Building a mixing-focused professional music studio for under $4,750

Let’s build another professional level home music studio! For this build, our budget’s increased even further, and we can start to optimize the acoustics profile of our space to allow for professional-quality mixing of our recorded work.

All of my different home studio buildouts done at various price points can be found here.

A note on acoustics

Because we’re developing a pro-quality mixing and music postproduction space with this build, a large portion of our budget is tuned towards acoustic control. Acoustic panels and bass traps are some of our most expensive line items.

I’ve chosen a variety of acoustic control tools that are tuned towards addressing the most common problems I see with small-room acoustics and home music studios. Generally, that means we’re trying to fix acoustics issues in the low-end room response that lead to inconsistent sounding mixes, with poor translation across playback systems. It’s important to note, though, that these specific choices are made for illustrative and educational purposes only.

Don’t just go out and buy all of these exact same items for your own studio and install them. Instead, before you decide on exactly which acoustic treatment is appropriate for your space, perform an acoustics analysis, or consult with a licensed acoustician.

Every individual room is a little bit different. So, while you’ll often see similar types of acoustics tools used across different studio control rooms, the specific individual pieces of gear that you need to buy and install inside of your individual space will likely be slightly different than what you see listed below.

My series on DIY acoustics testing can give you the basics of how to perform an acoustics analysis on your own, and companies like GIK Acoustics also employ licensed acousticians who can give you some free advice.

Our final budget

Here’s the gear list: we’re under budget by $161!

Audio Interfaces

SSL 2+ MKII USB Audio Interface: $299

Monitoring

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Closed-back Studio Monitoring Headphones: $149

ADAM Audio TV7 7’’ Powered Studio Monitors: $500

Microphones

Electro-Voice RE-20 Dynamic Microphone: $449

Rode NT2000 Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone: $600

Cabling

Mogami Gold TRSXLRM-15 Balanced 1/4-inch TRS Male to XLR Male Patch Cable - 15 foot x2: $160

Pro Co EVLMCN-15 Evolution Microphone Cable - 15 foot x2: $78

Stands

Behringer SM5002 Heavy-Duty Height-Adjustable Monitor Stand Set: $69

Mic stands and counterweight: $236

Acoustics

Acoustic treatment: first reflection points: $315

Acoustic treatment: corner bass traps: $1100

Acoustic treatment: speaker pads: $284

Acoustic treatment: estimated shipping costs: $350

Total: $4589

Design assumptions

For this build, we’re designing a professional-level two channel recording setup, that will also allow high-quality mixing and postproduction to be done inside of the same space.

I’m assuming you already have a computer, some instruments lying around, and are familiar with professional-level recording software. This setup could be a good fit for the very serious home musician, who also wants to be able to do high-quality reference mixes of their own work, or wants to self-mix their own work at a high level, or who wants to start getting into doing paid jobs for audio postproduction and editing.

Audio Interfaces

SSL 2+ MKII USB Audio Interface ($300)

SSL 2+ MKII audio interface.

My classic interface recommendation for a two-channel setup that begins to hit the professional level. There’s a lot of bang for the buck with this interface choice, as it provides value above what the sticker price would indicate. This is a situation where going with the name brand is worth it.

Speakers

ADAM Audio TV7 7’’ Powered Studio Monitors

ADAM Audio TV7 7’’ studio monitors.

The ADAM TV7’s are my choice for the budget entry point into pro studio monitoring. They’re affordable for many, and are very well-rounded speakers. The next level up for pro studio quality monitors tends to get much more expensive (over $800-ish each), but does also offer some big increases in quality to match the increase in price.

A higher level of speaker didn’t fit into the budget for this build, but if you have more money to spend and can make use of the increased quality, upgrading a little from the ADAM TV7’s is something worth considering. You might try upgrading to a higher-end Genelec speaker option, or perhaps try adding a subwoofer to this setup. ADAM sells a bundle that includes two of these TV7 speakers with a 10-inch subwoofer for under $1000 (at time of writing), which is quite a good deal given the quality of this brand.

