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The Best High-End Studio Monitors For Under $300

When mixing music, it is important to have the cleanest and most natural sound possible. There are many tricks employed by professional sound engineers to get the perfect mix. If you speak to any sound engineer, they will all say the same thing.

Good quality near-field monitors are essential.

A lot of professionals are a huge fan of the Yamaha NS10 monitor speakers. For decades they were the industry standard. They are now considered old, though they still work great, and you can find a pair on eBay for $800.

A pair of good quality studio monitors does not have to cost the earth. There are some excellent, well-balanced monitors available for under $300.

Yamaha HS7

They are the grandchild of the NS10s. The HS7s even looks like the NS10s, featuring those iconic white cones. For a pair of entry-level studio monitors, the Yamaha HS7s are an excellent choice. With a price tag of only $250, you can not go wrong. Yamaha has been a market leader in monitors for years, and The HS7s are no exception.

They come with low and high trim, allowing you to adjust these monitors for the acoustics of your room. They have a flat response and have been calibrated to reduce any vibration, allowing for a clean, natural and robust sound. Making them a solid set of monitors suitable for mixing all types of music.

The iconic white cone woofers are 6.7" with a 1" dome tweeter. Both have been mounted in the same way as the more expensive professional monitors in the Yamaha series. This is an excellent choice for entry-level studio monitors, as they bring you professional grade solutions at a price that is affordable to home studio engineers.

JBL LSR 308

The JBL Three Series has produced some impressive monitors in recent years. These are a more powerful monitor than the Yamaha HS7. The JBL LSR 308s comes with a powerful 8" woofer and bi-amplification, giving them a fine bass response. That supports a clean and crisp middle to top range frequency response.

They feature the "image control waveguide" that is found on the more expensive monitors in the JBL Three Series. This allows for a wider field of sound and a larger central sweet spot, making these monitors ideal for larger rooms, where you can use the increased power from the bi-amplification. To let these speakers ring out. I think this is a great set of monitors for mixing driving rock tracks.

They also feature HF and LF trim, allowing for adjustments to match the acoustics of your studio space. This is a more powerful monitor, but remember, power isn't everything. It all depends on the size of your studio space and the music you are mixing.

Focal Alpha 50

Focal have been producing high-end studio monitors with an equally high price tag for many years. There are thousands of recording studios worldwide that swear by the Focal brand when it comes to monitors. The Alpha 50s go a long way in proving the Focal reputation. This is a solid set of monitors suitable for all types of music, from delicate acoustics to bass-driven beats.

The Alpha 50's work slightly differently to the other monitors mentioned. They don't work with a focal point or sweet spot. Instead, the sound is evenly distributed over a wider area. This allows you to take a step back from your mix and hear the bigger picture. In an ideal world, you would have a set of Alpha 50s and a set of near field monitors in a home studio. It is always good to hear some space and get some perspective when mixing.

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