KRK GO AUX 3 & 4 in the product review

KRK’s iconic yellow-coned speakers are some of the most beloved studio monitors and they are especially popular amongst DJs as they offer a somewhat more bass-heavy response compared to their flat response counterparts such as Yamaha. They are capable of reproducing frequencies that are very important in electronic music production, such as the lower spectrum of kicks and even the beefy deep sub bass sounds.

When you are used to a particular setup in your studio, you pretty much like to work on the same setup no matter where you are. It is not uncommon for tracks to be made in hotel rooms, airplanes, or on the road, and sometimes you may feel more inspired working from your backyard. While most of the work can be done with headphones as well, your ears can get fatigued after long sessions, so doing at least some of the work on speakers can be a good idea, especially if you want to share your new creations with others and ask for their opinion.

This is where the KRK GO AUX 3 and KRK GO AUX 4come to your help. These new compact sized lightweight speakers (3.15 kg for the AUX3 and 4.3 kg for the AUX4) are the ideal tool when you don’t have the convenience of your studio. They come with a travel-ready soft case that allows easy and safe transportation and quick setup. It also includes two adjustable stands that allow you to direct the sound towards your ears.

krk go aux detail view

Although bluetooth connectivity does come with compromise in terms of sound quality, it is fair enough that they have added it for convenience, however unbalanced RCA connectivity is still available on both models, and the AUX 4 also has balanced TRS inputs.

The built-in LF and HF EQ allows you to do some corrections when you cannot get your speaker positioning right and you get some unwanted bass muddiness, or too much of the high frequencies when they are positioned very close to your ears. The AUX 4 even comes with Auto ARC (Automatic Room Correction), a feature that uses a built-in microphone to measure the feedback from the environment and optimize the sound accordingly. You may not want to use this function all the time, or you may want to add additional tweaks as it is not always precise, but it can be a good starting point. For additional settings, you can use the KRK Audio Tools mobile app, which helps you with aligning your monitors properly and gives you EQ recommendations. It is worth mentioning that due to their restrictions in size, both pair of speakers are rear-ported, so when possible, you should place them at least 25 cm away from walls.

krk go aux connections

Both speakers come with a 1” tweeter and a 3 inch woofer for the AUX 3; 4 inch woofer for the AUX 4. Is this enough to reproduce the precision of a proper studio? Of course not, but are they better than most of the other convenient portable consumer speakers? Most definitely. While on paper they are capable of going down to 60 Hz and up to 22 KHz, these extreme ends will not have any proper definition, so don’t expect them to reproduce your deep bass lines accurately, however they can give you an idea on how your mix will sound on a pair of speakers and they will most likely offer better bang (and better punch) for your buck then most of the portable speakers you can get from audio stores. While the latter are designed for general purposes and casual listening, the KRK GO is still optimized for music producers and this definitely makes a difference.

As there is not a huge difference in their price tag (50€ extra for the AUX4), size and portability will probably be the main factor upon which you decide. The AUX3 is more than 1 kg lighter and 2-3 centimeters smaller on each dimension so if you are going to carry it around constantly you may want a smaller size and lighter weight, for the sacrifice of the extra inch in woofer size and the additional features such as the balanced input and ARC. In any case, they will be a decent add-on to any portable studio, even if only used casually, as they pretty much resemble the signature KRK sound and design.