If you go with adding a subwoofer upgrade to this speaker system, do your homework on where to place your subwoofer within your space, and learn how to calibrate it correctly. Incorrectly set up subwoofer systems can cause more problems than they solve when it comes to mixing, so it’s important to get your calibration dialed in just right if you’re using a subwoofer.

Headphones

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Closed-back Studio Monitoring Headphones ($149)

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x headphones.

Another consistent recommendation for value vs. price, these are a good pairing for both light mixing duties and general recording duties, so you get a bit of a two-for-one with this headphone choice.

If you’re looking to upgrade further to an even better headphone that’s more mixing-focused, you’ll want to be looking at open-back or semi-open back headphone designs, and the price point goes up significantly, into the $300-$600 area at a minimum.

Microphones

The two choices below are complementary designs that will work great when used individually, but also in combination, for recording various sound sources at a professional level of quality. There’s also strong bang for the buck here: you don’t need to spend thousands on a single large diaphragm condenser mic, unless you also have the hyper-quiet acoustic space those microphones are designed to be used within.

For a two-channel songwriting setup, the usual rules apply: we’re looking for one vocal-optimized mic, and one instrument-optimized mic, but neither can be too highly specialized in those areas.

Electro-Voice RE-20 ($449)

Electro-Voice RE-20 dynamic microphone.

A highly versatile mic that’s dead simple to use and sounds great on a wide variety of source material, this mic is a constant recommendation and one of my desert island choices for home music recording.

Rode NT2000 Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone ($600)

Rode NT2000 condenser microphone.

Another highly versatile choice, this mic has lots of handy tuning options built into the microphone, to encourage high-quality sound capture at the microphone level.

Cables

The logic on choosing these particular cables is the same as in my sub-$750 build. We’ve got a mid-level, high quality and durable set of microphone cables, paired with the very top-of-the-line Mogami cables for our behind-the-desk cabling.

Pro Co EVLMCN-15 Evolution Microphone Cable - 15 foot X 2 ($39 each)

Pro Co EVLMCN-15 mic cable.

Mogami Gold TRSXLRM-15 Balanced 1/4-inch TRS Male to XLR Male Patch Cable - 15 foot x2 ($80 each)

Mogami Gold TRSXLRM-15 patch cable.

Mic stands

For both of these mic stand choices, I’ve included the pro industry standard K&M options. They’re durable, hefty, and can hold up to daily use for years with minimal sagging.

K&M 210/9 Telescoping Boom Microphone Stand ($102)

K&M 210/9 Telescoping Boom Stand.

K&M 25950 Extra Low Profile Tripod Base Boom Mic Stand ($102)

K&M 25950 Extra Low Profile mic stand.

K&M 21105 Counterweight ($32)

K&M 21105 Mic Stand Counterweight.

This counterweight can be installed on the telescoping boom stand listed above, and will help limit sagging, further improve stability, and reduce stand vibrations, especially when using the heavy Electro-Voice RE20 microphone.

Speaker stands

Behringer SM5002 Heavy-Duty Height-Adjustable Monitor Stand Set ($69)

Behringer SM5002 Heavy-Duty Height-Adjustable Monitor Stand

This is heavy duty set of speaker stands, at a very reasonable price, and they’re sized to fit both the ADAM TV7’s listed above and the Primeacoustic speaker pads listed below.

Acoustic treatment: first reflection points

GIK Acoustics 244 Bass Trap with FlexRange Technology ($105) x 3

GIK Acoustics 244 Bass Trap

In acoustics, the first reflection points are the areas on the walls and ceiling where sound waves make their first reflections after leaving your speakers. For the most accurate sound at the mix position, it’s important to absorb these reflections with acoustic treatment. This is usually done by placing acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling surrounding your speakers.

