KRK VXT ACTIVE MONITORS

According to KRK’s manual, VXT means ‘the truth in French’. What?! I’m not someone who recreationally reads Proust on my days off but I find that little factoid very hard to swallow. So, in a court of law, do the French have to swear to ‘tell the VXT and nothing but the VXT… so help me Dieu’? I think the KRK boys are yanking our chains. But it did get me thinking about the nature of ‘truth’ or ‘accuracy’ and how subjective those words are.

KRK has always been about ‘accuracy’, and accuracy in the world of monitors is often a simile for ‘uncompromising’ or ‘non flattering’. KRK monitors have always offered surgically precise top-end that reveals all sorts of low-level detail and provides an amazing stereo soundstage. I wouldn’t describe KRK’s monitors as ‘natural’ sounding, but ‘accurate’? Definitely.

The first KRK monitors I reviewed were a pair of 7000Bs back in 1995 and igniting the bi-amped VXT6s was like ‘déjà vu all over again’. I’m not saying KRK hasn’t improved its manufacturing or the quality of its sound in 12 years, but that signature super-precise, nowhere-to-hide tone was instantly recognisable.

Physically, the VXT range shares a similar look to the top-shelf Exposé E8B – smooth and tubby looking. You feel like giving them a hug and maybe offering them a donut. There are practical reasons behind the enclosure shape; it’s designed to lower internal resonances and be structurally stronger. The VXTs use a silk dome tweeter and a Kevlar woofer. Around the back you’ll find a pair of tamper-proof ±1dB LF/HF switches, a ground lift switch, an Auto Mute switch, and a Clip Limiter Indicator switch.

KRK makes excellent monitors – they’re professionally and innovatively designed – and the VXT range is very well priced. A pair of 4s, for example, are the right size to suit the majority of home studio spaces and will be a noticeable step up from the ‘around a grand’ competition. Personally, KRK’s ‘accurate’ tone isn’t my thing, but many other studio people love it. And once you hang your monitoring hat on the KRK peg, you’re likely to be a life-long devotee. – Christopher Holder

Price: VXT4 $699; VXT6 $1099; VXT8 $1399 (all prices are for each speaker).

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