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If you are a music-lover that wants to spend his free time listening to music and relaxing, then you surely need to acquire a nice pair of studio monitors suitable for home use. There are many different options available in the market, and in this article, we take a look at some of the best quality monitors for the money.
Audiophiles and people who want their home sound quality to be as high as possible, tend to look for studio monitors that deliver nice warm bassy low-end sound, along with detailed high frequencies so that they are able to listen to every single instrument of the songs accurately.
The quality of the studio monitors depends on the amount of money the buyer is willing to invest into acquiring a nice pair for his use of preference. When it comes to home listening use, there is a wide price range of studio monitors, which means that you can find an extremely well-functioning monitor pair in very affordable prices.
In order to operate the studio monitors properly, you are going to need an audio interface or an internal sound card for your personal computer. It is advised that you choose an external audio interface, because they are more portable, and have great levels of functionality and connectivity, due to their USB ports and cables.
If you prefer not to purchase additional gear, such audio interfaces, you should look for USB speakers, which you can plug into your PC or laptop and start using immediately. Such speakers are usually less expensive, but less powerful too, so you have to choose wisely if you want decent levels of loudness and sound quality.
Before purchasing studio monitors, consider these:
Quality
The quality of the monitors you are about to purchase is your first priority. You should look for studio monitors that deliver accurate and detailed sound. To achieve this, you need to look for monitors with excellent high frequencies, or for the ones that have some presence boost in the mid frequencies, because it adds nice color to the sound.
Furthermore, for those that want addition bass to their sound, you need to look for monitors with great low end frequencies, which will make the overall sound result smoother and warmer. The ideal is to acquire monitors with as broad frequency range as possible, so that you get amazing sound results throughout the entire frequency spectrum.
Functionality
The functionality of the studio monitors is a very important factor for the right purchase. You need to make sure that you know the room in which you are going to place the monitors, so that you can easily decide between near field or far field studio monitors.
Near field monitors work best in small places and they are perfect for bedrooms or small living rooms. Far field monitors are ideal for larger places, such as garages or large basements, and they function extremely well when it comes to parties or gatherings with lots of people, due to their nice loudness.
Features
Most studio monitors come as bundles. Studio monitor bundles consist of additional items of significant importance and use, such as monitor stands, isolation pads that you can place under your monitors to reduce vibrations, connectivity cables and power supplies.
Price
There is a wide range of prices available for every individual to choose from. There are decent studio monitors starting at the price point of $100 and less, and they can go up to several thousand dollars if you are really serious about your sound quality.
Best studio monitors for the money
1 – Edifier R1280T
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If you are one of those that have a large space available for their home listening experience, then the Edifier R1280T monitors are great for you. They work better in bigger rooms, as they are larger than the average studio monitor pair, and they can be used as far field monitors.
The units have a great design and side controls with an elegant aesthetic that is a significant advantage for those that want to have immediate access when it comes to adjusting the monitor sound. In addition to this, there is a remote with a very simplistic design included in the package, which makes their use even more convenient.
The front cover of the Edifier R1280T is a pleasure to look at, and the monitors have an AUX RCA and the ability to switch between right and left to customize the listening experience for the user. Their structure is sturdy, and seems strong enough to work under rough occasions, such as parties or sessions in remote locations with lots of people.
The monitors come very carefully packaged, which is a nice plus. The units are decently protected in the box, and there are all the necessary cables included. It is very easy to set them up, as you can plug them into your PC and start using them in no time at all.
The sound quality of the Edifier R1280T is great. They have excellent accuracy when it comes to the high frequencies, and you can detect no muddiness in the mid frequencies, especially if you use them for movies or TV shows, where you can notice the significantly clean dialogs and voices.
They have a broad frequency range, and they treat all frequencies equally. As a result, the sound is very natural and neutral, without any excessive boost to certain frequency bands. Overall, they have an amazing sound quality, with great detail and brightness in the mid and high frequencies. A nice option when it comes to listening music at home, at a very affordable price.
2 – Rockville ASM5
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The Rockville ASM5 is an amazing pair of studio monitors, perfect for those that are looking for an affordable monitor solution for their listening sessions at home. Furthermore, these particular studio monitors are ideal for people that travel often, as their small size makes them capable of fitting easily into their luggage.
The particular units have built-in USB soundcard, which makes their use as convenient as it gets. You can plug them into your Laptop, MacBook or Personal Computer and start using them immediately. This is very helpful, as with the built-in soundcard you do not have to spend extra money on buying an external USB audio interface.
With the Rockville ASM5, you can adjust the volume very fast, as they have controls in the front part that makes them easily accessible by the user. What is more, these monitors have a headphone jack with a very nice sound quality, better than the one on most computers. You can use it to listen to your music with your headphones, as it provides very warm and smooth low ends along with nice detail in the high frequencies.
