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You have created a wonderful track after working for hours in your home studio and you are pleased with the final result. But, all your happiness goes away when you play the track in your car while going to work, the next day, because it doesn’t sound the same.
The perfectly mixed track of yours now sounds all wrong. With a terribly harsh treble, boomy bottom end, and excessively loud lead instruments, its balance is all out. You wonder what went wrong and after extensive research, you find out that it happened because you didn’t use studio monitor speakers while mixing the track.
Sounds familiar? Don’t worry – you are not alone! This is a situation many music producers can relate to because it’s a common mistake for beginners to make. Often, people think that they can create and mix music without a professional studio monitor because they have a hi-fi speaker and end up frustrated, disappointed, and angry.
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Why Do You Need a Professional Studio Monitor?
When you are producing music, you need to listen to it to find out how certain mixing moves will affect the track. If the speaker you are using doesn’t provide an accurate and crystal-clear sound, it’s definitely going to affect the mix balance.
Regular speakers, even if they are hi-fi, don’t do that. Why? Simply because they are not made for this purpose!
The job of regular speakers is to provide a wonderful listening experience and for that, most hi-fi speakers increase the bass, push treble, and build up the midrange. In short, they enhance the music that is being played. While this is great when you are just listening to music, it actually interferes with your work when you are creating music because for that, you need a clear representation of the mix.
Studio monitors are specifically designed for this purpose. They reproduce the music just as it is and thus, help you get the real picture of what you are creating. Made for professional ears, studio monitors sound less pleasant, or even fatiguing, to an average listener. But they play a crucial role in music production. The uncompromising depiction they give not only helps professional music producers experiment and create new mixes, but also ensure that your track will sound the same on all systems.
Bonus Tip
Are you hesitant of investing in a studio monitor because you aren’t a professional music producer or you don’t do it regularly? Well, it turns out that people use studio monitors for other purposes as well!
Many people use studio monitor speakers for computer, particularly when gaming, for better sound or connect them with their television sets for a higher quality sound.
Want to know what options you have? There is a huge variety of studio monitors on the market today, which means you have a lot of options. But, we don’t want you to waste your money on a low-quality product. Therefore, we have found out the best ones available out there. Take a look to find out what they have to offer.
The Top 4 Studio Monitor Speakers for Computer
Here are our picks for the 5 best studio monitor speakers, according to their features and reviews they have got:
1. Edifier R1700BT
A bookshelf speaker that comes with Bluetooth connectivity option and is compatible with Windows, Android, iOS, and MacOS devices – what more do you want?
Whether you are mixing music, want to have an amazing gaming experience, or simply want to improve the sound quality of your television, R1700 BT is the ideal choice for all your needs. On the one hand, the Bluetooth option makes it super easy to set up a connection with any of your computing device.
On the other hand, the 19mm silk dome tweeter, 4-inch bass driver, built-in Dynamic Range Control and Digital Signal Processing guarantee superior sound quality. It also has two auxiliary inputs that allow you to connect any device that has a dual RCA output or a headphone output of 3.5mm. The speaker comes with a remote control that not only allows you to control the volume, but can also be used to switch the input sources.
Lastly, the small size of this Edifier studio speaker makes it easily fit into any setup.
Primary Features
- Separate controls for audio, treble, and bass
- Power output: 66 watts
- Frequency response: 60Hz – 20kHz
- Comes with a 2-year warranty
- Affordable
2. Alesis M1 Active 320
Featuring a USB audio interface, the Active 320 studio monitor eliminates the need to install a driver; you can directly plug it into the computer. In addition to computers, the speaker can also be connected with a number of musical devices, like DJ mixers, keyboards, standard tape and CD player, and guitar effects.
This Alesis speaker is one of the best options for people who do not have a high budget to spend on a studio monitor, but also don’t want to compromise the quality. It’s affordable and has all the essential features of a professional studio monitor.
Primary Features
- Built-in audio interface
- Support multiple devices
- Has a bass boost switch to provide extra control on bass frequencies
- Comes with a 1/8-inch stereo headphone output
3. M-Audio AV32
If you are looking for a studio monitor speaker for a computer that guarantees minimal interference and impeccable sound quality, go for AV32 by M-Audio. The sleek design and sturdy materials make it perfect for all types of setup, be it a home studio, a professional studio, or a dance club.
The speaker has RCA inputs, which allow you to connect it with different types of devices, such as mixers, DJ gear, gaming systems, computers, laptops, tablets, and even mobile devices.
Primary Features
- Has a 10-watt amplifier per channel and a 3-inch woofer
- Compatible with a variety of devices
- Distortion-free
- The speaker cabinet is incorporated with acoustic material that significantly improves the sound output and provides a natural and smooth bass response.
4. PreSonus Eris E4.5
Eris E4.5 by PreSonus is a two-way powered studio speaker that provides similar features and results, as any top-ranked studio monitor, but at an affordable price.
Its high-quality tweeter and Kevlar woofer guarantee absolutely noise-free highs and lows and 4.5” low-frequency transducer ensure a smooth bass sound. The speaker also features acoustic tuning control that enables the user to achieve superior accuracy while mixing. This is particularly useful for people who want to use a speaker in different places as sound waves behave differently in every room.
Primary Features
- Frequency response: 70 Hz – 22 kHz
- Lightweight and hence, portable
- Suitable for studios, gaming, listening to music, and any multimedia work
- Includes 25 watt AB amplifier
- Compatible with desktop
- Built-in transient, subsonic, and overheating protection
- RF interference limiter
- Features two balanced TRF inputs and an unbalanced RCA along with an RCA connection cable
Conclusion
Studio monitor speakers for a computer are specifically designed to support a number of devices to provide users a better return on their investments. They can easily connect with an audio interface or a computing device directly and provide you with a greater user experience.
In this article, we have rounded up some of the best available products from this category, both in terms of performance and affordability. Pick the one that best suits your needs and budget and do let us know about your experience.
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