Help a budding recording engineer (my 13yo daughter) pick monitors under $100!

Flyguitarfish

Flyguitarfish

Member
I got my daughter a Focusrite solo studio pack for her 13th birthday. She loves it and is making all sorts of fun stuff!

Now she wants monitors but only has $100…so she can’t get Neumann’s like her dad.

I’m looking at a bunch of options with 3.5” drivers for her small desk, but I don’t know enough about them to help her pick a pair. Behringer, Presonus, M-Audio, Mackie…

Are there any standouts? I understand they aren’t amazing in this price range; she just wants some to share what she’s working on, without having to watch someone wear her headphones.

Thanks everyone!
 
The Mackie Mackie CR3-X are tolerable but not very good - if you could contribute a $100 you would get a big improvement - the Mackie M-Audio BX5 D3 are under $200 used and fairly solid - you have Neumann’s? - give her yours and buy something else!
 
Papanate said:
The Mackie Mackie CR3-X are tolerable but not very good - if you could contribute a $100 you would get a big improvement - the Mackie M-Audio BX5 D3 are under $200 used and fairly solid - you have Neumann’s? - give her yours and buy something else!
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I’d definitely be willing to secretly pitch in some cash. She’s been saving up and I want her to have the satisfaction of being able to buy her own.

My KH120’s are staying w me! I love those!
 
Flyguitarfish said:
I’d definitely be willing to secretly pitch in some cash. She’s been saving up and I want her to have the satisfaction of being able to buy her own.

My KH120’s are staying w me! I love those!
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The KH120s are great I agree - look at the Mackies or the JBL 305P Mk2s if you going to kick in some money - I will add that kids can use the crudest equipment and still get great results - my Daughter has been recording herself since she was 12 (19 now) - and she started on Logitech Computer speakers with a Sub.
 
I have JBL 305s for my email/banking/etc system and they are massively better than the old "computer speakers" that I used in the past. I got tired of the crappy sound. It was OK for shoot-em-up games but for music they stunk. The 305s are so much better. Cost me $200/pair on sale. Have seen them going $150 used.
 
3.5” would be nice for her tiny desk. Cheaper too. But does anyone make 3.5” monitors that sound ok? I may need to step up a size.
 
The Presonus Eris speakers are gaining a good reputation - even the 3.5" ones are usable apparently. Personally I'd go for something used. If you want a guarantee then you may find a local music shop or whatever the equivalent of CEX is where you are with something suitable. I've just fixed up an old Teac amp with Kef Celeste II speakers for my lad. They don't give the pin sharp imaging that I like from monitors but they have a pleasant enough sound and there are a few around for not too much money.
 
IMHO getting a (new or used) set of 2.1 Klipsch are going to sound better, and fuller, than any heavily compromised sub $200 'studio monitor' offerings. When she graduates to serious, consider dropping the coin on some Yamahas as an entry point instead. I've even heard Logitech 2.1 computer speakers that were good for casual use, which if we're being honest here -- that's all she's really doing right now anyway.
 
Pinky said:
IMHO getting a (new or used) set of 2.1 Klipsch are going to sound better, and fuller, than any heavily compromised sub $200 'studio monitor' offerings. When she graduates to serious, consider dropping the coin on some Yamahas as an entry point instead. I've even heard Logitech 2.1 computer speakers that were good for casual use, which if we're being honest here -- that's all she's really doing right now anyway.
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She ended up going with some of the new Yamaha HS3’s. The few reviews out there have been positive. Still pretty small w 3.5” drivers, but she wanted small, white, and cute! She got a good amount of birthday money and I got them for under $200.

They’ll work great for her purposes. She just wants to say “hey dad, check out this song I’m working on!” And press play so we can hear it together. And they should fit on her little desk. Super fun to see her excited about it and making some great songs!
 
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My advice, look for the brands people are talking about for under $200, then start shopping used. I recommend that for everything she's wanting. Most used stuff is 50-60% of retail (minus taxes as well). For example, I have a decent set of Audio-Technica monitoring headphones that were $140 new, and I'll likely sell them for $50 since I upgraded. People always are upgrading and buying, so use that as your lead.
 
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