TOP 5 compact studio monitors with an affordable price tag

The American company Mackie has never been considered a first-class player in the field of studio monitors. In the minds of consumers, this brand was more associated with concert acoustics and mixers. But with the release of the "monitor" series CR they managed to get into the heart of the fast-growing home studio market. And all because Mackie made not so much serious studio acoustics, which will be discussed due to the curvature of the frequency response, but compact multimedia speakers with an application for music production. This is evidenced by the affordable price tag (less than $200 for a pair), and additional features like a Bluetooth connection (not available for all models).

The speakers are supplied in pairs: one of them is a leader with a built-in 50 W amplifier, the second is a slave. Both use a 3" polypropylene coated woofer and a 0.75" soft dome tweeter. They can be connected to a sound card using a pair of conventional 6.5 jacks and "tulips" (RCA). All this goodness sounds approximately at its own expense: moderately expressive and accurate, but with small blockages and humps in the frequency response. If you do not mess around with DSP-correction, then they lack bass and clarity in the upper register, and the mid-bass, on the contrary, sticks out to compensate for the lack of sub-bass.

Given this characteristic and the popularity of these kids, we can derive the formula for the success of this line: a very affordable price tag + acceptable sound quality + compact size. And yes, they look cute. In studio acoustics, predominantly black colors and strict design reign, but here there is some kind of variety in the form of a stylish green edging. The disadvantages of the CR3 are mainly related to the low-cost and form factor. The build quality and materials are never premium, and the bass is frankly lacking. But we did not expect any miracles from a 3-inch speaker.

Pioneer caught the trend in EDM music and digital DJing in time, displacing Technics / Panasonic from the pedestal of the main manufacturer of DJ equipment. Now the wind is blowing the other way, so Pioneer is trying to find common ground with the rapidly growing army of home producers, releasing studio headphones and monitors. One of the most popular models in the assortment of the company was the little Pioneer DM-40, which quite famously built bridges between studio, DJ and monitor acoustics.

First of all, they look cool. Pioneer understands that you won’t be fed up with frequency response graphs alone, so they approach design with all seriousness. The case of the DM-40 is wooden, so both monitors turned out to be quite weighty for their size. A 4-inch fiberglass cone driver is responsible for low-frequency reproduction, and small dome tweeters made using the same DECO technology as in more expensive TAD monitors are responsible for high-frequency reproduction. That is, it is easier to find the optimal listening point. On the front panel, ports of phase inverters are taken out. Powering all this goodness is a common class A / B amplifier, delivering 42 watts of power (21 watts for each monitor). Despite their limited power, these babies are screaming bless you and introduce very little distortion even at 90% of the total volume.

The second thing you'll notice when you put some music on them is nice, full-bodied, well-accented bass. You don’t expect such tricks from 4-inch crumbs, the “basheads” will be happy. The middle and top also sound clean and distinct, no booming, “sand” and other unpleasant overtones. On the other hand, the frequency response is very far from linear, so the transferability of mixes on such monitors is far from optimal, and comparisons with bassy, but not very accurate KRK Rockit monitors immediately come to mind. If you are looking for monitors primarily for critical listening, then it is better to pass by, the conditional Presonus Eris E3.5 will be better suited for monitoring. In addition, they have a simple, but still working sound correction system. The Pioneer DM-40 has nothing on the rear panel other than a volume knob and audio outputs. As we predicted at the beginning, this couple stands out for their versatility, so they will have to go to the yard both in the DJ booth and on the stands in the studio, but neither there nor there will give a 100% return. Although, what else to ask for at a price of about $ 200 per pair?

While Presonus has little association with studio acoustics, its Eris line of studio monitors will soon be celebrating their 10th anniversary. Among them are presented as portable models with a wireless connection, as well as complex monitors with separate amplification and MTM speakers. The Eris E5 XT is the latest addition to the family, although it is essentially an update to the popular five-inch Eris E5.

The new monitor Eris E5 XT is almost identical to its predecessor Eris E5, both externally and internally. Also sold by the piece. The only exception is the new shape of the waveguide, which expanded the stereo image and made it easier to find the “right” point between the ears and speakers. In addition, the cabinet is slightly enlarged, bringing the low-frequency range of the 5.25-inch driver down to 5Hz. For such acoustics, this is a small but pleasant bonus. As for the filling, there were no cardinal processings.

