KRK studio monitors, read this before buying them.

[KingDiamond]

I purchased a pair of KRK RP6 studio monitors a couple months ago, 4 months ago to be exact. About two weeks ago one of the monitors began to make hissing and crackling noises. I check the cables, I even turned it on with no input cable and at different power outlets. Same thing. So I call up KRK and they tell me that it needs repair but they are moving so I have to ship it to one of their repair facility, their only repair facility which is in California.

So I call up the place in California and the guy asks me what brand speaker, I say KRK and he guesses "RP6", and he was right. So he goes on to tell me that they have a lot of RP6 monitors in their repair facility and they have been waiting for parts from KRK for over two months. He also told me they have a lot of KRK speakers coming in all the time for repair for rattling noises.

So these speakers sure are a bargain, and they sound great, but buyer beware: they are made in China and probably have shoddy parts / construction. I have read numerous posts online about similar problems.

Now I have to send in the speaker (I have to pay for shipping) and I'm going to have to wait for who knows how long to get it fixed. The guy said maybe two weeks because the shipment of parts might finally come on Tuesday.

I really hate this crap made in China, first I buy Behringer B2031A speakers and one craps out after a year. Then I buy these and one craps out after 4 months.

 

[billisa]

So these speakers sure are a bargain, and they sound great, but buyer beware: they are made in China and probably have shoddy parts / construction... I really hate this crap made in China...

Personally, I love the stuff I have that's been assembled in China -- much of it running daily, without a hiccup, for years... speakers, Hard Drive recorders, mics, synths, not to mention watches, DVD players, LCD monitors, etc...

BUT, if shoddy/defect-prone parts are involved, it doesn't matter where it's put together.

The fact is, were it not for China, lots of people on this board couldn't afford to be owning much of what they use to record with...

 

[KingDiamond]

I know that almost everyone has a something in their studio made in China and it's just a sad reminder that we have showed all the manufacturers that we're willing to pay a smaller price for a crappier product. The quality control in China isn't that good, a lot of companies in the USA will outsource to a Chinese company to make a product for them and they leave it up to China to keep the quality control in check.

 

[billisa]

I know that almost everyone has a something in their studio made in China and it's just a sad reminder that we have showed all the manufacturers that we're willing to pay a smaller price for a crappier product. The quality control in China isn't that good, a lot of companies in the USA will outsource to a Chinese company to make a product for them and they leave it up to China to keep the quality control in check.

In the case of your monitors, it sounds like there's a particular component or process that went awry. Obviously this isn't acceptable. But quality control is now often done by computers (and assembly benefits from this fact as well). If ISO 9000 (or like) standards are in place, it has little to do with the country it's being done in. It's not foolproof, but it beats my neighbor's $80,000. BMW that earned them a full Lemon Law refund after 8 months of misery. My Nikon bodies, made in Thailand, are far superior than ANYTHING Kodak ever made here.

It's funny, because my Blue Baby Bottle, not made in China, is my most expensive mic, and it needed repair before I could use it.

 

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

Hey, newbie-- before you slam gear, you should think about being honest about what probably damaged it. Try calling your friendly local licenced electrician....

Here's a quote from one of your recent posts:

So the other week one of my Behringer B2031A monitors got damaged when one of the neutral lines in my house somehow shorted and sent 220V to all of my audio gear. Luckily the only thing damaged was one Behringer B2031A monitor. So I took it in to a electronics repair place not far away from here where I usually get my tube amps to get serviced. The guy first looked at it and wrote down Mackie because he thought it was a Mackie monitor. I told him Behringer and he said "oh Behringer makes the copies so well". So he grabs the speaker and opens it up and on another worktable he has a Machine HR824 laying there taken apart. I was surprised at the similarities between the two. The internal construction is pretty much exactly the same, dimensions are the same, and even the electronics inside look the same. I wish I heard the two side by side just to be able to tell the difference in sound.

I'm pretty happy with the Behringer B2031A monitors, I've had them for two years and this is the first problem I experienced, and I guess it's not really behringer's fault either because it was a house wiring problem. I just don't get how Behringer can sell a pair of these monitors for $300 while the Mackie's cost $1000 for a pair, is the fact that the Mackies are made in the USA the reason they're so much more expensive?

This took thirty seconds for me to find. I mean, you've got 48 posts.

 

[JuliánFernández]

hahaha, busted!

 

[liv_rong]

Dude, forget about China, you're giving Chicago a bad name

 

[KingDiamond]

Actually I got that all sorted out by an electrician and it turned out it wasn't the power that blew that speaker but a short in the Behringer amplifier blew a cheater breaker that was in the house's fuse box and that sent 220V through another circuit but it was the speaker's fault in the first place and it didn't actually get 220V because that was on a different circuit which I found out later. I never followed up on that thread.

And I don't get why you're calling me a newb, I've been a member on this board for almost two years, I just read more than post.

 

[KingDiamond]

Also before you guys continue internet bullying me, one of the reasons I made this thread is to point out other potential buyers that KRK doesn't have much customer service when it comes to their warranty. I mean Behringer just sent me a new speaker a week later without having me return the original one and no money out of my pocket. I ended up selling them on ebay to upgrade to something I thought would be more reliable.

I'm not saying all KRK products are bad, but from what I researched on google about other's experiences with their monitors and my own experience, I figured someone looking to buy one of their products would take into consideration their subpar support and possibly cheap quality.

