New flagship KRK E8B monitors

[audiomichael]

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAM...PR/Expose.html

These look REALLY cool, but at that price, KRK had to come with it strong, or it'll just die at the feet of K+H 0300, Adam S3a's, Barefoots, or Focals...speaking of Focals...the new KRK's feature the Beryllium tweeter...sound familiar?

[audiomichael]

Not only do they have the Beryllium tweeter, but if you open them up, you'll see that they are Goldblum powered!

[emkay]

potential sound aside, I think the design is a little "cheesy". doesn't have the sophistication of the Focals, The Barefoots or even the Blue Skys or my old Tannoy NFM 8's for that matter! I hope they sound unbelievable......

[KurtR]

I wonder how they compare to my KRK E8's

[kingofswing]

Made In China - No Thanks

[MJGreene Audio]

I would love for them to prove me wrong but in my personal experience, KRK has not made a product worth a shit since Keith sold the company and they moved from Huntington Beach. If it is built to the quality leven and sound level of the newer products it will be a nasty piece of crap that will break down often and then take months to get fixed if you can actually get someone on the phone to get an RA number.

Note to Stanton/Cerwin Vega: Don't bother. Pretty much the rest of the world has moved on from your crappy product!!!

dfegad KRK

[audiomichael]

Originally Posted by kingofswing

Made In China - No Thanks

You've got good eyes "king"
OUCH! For that price you'd expect that at least this model would be made in the USA.

[warhead]

Kind of going for that Genelec curved housing look.

FYI KRK pretty much sells for half of list price, so it'd be about $3,000 I'd estimate to hit the streets.

Don't know any more about them at this point.

War

[tomwehrle]

Originally Posted by MJGreene Audio

I would love for them to prove me wrong but in my personal experience, KRK has not made a product worth a shit since Keith sold the company and they moved from Huntington Beach. If it is built to the quality leven and sound level of the newer products it will be a nasty piece of crap that will break down often and then take months to get fixed if you can actually get someone on the phone to get an RA number.

Note to Stanton/Cerwin Vega: Don't bother. Pretty much the rest of the world has moved on from your crappy product!!!

dfegad KRK

Not sure when whoever sold what, but i bought my krk v8's back in 2000ish and haven't had a problem with them yet

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by audiomichael

You've got good eyes "king"
OUCH! For that price you'd expect that at least this model would be made in the USA.

EXACTLY!

[kingofswing]

Originally Posted by audiomichael

You've got good eyes "king"
OUCH! For that price you'd expect that at least this model would be made in the USA.

Spot on. Atleast a USA made 'flagship' KRK. For that asking price (or near), not my cup of tea.

I have nothing against China as a country, people, culture etc, but i do not like the build quality of the products coming off the line in form of mass production.

[worm]

Originally Posted by kingofswing

Spot on. Atleast a USA made 'flagship' KRK. For that asking price (or near), not my cup of tea.

I have nothing against China as a country, people, culture etc, but i do not like the build quality of the products coming off the line in form of mass production.

come on admit it, you just hate chinese people.

[blackcatdigi]

Originally Posted by MJGreene Audio

I would love for them to prove me wrong but in my personal experience, KRK has not made a product worth a shit since Keith sold the company and they moved from Huntington Beach.

I have to agree with you.

I mean, all the V series and whatever are fine 'cost-effective' speakers, but Keith was literally KRK... The first thing Stanton basically did, was to phase out Keith's original designs (the real KRKs) and start making cheaper products offshore.

Can't really blame him for cashing out, though.

[audiomichael]

Originally Posted by worm

come on admit it, you just hate chinese people.

If every new KRK came with a smoking bowl of delicious orange chicken, it would really be great for Chinese PR.

[ImJohn]

Originally Posted by audiomichael

Not only do they have the Beryllium tweeter, but if you open them up, you'll see that they are Goldblum powered!

Nice one!

[MJGreene Audio]

Originally Posted by joemeekfreak

Not sure when whoever sold what, but i bought my krk v8's back in 2000ish and haven't had a problem with them yet

Well I wish you luck if you do. Their service department or maybe I should say the people who get stuff into the service department is the worst I have EVER seen. Have a pair of E-7's and one amp went bad. After calling for two weeks and never having anyone answer the phone I finally got someone to give me an RA number. Sent it in and they lost it for 4 weeks and couldn't find it. Didn't answer the phone. When they did they gave me the run around, then finally admitted they couldn't find it. I had to give THEM the RA number so they could hopefully find the box. They finally found it and then it took them another 6 weeks to fix it and another 2 weeks to figure out what the hell to bill for and let me pay for it. The only reason it happened this fast was because I was on the phone screaming at them almost every day. If I hadn't I still would probably have it in the shop.

