In my list, I only included models with a long track record and a good reputation among recording pros and home studio users. The starting budget is $100, and the sky is the limit. To come up with a well-balanced collection of speakers, I split my choices between the best inexpensive, mid-range and high-end categories. Smaller home studios will do great with either plain speakers, or monitors if the budget permits. Long story short, larger pro studios where ‘critical listening’ is a must-have should opt for monitors. Monitors are flat and accurate, with minimal distortion – a great fit for critical listening and studio recording. Now, what’s the difference between speakers and monitors? In the same vein, the former may have an impact on the recording (weird response curve, too much bass) whereas the latter reproduce the recorded sound with no extra overtones.

In this article I will review the best studio monitors that I worked with during my home recordings.

Whereas hi-fi or PC speakers ‘tune’ the sound to improve your audial experience, speakers tend to reproduce balanced mixes that will work fine on most devices and for most audiences. The short answer here is: you need natural sound. Why would you bother about monitors in the first place? After all, headphones or your hi-fi setup could do the trick.

Clip on speakers for monitor