In many cases, small format monitors are just upgraded consumer items with a professional name slapped on them. KRK monitors have been dubbed “the little yellow speaker that could,” and with their GoAux monitor range, these could be called “the VERY little yellow speaker that DOES.”
Coming in as a pair, the master speaker sports 1/4-inch TRS balanced, RCA, and 1/8-inch aux inputs on the rear. These are Bluetooth-enabled for wireless connectivity and also feature a USB-B input. With additional EQ selection, there are options for Low and High frequency (flat, +2dB, and -3dB), allowing adjustability to suit the listening environment. Inside the ABS enclosure resides a four-inch Woven Glass Aramid Woofer, detailed in KRK’s trademark yellow, and a one-inch soft textile dome tweeter bringing a max peak SPL of 108dB, with a total of 100 Watts of Class D power. On the front, you’ll find a handy 1/8-inch headphone connection and an ARC (Automatic Room Correction feature) microphone input. A pair of angled stands for optimum positioning are included, as well as a padded nylon bag.
These aren’t just “throw them on the desk and go” speakers—an included ARC mic is meant to help configure the monitors to your space, with a series of sounds pumped through the speakers, and the ARC mic picks up these tones and calibrates the speakers. Perfect for home studio use AND adjusting to life on the go as a mobile producer who works in various spaces at any given time.
The form factor is welcome, especially where desk space is limited, and combined with the ARC calibration and angled stands, jumping into a mix was just like coming home. These are quite responsive for their size, and the range certainly surpasses a lot of standard desktop speakers’ performance. The bass frequencies were nice and full, it didn’t get squishy or lose definition, and the top end was quite even overall. The mid frequencies stood out nicely in some of the heavier guitar and dance mixes we ran through them.
Low-frequency synth tones from our Moog scratch mixes didn’t rattle the enclosure, which is always a good test for small-format speakers.
Considering these are meant to be portable, with the carrying case and ARC calibration feature, it’s a pretty comprehensive kit. Setting these up and tearing them down in a hotel room on a daily basis might be a bit of a pain for a band on the go, but the overall fidelity is excellent. A great way to utilize these would be tracking and mixing in your own space, then using these in different spaces, such as living rooms or bedrooms, to listen back to mixes for reference. Content creators might want to look into a set of these when on assignment. Even better is taking them to a dedicated studio and using them to reference against various studio monitors―making them a great tool for A/B and reference mixing.
In comparison to a set of studio desktop monitors that aren’t meant to be so mobile or a set of consumer-grade desktop speakers, these certainly side closer to the studio versions by a long shot. Even if these did not leave a desktop, they’re certainly a great pair of small-format studio monitors that can deliver.
PROS:
Great sound, portable, advanced room calibration feature.
CONS:
None.
STREET PRICE:
$449 (pair)