It uses the same class A / B amplifier with a power of 80 W with bi-amplification (power is supplied separately to the woofer and tweeter), the same slotted phase inverter is hidden on the bottom of the front panel. The three-band equalizer for correcting the sound for the room was also not touched, it worked well before. As before, they play honestly and uncolored, with an emphasis on details and competent panning. The nature of the Kevlar drivers feels stiff and aggressive, but without excesses. The frequency response is moderately even, the middle does not fall, the low ones are enough to tune the bass. In general, all the key elements for which they were adored or, on the contrary, not loved, are back in place.

The Kali Audio LP-6 monitors are a bit out of the “compact and affordable” concept, but we couldn’t help but include them in the top. They are knocked out because of the size, after all, a 6-inch speaker is far from a crumb. And we could not miss them, because this is one of the coolest successful low-cost models in the last five years. In our area, they have not yet won due attention, but if you open an English-language music forum like Gearslutz, you will see an impressive number of declarations of love.

Moreover, they are not easily praised, but put on a step above the recent folk hits from JBL and Adam. And this is not surprising, because the fathers of these acoustics were former JBL engineers who had a hand in many classic lines (including the same JBL LSR of the first revision), and then got tired of the company's corporate ethics and went to free bread. Speaking in cinematic terms, instead of a sequel to JBL monitors, we got an extremely curious spin-off. Still, the LP-6 has a lot in common with the JBL 306P of the first and second revisions. The Kali Audio LP-6 features the same two-way design with a signature "3D" waveguide that expands the soundstage. It has a 6.5-inch woofer for bass reproduction, and is powered by a largely similar 80-watt D-class amplifier (40 for the tweeter, 40 for the woofer).

And then small improvements begin. The bass reflex port is located on the front, which is a plus for placement options. In addition to the basic high-pass and low-pass filters, a DIP switch appeared on the rear panel, which helps to adjust the sound of the speakers to the room. And if other manufacturers usually offer 3 or 4 options, the LP-6 has eight such options. However, for many it will be too much. Compared to the JBL 305P MkII, the LP-6 has extended frequency range, reduced harmonic distortion from the amplifier, and increased dynamic range. Well, and most importantly, at a slightly lower price for one monitor, Kali Audio LP-6 sound a little more interesting than the “folk JBL”: both have a dryish and neutral character, but Kali has a slightly more accentuated bottom and more transparent sound with minimal color. Based on the results of testing, we got the impression that we have really excellent entry-level monitors with neutral sound, but we would not be in a hurry to elevate them over other low-cost models, the competition there is extremely high.

The HS series of monitors from the Japanese manufacturer Yamaha has become a kind of classic among low-cost monitors, and many producers strongly associate classic black speakers with a signature white cone with crystal-honest and dry sound in the spirit of the iconic Yamaha NS-10.

Let's start with the characteristics. Monitors HS-5 belong to the initial (or rather, the middle-initial) segment and are sold by the piece. Each of them has a built-in amplifier of 70 watts: 45 watts feed the woofer, the remaining 25 watts remain on the tweeter. Frequency characteristics are played in the range from 74 to 24,000 Hz. The phase inverter is brought to the back side, so it is undesirable to install them near the wall. Since monitors came out back in 2014, before the boom in home studio acoustics, the list of additional features is limited to a couple of simple high-pass and low-pass filters that will help to better fit the acoustics into the room.

The entire HS series delivers smooth, clean, accurate, and as portable as possible. The upper frequencies are well developed here, the mid frequencies sound detailed and without dips, and the low frequencies do not have pronounced parasitic overtones and resonances (thanks to the successful phase inverter). The character of the Yamaha HS-5 is restrained and, one might say, neutral. The sound has no color at all, the bass is not twisted, and the stage was not artificially stretched. And this is the most controversial moment, for which they are either loved with all their hearts, or just as much hated. This sound comes in handy when you need to quickly catch all the bumps and roughness of the mix. If the composition sounds cool on them, then it will sound good on other speakers. But directly during recording, production or listening to music, this dryness can quickly tyre the ears, which is why the arrangement recorded an hour ago will seem boring and lifeless. If you look in their direction, then take the “listen before you buy” rule with triple seriousness.