Both Yamaha and KRK offer excellent yet affordable home studio monitors for general listening and music production.
The KRK Rokit 5 series is the go-to choice of renowned and aspiring DJs for hip-hop and EDM dance parties. Meanwhile, the Yamaha HS5 is the perfect option for music engineers who need to mix and master music in small- to medium-sized rooms.
In summary, the KRK Rokit 5 is a superior home studio monitor for entertainment and general listening. However, if you're looking to produce more high-end music for films and the like, then the Yamaha HS5 is your top choice.
Now, let's look at the defining features for both home studio monitors and see which one is the best.
Sound Quality
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.
Anyways...
Although both home studio monitors are excellent options for music production, I noticed the KRK Rokit 5's preference is for mid and upper-bass only. Because of that, you can't expect accurate sound representation with this choice. Its mid-bass also produces weird peaks that cause repressed and muddy sounds when mixing.
My experience with the Yamaha HS5, on the other hand, was a different story. This home studio monitor produced more neutral and well-defined sounds because of its phenomenal sound representation. It also has excellent mids and highs with just the right amount of lows so you can create buzz-free mixes.
Loudness
In terms of loudness, I found the KRK Rokit 5 superior to the Yamaha HS5. I was curious how this home studio monitor excelled since both brands consist of a tweeter and woofer for high-frequency and low-frequency sounds. However, a quick read on their manual revealed that the KRK Rokit 5's woofer comes from glass-aramid while the HS5 woofer's material is a paper cone.
This aramid material is a better woofer material for delivering louder sounds. It relies on fewer vibrations, so it doesn't produce distortions at higher volumes. On the other hand, the Yamaha HS5 paper cone woofer is less effective in transferring sounds, so increasing its loudness can result in more annoying sound distortions.
Build Quality
The KRK Rokit 5 and Yamaha HS5 both have medium-density fiberboard enclosures. That's why I consider them a tie for their durability. However, the Yamaga HS5's enclosure design reduces undesirable resonance and sonic coloration for better and more accurate mixes. Unfortunately, the KRK Rokit 5 doesn't stand a chance.
Additionally, the woofer and tweeter of the Yamaha HS5 home studio monitor have rubber and metal surroundings. Meanwhile, the KRK Rokit 5's components only rely on foam. So if you're considering a more long-lasting woofer and tweeter, then the Yamaha HS5 is a more practical choice.
Portability
The next feature of the KRK Rokit 5 and Yamaha HS5 worth comparing is their portability. I noticed the Yamaha HS5 is more compact and lighter than the KRK Rokit 5. However, I observed one unique feature of the KRK model; it has a frontal speaker, allowing me to place it in almost any area in my music room.
Here is the User Manual of Yamaha’s HS Series.
Price
As of writing, the KRK Rokit 5 costs $162.99, while the Yamaha HS5 is priced at $199.99. If you're looking for a cheaper home studio monitor, I highly recommend getting the KRK Rokit 5. However, its price isn't much of a big difference from the Yamaha HS5.
Conclusion
After a quick comparison of both popular models, the Yamaha HS5 makes a far better home studio monitor for high-resolution mixing and music production. Meanwhile, the KRK Rokit 5 is an excellent option for general listening in hip-hop and EDM parties because of its adjustable frequency and loudness.