Often, the panels used are slightly thinner than what I’ve chosen here; using a panel under 4’’ thick would be typical.

However, because an uncontrolled and muddy low end is most often the biggest acoustic issue in small control rooms (like what you’d find in a home setting), going thicker in this case makes these panels a 2-for-1. These panels will work great at controlling your first reflections, but because they’re also a full 5.25’’ thick, their acoustics profile extends farther down into the low end, helping reduce muddiness at the same time. I’ve also selected their FlexRange interior acoustic liner as an option, to emphasize reduction of the lowest frequencies even further.

You’ll want three of these, one to be used as a ceiling cloud placed above the mix position, and one each for the left and right first reflection points surrounding your speakers.

There may be some additional costs to consider in terms of the mounting hardware to install these panels, but because that will be specific to your individual space, I haven’t included any anchoring or mounting systems here.

Acoustic treatment: bass traps

GIK Acoustics Tri-Trap Corner Bass Trap $274.99 x4

GIK Acoustics Tri-Trap Corner Bass Trap

Bass traps are a specific acoustics control tool that’s designed to “trap” low-end bass frequencies, providing a clearer and more transparent acoustic space to work within. They’re essential equipment: it will be impossible to achieve good translation across playback systems without them, in most cases. A lack of sufficient bass trapping is the leading cause of that mix you spent hours working on suddenly sounding unrecognizable when played back inside of your car.

Ideally, these corner traps should be placed floor to ceiling in each corner of your room. For these units, you’ll need two for each room corner, stacked on top of each other. I’ve included 4 of them in this budget, for placement floor to ceiling in the two room corners located closest to your speakers.

This level of bass trapping is meant to get you started. You will likely want to add additional bass trapping for the other room corners by purchasing an additional 4 traps, for a total of 8. But, check to see what’s needed in your individual space by doing an acoustics analysis first, as doubling your bass trapping is a significant additional cost to incur.

Acoustic treatment: speaker pads

Primacoustic RX7 Monitor Isolation Pad 10.5 x 13 inch ($142) x2

Primeacoustic RX7 Monitor Isolation pad.

Speaker pads placed underneath your studio monitors prevent acoustic resonances between the vibrating speaker, and the often hollow stands they’re placed on top of. This helps your speakers sound their best, and they really do work well. For optimum results, though, stay away from the all-foam speaker pads.

An effective speaker pad design requires mass: often a thick and heavy metal plate that’s designed into the product. This metal plate is what provides sufficient mass to effectively prevent the energy transfer between the speaker and the speaker stand; without that mass, speaker pads made of just foam aren’t nearly as effective. These particular pads by Primeacoustic fit the bill, and are sized to comfortably fit both the Behringer monitor stands and the ADAM TV7 monitors I’ve chosen elsewhere in this build.

Acoustic treatment: estimated shipping costs and DIY options

If you’re buying your acoustic treatment from GIK Acoustics or another manufacturer, you’ll need to pay shipping costs from the factory to you. And, because these items are bulky, preassembled, and require significant packaging, shipping costs can be significant. I’ve estimated this in my budget for this build, but expect these costs to vary, especially if you’re shipping internationally.

Another option to potentially save money is to build your acoustic panels and bass traps yourself. But, be careful! Make sure you’ve read the correct textbook-based source material on how to do this the right way. If you don’t, you could design, build, and install a bunch of custom treatment that doesn’t end up actually doing anything at all, from an acoustics control perspective. The items I’ve recommended here have all been professionally tested and certified by licensed acousticians, so you can be confident they’re actually doing what they say they will.

Conclusions

And that’s it! A mixing-focused home studio buildout that will allow you to record two channels, and also get you started at mixing your own work at the professional level. Using this as an initial baseline build, you could then tweak and adjust your space further, adding additional acoustic treatment or upgrading other gear as necessary.

For my complete list of recommended audio gear optimized for use at home, reference the Home Studio Gear Guide.