Studio Monitors

Founded in 2013, Output is one of the music industry's fastest-growing brands. Known for versatile virtual instruments and digital effects, Output recently partnered with Barefoot Sound to create the new Frontier active two-way studio monitor ($1,399). Available exclusively at Vintage King, Frontier studio monitors pair Barefoot’s pioneering audio technology with Output’s sleek aesthetics in a compact package that won’t break the bank. Read on to learn what makes these compact studio monitors so impressive.  Continue reading →

Last year, Focal unveiled the Alpha Evo line, including the Alpha 65 Evo and Alpha 50 Evo. Now, Focal returns to market with new offerings to sweeten up the Evo Range even more with the new Alpha 80 Evo ($549 per monitor) and Alpha Twin Evo ($659 per monitor) studio monitors, as well as the highly-anticipated Sub One ($999) subwoofer. In this blog, we'll offer your first look at the new monitors and break down what you can expect when unboxing them. Continue reading →

Your mixes are only as good as your listening environment, which is why it’s so important to make sure you’re using a high-quality set of studio monitors. But with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to pick the right pair for your studio. In this blog, we’ll break down the most popular studio monitors of 2021 to help you find the perfect set of speakers for your needs. Continue reading →

The original version of this article appeared in the first issue of Vintage King's Playback. If you haven't subscribed digitally to our new magazine, you can do so right here. Here at Vintage King, we often get asked, “How do I build a studio for _____ amount of money?” This question is an interesting one, and we can certainly help you find an answer that fits within your budget. The starting point is most likely a question that you must ask yourself: “What is the goal for my studio?” In upcoming issues, we’ll be tackling how to build out several kinds of studios on a budget, but for the purposes of this article, we thought it best to start out with the essential gear needed for a basic recording and mix room. We’ll be covering three pieces of gear in particular: microphone, interface and monitors. Continue reading →

When it comes to studio gear, engineers love experimenting with all kinds of microphones, mic pres, compressors, EQs and whatnot. The more flavors, the better. In terms of studio monitors, pro audio manufacturers strive to keep their designs sounding authentic as possible. This leads us to a common inquiry, “Why do I see so many pictures of studios with multiple sets of monitors? Doesn’t the engineer just pick the right set of monitors that works for them and do their thing?” Well, yes and no… First and foremost, yes, you do want to pick the right set of monitors that works for you. In a sense, speakers are a compass. We choose a set of speakers that we enjoy listening to and we learn them. How does our favorite music sound on them? How does the track you worked on last week sound? Last month? Last year? How do they sound when you turn them up vs. listening to them at a lower level? They become a window to how we hear what we’re working on vs. the rest of the world. Everyone has different opinions and preferences, but at the end of the day, you are the one that is going to spend countless hours in front of the speakers, so you want to pick something that you enjoy working on. Continue reading →

In the past few years, the Focal Alpha range has garnered plenty of praise among music makers for its brilliant clarity and affordable price point. New for March 2021, Focal is bringing the Alpha series to the next point in its evolution with the introduction of the Alpha Evo series.­ Focal's Alpha 50 Evo ($349 per monitor) and Alpha 65 Evo ($449 per monitor) improve on the line's predecessors with a new cone, connectivity options and plenty more features. In this blog, we'll offer your first look at the monitors and break down what users can expect when unboxing them in their studio. Continue reading →

Detroit-based techno pioneer Carl Craig believes that to come out of the Motor City you need to be powerful. This statement not only applies to the town's musical exports, but to the pro audio creations being built here by the likes of Mesanovic. "I'm really proud of Deni [Mesanovic] for coming up with a great speaker," says Carl of the new Mesanovic RTM10 monitor. "I'm ready for his speaker to impact the world in the same way that Detroit music has impacted the world." Continue reading →

Although Kali Audio was a new arrival to Vintage King in 2020, the California-based brand immediately became a fan favorite landing among our best selling monitors of the year. The brand's approach is simple. Create studio monitors at an affordable price that offer high-quality sound. A shining example of this is the IN-8 3-way powered monitor. The Kali Audio IN-8 borrows the powerful 8" woofer from the brand's Lone Pine LP-8 monitor and pairs it with a coaxial tweeter and midrange combo. This midrange section works like a tweeter waveguide, which makes for optimal clarity. By taking the pressure off the actual tweeter and woofer, the monitor's total harmonic distortion comes in at a low of 1.4%. Continue reading →

Whenever the end of the year rolls around, we are inundated with Best Of lists. Best albums, best movies, best podcasts... You know the rest. But for many of us in the pro audio world, we want to know what other engineers, producers, and audio creators are using to make the sounds featured on these lists. So every December we start pulling together our own lists of best sellers by category based on what you, Vintage King's beloved customers, have been buying all year long. This year, we're kicking it off with the best selling studio monitors of 2020. Continue reading →

Kali Audio makes professional loudspeakers and accessories that offer class-leading sound at affordable prices. Founded in 2018, the brand quickly made a name for themselves with their popular LP Series speakers, and have since released a number of innovative products that fit into any budget.In this Buyer’s Guide, we’ll be breaking down the differences between Kali Audio's different monitor series and explaining the technology used. Continue on to learn more about the LP Series monitors, the IN-8 and IN-5, the WS-12 subwoofer and the Kali MV-BT Bluetooth monitor controller. Continue reading →