Had a V-8 blow an amp also. Same deal almost exactly. It was a complete joke. After that, in addition to not being all that happy with the product and the quality of it I switched to Pro-Ac's and Dynaudio's and haven't regretted it one day. Dynaudio is a company that actually cares about their customers and the couple of problems I have had (all due to UPS I might add) were fixed with a drop shipment of a new speaker the very next day.

I have used and owned KRK's since the very first model 703. They are a company that is just a name and has nothing to do with the products they used to make.

Glad to have them out of my life.

Michael Greene

[dick swifter]

Originally Posted by MJGreene Audio

Well I wish you luck if you do. Their service department or maybe I should say the people who get stuff into the service department is the worst I have EVER seen. Have a pair of E-7's and one amp went bad. After calling for two weeks and never having anyone answer the phone I finally got someone to give me an RA number. Sent it in and they lost it for 4 weeks and couldn't find it. Didn't answer the phone. When they did they gave me the run around, then finally admitted they couldn't find it. I had to give THEM the RA number so they could hopefully find the box. They finally found it and then it took them another 6 weeks to fix it and another 2 weeks to figure out what the hell to bill for and let me pay for it. The only reason it happened this fast was because I was on the phone screaming at them almost every day. If I hadn't I still would probably have it in the shop.

Had a V-8 blow an amp also. Same deal almost exactly. It was a complete joke. After that, in addition to not being all that happy with the product and the quality of it I switched to Pro-Ac's and Dynaudio's and haven't regretted it one day. Dynaudio is a company that actually cares about their customers and the couple of problems I have had (all due to UPS I might add) were fixed with a drop shipment of a new speaker the very next day.

I have used and owned KRK's since the very first model 703. They are a company that is just a name and has nothing to do with the products they used to make.

Glad to have them out of my life.

Michael Greene

Oh Boy, Where do I begin with KRK... I too had the absolute worst customer service experience in my life when I foolishly sent my E7's in for service 2 years ago. I was only told months later after many frantic phone calls that they told me they don't have any more drivers or tweeters for the E7! How could they not know that before I spent over $100 to ship them to the factory. They sent the speakers back to me, but packed them so poorly that a big chunk was taken out of the side of one of them. Also, the other one made a buzzing sound that wasn't there before. When I complained, they told me they would hook me up with a pair of E8's at cost. I said fine. But...... they were waiting for the new model to be finished (This was not the new design in the picture above, but the "T" series) So I waited, and waited, calling every few monthe for an update. I was told after 9months that they would be available the following March and I would get a pair. March rolls around, I call and find out the customer service mgr I was dealing with was no longer with the company, and they didn't know anything about my situation!!!! Back to square one! I have to send them all the info, the RA numbers, shipping receipts, pix of the damage. Oh also, the "T" model had already been discontinued, and I would have to wait for the E8B to start production. More months go by, finally they tell me they have a pair for me. Guess how much? $3,000! That's only $200 less than the price I could get from any retailer! I called Larry, who (according to him) is the designer and the brains of all the KRK products. He told me that he couldn't believe how I was treated, gave me his cell number, and told me to call him in a week and that he would take care of me. I call him a week later, he said he was still working on it, but to call back the next day. I call the next day.... he doesn't answer. Nor does he answer the next 12 calls until I finally gave up. Screw that companydfegad krk

[Marando]

Wow, so many people who are negative about KRK.

I have the KRK V6 (version 1) and I realy like them! Somebody said to me that the V6 I have are better then the KRK V6 2nd serie... (I have black woofer, new one has the yellow one..) As far as I know, my V6's are made in the USA, the new series 2 are made in China... so perhaps he actually is right about this?

Just curious if you think I have crappy monitors or that I can be happy that they might be even better compared to the new ones..

[GPl]

I have a pair of old V6's also. One things for sure, if they ever go might as well trash them.

