I have a pair of KRK Rokit 6 G2's in my home studio, and I don't like the much anymore as mixes always translate poorly with them. I bought them when I first started producing because of all the hype plus the fact they were fairly inexpensive. I basically cheaped out on the monitors so I could buy a more expensive computer.
Now I kinda regret that decision and I really wanna upgrade them, so I'm thinking that this time I should spend a lot more on monitors instead.
So yeah.....should monitors be the most expensive part of a home studio?
Should monitor speakers be the most expensive part of a home studio?
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- KVRAF
- 7137 posts since 8 Feb, 2003 from London, UK
Can't see the point on spending money on "decent monitors" if the room you're in has dreadful acoustics. Get the room fixed first, that should set you back more than the monitors 
. Or use studio headphones. (No way would I trust the acoustics of the room I work in and there's no way I'm going to fix it, so headphones was the obvious outcome here... yet I do most work on crappy PC/display speakers..! 
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. Or use studio headphones. (No way would I trust the acoustics of the room I work in and there's no way I'm going to fix it, so headphones was the obvious outcome here... yet I do most work on crappy PC/display speakers..! )-
- KVRian
- 1313 posts since 29 Mar, 2002 from Salt Lake City, Utah - U.S.A.
The best monitors in the world won't be effective if the room sounds bad and has problems. Of course, you can learn how speakers and the room will translate to consumer speakers, but you end up doing a lot of guessing and approximating. Plenty of good sounding albums have been made on lower end monitors, so it can be done. Probably better to spend $500 on monitors and spend the rest to get the room acoustics right, then $10,000 on montiors and have a room full of problems.
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- KVRer
- 1 posts since 3 Jan, 2015
I actually have a pair of KRK Rokit 5's and initially found they lacked enough low end so I saved up and eventually got the KRK 10s subwoofer. That solved the problem I felt the smaller speakers had. Having had this setup now for about 3 or 4 years I get exactly the sound I was looking for. My main listening is EDM and Pop but I like all genres. They all sound great now. You might try to borrow a subwoofer from a friend and see if that gives you the sound you're looking for.
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- KVRist
- 363 posts since 4 Jul, 2007
I think there is a sweet spot for monitors around the $500-1000 mark. You don't have to spend a fortune. As others have mentioned, acoustics will negate any benefits unless you get them right. My only other piece of advice would be work out in your head where on the spectrum you want your monitors to be, between flat and flattering. Super flat monitors are probably the best for getting tight mixes but are difficult to vibe off. Super flattering monitors, on the other hand, are great for composing but can be misleading when you are doing your final mix. I have always found Event and Focal to be a nice compromise.
