The Best 5" Active Studio Monitors Under £200 For 2018
8th Jan 2018
Count Down & Compare The Best 5" Active Studio Monitors Under £200 For 2018, Featuring Established Speaker Brands Such As Yamaha, KRK, Mackie & More.
In this article we list the Best 5" Studio Monitors available in 2018 for under £200 from brands such as KRK, Presonus, Yamaha and more! The perfect place to search and compare the best active Studio Monitors on a budget.
So why would you need to invest in some professional Studio Monitors rather than the generic speakers you see in a HI-FI store? Well for starters Studio Monitors are built and designed for high-level & detailed audio reproduction, these are the go to speakers for recording studios, radio stations and post-production rooms. At it's bare basics a Studio Monitor's job is to accurately reproduce audio signal with flat frequency response and effect and will leave any emphasis on specific frequencies for manual input.
A common type of Active Studio Monitor is near-field - which is what we're going to compare in this article - this type of Monitor is for small studio and home recording environments, this is great for proximity listening rather than further away and therefore some of the audio signal will not be rebounding off walls and glass before reaching you.There are various driver types used with a Monitor, the most common being a Tweeter and Woofer pairing but you can also include a midrange or a subwoofer for bass referencing.
Key points to look out for when comparing Active Studio Monitors:
Frequency Response & Range:
Driver:
Cabinet:
Input & Output Connectivity:
1. Yamaha HS5 Active Studio Monitor
The Yamaha HS5 active studio monitor will help you make better-sounding recordings. Yamaha's nearfield monitors with those iconic white-coned woofers have been ubiquitous in top studios worldwide ever since the original NS-10s hit the scene in the late '70s.
Yamaha (never content to rest on its laurels) has continuously developed and perfected, resulting in HS series monitors with newly designed bi-amplified drivers and scientifically ported enclosures that deliver amazing accuracy and vanishingly low coloration. Don't mix in the dark. Nail what you're after without the guesswork, with Yamaha's HS5.
Key Studio Monitor Specifications
| Woofer / Tweeter Size | 5" / 1" |
| Frequency Response | 54 Hz -30 kHz |
| Power | 70 Watts |
| Connections | 1 x XLR / 1 x TRS JACK |
| Max SPL | NA |
| Port | Rear Ported |
Music Matter Recommends:
The established classic - the HS5 has been the go-to monitor for years now and that's down mainly to the level of quality in it's price bracket. Get industry-leading clarity, response, imaging and more for under £200.
Shop Yamaha HS5 Today:
2. Mackie MR524 Active Studio Monitor
The Mackie MR524 5'' Powered Studio Monitor is designed to deliver incredibly accurate sound reproduction for your studio mixes. The ability to provide faithful mix reproduction means that you can experience how your music will sound in other formats and environments. With a logarithmic waveguide, the 5-inch Mackie monitor delivers a broad listening range that is both consistent and fully balanced across the entire frequency range.
The MR524 offers a dynamic low-frequency response with a 5-inch woofer and incredible clarity thanks to the 1-inch silk dome tweeter, each powered with 50-watts of Class A/B amplification. Adjustable acoustic space and high frequency filters let you optimise the monitors to your mix whilst an all-wood cabinet ensures durability.
Key Studio Monitor Specifications
| Woofer / Tweeter Size | 5" / 1" |
| Frequency Response | 45Hz - 20kHz |
| Power | 100 Watts |
| Connections | 1 x XLR / 1 x TRS JACK / 1 x RCA |
| Max SPL | 108 dB |
| Port | Rear Ported |
Music Matter Recommends:
Extremely Accessible Studio Monitors from Mackie - The MR Series are ideal for home-studio use & make the most of the company top feature 'logarithmic waveguide' which provide an ultra-wide listening sweet spot & enhanced stereo imaging.
Shop Mackie MR524 Today:
3. Presonus Eris E5 Active Studio Monitor
Cheap computer speakers and home-stereo speakers are designed to make music sound good and hide the flaws, while most low-cost studio monitors are hyped to sound good in the store showroom. If you mix on those speakers, you won’t hear problems that can show up in your final production.
Not so with PreSonus Eris-series active studio monitors. Thanks to well-designed Kevlar® low frequency transducers, low-mass silk-dome tweeters, responsive Class AB amplification, and professional acoustic-adjustment controls, Eris delivers the goods.