[MJGreene Audio]

Originally Posted by dick swifter

Oh Boy, Where do I begin with KRK... I too had the absolute worst customer service experience in my life when I foolishly sent my E7's in for service 2 years ago. I was only told months later after many frantic phone calls that they told me they don't have any more drivers or tweeters for the E7! How could they not know that before I spent over $100 to ship them to the factory. They sent the speakers back to me, but packed them so poorly that a big chunk was taken out of the side of one of them. Also, the other one made a buzzing sound that wasn't there before. When I complained, they told me they would hook me up with a pair of E8's at cost. I said fine. But...... they were waiting for the new model to be finished (This was not the new design in the picture above, but the "T" series) So I waited, and waited, calling every few monthe for an update. I was told after 9months that they would be available the following March and I would get a pair. March rolls around, I call and find out the customer service mgr I was dealing with was no longer with the company, and they didn't know anything about my situation!!!! Back to square one! I have to send them all the info, the RA numbers, shipping receipts, pix of the damage. Oh also, the "T" model had already been discontinued, and I would have to wait for the E8B to start production. More months go by, finally they tell me they have a pair for me. Guess how much? $3,000! That's only $200 less than the price I could get from any retailer! I called Larry, who (according to him) is the designer and the brains of all the KRK products. He told me that he couldn't believe how I was treated, gave me his cell number, and told me to call him in a week and that he would take care of me. I call him a week later, he said he was still working on it, but to call back the next day. I call the next day.... he doesn't answer. Nor does he answer the next 12 calls until I finally gave up. Screw that companydfegad krk

And to make matters worse, If they hadn't sold out you could have driven down to the shop in Huntington Beach and they would have hooked you up the same day with whatever you needed or at least figured out a way to get you back on the road. I did it quite a number of times when I lived in LA. It was actually a pleasure to go down and hang out with Craig and once in awhile Keith would be there and he was always great to talk to.

I wouldn't take a set of monitors from them now even if they paid for the shipping.

I still have my E-7's and 3 KRK V-6's. I never use them in the studio anymore. The E-7's are at home for editing and the V-6's so far just sit in the closet waiting for a reason to use them. Once one of them blows again they will end up in the dumpster.
or maybe I can figure out a way to make a fishtank out of them.

Actually I will rent a gun and take them out to the gun range!!!!!


Michael Greene

[Marando]

Originally Posted by MJGreene Audio

And to make matters worse, If they hadn't sold out you could have driven down to the shop in Huntington Beach and they would have hooked you up the same day with whatever you needed or at least figured out a way to get you back on the road. I did it quite a number of times when I lived in LA. It was actually a pleasure to go down and hang out with Craig and once in awhile Keith would be there and he was always great to talk to.

I wouldn't take a set of monitors from them now even if they paid for the shipping.

I still have my E-7's and 3 KRK V-6's. I never use them in the studio anymore. The E-7's are at home for editing and the V-6's so far just sit in the closet waiting for a reason to use them. Once one of them blows again they will end up in the dumpster.
or maybe I can figure out a way to make a fishtank out of them.

Actually I will rent a gun and take them out to the gun range!!!!!


Michael Greene

So you are actually saying you don't use your KRK V6's at all anymore? If they are working/looking okay, why don't you sell them??? I realy like my pair of V6's (serie 1). A music friend of mine would love to own a pair of V6's too, so we have the same set in both our home studio's.. He uses KRK RP5 at the moment, and they sound not bad at all I must say, but my V6's are better, imho...

[macr0w]

I have been using a set of v8's for the last 3 or 4 years and they are ok. For the price they are hard to beat. I'm not sure how mine compare to the new ones. I'd like an alternate set of monitors but I have been pleased with my old v8's.
But of course I'm just an ametuer

[PDC]

Originally Posted by kingofswing

Made In China - No Thanks

99% of the electrical components used in the audio industry, and in foo-foo high end gear comes from China. That logic doesn't float any more. It is a plastic box that can be injection molded by a machine anywhere and be the same. It has drivers from who knows where that would be assembled in the cab the same way. The engineering isn't Chinese.

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by audiomichael

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAM...PR/Expose.html

These look REALLY cool, but at that price, KRK had to come with it strong, or it'll just die at the feet of K+H 0300, Adam S3a's, Barefoots, or Focals...speaking of Focals...the new KRK's feature the Beryllium tweeter...sound familiar?

China or not, which wouldn't bother me at all if the sound kicks ass, they just look really cheap to me.

