Best Powered Studio Monitors for Your Home Studio

Best Powered Studio Monitors for Your Home Studio

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Whether you’re already a pro in the music industry, or among the music lovers who want to make a career out of their love for music, we can all agree that some things are more satisfying than blasting music from the best powered studio monitors you can find on the market.

There are many different ways to enjoy music, and indeed, you can do that without any special equipment if you so choose. If, however, you’re interested in delving into the world of music production, then you’re going to want to get the right equipment. That said, finding the best powered studio monitors can be quite the challenge!

While what qualifies as the best, of course, can vary based on your needs and the amount of space you have readily available. There are certainly a few key points to look out for on your hunt for the studio monitor best fitted for your home studio, and this article hopes to give you an idea of what these are!

KRK RP5G3-NA Rokit 5 Generation 3 Powered Studio Monitors

Features

  • Bi-amped Pairs

The RP5G3-NA Rokit 5 Generation 3 Powered Studio Monitors from KRK come in pairs, with each of them bi-amped. This means you have a separate amp for the lows and the highs.

  • Beauty and Functionality

Look, there are no two ways about it–if you’ve chosen to turn this passion for music into a career, then you’re going to be spending a lot of time in your studio.

A good way to ensure productivity is to keep your workspace clean and aesthetically pleasing. Any piece of equipment you purchase should work not just towards enhancing sound quality but your equipment’s aesthetic as well.

With these units, you don’t have to worry about sacrificing beauty for functionality. The KRK Studio Monitors come in an elegant black finish with a hint of bright yellow in the center.

  • Crystal Clear Sound

The KRK RP5G3-NA Rokit 5 Generation 3 Powered Studio Monitors use a class A/B amplifier that offers large headroom and low distortion. It makes use of 1 Soft-dome tweeter for pristine clarity as well as longer response up to 35kHz. It also has an input power of 110-120v and frequency of 60Hz.

Pros

  • Perfect for mixing and production
  • Amazing audio quality
  • Very durable
  • Accurately plays back your mix
  • Foam blocks were cut to fit your speaker and act as effective vibration isolators

Cons

  • Goes into sleep mode after 30 minutes
  • Auto-mute feature
  • Overly muffled and bassy sound
  • Not true reference speakers
  • No cables included

Plugable 2-Channel Powered Bookshelf Studio Monitors

Features

  • Powerful Sound

The Plugable 2-Channel Powered Bookshelf Studio Monitors feature a class “D” 55-watt, 2-channel amplifier that has a built-in crossover. This ensures the power delivered to their respective drivers is crisp and clean.

These studio monitors are self-amplified, so you don’t need to worry about cluttering up your space with an additional bulky amplifier just to get the power and sound quality you need. You can also easily tune these speakers to your preferences and the requirements of your room acoustics by adjusting the bass and treble, ensuring you’ve got the best listening experience.

  • Fluid Connectivity

With the Plugable 2-Channel Powered Studio Monitors all you need to do is plug it into an AC power outlet and pair it with your audio source of choice. It connects quickly and easily through Bluetooth, as well as NFC pairing for phones. It features hard-wired RCA and optical inputs that ensure direct, stable, and high-quality connection to a number of audio sources.

  • Great Frequency Response

Each of the monitors’ ported enclosures comes with two high-quality audio speakers; a glass fiber cone woofer at 4 inches, and a silk dome tweeter at an inch. Together, these two drivers are capable of reproducing a large frequency range, anywhere from 55hz to 20Khz, accurately and cleanly.

With the goal to give you the clearest, highest-quality sound possible, all the components work perfectly together from the enclosure to the crossover and the amp, to maintain a flat reproduction across a broad spectrum of audio frequencies.

Pros

  • Great sound quality
  • Warm bass, crisp mids, and highs
  • Easy to connect

Cons

JBL 308P MkII 2-Way Powered Studio Monitor

Features

  • Amazing Sound Quality

The 2-Way Powered Studio Monitor brings that well-known JBL performance to every home studio. It features an Image Control Waveguide and refined transducers that provide you with beautiful, detailed imaging, a broad sweet spot for neutral frequency responses, and a dynamic range. It’s got two integrated class “D” amplifiers with a total power of 122 watts and a maximum continuous SPL of 102dB and a peak of 112dB.

  • Sleek Design

The JBL 308P MkII 2-Way Powered Studio Monitor sports a sleek, modern look that’s sure to enhance any home studio. No need to worry about sacrificing function and performance for aesthetics here. You can focus on your music and enjoy your equipment.

Pros

  • Beautiful sound quality
  • Perfect for mixing and production
  • Flat response

Cons

  • Speaker may rattle
  • Sometimes has a low hum

Verdict

While a person may consider some studio monitor functions more important than the others, a good set of studio monitors is defined by the key features found across a wide variety of units from different makers and at different price ranges.

That is, it should be designed and built with sound quality in mind. The components and frequency response should enhance audio, be as flat as possible, and accurately reproduce sound input. These features are present in all three of these units.

Mixing and producing sound is an art, and like any art, you need the right tools to create a masterpiece. Sure, your software of choice and a pair of good headphones may produce good stuff thus far, but a setup with studio monitors will give you much more precision and depth.

This is among the reasons why knowing what can be considered the best powered studio monitors is imperative. Fortunately, the three units reviewed above are great examples, and any one of them would be a great addition to your studio.

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