Design Philosophy
A studio monitor is a tool used to aurally “measure” the changes in an audio path. Ask any seasoned recording professional what they think makes a great studio monitor and you’ll get basically the same answers: “Accuracy, transparency, flat response, and the truth.”
Simply put, recording engineers want the electrical signal entering their monitor to be reproduced mechanically by the transducers and they want this to occur without any degradation or compromise to the original signal. Professionals depend upon their monitors to deliver their artistic vision in a way that will translate as accurately as possible to a variety of audio mediums. Technically, this is accomplished by designing a monitor that addresses three critically important criteria: Spectral Balance, Distortion Management, and Resonance Management.
Spectral Balance (Timbre)
Research confirms that a speaker with the proper spectral balance is most often considered a great studio monitor.
Spectral balance is defined by:
•Smooth
•Smooth octave to octave response
•Smooth
From years of listening to feedback from some of the top engineers and producers, KRK engineers have come to understand how a properly tuned monitor can become a valuable recording tool.
The Expose E8B has been designed to be linear and as ruler flat as is humanly possible so that what you hear represents the true nature of the audio material without coloration or enhancement. You can be confident in the fact that your mixes will be accurate and phase coherent.
Distortion Management
Any loss or addition to the audio signal is a distortion and this frequently occurs in the speakers themselves. The E8B has extremely low speaker distortion, which is difficult to achieve but was required for a monitor of this caliber.
Various amplifier distortions have been eliminated as well; the most common being intermodulation, transient intermodulation, and harmonic distortion.
Distortion can also occur when the waveform is impacted by physical conditions such as port turbulence and diffraction. KRK engineers implement design concepts that eliminate or minimize these damaging conditions.
Resonance Management
Resonance is the tendency of something to vibrate at a particular frequency after the energy source is removed. Resonances play a major role in impacting the performance of a speaker. KRK design elements minimize driver and enclosure resonance.
4