[dick swifter]

Oh yeah, one last thing.... The last message I left for Larry (Head of KRK) went something like this, " Larry, this is my 12th and final call to you. Remember, you gave me your personal number and told me to call you, but I think it's safe to assume by now that you weren't able to do anything for me and now you're blowing me off. But as a fellow professional, I'm asking you you to show me the respect of a phone call or email explaining the companies position. Thanks."

Now does that sound unreasonable? Considering this was a two year head-ache for me, the fact that in the end they just completely blew me off just sucks. Remember also that the Expose line is their flagship line and costs a LOT more than the "V" series. When I spend the extra money for professional tools, I do it with the idea that it's an investment in my art and that I will have them with me throughout my career. This holds true with microphones, mic pre's, compressors, guitars and many other non computer related studio tools. I had these speakers for only five years before they became very expensive paper weights. My NS10's only cost me $300, so I'm not going to cry over them when they finally go, but at least I was able to secure extra drivers when they ANNOUNCED they were going to be discontinued. You'd think KRK would have offered their customers a similer "heads up" before discontinuing a flagship product.

[MJGreene Audio]

Originally Posted by Marando

So you are actually saying you don't use your KRK V6's at all anymore? If they are working/looking okay, why don't you sell them??? I realy like my pair of V6's (serie 1). A music friend of mine would love to own a pair of V6's too, so we have the same set in both our home studio's.. He uses KRK RP5 at the moment, and they sound not bad at all I must say, but my V6's are better, imho...

Actually that is a very simple yet great question. I listen them once here on Gearslutz but didn't have much response and just haven't gotten around to ebaying them yet. I think about it every time I open up the closet but haven't done anything about it.

Also I misspoke myself. They are V-8's not V-6's. A little brain fart on my part.

Wanna buy them?

Michael Greene

[MJGreene Audio]

Originally Posted by dick swifter

Oh yeah, one last thing.... The last message I left for Larry (Head of KRK) went something like this, " Larry, this is my 12th and final call to you. Remember, you gave me your personal number and told me to call you, but I think it's safe to assume by now that you weren't able to do anything for me and now you're blowing me off. But as a fellow professional, I'm asking you you to show me the respect of a phone call or email explaining the companies position. Thanks."

Now does that sound unreasonable? Considering this was a two year head-ache for me, the fact that in the end they just completely blew me off just sucks. Remember also that the Expose line is their flagship line and costs a LOT more than the "V" series. When I spend the extra money for professional tools, I do it with the idea that it's an investment in my art and that I will have them with me throughout my career. This holds true with microphones, mic pre's, compressors, guitars and many other non computer related studio tools. I had these speakers for only five years before they became very expensive paper weights. My NS10's only cost me $300, so I'm not going to cry over them when they finally go, but at least I was able to secure extra drivers when they ANNOUNCED they were going to be discontinued. You'd think KRK would have offered their customers a similer "heads up" before discontinuing a flagship product.

Our experiences pretty much say everything. Would Genelec, Dynaudio, Adams, or any other real monitor company treat customers that way? I have never seen a company do what KRK has done. EVER in 20 years of doing this. Like you said, Yamaha announced it ahead of time to give people a heads up.

My hope is that anyone who ever does a search on here about KRK will take all of these posts as a big warning to never deal with this company.

And if you own a pair of KRK's then know that this is how you will be treated.

Michael Greene

[Autowow]

Wow. I have read all of these posts and have to say it is really not right the way you folks have been treated. I’ve been with KRK for 9 months now and have seen the customer service department slowly change for the better. KRK has ended relationships with inefficient and careless service centers and has formed a team of folks who care about the customer. Old employees have also moved on and new attitudes of service and problem solving have taken their place. I’ve been a member of the this forum for a couple years now and just wanted to chime in and let those existing KRK users know that they can contact me directly with their issues and I’ll do my best to resolve them.
My name is Tony. My email is tcora@krksys.com 954-316-1500 ext2237
I work tech support here.

[Elak]

Made In China

What else is new? either it's china or india. but the prices are not based on those.

[MattiMattMatt]

Originally Posted by Autowow

just wanted to chime in and let those existing KRK users know that they can contact me directly with their issues and I’ll do my best to resolve them.

Just curious - if the experiences described above happened to you, what would you require for the issues to be resolved?