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REVIEW
KRK S10.4 Studio Subwoofer
This affordable midsize subwoofer
packs a yellow-coned wallop
REVIEW BY DAVID BLASCOE
he KRK S10.4 Studio Subwoofer is the middle child in the KRK series
of subwoofers. There is also the larger 12 " S12.4 and the smaller
8 " S8.4, which I reviewed in our March 2021 issue. I sure had fun
with the S8.4, so I was looking forward to diving in with its bigger sibling
and seeing what the S10.4 had to offer.
T
In Detail
The S10.4 subwoofer measures
13.4375 " x 18.875 " x 12.1875 " (H x
W x D). The rugged MDF (Medium Density
Fiberboard) enclosure weighs in at a
whopping 35 lbs-something I quickly
noticed when I tried to remove the subwoofer
from its box. It features a 10 "
glass aramid composite woofer, complete
with KRK's signature yellow color,
with a vertical front-firing bass port on the
right side. It puts out 160 watts of Class D
Power with a 30 Hz to 110 Hz frequency
response and 117.2dB max SPL.
On the rear panel, you have a volume
control, crossover frequency control,
and switches for input sensitivity, polarity,
standby mode, and ground lift. It's
worth noting that these switches have a
very satisfying and firm click to them.
There's a variety of inputs and outputs,
with both balanced XLR and 1
/4
" TRS and
unbalanced RCA inputs. There is a power
switch, a three-prong IEC power jack,
26 RECORDING November 2022
and a power/standby LED that glows
green when the subwoofer is on and
orange when it falls into standby mode.
Lastly, there's a 1
/4 " footswitch input to
bypass the sub and high pass filtering.
Here Comes the Boom
Once I got the S10.4 set up with my
KRK ROKIT 7 G4 monitors, with the
crossover frequency and overall volume
where it sounded best, I brought up some
test tunes and let it rip. My immediate
reaction was that it predictably reminded
me of my time spent with its younger
sibling, the S8.4, but understandably
amped up and bigger sounding.
I brought up Mike Dean's " The Eighth
Night Part 1, " which is an instrumental
hip hop track made entirely with Moog
synthesizers. It has tons of sub-frequencies
present with a massive overall low
end. The S10.4 indeed sounds huge,
but the low-end remains well-defined
and punchy without ever getting wooly
sounding. Billie Eilish's " Therefore I Am "
has a tight punchy kick drum while the
bass is more in the low mids. Here, the
separation of those frequencies was true
and clear on the S10.4. I even turned off
my monitors to hear how everything was
represented from the subwoofer and was
impressed with the intelligible definition.
I also tried some jazz and classical
music, which inherently tend not to have
as much low-end information as hip hop
or EDM, but at the same time, when well
recorded, can exhibit a very full, defined
low-end signature. The S10.4 anchored
the mixes appropriately and offered just
the right amount of depth and impact.
I am admittedly not an audiophile
and would consider myself something
of a bass head, so cranking the S10.4
up beyond " accurate " monitoring levels
brought a nice smile to my face-I like
when audio gear and music make me
happy. The S10.4 was taking everything
I threw at it and more. For my small home
studio, the S10.4 is admittedly a bit of
overkill, and, as per my previous review,
the S8.4 would suffice, but I'm not complaining.
As such, I think it could do well
in much bigger studio spaces as well.
Wrap Up
Much like its younger sibling, the
S10.4 is a fantastic subwoofer for just
about any studio space, and I expect
the S12.4 is an equally quality product
as well. I have genuinely not heard a
monitor from KRK that I didn't like, and
that's why I think you see their iconic yellow
speaker design in so many studios
around the world. The S10.4 is priced
at $479, with the S8.4 and S12.4
priced at $369 and $839, respectively.
If you're looking to beef up your studio
monitor setup, it's hard to go wrong with
any of the KRK subwoofers.
Price: $479
More from: krkmusic.com
http://krkmusic.com
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