KRK VXT4 or Yamaha HS5 or something else?

[DDBear]

I am trying to decide on speakers for the fireplace mantle to stream music from Amazon Echo Dot. It would be nice to fill this room, ranging from soft ambient classical guitar, to hosting an electronic pop music dance party. Mostly, I am looking for clarity because I love to hear the subtle details of the classical guitar. Some additional practical considerations:

• The mantle shelf is 9" deep (it looks like I can fit speakers with 4" or 5" woofers because those cabinets tend to be around 8" deep).
• The speakers should be white to blend in with the decor.
• There should be minimal devices taking up space on the mantle where we also keep photo frames etc. so I'm looking at active studio monitors with built in amps rather than a separate mini amp.
• There is a convenient electrical AC plug on top of the fireplace mantle.
• I probably won't add a separate (bluetooth) woofer on the floor, as I like to keep it simple.

So far I am looking at the KRK VXT4 and Yamaha HS5 active studio monitors. Both are available in white and it looks like they accept unbalanced input. The KRK VXT4 has the bass port in the front, while the Yamaha HS5 has the bass port in the rear. Since I'm not using this for pro music recording, the extra bass boost from putting the HS5 right up against the wall could be a good thing. But I am not sure -- would it sound too boomy if I have the HS5 flush against the wall? Recording artists wouldn't want this because then they would mistakenly turn down the bass in the recording mix, but it may be a good thing for a purely listening environment.

Or maybe there are some other (white) speakers I should be looking at too? I also noticed the KRK Rokit but I don't like the super bright yellow cones. The AudioEngine A2+ and A5+ also look interesting.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I am trying to decide on speakers for the fireplace mantle to stream music from Amazon Echo Dot. It would be nice to fill this room, ranging from soft ambient classical guitar, to hosting an electronic pop music dance party. Mostly, I am looking for clarity because I love to hear the subtle details of the classical guitar. Some additional practical considerations:

• The mantle shelf is 9" deep (it looks like I can fit speakers with 4" or 5" woofers because those cabinets tend to be around 8" deep).
• The speakers should be white to blend in with the decor.
• There should be minimal devices taking up space on the mantle where we also keep photo frames etc. so I'm looking at active studio monitors with built in amps rather than a separate mini amp.
• There is a convenient electrical AC plug on top of the fireplace mantle.
• I probably won't add a separate (bluetooth) woofer on the floor, as I like to keep it simple.

So far I am looking at the KRK VXT4 and Yamaha HS5 active studio monitors. Both are available in white and it looks like they accept unbalanced input. The KRK VXT4 has the bass port in the front, while the Yamaha HS5 has the bass port in the rear. Since I'm not using this for pro music recording, the extra bass boost from putting the HS5 right up against the wall could be a good thing. But I am not sure -- would it sound too boomy if I have the HS5 flush against the wall? Recording artists wouldn't want this because then they would mistakenly turn down the bass in the recording mix, but it may be a good thing for a purely listening environment.

Or maybe there are some other (white) speakers I should be looking at too? I also noticed the KRK Rokit but I don't like the super bright yellow cones. The AudioEngine A2+ and A5+ also look interesting.

is there a budget limit in mind?

Rear ported speakers are less than ideal. These should have at least 1ft of space behind the port, otherwise the bass will sound pretty bad

You could also talk to Jim Salk, regarding if he'd be interested doing his WOW1 monitors powered on custom order. Salk will finish your speakers in any finish.

But alas, I suspect budget is a consideration after all (it usually is) so these should also be considered:
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DM-40-W-Channel-Monitor-Subwoofer/dp/B01M0F374X

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

also these:
https://www.amazon.com/Paradigm-Shift-Polar-White-Gloss/dp/B00BUOO6PK

 

[DDBear]

The Pioneer and Paradigm are great suggestions, I'll take a closer look at those, thanks! Meanwhile I went to some stores for some demos. The Yamaha HS5 sounded too thin and lacking definition for vocals, and the KRK Rockit 4 sounded pretty good (but they didn't have the VXT4 to try). But what surprised me is when I walked by a Bose display and randomly noticed the Bose SoundTouch 30. I was impressed by the clarity and deep bass from the SoundTouch 30. Bose also has a white option so that may be a good one. I wish there was a display that had the SoundTouch 30 right next to a pair of active studio monitors, I wonder how they would compare side by side.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

This is what Bose engineer said about ($350) Bose Wave Radio - this is the best $30 radio alarm clock we've ever made...
Draw your own conclusions....
Bose cheats badly on their extremely crafted and painstakingly staged in-store demos and I won't be even surprised that speaker had subwoofer connected to hidden somewhere. Also the soundtrack was custom EQ'd to boost Lows and High artificially. IE - most likely regular CD won't sound as good as the demo you've heard.

 

[DDBear]

I'm sure you're right, I would probably need to listen to the Bose with reference sound tracks different from what they pipe into the store demos. The Pioneer DJ DM 40-W descriptions sound interesting. Has anyone heard these new Pioneers?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

btw: KRK Rocking 5 and 6 do come in white as well
https://www.amazon.com/KRK-RP5G3W-NA-Generation-Powered-Monitor/dp/B00HHZUTQQ
decent review here:
https://www.attackmagazine.com/reviews/the-best/ten-best-nearfield-studio-monitors/3/
I like this line:
"The Rokits are accurate enough to get a good idea what’s going on in your mix, but at the same time their impressive bass extension and slightly hyped sound ...."
"These are monitors with an exuberant character...."
These do indeed sound like "fun" speakers, but I'd prefer my speakers to akin to scalpels - accurate/precise and unforgiving, but hey - you might actually like KRK signature sound.

 

[DDBear]

The KRK Rokit 5 sounded great in the demo room, although I ended up ordering the KRK VXT4 W because it has more power and the pros say that it is higher quality than the KRK Rokit series. I've always had a better experience with speaker clarity the more power I throw at them. The Bose SoundTouch 30 was tempting, but I am not sure if the excellent store demo sound would be the same in my house.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The KRK Rokit 5 sounded great in the demo room, although I ended up ordering the KRK VXT4 W because it has more power and the pros say that it is higher quality than the KRK Rokit series. I've always had a better experience with speaker clarity the more power I throw at them. The Bose SoundTouch 30 was tempting, but I am not sure if the excellent store demo sound would be the same in my house.

good call. let us know after you'd ran them thru the paces at your place. Photos welcome as well.