Studio monitoring is a somewhat saturated market; there are a ton of options, and if we are honest, a lot of them look pretty similar. But if there is one brand that immediately conjures a mental picture is KRK. The striking bright yellow speaker cone against a black cabinet is something that often pops up in many a home studio photo. KRK’s Rokit line has been a popular amongst home studio enthusiasts for what must be two decades now. While the Rokit line has recently evolved into something a little different, KRK have chosen to refresh the previous generation Rokit 5 into a new product, the Classic 5.
At first glance, the Classic 5 is unmistakably KRK, and even more unmistakably an update to the previous generation of the Rokit 5. The yellow cone makes a return, as does the sleek black cabinet. The monitor itself measures around 12” tall and around 7.5” wide, and weighs in at just shy of 13 lbs, so decent speaker stands are a must. In hand, the monitor feels well built, and should, from a construction standpoint, stand the test of time.
Internally, the class A-D 50-watt circuit powers the 1” textile soft-dome tweeter (20 watt), and a 5” glass aramid woofer (30 watt), and can reach 101 dB (peak) or 98 dB (average), and a signal-to-noise ratio of > 94 dB. The listed frequency response is 56 Hz- 34.5 kHz (+/- 3dB).
On the rear panel, we have plenty of different connections with 3 options: unbalanced RCA phono, balanced 1/4” TRS, and Balanced XLR. The final connector is a male C14 for power. Control-wise, we have 3 different options: a High Frequency (HF) level adjust ( -2 dB to +1 dB), a Low Frequency (LF) Level adjust (-1dB to +2dB), and a Volume control ( -30dB to +6dB). These give us plenty of options in terms of volume and a little control over the tailored frequency response. It isn’t a great deal, but something is better than nothing.
In use, the Classic 5 is extremely reminiscent of its predecessor in the Rokit range. It is a monitor that sounds pretty good, can go pretty loud, and has somewhat decent stereo imaging, especially at its price point, which is at the budget end of the spectrum. Will the Classic 5 match the sound stage and imaging of something worth thousands? No, of course not, but it does more than enough for how little it costs. Tonally, they do offer a pretty good balance; they could do with a little low end, but that comes with the territory with 5” woofers. I will add that this is a bonus in poorly treated rooms (which a lot of home studios are). Some sounds can get a little boxy in the lower-mid range, but again, this doesn’t surprise me at a monitor of this calibre.
In practice, the EQ customisation is useful, but I would have loved to have seen a little more, maybe the ability to go +/- 3dB instead. This would have made them a whole lot more usable. That said, I did have a little play around with both SoundID and ARC (an older generation) room correction plugins, and they did allow the Classic 5s to sing a little more.
Will the Classic 5s find a place in every studio? Probably not, but for the budget-conscious producer, they will definitely get the job done. If you are into monitors with overly hyped low-end, then these may not be for you, but for everyone else, they’re an extremely solid option, and even if you choose to upgrade them in the future, they will make a solid pair of secondary monitors for A/Bing mixes. I myself use their predecessor for just that, and have done so for years.
KRK Classic 5 Active Monitors £239
Classic 5 Product Page