The Lowdown
The KRK V Series 4 is a range of two-way active studio monitors featuring an 8”, 6″ or 4” Kevlar woofer and a 1″ tweeter. The V series has been engineered to provide consistent response across all the range, with the only real difference being in the bass response of the larger models. The KRK V4 S4 sounds decent and is a step up from KRK’s own Rokit monitors that are popular with bedroom producers and will be right at home in your small studio.
First Impressions / Setting up
The KRK V4 S4 is an affordable, bi-amped studio monitor. We’ve previously reviewed its bigger brother the S6 V4 and we found it to be a compelling option for a budget pair of studio monitors.
The V4 S4 is front-ported meaning bass frequencies come out the front instead of the usual back-ported studio monitors to eliminate build up if you position your speakers near a corner. The S4 also has several options for room correction.
You connect to the V4 S4 by using either a balanced XLR or an unbalanced 1/4” connection. The enclosure is the same its bigger brothers with slick brushed aluminium accents. Both the woofer and tweeter are both made of Kevlar for extra durability.
In Use
The KRK V4 S4 has that signature sweet KRK sound that is very pleasant and less “in-your-face” compared to other monitor manufactuers like, say, Genelec. It has a round bottom and less-aggressive mid-range so there is less fatigue during longer sessions. This can be a double-edged sword however as the pleasant sound signature may mask some problematic frequencies and/or not translate well to other systems.
Given that the S4 only has a 4” woofer, monitoring music with a lot of emphasis on the bass frequencies will be difficult to monitor accurately. From our experience, there is a gradual drop off in the low-mids down to the lower frequencies when using the S4. If you want to hear more lows for your dance productions, you may want to pair it with a subwoofer.
Several Amazon reviewers liked how the V4 S4 looks and how it is a major upgrade from entry-level options such as KRK’s own Rokit line.
Despite it not being a revealing set of monitor speakers, the price on the V4 S4’s is attractive enough if you want to upgrade to a better pair for monitoring or performance.
Conclusion
It may not meet the demands of more demanding users especially in reproducing sub frequencies, the KRK V4 S4 is still a great choice if you want to upgrade from a budget pair of monitor speakers.
