First, a little history behind today’s studio monitors: 

In the “old days” the major recording studios all had LARGE speakers embedded in the walls 10 to 15 feet away from the engineer’s ears. They also had sophisticated ways to “tune” the speaker output to be equal energy across the sound spectrum. In other words, it was an attempt to produce a pure sound that was not “colored” by the speakers and the room acoustics.

Believe me, they sounded incredible when turned up loud, and that made for happy musicians. A more technical advantage was that large speakers reproduce low frequencies better than small speakers, so the engineer could hear exactly what the low-end sounded like.

The question that would always came up was, “But how is this great sound going to translate to the less sophisticated “home” speakers?

In an attempt to answer that, many studios began using more modest monitoring devices to check how recordings would sound through cheaper home stereo systems. One of the most popular of these smaller monitors was the JBL 4310, which could be placed (albeit carefully) right on the console for comparing and mixing.

CaribouConsoleSmall 300x196 Recording Studio Monitors For Under $500?

JBL 4310's on console at Caribou Ranch

Going even further, Auratones – nothing more than a crude single speaker in a wooden box, and definitely under $500.00 - became very popular for imitating a typical lo-fi sound or car speakers.

auratones Recording Studio Monitors For Under $500?

Auratone Speakers

( Chicago’s  “If You Leave Me Now”  was mixed with the help of Auratones)

Over the years smaller studios, and home recording studios, have become real players in the recording industry, and they use smaller, less expensive monitors. They don’t have the room, or the budget, to install the huge monitors found in high-end studios.

It also means that engineers are more likely to be listening to their monitors very close to their ears – only 3 to 5 feet away. Now they’re hearing more of the direct sound from the monitors as compared to the reflected sound from the room.

This concept is known as “near-field” listening, and has produced a whole line of near-field studio monitors. These type of monitors have now become the prevelent monitors today.

So when you’re looking for a pair of studio monitors for under $500.00, you should choose to buy a pair of near-field monitors that are manufactured for the professional audio market. Any manufacturer who’s stood the test of time in that market is making a good product, and there are very good ones for less than $500.

KRK Rokit8 281x300 Recording Studio Monitors For Under $500?

Near-Field Monitors Under $500.00

To further refine your choice, you may want to find interviews with well known engineers in the well-respected recording magazines. They will always tell you what speakers they prefer. Even though every engineer may prefer a different monitor, you can’t go wrong buying one that’s used by a professional engineer.

Of course, you could also dig deeper and find out what your favorite recordings were mixed on, or do listening comparisons at the local retailer. But in the end, it’s more about skill and experience than about the monitors.

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