 

[NL5]

The new KRK isn't anything like they used to be unfortunately - on a good note, they drove down the prices of the older made in America stuff that actually was pretty good, if you don't mind used gear. Sucks if you're selling it though......

 

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

Fair enough. I only signed up a few months before you did. But full disclosure is important, *especially* if you're going negative. Any electrical gremlins in your wiring are first suspects, not china.

 

[billisa]

Any electrical gremlins in your wiring are first suspects, not china.

No one is bullying (as suggested elsewhere in this thread), that I can see.

Personally, I get sensitive to the China thing because, even with professional experience, I could not be doing what I'm doing now, recording wise, if Chinese manufacture hadn't come into play. I have no desire to buy shoddy gear. I have a high expectation of quality, and I am aware that USA or European manufacture does not guarantee this. In 1988, I had to send back a pair of Boston Acoustics monitors (US made) because of a known resonance rattle. The owner of the company suggested I use Mortite on the speaker basket to alleviate the problem! Instead I bought a pair of Polk Monitor 7's.

I am also old enough to remember the early 80's when Toyotas made in Japan were considered junk by people who bought Pintos and Mavericks and Chevettes instead...

I used to make commercials in the early '90's by using the studio of a local radio station. To duplicate their 2-track Ampex recorders/Gates 8-track board would have cost thousands more than I had. Having a 16-track studio (as I do now) would have been like dwelling in dreamland. Part of the accessibility to quality and capability that we now enjoy is due to digital technology, and another major component is Chinese assembly. I would never go back to what was.

 

[CoolCat]

the original design

i think its a frkn great post. far too many companys living off an old name that made them a "good product" only to have some bean counters chop away at the parts and materials and turn the same part into crap with a familiar logo on it.

I like being updated on companies moving things around and cheapening their product.

i had heard KRK went to China in other posts and they were worse...the same on the Mackies per a few people, they cheapened the parts and not as good as the original design.

this happens when bean counters messing with the design when they have no clue on engineering.

2yr disposable monitors are next, maybe?

what if they move their repair shops to China then, would it effect the decision to buy that product?

 

[talontsiawd]

I had krk rp5's for 4 years with no issue. As they were one of the cheapest "usuable" models when they came out, i have serveral friend who have owned them for a similar time period. This is the 5, not the 6 but i don't think a buyer should be that weary.


Secondly, it's easy to blame china for shitty parts. You have to realize, that's not on china, that's on the brand. Many chinese factories produce goods that are on par with mass produced goods from the US or other first world countries. I'm not saying the chinese do it particularly well, just some companies. Blame the company here, not their for choosing how much it wants to cut cost.

 

[TyphoidHippo]

One of the local clubs that I am "the soundguy" for is actually three clubs in one, and each club has it's own massive sound system - like.... easily valued upwards of $50K for all three. It's not like - arena sound or anything, but they are all pretty huge systems for nightclubs/small venues.

Anyway, there's about 25-30 power amps in use at any given time, and at least one amp a week craps out - fans die, potentiometers get all crackly, they overheat because the fans die and they don't automatically go into fault mode...guess which ones NEVER go out?


QSC - RMX series (Made in China).


We are slowly phasing out all of our American and European-made amps (various models of Crown, QSC, etc. that are supposed to be "high end") and running all Chinese made QSC RMX series amplifiers, because they are the ONLY ones that keep working, year after year after year....

Well...We also have one oooooold Behringer amp we use in one of the monitor rigs - and it's a beast. Never gives any hiccups - guess where it's made? Yea....China.

 

[billisa]

...guess which ones NEVER go out?


QSC - RMX series (Made in China).


We are slowly phasing out all of our American and European-made amps (various models of Crown, QSC, etc. that are supposed to be "high end") and running all Chinese made QSC RMX series amplifiers, because they are the ONLY ones that keep working, year after year after year.....

I host an annual entertainment show, outdoors on a town green, with crowds in excess of 10,000 in attendence... The sound is done by the largest company in the state... Their amps? All QSC. Until your post I had no idea where they were made.

 

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

What show?

 

[billisa]

What show?

The Branford Festival.

 

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

i had heard KRK went to China in other posts and they were worse...the same on the Mackies per a few people, they cheapened the parts and not as good as the original design.

When I read your f/s post, I saw what you said about series ones and series twos.... I didn't want to question anything in your f/s thread, but where did you hear about this? I use series 2's and like them, but would be interested to know if there is good reason for me to get a listen to the older ones if the chance comes up.

 

[CoolCat]

I read the KRk on the F/s and another forum or two. The mackie comment was here on this forum and a gc sales rep telling me about returns increasing.

personally, I wasn't meaning to discuss specifics, but the concept of how companies switch things to save money....and don't really advertise it.
the reason they don't advertise it is because they are usually lowering the quality of materials and everything else.

the same manager that outsources to save money, will not surprise me if the same manager cuts parts/material costs, reduces QC testing, and cuts corners on shipping and packing...

the same mentality will just as well use plastic and glue instead of welded metal, as its cheaper...even though the welded metal and better design will last and perform better.

as far as global economy....who gives a shit, that horse is dead.

Funny, though...

Toyota US factories are doing great while the GM China factories didn't really save GM.....

so this insinuates to me, the US worker is not the problem with GM, but the problem lies in their management?

proofs in the pudding!