomas

Thomas, Thanks for your reply. I intended the <$3K budget to include amplification (but forgot to mention that !). Of course the further under $3K the better. I was just trying to get your advice on what speaker models in that price range I should seriously pursue checking out for soffit mounting. I'm not as familiar with models intended for soffit mounting as I am with near-field models. Are there any models that you would recommend in that price range? Also, I might consider your offer to build some speakers for me, if you were serious. I have two projects that I'm getting ready to start - one is a home studio, and the other is a Home Theater. Thanks, Scott

Damn, I was hoping I could slip by without having to address the recommendation part of your question.;) The problem is, I'm a very harsh critic and I actually find it difficult to recommend most monitors. First of all, unless some incredible technological development occurs, I cannot recommend two-way monitors using 8" or 10" drivers. The midrange performance is just too severely compromised. You can clearly hear the difference when comparing them to well designed two-way monitors using smaller midbass drivers. So this rules out probably the majority of popular nearfields. Another problem is there are very few smaller (i.e. relatively affordable) monitors that incorporate the correct provisions to allow them to be properly soffit mounted. The Genelec 1030A would work. It's a good speaker, but I personally think it is, along with many of the Genelecs, overpriced and overrated. There might be some other good 6.5" two-way monitors out there that would work correctly in a soffit, but a quick survey doesn’t show any. In any case, such a small two-way system probably doesn't have the kind of power output you might want from a midfield soffit mount application. Basically, there isn't much out there that's well suited for this application. I was serious about my offer, btw. $3k sounds about right for a midfield type system including amplification. We can discuss it offline in more detail if you like. [removed] Thomas

barefoot wrote:

First of all, unless some incredible technological development occurs, I cannot recommend two-way monitors using 8" or 10" drivers. The midrange performance is just too severely compromised. You can clearly hear the difference when comparing them to well designed two-way monitors using smaller midbass drivers. So this rules out probably the majority of popular nearfields. There might be some other good 6.5" two-way monitors out there that would work correctly in a soffit, but a quick survey doesn’t show any. Thomas

Ouch man! That's a pretty scathing review! I've run a set of V8's (not the 88's)for the last 3 years, and personally I like 'em. Then again, tastes in speakers vary vastly between users. The truth is, I always thought the v8's were mid heavy, and didn't have enough bass! However, I've tried numerous other monitors including ones with 6.5" bass drivers (Yorkville YSM1p's for example), only to keep coming back to the v8's because they were more detailed IMHO. Anyway, I do plan to attempt to soffit mount the v8's in the next few months... I'll let you know how it goes and what I think of the results. -0z-

Sorry Oz . :) I'll be the first to admit it. I am a pretty harsh critic. Thomas

barefoot wrote:

Sorry Oz . :) I'll be the first to admit it. I am a pretty harsh critic. Thomas

That's O.K.... you should see me record drummers :) -0z-

I'll be soffiting my V8s very shortly too... I'll post my results...

Hey Blue Bear... it's been a few weeks. Any word on those V8's yet? BTW, where the hell is Gloucester Ont? I'm in Windsor, BTW.

Oz, Gloucester's a burb of Ottawa...! :) I'm still working on the load-in, setup... finished all the power cabling last night, will be working on the audio/patchbay runs shortly. I expect to be up and running by the weekend, so I'll post then....! (I'm real anxious to hear them too!) Hey BTW - don't you have new digs too? How are they??

I'm real anxious to hear them too!

Me too :):) cheers john

Blue Bear Sound wrote:

Oz, Gloucester's a burb of Ottawa...! :) I'm still working on the load-in, setup... finished all the power cabling last night, will be working on the audio/patchbay runs shortly. I expect to be up and running by the weekend, so I'll post then....! (I'm real anxious to hear them too!) Hey BTW - don't you have new digs too? How are they??

