Placing Your KRK Rokit 5’s Horizontally (Good Or Bad Idea?)

You should only place your KRK Rokit 5s horizontally when you absolutely have to for them to fit in your studio. KRK Systems designed Rokit 5s for vertical placement. Placing them otherwise will affect your stereo image and create time alignment issues between your tweeter/subwoofer.

KRK Rokit 5 Placement

Placing a set of KRK Rokit 5 studio monitors horizontally can cause several different audio issues affecting your mixing and mastering.

However, if you place your KRK Rokit 5s vertically, your studio will have an ideal audio monitoring setup.

I have my KRK Rokit 5s placed vertically, and it allows me to hear an accurate representation of my mix from my Rokit 5 studio monitors.

This article will look at the dos and don’ts of KRK Rokit 5 placement.

Can You Put KRK Rokits Sideways?

You cannot put a pair of KRK Rokit studio monitors sideways. The reason for this is the way that KRK Systems has designed these speakers.

Let’s take a closer look at why you should not place KRK’s sideways (horizontally).

Reduced Width Of Your Stereo Field

The first reason you should not place your KRK Rokit studio monitor pair horizontally is that it will reduce the width of your stereo field and negatively impact your stereo image.

This is because the tweeters within KRK Rokit monitors disperse sound on an X-axis basis (left to right). If you place them horizontally, the sound will spread on a Y-axis basis (up and down).

This will narrow your stereo image and cause problems with your high frequencies bouncing off the floor and ceiling of your acoustic environment.   

Issues With Time Alignment Between Your Tweeter and Subwoofer

The other reason you should not place your KRK Rokit monitors horizontally is that it will cause issues with time alignment between your tweeter and subwoofer.

The reason for this is that when you lay a studio monitor sideways, you create space between your tweeter and woofer which means the sound of each frequency driver will hit your ears at slightly different times. 

This will have a negative impact on the sound of your KRK Systems monitors because it will throw off the polarity/phase and prevent you from getting an accurate mix. 

Is It Better To Have Monitors Horizontal Or Vertical?

This depends entirely on the studio monitors themselves, and you should take this on a case-by-case basis. The safe bet is typically vertical studio monitor placement.  

For example, because of their design, you can only place some studio monitors such as KRK Rokit 5s, 7s, and 8s vertically. Placing them any other way will cause problems with your stereo image width and your tweeter/woofer time alignment. 

You must never place studio monitors horizontally unless their design accommodates this type of placement. 

Research your specific studio monitors before deciding on vertical/horizontal placement in your acoustic environment. 

Why Do People Turn Their Studio Monitors Sideways?

Here are some reasons why people might turn their studio monitors sideways:

• To put the tweeters at ear level 
• To prevent the studio monitors from blocking the view of a particular spot within the studio.
• For aesthetic (it looks rather cool)
• Because the specific studio monitors’ manufacturer designed them with horizontal placement in mind

Remember that you should only place studio monitors horizontally if the manufacturer of the specific studio monitors designed them for horizontal placement. Otherwise, you will experience issues such as reduced width in your stereo field and tweeter/subwoofer time alignment. 

At What Height Should Studio Monitors Be?

For the ideal listening experience, you should place your studio monitors with the tweeters at the same level as your ears.

You should also angle your monitors inwards to form an equilateral triangle with your head. The placement of studio monitors within your acoustic environment is crucial for music production and dialing in an accurate mix.  

Can You Put Studio Monitors Upside Down?

Yes, you can put a pair of studio monitors upside down as long as the tweeter is still level with your ears while in the listening position.

This is because as long as you place your studio monitors vertically (right side up or upside down), you will not experience any issues with your stereo image or tweeter/woofer time alignment. 

However, I think there is no real benefit in placing studio monitors upside down other than convenience if your specific studio setup calls for it. 

KRK Rokit 5 Dimensions

Here are the dimensions for KRK Rokit 5s:

• Height: 11.22″
• Width: 7.48″
• Depth: 9.49″
• Weight: 10.69 pounds
• Tweeter size: 1″
• Subwoofer size: 5″

Use these dimensions to help you make an educated decision on placing your KRK Rokit 5 monitors in your studio space.

If you need help, check out our following article on setting up KRK Rokit 5s.

Related Questions

Final Words

As you can see, because of the way that KRK Systems designed the Rokit 5s, you should only place them vertically. The only exception is if your Rokits will not physically fit vertically in your studio setup.

Although some studio monitors are designed for vertical and horizontal placement, KRK Rokit 5s are not. 

Placing your Rokit 5s horizontally will reduce the width of your stereo field, disrupt your audio integrity, and create time alignment issues between your high-frequency driver (tweeter) and your low-frequency driver (subwoofer). 

Therefore, you should always place KRK Rokits 5 vertically. 

Are you experiencing an annoying crackling sound from your KRK Rockit 5’s? If so, this next article is for you!