This could mean anything from a mobile phone or iPad, to a car stereo, or even one of the best PA speakers in a club. In theory, if you can make your mix sound balanced, clear and accurate on a set of budget monitors, then you can be confident it will sound good on whatever speakers the end-user chooses. The benefit of this approach is simple, yet brings with it a ton of complexity. They operate with what’s known as a ‘flat-frequency response’, which means they produce the sound exactly as it’s received in the producer’s case from either the digital audio workstation ( DAW), instrument or other source. Monitor - or reference - speakers differ in that they have no prior agenda. What’s more, the choice - and age - of the speaker cone itself also has an impact. They are there to sweeten the audio they’re fed, either through gently boosting bass and treble frequencies or by applying other predefined EQ settings.
#Mac music studio on the cheap Bluetooth
Regular speakers, from the aforementioned Bluetooth type, right up to your parent’s prized hi-fi set, are created differently. In short, monitors give you the truth, for better or for worse.Īllow us to explore this a little deeper. They are there to offer a point of reference for your music if the audio you feed into them sounds good, your speakers will too. They aren’t designed to make your recordings sound good like the aforementioned ‘lifestyle audio’ brands. Without wanting to sound too blunt, studio monitor speakers don’t exist for your listening pleasure. If you’re new to home recording or music production, you may be wondering how the best budget studio monitors in this guide differ from the killer high-end Bluetooth speaker you use to stream Spotify or Apple Music – we're talking about the likes of Sonos and Bose here. (Image credit: JBL ) Home listening speakers vs budget studio monitors
You'll also be able to spot where your mixing weaknesses are, in order to improve for next time.
Your mixes will sound way better through these speakers than your cheap headphones or laptop speakers, and your ability to critically appraise a track will increase dramatically.
While there are cheap studio monitors on this list that will double up for gaming, multimedia and streaming audio, if you're after purely studio reference monitors we’d comfortably point you towards the IK Multimedia iLoud Micro or the M Audio BX5 D3 pairs.īoth options are built for the budget-conscious music producer, and have features geared specifically towards making sure you get the clearest, most precise image of your mix. Best budget studio monitors: Our top picks If you’d rather get straight into the products, keep scrolling.
We’ve included some expert buying advice at the bottom of this guide - if you’d like to read it, click the ‘buying advice’ button above and it’ll take you there. To a home recording enthusiast, installing your first set of 'proper' monitors has that very same effect - but as this guide will prove, you don't need to rely an unlimited bank balance or an amazing studio space to get a great sound anymore. If you’re old enough to remember standard definition TV, you’ll remember how amazing it was to watch your favourite film in high definition for the first time.