Best Studio Monitors Under $1,000

Monitors are one of the most critical parts of your recording studio setup. They’re an investment, and the brand and model that you go for will vary depending on your needs, preferences, and budget. Luckily, there are plenty of options to choose from if you’re in the under $1,000 range!

Here are nine of the best studio monitors under $1,000.

Mackie HR824mk2         

Mackie has a wide-ranging product stack, but they’re well-known for their monitors for studio and live use.

These 8.75” speakers have solid aluminum Zero Edge baffles to minimize diffraction and an optimized waveguide to provide an accurate, natural sound reproduction. The low end driver pumps out 150 watts from the onboard fast recovery amplifier. The 1” titanium dome tweeter is constructed of a wave-guide aluminum dome and runs on 100 watts.

The active crossover reduces phase issues. A time-correction circuit means the highs and lows reach your ear simultaneously. And internal damping cuts out midrange artifacts.

They’re great for surround sound, an ideal choice for 5.1 and 7.1 applications. Via the Acoustic Space Control feature you can adapt the sound to any space with ultimate accuracy. You can also high-pass the low end and add in a high frequency shelf.

It can connect through XLR, TRS, or unbalance RCA. It can be easily mounted on the wall, ceiling, or sit conveniently on monitor stands.

Buy now: $800 (each)
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Yamaha HS8

Everyone is familiar with the legendary NS-10. Yamaha’s studio staple hit the market in the late 70s and became one of the premier studio monitors. As forward thinking as they are, Yamaha continued to perfect their technology, evolving it into the HS series.

Featuring bi-amp drivers, ported enclosures, little coloration, and insane accuracy you won’t miss a thing. The frequency response runs from 38Hz to 30kHz so you won’t miss a thing.

Active power amps are ideally matched to the woofer and tweeter, with an enclosure designed to remove any unwanted resonances. And if you’re working in a less than ideal acoustic space, the Room control and high trim let you tailor the sound to your liking.

Buy now: $398 (each)

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Avantone CLA 10-A

Chris Lord Alge needs no introduction. He developed these in collaboration with Avantone to improve on his beloved NS-10s – monitors he used for decades. These 2-way monitors set themselves apart with a linear onboard power supply and a 200 watt Class AB output.

Just like the NS-10, these focus on the midrange with an almost identical response like the original design. The original Yamaha units were meticulously reverse-engineered to ensure the highest level of consistency.

If you’re looking for an updated version of the legendary NS-10, Avantone has you covered.

Buy now: $999 (pair)

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Kali Audio IN-8

Kali makes some of the best monitors, and this 3-way model is no different. The tri-amp design uses Class D power and the frequency is tuned to be as flat as possible.

The IN-8 has 20dB of headroom and a coaxial design that produces the most even sound dispersion. The low end is the hardest part of the frequency spectrum to get right, and the voice coils are designed to maintain the most accurate response.

They have 20dB of headroom and inputs for XLR, TRS, and RCA. Adding to their versatility, there are diagrams on the rear to let you know how to set them up. So no matter if you have them mounted on your mixer, on stands, or anything else you can find the best configuration for you.

Buy now: $400 (each)

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KRK V8

KRK has numerous options if you’re looking for studio monitors under $1,000. But the V8s might be the best choice if you’re in this price range.

With a Kevlar woofer like this, you won’t have to worry about getting your low end or midrange where it needs to be. They’re Class D power, built in an aluminum MDF enclosure tuned to provide the most accurate flat response (35Hz-19kHz) playback.

The coolest feature might be the built-in EQ. You get 14 presets that compensate for your room acoustics, monitor configuration, or personal preference. If you need to take things down, the 7-way attenuator works in .5dB steps.

You can connect them via XLR or TRS, they have threaded brackets for mounting on stands and go into auto-standby after a half hour of idling.

Buy now: $840 (each)

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PreSonus Sceptre S8

The active 2-way 8” monitors use PreSonus‘ time-correction technology to enhance their sonic precision. The 32-bit/96kHz floating-point DSP gives you the highest fidelity soundstage.

The woofer and tweeter are in coaxial configuration, and you can adjust tuning to your specific space. LEDs on the back of the enclosure provide a great visual representation of what’s coming out of the speaker.

And with 180 watts of Class D amplification and internal power and heat sinking you can just plug and play.

Buy now: $700 (each)

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Adam Audio A7V

Looking to step up your nearfield monitor game? Voicing, level, and EQ knobs on the rear of the enclosure means you won’t need additional hardware to find your sweet spot.

The ribbon tweeter provides silky high end that doesn’t distort at loud volume. You can customize your sonics in a number of ways. There is DSP tuning, rotatable HPS waveguide, and integration with Sonorworks SoundID Reference.

 Balanced and unbalanced inputs connect to a number of systems.

Buy now: $800 (each)

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Neumann KH 120

The Neumann names carries serious weight in the pro audio community. The KH 120 might only be 5.25”, but there is some serious engineering prowess going on behind the scenes. It’s got a proprietary waveguide that gives an even off-axis response – perfect for rooms that might not be acoustically ideal.

Like all Neumann products the engineering is on another level. For a monitor of this size, the price tag is well worth it. The tweeter has a titanium fabric dome, and the woofer is a sandwich cone design. A free-field response ranges from 52Hz to 21kHz.

There are EQ and level controls on the back of the enclosure that work in 2.5dB increments. Sensitivity and level controls mean there are no limits.

Buy now: $600 (each)

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