KRK Rockit 8 vs Event TR-8 vs Tapco S-8 - opinions please!

[headwerkn]

Hi all,
I need a new (ie. proper... K141s and HiFi speakers don't count) monitoring system... budget around AU$1000 only, active, and ideally with 8" woofers (see below for rationale).

Yesterday I spent a good 20 minutes with a pair of Tapco S-8s, unfortunately not with my own preferred test CD, but none the less they were very impressive. A/Bing with a pair of Event ALP5s was almost painful... I will be working with varying genres of music but certainly reliable bass down to 50Hz or so is vastly preferable.

I will be trying out a pair of Event TR-8s within the next week (shop's just waiting to get them in) and provided the Tapcos aren't sold in the interim will heavily A/B them. Specs and pricing are basically the same as the S-8s.

The third option I've had listed are the KRK Rockit 8s. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to test these unless I jump on a plane to Melbourne (no TAS stockists) though I can get them for like AU$550 online (from here if you're interested), if I wanna go that route.

Can anyone offer opinions on these monitors?

I've also been recommended the Samson Rubicon R8as, just to throw something more into the mix ;-)

[siegfried]

Get KRK´s...

[Mike Douaire]

KRK's arent bad, my drummer uses them. Events in my mind are usually very flat but seem to not carry much bass, as if they drop off for some reason. Check out the M-Audio BX8s (the older model). Those are real cheap and still sound pretty good. Can't tell you much about Tapco's, almost bought a pair to try em but ended up with the BX8's.

[DrDeltaM]

I liked the KRK V6's more then the V8's (which I didn't like at all)

[NesNeedsGear]

Originally Posted by Mike Douaire

KRK's arent bad, my drummer uses them. Events in my mind are usually very flat but seem to not carry much bass, as if they drop off for some reason. Check out the M-Audio BX8s (the older model). Those are real cheap and still sound pretty good. Can't tell you much about Tapco's, almost bought a pair to try em but ended up with the BX8's.

+1 on the BX8's. I have a couple of mixes i can show you, that i did on BX8's (not the new BX8a's).

PM if u wanna hear em.

[Mike Douaire]

exactly, the BX8s, not the BX8a's. i was suprised by the decent quality of an m-audio product...although that's a seemingly cool trend, cheaper companies putting out quality monitors...hmmm behringer truths maaaaaaybe?

[tgrokz]

i have herd very good things about the truths. if you can, demo the truths and the bluesky media desks 2.1
i know they werent your choices, so demo them with those monitors as well.

[redddog]

The knock on the Truths seems to be the sketchy quality control. I've heard people rave about them and then switch in a year and THEN crap all over them. I think they sound OK but they don't reveal anything - which is the entire point.

I had the Event TR-8s and they were OK. That's about all you can ask for from a budget monitor. I was really psyched to move up, though. If I were you, I would TRY to save some more scratch and get the Dynaudios (bm5a). You most likely won't outgrow those and your talking about $350 more. Not too bad.

And for the record, I hate nothing more than when people tell me to save more and get the next level up when I ask a gear preference. I appologize but this is possibly the most important conponent to your studio. And $350 isn't the end of the world.

[TheRigaletto]

I tried the events and the Rockit and thought the Yamaha HS80's were way more defined.




<<<<<<<<See look how happy I am with them!

[headwerkn]

I know the Dynaudios are something of a benchmark, unfortunately the cheapest local pricing is AU$1750+shipping, and even from the US I'd still be looking at around AU$1500 all up, which is just too much of a stretch at this point in time. Maybe if this hairbrain idea of me producing live DVDs of gigs played in local pub (which does get well known national and international acts) they will soon part own actually goes through, I could justify Dynaudios or HR624s in time. For now though.... :-( I absolutely understand what you're saying about saving up for the next "step"... unfortunately a fairly low end monitor is the "step" I'm currently saving for already - one thing at a time I guess.

So far I've heard average things about the TR-8s and Events in general, very good things about the Tapcos and excellent reviews about the Samson Rubicons. By the sound of things I'll just have to trust my ears and A/B until a winner emerges.

Thanks for everyone's help!

[AdamJay]

Originally Posted by DrDeltaM

I liked the KRK V6's more then the V8's (which I didn't like at all)

i liked the KRK RP5's with the RP10s sub more than the RP6's, or RP8's... with or without the sub.

go figure.

[keithrt99]

the tr8's seem a bit hyped in the low end in my opinion, but they are pretty good sounding for the price.

[nadsatrebel]

Originally Posted by headwerkn

Hi all,
I need a new (ie. proper... K141s and HiFi speakers don't count) monitoring system... budget around AU$1000 only, active, and ideally with 8" woofers (see below for rationale).

Yesterday I spent a good 20 minutes with a pair of Tapco S-8s, unfortunately not with my own preferred test CD, but none the less they were very impressive. A/Bing with a pair of Event ALP5s was almost painful... I will be working with varying genres of music but certainly reliable bass down to 50Hz or so is vastly preferable.