Key Studio Monitor Specifications
| Woofer / Tweeter Size | 5.25" / 1" |
| Frequency Response | 53 Hz - 22 kHz |
| Power | 80 Watts |
| Connections | 1 x XLR / 1 x TRS JACK / RCA |
| Max SPL | 102 dB |
| Port | Front Ported |
Music Matter Recommends:
Though relatively new to the studio monitor scene, the Presonus' Eris range has received enthusiastic feedback since its release. One distinct feature includes a set of frequency cut controls on the rear panel for tuning the speaker's output to the room; a feature normally only seen on more expensive monitors.
Shop Presonus Eris E5 Today:
4. KRK Rokit RP5 G3 Active Studio Monitor
KRK Systems is one of the world’s most respected manufacturers of studio reference monitors. In their state of the art design facility, KRK engineers create products that deliver a natural and balanced spectral response with low distortion and superior imaging. With KRK monitors, recording engineers and artists hear every nuance of the audio being reproduced.
KRK ROKIT Generation 3 monitors continue in this design philosophy, so regardless of your musical style, genre, or particular mixing needs, KRK ROKIT will deliver.
Key Studio Monitor Specifications
| Woofer / Tweeter Size | 5" / 1" |
| Frequency Response | 45 Hz - 35 kHz |
| Power | 50 Watts |
| Connections | 1 x XLR / 1 x TRS JACK / 1 x RCA |
| Max SPL | 106 dB |
| Port | Front Ported |
Music Matter Recommends:
For a small studio desktop Monitor this packs quite a punch! It handles the low-end extremely well and the added adjustment of EQ from the back of the speaker gives great flexibilty with your tonality.
Shop KRK Rokit RP5 G3 Today:
5. JBL LSR205 Active Studio Monitor
The JBL LSR305 2-way Active Studio Monitor with 5" Low Frequency Driver and 1" Tweeter is designed for near-field reference monitoring applications. Delivering 82 W of power this JBL studio monitor offers a frequency range of 43 Hz - 24 kHz and a Max SPL of 108 db. Balanced XLR and 6.3 mm TRS inputs are available for connecting this active monitor to any audio source.
A huge feature is JBL's The Image Control Waveguide - developed for JBL’s new flagship M2 Master Reference Monitor and with the introduction of the JBL 3 Series, is now included for the first time in an affordable, compact reference monitor.
Key Studio Monitor Specifications
| Woofer / Tweeter Size | 5" / 1" |
| Frequency Response | 43 Hz - 24 kHz |
| Power | 82 Watts |
| Connections | 1 x XLR / 1 x TRS JACK |
| Max SPL | 108 dB |
| Port | Rear Ported |
Music Matter Recommends:
Probably the best value Studio Monitors on our list, for a little over £100 it is packed full of professional-quality referencing features and an amazingly flat sound that creates a beautifully accurate sound recreation.
Shop JBL LSR305 Today:
5" Active Studio Monitors 2018 Comparison Table:
| Yamaha HS5 | JBL LSR305 | KRK ROKIT RP5 G3 | Presonus Eris E5 | Mackie MR524 | |
| Speaker Config | 2-Way | 2-Way | 2-Way | 2-Way | 2-Way |
| LF Driver Size | 5" | 5" | 5" | 5.25" | 5.25" |
| LF Driver Power | 45W | 41W | 30W | 45W | 60W |
| HF Driver Size | 1" | 1" | 1" | 1" | 1" |
| HF Driver Power | 25W | 41W | 20W | 35W | 40W |
| Power | 70W | 82W | 50W | 70W | 100W |
| Max SPL | - | 108 dB | 106 dB | 102 dB | 108 dB |
| Low Freq. | 54Hz | 43Hz | 45Hz | 53Hz | 45Hz |
| High Freq. | 30kHz | 24kHz | 35kHz | 22kHz | 20kHz |
| Port | Rear | Rear | Front | Front | Rear |
| Inputs | XLR / TRS JACK | XLR / TRS JACK | XLR / TRS JACK / RCA | XLR / TRS JACK / RCA | XLR / TRS JACK / RCA |
| Weight | 5.3 Kg | 4.6 Kg | 6.4 Kg | 4.6 Kg | 4.6 Kg |