Ahhh, Ottawa. The place where the major assho... err the Federal Government gathers. And yes, I'm right in the middle of construction on my place. We're working on control room resonators right now. Actually, I stole your idea for the birch veneer.... except I went with Oak ;)

I steal the idea from Joe (with his blessing!), then you steal it from me, and so on and so on........! The cycle of life!!!!!!! :P Those damn V8s look pretty good sitting in their soffits -- I'm getting real antsy to power up!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D

Let's see a pic!

OzNimbus wrote:

Let's see a pic!

Here ya go -- best I can do right now, until I get the film developed!!! :D

LMAO! You mean people still use film?

Yeah... I went to an "analog" camera because most digital cameras don't handle low-light ambient shots very well - at least, not without spending 2-3K on one.... And I'd buy a pre before spending that kind of money on a camera!!! ;)

Finally got the V8s in place -- wiring really bogged me down, so I only got to the monitors yesterday aft...... OMG - what a difference! I liked the V8s before - but in my previous environment, the bass tended to be slightly on the flabby side - of course, I couldn't hear that then. But compared to what I'm hearing now!!!!!!!!!!! I tested it with Steely Dan's TAN - imaging was crisp and precise, bass response had depth and spaciousness, but never felt overpowering or heavy. High-end response was focused and clear. Very impressive! :) Listening to test tones at various frequencies did show some response anomalies as I moved about - but I presume this is normal since I encountered similar variances when I listened to similar tones in the monitoring room at a local mastering house a while back. Encouraged by the sound I got from listening to commercial stuff - I popped on some of my previous mixes. There's no question my monitoring room improved -- I heard stuff in the mixes that I wasn't hearing before -- so much so in some cases that the mix would have changed substantially. This is good - each time I've made an improvement to my monitoring environment, I've heard enough difference that lets me refine and improve my mixes. This new room is definitely a huge improvement!!! I think I'm going to really like working in there!!!!!!!! ;) I simply can't say it enough -- thanks John!!!!!!!!! :D :D

I simply can't say it enough -- thanks John!!!!!!!!!

my pleasure mate - glad you like it :D:D cheers john

Well, I've got my V8's installed in the soffits today. First impressions: WOW are they BRIGHT! Second impressions: Very, very detailed, and the soundstage is a freakin' mile wide. After some serious listening to quite a few of my favourite albums, (Judas Priest's "British Steel", Kyuss' "Blues for the Red Sun", Corrosion of Conformity's "Blind", Fear Factory's "Demanufacture") I've concluded that I'm going to be quite happy with the V8's built into the wall :) The bass has tightened up considerably, and I just can't get over the detail in some of these mixes. I was picking out some VERY subtle pans in the opening of Slayer's "Seasons in the Abyss." Also I was picking up some real nice low end in the kick & toms. Something I'm not used to hearing from the V8's. The bass is nice, but certainly not overpowering. Finally, I ran some of my own mixes I had done in my last facility. Well, the V8's showed them absolutely no mercy. What sounded fantastic in the last place came across as unfocused, tubby in the bottom end, and mushy in the mids. Even some of my favourite mixes sounded a lot less nice than I was expecting. I'll report back in a few days and give a further assessment. In the meantime, Thanks John! --0z--

as sjoko once said - REMIX TIME!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: cheers john

Just realized I wired my speakers out of phase!!! I was panning some stuff around and noticed the bass was getting considerably louder when panned to extremes. Well, out come the KRK's, and sure enough, I've got one of my XLR's backwards! MOTHER(&#$POF!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, I'm heating up my soldering iron as I'm writing this. :) More to come tomorrow! -0z-

Well... at least you now know what your mixes sound like played out-of-polarity! ;)

--0z-- :roll: :roll: :roll: In best Shultz - Report the the showers immediately!! cheers john

Well, I've got things turned around, and sure enough, the bass went from "adequate" to "downright shit-kicking!" Pretty damn cool. I've never heard the V8's sound so deep before. -0z-