I will be trying out a pair of Event TR-8s within the next week (shop's just waiting to get them in) and provided the Tapcos aren't sold in the interim will heavily A/B them. Specs and pricing are basically the same as the S-8s.

The third option I've had listed are the KRK Rockit 8s. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to test these unless I jump on a plane to Melbourne (no TAS stockists) though I can get them for like AU$550 online (from here if you're interested), if I wanna go that route.

Can anyone offer opinions on these monitors?

I've also been recommended the Samson Rubicon R8as, just to throw something more into the mix ;-)

I like my KRKs. Can't say enough good about them.

[djbrough]

TR8's out of the three you mentioned. If possible, try and get another $450 and by the ADAM A7's. You'll be happier.

[The Beatsmith]

Originally Posted by djbrough

TR8's out of the three you mentioned. If possible, try and get another $450 and by the ADAM A7's. You'll be happier.

Definitely the TR8's. And although i haven't tried the A7's, i'm pretty damn sure they'd be worth the extra cash...

[redddog]

I don't think he's in the position to spend more.

[-Noodles-]

I've recently been looking between the KRKs and the Tapco's..

They're similar price (in the UK), however the Tapco's are 8", and the KRK's I'm looking at are the 6s.

[nonstatic]

if you are working with bass oriented music, i would not recommend events...the TR8XL could at least handle some heavy bass, but all the other models have the woofers flapping so hard i could hear them very clearly while trying to mix. if you like your bass, go for the other two brands.

[Acoustic Cloud]

LOL!!!

Reading thru this thread seems to say they are all good, or they all stink!!

I would hope Yamaha would be on top of their game with these choices at some point, but I havent heard any of them.

[dickiefunk]

Also check out the Tannoy Reveal 8D's!!! I've recently replaced a pair of Alesis M1mk2's with these and they sound awesome (much more detailed and accurate than the Alesis). They've had fantastic reviews in all the mags I've read and also have ActiveAssistant room eq which really helps to get as flat a sound as possible in the space you're using them in. It would be the Tannoy's or KRK for me.

[fartnokker]

Listened to KRK RP-8's, Event TR-8's, Yamaha HS-80's, and M-Audio BX-8a's (along with Mackie 824's for reference) in the store listening room, and the KRK, M-Audio's, and Yammies at home. The KRK's won for me. The M-Audios were wayyy too hyped on top & bottom and were super-fatiguing after awhile. The Yammies were nice but too crisp on high-end. The Events were just plain flat. Think cardboard box. The KRK, for me, was the clear winner. They didn't sound "pretty," just truthful. Great mids, honest highs & lows. I've had 'em for some time now.

Later, I got the RP-10S sub, and realized why my mixes didn't have as good a low-end as I wanted. That sub with the RP-8's is the shizzit. Using the sub, I was able to tighten up the lows & get rid of the low-end "fluff" that had cluttered my mixes.

I was interested in the Tapco S8's but never had the opportunity to hear 'em.

Your mileage may vary.

[madcowvt]

Originally Posted by The Beatsmith

Definitely the TR8's. And although i haven't tried the A7's, i'm pretty damn sure they'd be worth the extra cash...

For sure.. I just switched from TR 8's to A7's a few weeks ago and the difference is mind blowing. The low and low mids on the TR8's are not very honest to me.
Well worth the extra $$...
Just like anything, it's a matter of getting used to the monitors. Better monitors just make that easier.

[m_pianoman]

just to throw another into the mix...

these monitors are fantastic and when I compared them to higher end (and bigger) speakers, I was not impressed until there was a $1000+ price difference. I especially like the warm high frequency sound from the silk domes. They are tuneable for the environment you are in, both woofer and tweeter.. and are biamplified.

For the price, they also happen to be a bargain. When I compared these to the KRK's I found the KRK a little muddled in the mid-range, but that's just me..

I think your plan to a-b is the way to go. Everyone has different ears. I created a CD with about 6 or 7 tracks of various genre listening that I am extremely familiar with... anything from Trevor Rabin to Radiohead. Gave me a good idea of what the real differences were to me.

[bachconnelly]

The Rockit Series sounds really dead to me... I would look more at the V series of KRK. The V6's still fit in your price range and will sound a hell of a lot better than the Rockit 8's



D-

[dim light]

The Rokit series is garbage - I have the 5's and they suck so bad! I also have the V6's and they are great... Stay away from the Rokit...

[asagaai]

I had the M audio BX 8a's and could never get the treble or the bass sorted so that it sounded right on varying outside speakers. The mix sounded great on them-but it was not the truth outside.

I now have the event ASP8's, and I know they are outside your budget, but the comment about the TR8's being flat initially was my thought about the ASP'8's when I played mixes on them that I had previously mixed on the BX8'as.

Initially, I thought-oh shit, I have stiffed up on them they sound crap.

But after re-mixing on the ASP8's and getting the mix to sound good on them, I find it totally translates to other speakers outside. The bass sits right, perhaps my only comment is that the treble is a little "dark" say compared to the more hyped monitors-say BX8a.

If the TR*'s are anything approaching the ASP8's I would say

GJ
Newcastle/OZ