5 Best Buy Studio Monitors on a budget
Investing in a set of nearfield studio monitors is an important part of producing music that can be played out across multiple platforms, whether it’s on a home stereo, in your car, a club or even an outdoor rig and now that the SABC has announced that their radio station will play 90% local music, it’s best you make sure your tunes sound good on FM radio too.
The objective is to be able to create a mixdown that will sound balanced across different mediums and palatable to the listener. To achieve this one needs to the most accurate sound dispersion one can afford so that what you hear in your home studio translates as accurately as possible anywhere your music is played.
Before buying a MIDI keyboard controller or any synths etc, after your DAW, computer and soundcard, nearfield studio monitors should be the next main priority.
We’ve listed in price order (lowest to highest) 5 very decent sets of studio speakers you could consider.
Monkey Banana Gibbon 5
Best buy price online - R 5,295 / pair
The lowdown:
Monkey Banana Gibbon 5 are nearfield studio monitors and are ideal for producers with limited work space such as a bedroom. Each loudspeaker is powered by 2 amplifiers; a 45 watt amp to drive the woofer (lows) and a 35 watt amp to drive the tweeter (highs). They’re stylish, certainly pack a punch and are very well priced. As the name suggests Gibbon 5’s host a 5 inch woofer.
Likes:
- 3 connection types (unbalanced RCA, balanced XLR & TRS)
- Great bottom end for a 5 inch speaker and crisp tops (48Hz to 22kHz)
- Stylish aesthetics
- Volume control plus adjustable EQ’s for both HF and LF
- Decent stereo imaging
- Loud
Dislikes:
- Bottom end may be a little boosted which results in a bit of colouring in higher frequencies
- They’re so darn popular stock in South Africa is sometimes limited
What the pundits say:
“What really stood out for me was the incredible stereo image they presented.” – Dave Skinz, BPM Magazine Review
“Decent price point. Great for monitoring at loud levels. Good looking. Decent stereo imaging when placed close to each other.” – G ‘Force’ Arjun, I Love Music Blog
KRK Rokit 5 G3
Best buy price online - R 5,990 / pair
The lowdown:
The KRK Rokit series is one of the most popular among small studio producers and for good reason. These 5 inch bi-amplified nearfield studio monitors with a Kevlar/Aramid Woofer and soft-dome tweeter have always represented good value for money.
Likes:
- Great bass extension
- Easy on the ears (less sound fatigue)
- Great price
Dislikes:
- Not the flattest monitors around
What the pundits say:
“For their price, build and sound, the ROKIT 5 G3 completely impressed me! Bottom line, I feel I could trust these to work on, and everything I have done with them so far has translated very well, be it in my car, on computer speakers, earbuds or television speakers.” – Paul Vnuk Jr. Recording
“The Rokits are accurate enough to get a good idea what’s going on in your mix, but at the same time their impressive bass extension and slightly hyped sound makes them very enjoyable to use.” – Attack magazine
Presonus ERIS E8
Best buy price online - R 7,199 / pair
The lowdown:
The Presonus ERIS E8 is a 2-way active studio monitor system which features 8” Kevlar woofers and silk-dome tweeters, a superb finish to the cabinets and a flexible back panel of controls. The bi-amplified speaker pushes out a generous 140 Watts of Class AB Bi-amplification per speaker.
Likes:
- Great imaging, accurate bass
- Back panel Acoustic Tuning controls offer great flexibility for different room environments
- Flexible connection options (unbalanced RCA, balanced XLR & TRS)
- Kevlar is a highly durable fibre so these should last a while
- 140 watts of serious sound delivery
- Great build
Dislikes:
- Can sound a bit strained if pushed hard
What the pundits say:
“They definitely sound comparable to or better than other speakers in their class and also have plenty of useful features. Being able to tune them is a huge plus, and they’re equipped to be connected to pretty much any setup.” – Phil Moffa, Resident Advisor
“The Eris 8s are really phenomenal reference monitor, not only for the price, but just in regard to reference monitors, in general.” – G.W. Childs IV, AskAudio
Mackie HR624MKII
Best buy price online - R 10,399 / pair
The lowdown:
The Mackie HR624MKII sports a 6.7 inch low frequency driver and a 1 inch dome tweeter. Each cabinet houses separate amplifiers to drive the woofer and tweeter and the output is 100 watts and 40 watts respectively with a total output of 140 watts.
Likes:
- titanium dome ferrofluid-cooled tweeter
- the 624 sounds almost the same as the 824
- Balanced XLR, TRS, and unbalanced RCA inputs
- accurate, clear-sounding, possibly the flattest for the price
- Separate amps driving highs and lows
Dislikes:
- Not 100% suited for nearfield dispersion
What the pundits say:
“The original HR624s employ a six-inch bass driver (hence the ‘6’ in the title) and, with the LF switch set in the centre 47Hz position, the bass response is roughly the same as that of the HR824s, which is plenty for most small—to-medium-sized project studios.
“The MK2 incarnation actually sound pretty similar [to the original HR series]. “ – Paul White, Sound on Sound
Yamaha HS7
Best buy price online - R 11,798 / pair
The lowdown:
The Yamaha HS7 is part of the new(ish) HS series launched by Yamaha which is aimed squarely at the small studio monitoring market. These Active Studio Monitors push out 95 Watts via their 6.5″ Cone Woofer and 1 inch Dome Tweeter and include Room-control and High-trim Response Controls (each).
Likes:
- Natural sound
- Classic reference monitor characteristics
- Competitive price
- Build quality.
Dislikes:
- Ported speakers need careful consideration when placing near walls
- Mixed opinion on how suitable they are for electronic music
What the pundits say:
“Clear, true sound, deep enough bass to mean no subwoofer required in most circumstances, and realistically priced for any ambitious DJ / producer, we can find nothing to fault on the Yamaha HS7s. Highly recommended.” – Phil Morse, Digital DJ Tips
“The sound character of the HS7 was immediately recognizable, in that it sounded very similar to the NS10M, but with a much more refined and thorough low end.” – Matthew Loel T. Hepworth, Askaudio
