Best Home Studio Setup on a $3,000 Budget

My name is KARRA and I've been testing & reviewing all the latest microphones, audio interfaces, studio monitors, and MIDI controllers, to roundup all my best options for a $3,000 total budget. I've included recommendations for everything you'll need from Audio Interface, Microphone, Headphones, Studio Monitors, Cables, and more. This list was made assuming you already have a computer or laptop to get started. My recommendations cover everything you need to record vocals, produce beats, mix, master, and engineer in the highest quality possible.

Over the past 10+ years Universal Audio Apollo has been the most popular audio interface upgrade for producers, artists, and tracking engineers for four important reasons. Built-in DSP chips, amazing software, transparent mic preamps, and great converter sound quality. Not only do Apollo’s preamps sound clean & transparent, but they also emulate a wide range of classic hardware mic preamps if you want that analog flavor in the box. Everything is controlled in the console app which is powered by the DSP chips inside the interface. Taking your headphone mix outside the DAW eliminates any latency, buffer size issues, and confusion while you’re recording, helping you sound your best and feel more inspired as you record. The Apollo X Twin 2nd Gen retails for $999 which is 1/3 of our budget so I heavily recommend checking the used deals as low as $650. If you want to save even more money, shop for Apollo X twin 1st Gen interfaces that can be found used around $470. If you’re a singer, primarily recording one microphone, the upgrade in converters between Gen 1 and Gen 2 is very small and difficult to hear. They both have the same amazing preamps and software, however the difference in used Market price is huge! Used gear is a great way to stretch your budget, and purchase a legendary interface for less than half the retail price. It’s important to remember that Apollos do not include any thunderbolt cable to connect to your computer, so you need to purchase one separately.

The TLM49 is easily one of my favorite solid state condenser microphones. This mic has recorded many of my most popular songs and vocal samples. It's got a very smooth high and and present mid range without excessive bass. I’ve always preferred it’s sound over the more famous u87 by Neumann.  Neumann also offers some smaller mics called the TLM 103 and TLM 102 that are extremely popular for bright airy sounding vocals. These cost half as much as the TLM 49, but I prefer the warmth and roundness over the extra brightness of neumann’s smaller microphones. TLM49 retails new for $1649 and sells used for around $670.

Ten years ago when I was building my first studio setup I got the Audio Technica headphones. Since then, I’ve been using my ATH M50 X in every YouTube video, every songwriting session, every traveling session, and more. I love their sound quality, their excellent isolation for recording, and use them as my go-to studio headphones for checking my mix. Plus they offer different colors which is always nice. They retail for $150, but if you look on the used market, you’ll find deals as low as $70 which is an absolute steal for the quality and longevity they have. I can't recommend these headphones enough!

Every studio needs a great set of Studio monitors and Neumann has some of the best budget friendly options for any room size. The KH80 DSP speakers are compact yet powerful monitors. These 4 inch speakers are significantly heaver than the Yamaha hs5s and Adam speakers I mentioned in my previous lower budget video. Heavy speakers is a very good indicator of high quality & precision speakers. That extra heaviness translates into a fuller more powerful sound quality in your studio. These Neumanns go way louder and have much tighter low end than any other 4 inch speaker I’ve tested.  You can pair them with the Neumann MA-1 measurement microphone to calibrate and correct the speakers to your room with a custom EQ profile. They even have their own calibration software to go with it. The Neuman KH 80 DSP speakers are sold individually for $550 which means a pair costs $1,100 new. But if you’re resourceful you can find used deals like this for $650 per pair which is nearly 50% off! I love pairing them with the matching 10 inch subwoofer called Neumann KH 750 DSP but this might be a little outside our of our $3,000 budget if we’re buying speakers and a mic too. However if you’re looking to add a sub to your home studio, this one sounds incredible and works with the room correction software.

Roli Piano M are just as vibey as they are functional! Not only can the colors change to match the aesthetic of your studio, you can also use it to illuminate scales, root notes, or look white and black like a traditional piano. After Touch and manual vibrato make your virtual instrument and synth playing experience way more expressive and hands-on. They also have rechargeable batteries inside and can connect wirelessly, but I personally leave it connected via usb-C. If you want to see a full breakdown of the included software and features check out the full session on YouTube producing & recording a hip hop song from scratch with Roli Piano M. The retail price is $500 per pair, or sold individually for $250.

There’s lots of name and no name brand cable options when you’re setting up your home studio, and my favorite brand has always been Canare. The best place to buy canner cables is b&h.com where you can search for “canare” followed by your cable color, length, and connector type. It’s about $20 for a 15 foot cable and the price varies based on the length. I hate having excess cable length piled up on the floor, especially in my video shoots. I keep a collection of different lengths and colors so I always have the perfect cable for whatever I need! Another brand of cables I use here in the studio is Mogami, which sound equally good as Canare but they cost way more, Mogami only comes in the color black, and the cables feel stiffer, making them easier to bend and tangle. They’re both top quality, but Canare is my favorite cables by far! an average 15 foot cable costs about $20. Id recommend buying one for your mic, speakers, and headphone extension for a total of about $80 in cables