10 Best Studio Monitors Under 500 Dollars

Whether you’re building a recording studio, or just getting into music production, all true audiophiles need a good set of studio monitors. Whether you aspire to create your own music studio, or you just want to blast some pure quality music the way the recording artists intended, you need a great set of monitors. If you are creating a mixing studio on a budget, you are indeed looking to find the best quality monitors at the most economical price. In this survey, we attempted to find the best studio monitors under 500 dollars.

It goes without saying that you are welcome to spend as much money as you want on music equipment––but the $500 price range represents a sweet spot: a perfect intersection of price and performance.

In a Hurry? Here’s Our Verdict

The Best Single Monitor Under $500:

• KRK Rokit Powered 10-3 Pair Mid-Field 3-Way Powered Studio Monitor
• Note that the above link is for ONE monitor. Be sure to order 2!

The Best PAIR of Monitors Just Barely Over $500 (Total):

• PreSonus Eris E8 8-Inch 2-Way Monitors
• Note that the above link is for ONE monitor. Be sure to order 2!

Frequently Asked Questions

The intricacies of audio engineering take a lifetime to master, and experience is your best teacher. Purchasing the best studio monitors under 500 dollars will set you up with sufficient quality equipment to get a professional sounding mix.

1. What Is A Studio Monitor And How Is It Different From A Speaker?

Studio monitors are different from your average bookcase speakers in that they are built to create a “flat” frequency playback sound––matching the exact frequencies sent to them, with no added bass, mid-range, etc. They are sometimes also known as “reference monitors” because they can be used as a reference point for mixing and mastering.

Most consumer-driven commercial speakers, however, are built in such a way that they alter the original sound somewhat. They distort the music just enough that it sounds different, often in a way that will give a punchy sound to pop music. This is a way of making the speakers sound more crisp and appealing on a sales floor, and it certainly makes sense if your goal is to sell as many speakers as possible.

However, it is not what professional musicians typically want in their studios. These consumer speakers mask the true balance of the original track. If you’re editing rather than listening, and you’re trying to create a great mix, you want something that prizes accuracy above all else.

This isn’t to say that consumer speakers are automatically bad. Many of them have fantastic build quality and are fun to listen to. They are simply built for one purpose: consuming music. Studio monitors, on the other hand, are designed for creating music (or for simply listening to an accurate version of the track).

Studio monitors are also engineered to fill rooms with a smaller volume. Monitors are the preferred tools used by audio engineers to isolate, manage, and mix music.

2. What Is Frequency Response?

The frequency response rating of a monitor represents the sound frequencies that a monitor can reproduce.

The general auditory frequency response range for human beings is 20Hz to 20kHz.

However, many high-quality speakers exceed this range. Sound is created by frequencies carried through air, and even if the frequency is outside of the auditory range, you can still feel the frequency, and it has a sensory effect on your listening experience.

There are videos on YouTube that provide examples of low and high frequencies to give you an idea of what frequency response range is best for your needs.

3. What Is Power Output?

When you’re considering what pair of studio monitors you should buy, you should pay attention to the power output levels. Power output is measured in watts, and it represents how loud a sound your monitor can produce.

Most of us want the option to crank up the noise and produce some loud volume from our monitors––but we don’t want to sacrifice the sound quality when things are loud (or quiet).

For music production, this is especially important. A good monitor will have the option to produce a deep bass sound, as well as delivering clarity on the upper and middle ranges.

While your speakers’ power levels are measured in watts, the actual sound level that they produce will be measured in decibels. It’s a good idea to look for studio monitors that can handle at least 100dB, and the best will get up closer to 110dB. This about twice as loud as a typical conversation, but still not as loud as an ambulance siren.

For the purpose of music production, it’s rarely the case that you’ll want to blast your music at maximum volume most of the time. For one thing, it just won’t be great for your ears. But it’s good to have the option every once in a while, just to get a sense of how your music will sound at different levels of loudness. And of course, you want to make sure that the sound quality continues even at louder levels.

4. How Can You Judge Sound Quality?

There are a few different components when it comes to your monitor’s sound quality.

First up, you want to find a monitor with a low “total harmonic distortion”, or THD for short. The THD is a measure of how much the speakers will distort or change the sound of the track during output. In this case, a lower number is better, because that means there’s actually less distortion going on. You should look for a THD under 0.08% if at all possible. The higher that number goes, the less faithfully the speakers are actually replicating that sound.

Another component is headroom. This term can be a bit confusing because it doesn’t actually have anything to do with a person’s head. Instead, it describes what the speaker can do with a sudden burst of sound. If you want to get a boost for a quick “punch” of sound, a higher headroom number is better.
Paying attention to both these numbers will help you pick the best studio monitor for your goals.

5. Can You Mix With Only One Monitor?

Technically, yes, you can… but you shouldn’t. There are a lot of reasons why two monitors are better than one, but the main difference comes down to hearing a track in stereo as opposed to mono.

Professional audio engineers use two speakers because it allows them to mix in stereo.
When you mix with one speaker, you are mixing in mono.

Mono means you only have one channel of sound. Stereo means you have two channels of sound. With stereo, you can give the listener the sensation that certain instruments are “coming from” certain directions.

Stereo allows you to pan things from left to right, creating a more multi-dimensional, spacious listening experience.

This directional aspect of music is a huge component of mixing and mastering. It create a fuller sound experience for the audience, and listeners have come to expect it as part of most contemporary music. While you can use just a single speaker or monitor, you will be missing out on a significant dimension of what the listeners will ultimately hear when they play the track on their own twin speaker systems. Even most headphones provide this spacial element, so it’s not something to overlook.

Plainly put: you won’t find music mixed in mono in the present-day. It’s much better to get two monitors.

And more importantly ensure you know whether you are buying one or two monitors (hint: they aren’t always sold in pairs).

6. Can You Just Mix With Headphones?

It might also be tempting to rely just on a pair of open-back reference headphones for mixing and mastering. There are some great ones out there, and I have reviewed some of my favorites in the past.

While I certainly think that reference headphones are a great tool to have in your arsenal, they shouldn’t be your only tool for listening to your music while you edit. They can’t and shouldn’t completely replace a pair of studio monitors. Monitors are simply capable of giving much more detailed and richer sound quality than you’ll find in most headphones.

It is a good exercise to experience mixing with both, if you haven’t already done that. This gives you a sense of the difference between the two.

If you want to pick up a pair of reference headphones in addition to studio monitors, you can check out that list. But if you have to go with just one piece of equipment, I’d say that a pair of stereo studio monitors are your best option for getting your ideal mix.

How We Reviewed The Monitors On This List

• Sound quality
• Accuracy
• Cabinet size
• Frequency response
• Power output

We gave our overall impression of sound quality and indications of durability and construction of the monitors. We concluded each of our surveys with a list of pros and cons regarding that monitor.

Overall Price Range Of The Following Suggestions

This list is for the best studio monitors under 500 dollars, but the pricing sometimes refers to two monitors and sometimes only refers to one.

When you make your final decision based on our list of the best studio monitors under 500 dollars, make sure that you are clear whether your purchase includes one or two monitors.

It’s worth noting that tore expensive monitors usually are larger with greater power output and higher frequency range.