Building a home studio can get expensive quickly. You need a microphone, audio interface, cables, microphone stand, recording software, and possibly acoustic treatment. By the time you get to headphones, you may not have much money left.
Fortunately, good studio headphones don’t have to cost hundreds of dollars.
There are several affordable models that work well for recording vocals, monitoring podcasts, producing music, and even basic mixing. The important thing is choosing headphones designed for studio work rather than simply buying whatever sounds exciting when listening to music.
Studio headphones should help you hear what’s actually happening in your recording. You want to notice background noise, distortion, harsh vocals, excessive bass, and other problems before publishing your work.
For most beginners, the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x is my favorite cheap studio headphone. If you can spend a little more, the Sony MDR-7506 is a proven studio option. The AKG K92 is another affordable choice for home recording.
What is the Best Cheap Studio Headphones?
Here are some of the best cheap studio headphones to consider.
1. Audio-Technica ATH-M20x – Best Cheap Studio Headphones Overall
The Audio-Technica ATH-M20x is an excellent place to start when building your first home studio. It’s a closed-back dynamic headphone with 40 mm drivers.
Audio-Technica specifies a frequency response of 15 Hz to 20 kHz, 47-ohm impedance, and 96 dB sensitivity. The headphones weigh around 190 grams without the cable and connector. The closed-back design is particularly important for recording.
Imagine you’re recording vocals while listening to the backing track through headphones. If too much sound escapes from the earcups, your microphone may capture the music.
Closed-back headphones help reduce that problem. The ATH-M20x also uses a long 3-meter cable, which gives you enough room to move around a typical home-studio desk.
The biggest limitation is that the cable isn’t detachable.
Still, for someone who needs affordable monitoring headphones for recording, podcasting, or music production, the ATH-M20x provides excellent value.
2. Sony MDR-7506 – Best Budget Studio Headphones for Professionals
The Sony MDR-7506 has been around for decades. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. These headphones continue to be used in recording, broadcast, video production, and other professional environments.
Sony uses 40 mm drivers and specifies a frequency response of 10 Hz to 20 kHz. The MDR-7506 has a closed-ear design and folds for easier storage and transportation.
That makes it particularly useful if you record in different locations. The headphones are also good at revealing detail in vocals and recordings.
This can help when you’re editing a podcast or checking a vocal track for problems such as excessive sibilance, mouth noises, and unwanted background sounds.
The MDR-7506 costs more than some of the cheapest headphones in this guide, but it remains relatively affordable compared with high-end studio models.
If you want something that can stay useful as your recording skills improve, it’s a strong investment.
3. AKG K92 – Best Affordable Headphones for Home Studios
The AKG K92 is another strong option for someone building a studio on a limited budget. It’s an over-ear, closed-back headphone with 40 mm drivers.
AKG specifies a frequency range of 16 Hz to 22 kHz, 32-ohm impedance, 113 dB SPL/V sensitivity, and a weight of around 200 grams. The relatively low impedance makes the K92 easy to use with many different devices.
You can connect it to an audio interface, computer, or other compatible equipment without necessarily needing a dedicated headphone amplifier.
AKG also uses a self-adjusting headband. That’s useful during longer recording sessions because you don’t want to spend half your time adjusting the headphones.
The K92 includes a 3-meter cable and a 3.5 mm connector with a 6.3 mm screw-on adapter. That adapter is important in a studio because many audio interfaces and mixers use larger 1/4-inch headphone outputs.
4. Audio-Technica ATH-M30x – Best Step-Up Budget Studio Headphones
If you like the ATH-M20x but can spend a little more, look at the ATH-M30x. It retains the closed-back dynamic design and 40 mm drivers while extending the specified frequency response to 15 Hz–22 kHz.
The ATH-M30x also folds. That’s a useful upgrade for anyone who regularly takes their recording equipment somewhere else.
Audio-Technica includes a protective carrying pouch, which further improves portability. The headphones weigh approximately 220 grams without the cable and connector. Like the M20x, they use a 3-meter cable.
For someone who wants an affordable studio headphone but doesn’t necessarily want the absolute cheapest model, the ATH-M30x occupies a useful middle ground.
5. AKG K72 – Best Cheap Headphones for Recording
If your budget is particularly tight, the AKG K72 is worth considering. Like the K92, it’s a closed-back over-ear headphone designed with studio monitoring in mind.
That’s exactly what you want when recording vocals. Closed-back headphones help keep the backing track inside the headphones instead of allowing it to bleed into the microphone. This also makes them useful for podcasting.
If a podcast guest is monitoring the other speakers through headphones, you don’t want the microphone capturing sound leaking from the earcups. The K72 keeps things relatively simple.
You don’t get the premium construction or features found on expensive professional headphones. But for someone putting together a first recording setup, simplicity isn’t necessarily a problem.
6. Audio-Technica ATH-M40x – Best for Budget Mixing
The ATH-M40x stretches the definition of “cheap” compared with the M20x, but it’s worth including for people who can spend a little more.
Audio-Technica specifies 40 mm drivers, a frequency response of 15 Hz to 24 kHz, 35-ohm impedance, and 98 dB sensitivity.
One major upgrade is the cable system. Unlike the M20x and M30x, the M40x includes detachable cables.
You get both a coiled cable and a straight cable. That might seem like a small feature until a headphone cable fails. With a fixed cable, repair or replacement can become much more annoying./With a detachable design, replacing the cable is much easier.
The ATH-M40x is also a better option for someone who wants to do more serious editing and mixing without immediately jumping into expensive studio headphones.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need $500 headphones to start making music or recording podcasts. In fact, spending too much on headphones can be a mistake when you’re building your first studio.
Your microphone, audio interface, room acoustics, and recording skills matter too.
For most beginners, the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x is the best place to start. Audio-Technica specifies a closed-back dynamic design, 40 mm drivers, a 15 Hz–20 kHz frequency response, 47-ohm impedance, and a weight of about 190 grams. That combination makes it a practical entry-level option for recording and monitoring.
If you can spend more, the Sony MDR-7506 is a proven alternative used for professional monitoring, recording, and broadcast work. Sony specifies 40 mm drivers, a closed-ear design, and a 10 Hz–20 kHz frequency response.
The AKG K92 provides another affordable route. Its closed-back over-ear construction, 40 mm drivers, 32-ohm impedance, and 16 Hz–22 kHz frequency range make it suitable for home recording, monitoring, and beginner mixing.