The sound quality of the studio monitors is decent, and it is definitely better than the sound quality of the average bookshelf speakers. They have great levels of accuracy, which add a fine detail to most songs and sounds without causing distortion, providing a very ear-pleasing home listening experience to the user.
The Rockville ASM5 have all the electronics in one of the two speakers, used as the main one. The slave speaker is significantly lighter than the main. This means that you will have to pay extra attention to the main speaker, as in case it breaks you are going to need a new pair of monitors instead of just one speaker.
Overall, these studio monitors have a very nice compact size and come in a very affordable price, which makes them available to almost everyone. They are great for use in external places or when travelling, and they are the perfect solution for those on a tight budget that want to improve their sound quality at home.
3 – TASCAM VL-S3
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The Tascam VL-S3 is a very nice pair of studio monitors for both music producers and home listeners. As for just listeners, you do not need to invest additional money into purchasing an audio interface or amplifier, as you can use an AUX cable, plug them straight into your laptop or PC and start using them in an instant.
The accuracy of the particular studio monitors is great, as it delivers very clean sound considering mid-high and high frequencies, without making the overall sound unnatural or uneven. You will not notice any extra boosts to certain frequencies, which means that you will get neutral and accurate sound.
The representation that the Tascam VL-S3 monitors deliver is beyond any expectations. If you want to upgrade your sound quality even more, you can purchase an affordable audio interface and integrate it with your monitors. This way, you can notice a big difference to the smoothness and detail of the music you listen to, especially if you use these monitors in small rooms.
The monitors have decent bass levels, and their low ends provide a fairly warm and clean sound, without any excessive enhances. The low end loudness is nice, and you can notice that there is no distortion or saturation caused, as the high frequencies are not harsh at all.
Even though they have a very compact size, they manage to deliver nice sound results throughout the frequency spectrum. Their capability to not overreach into the low frequency bands, makes their sound cleaner with extremely low levels of muddiness or noise.
The Tascam VL-S3 have a very solid structure, a nice design and they are appealing to the eye. They require very little space due to their small size, and their sound quality is awesome, both for listening music at home and for beginner music producers that are on a tight budget. They have a nice performance and they come in a very affordable price too.
4 – Arion Legacy AC
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The Arion Legacy AC are some outstanding studio monitors for the money. They are bigger than most of the speakers that you would use at home, especially for your personal computer or laptop, but they are worth the space required to use them.
These studio monitors are the perfect choice for your home cinema experience as well. They deliver excellent sound results when it comes to movies and TV shows, and they look great near your flat screen due to their beautiful design.
The Arion Legacy AC have black color, which fits ideally with most of the furniture and the rest of the sound or movie equipment the user may have. They have a very affordable price, and as a result not a very solid structure, so they can be damaged pretty easily.
The sound quality the monitors deliver is decent, and they have nice levels of accuracy considering their price. They work better in small places, and could be characterized as near field monitors. This means that they do not have the appropriate loudness for parties or gatherings with lots of people.
The Arion Legacy AC do not produce any significant noise, vibrations or popping. Their overall sound is clean, although you may notice some minor muddiness in the mid frequencies from time to time depending on the song. There is a remote control included in the package, which you can use to adjust the bass, treble and volume levels.
All in all, you should be very careful with the particular monitors during purchase, and check them for any damages when they arrive as they are very fragile. The sound the studio monitors deliver is awesome for the money, and the quality result is pleasing to the average ear. A great option for your home listening experience.
5 – Monoprice 5-Inch
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The Monoprice 5-Inch studio monitors have a very balanced neutral sound, compared to most of the other similar monitors. The sound is awesome, and they have very punchy bass without making the mid and high frequencies sound dull or noisy.
Each of the particular speakers comes with its own power supply, which makes them capable of having more power as individual units. In addition to this, each unit has its own volume knobs and equalization, which helps the user adjust the sound to his liking.
The Monoprice 5-Inch are bi-amp studio monitors. As a result, they have a nice centered sound and great stereo imaging. They have decent levels of loudness, and their low ends sound incredibly warm and accurate, which means that you do not have to push the gain and volume too much to get the punchiness out of the bass.
The monitors have a Kevlar woofer, which makes the sound of the low ends cleaner, without losing any amount of loudness. The particular studio monitors are very convenient to use with a preamplifier because they are individually amplified, in case you want to increase the loudness levels or improve the overall sound quality for your listening experience.
The Monoprice 5-Inch have a great soundstage for the money, especially when compared to other similar speaker within the same price range. Their transparency and accuracy are decent considering their price, and their tonality is neutral without becoming flat or weak.
Overall, these studio monitors are well-built, they have a very solid structure and nice design. Their sound quality is amazing, with very clear and bright highs along with warm low ends and some extra punchiness to the bass. Their affordable price and nice packaging makes them a great option for everyone that want to acquire a fascinating pair of studio monitors for listening music at home.
