My Home Studio Pack Selections

Many of you have been asking for my opinion on which “home studio pack” to choose.

It is true that these packs are generally a fairly simple and relatively inexpensive way to record music at home.

Therefore, I thought I would write a somewhat detailed article on the subject, following up on my reference articles on home studio equipment.

Initially, we will talk about commercial home studio packs, focusing on two of the main existing packs.

But in a second part, I will mainly offer my own packs, meaning selections of proven equipment, depending on your budget, which will undoubtedly allow you to go further than those available on the market.

Commercial Home Studio Packs

I must admit, I am generally not a big fan of the home studio packs available from major retailers.

If you follow my exchanges in the comment threads of Projet Home Studio, you may have already noticed this.

The fact is that the available packs seem to primarily serve a marketing purpose: to offer “all-in-one” solutions to beginners, which has the effect of reassuring them.

Unfortunately, the content of the packs is sometimes not up to expectations: at some point, for a brand to offer a pack containing a headset, a microphone, and a low-cost interface, it has to compromise on product quality.

While the interface generally works quite well, I am much less convinced by some of the headsets or microphones offered.

However, there is not only bad on the market…

The Focusrite Studio Pack

The most well-known and most purchased pack by beginners in home studio is undoubtedly the one from Focusrite, which comes in two versions today depending on the audio interface you choose:

• Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio G3
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio G3

I am not necessarily a fan of the microphone & headset. For me, it is possible to have superior quality for a similar price.

However, the interface is of good quality: it is even part of the audio interfaces I generally recommend, which means you won’t have any particular issues with this type of pack.

Note, however, that it does not include a pop filter or a microphone stand — so you will need to remember to add these accessories to your order if you go for the Focusrite Studio pack.

► See the current price:

Scarlett Solo Version: Amazon Thomann Woodbrass

Scarlett 2i2 Version: Amazon Thomann Woodbrass

The Audio Technica AT2035-Studio Pack

Another option that seems very high quality to me but a bit harder to find is the AT2035-Studio designed by Audio Technica in partnership with Audient.

In this home studio pack, you will find:

• a very good entry-level interface, namely the Audient iD4 (in black version, which I find quite nice);
• a static microphone AT2035, which is part of the studio microphones I recommend;
• an ATH-M40X headset, an affordable version of the more famous M50X that I regularly use in my studio.

In other words, you really have good quality equipment here. Admittedly, we are still on a beginner’s usage (by the way, the interface doesn’t have many inputs/outputs), but you can be sure of having good sound quality.

Note that, like the Focusrite pack, there is neither a microphone stand nor a pop filter.

► See the current price: Amazon Woodbrass

My “Home Studio Packs” Suggestions

As I mentioned in the introduction, my goal through this article is mainly to offer you my own selections of equipment.

My own packs, in a way, taking the budget as the main constraint.

So you will find below 4 “homemade” home studio packs, in the form of lists of 100% compatible and completely usable equipment to record your own compositions.

Note: Of course, you can combine the contents of the packs to create your own selection.

Also note that starting from pack number 2, adding speakers significantly increases the price. A common option is to first buy a headset, then invest in monitoring speakers later on.

Pack No. 1: “The Cheapest” (approx. €150)

Generally, on the Projet Home Studio pages, I tend to recommend equipment that has a certain price — or at least I avoid all entry-level gear.

Simply because in a home studio, it’s better to invest a little at the beginning to avoid having to buy new equipment the following year because something broke. A bit like with household appliances… 🙂

However, I think it’s important to be able to enjoy yourself and record, even if you don’t have a huge budget.

This pack is therefore built with the idea of having the best possible quality for the lowest possible price.

You will find an audio interface Behringer U-Phoria UM2, which is far from perfect as it only allows recording in 16 bits and has often noticeable latency, but at least it allows for recording decent sounds.

For the microphone, I chose the Behringer C-1, which is probably one of the cheapest you can find but is still better and more reliable than the no-name microphones you can see on Amazon.

For the headset, however, with the logic of still investing in good quality listening (and usable in the long term), I selected an AKG K-240 Studio, which differs slightly from the K-240 MKII that I sometimes recommend.

No speakers in this pack, intentionally, to reduce the cost: initially, mixing with headphones will suffice.

At the DAW level, starting with a free software like Cakewalk by Bandlab if you are on Windows or GarageBand if you are on Mac will be a good idea to complement this pack.

Finally, at the accessory level, I have selected basic cables that may not last in the long term but are well made enough to allow for normal use.

Pack n°2 : “Débutant Classique” (approx. 800€ with speakers)

In this second pack, the idea is to group together what I consider to be the standard equipment for a beginner home studio.

In other words, this is entry-level equipment that is well thought out, allowing you to record your music under good conditions with more than satisfactory quality.

Thus, in terms of interface, we find the famous Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, a reference for small home studios, which offers a good quality/price ratio and the usual connections: two mixed inputs for instrument/microphone/line, two line outputs to connect your speakers, and a headphone output.

For the microphone, I recommend the Audio-Technica AT 2035, which is very effective for its price and has a good frequency response. The sound is balanced and the highs are smooth (which is actually quite rare for entry-level microphones).

If you need headphones, the AKG K-240 mkII will be a good choice — potentially to be paired with two Yamaha HS7, speakers that have a good quality/price ratio and are commonly used in home studios. Of course, since the speakers are the most expensive element of this pack, it’s worth starting with just the headphones.

Finally, for all accessories and cables, the links below lead to slightly higher quality equipment than for pack n°1. Only the microphone stand is a bit more expensive (stand K&M), to ensure that your microphone is well secured.

Note that the price of this pack is significantly higher than the previous one due to the addition of the speakers. Of course, nothing prevents you from combining products from different packs.

Pack n°3 : “Ideal Beginner” (approx. €1340 with speakers)

For the home studio pack n°3, I tried to select what I believe allows for starting in ideal conditions.

That is to say, we are looking at equipment that I would call mid-range, offering very good sound quality and can be used long-term without any issues.

Typically, the audio interface Audient iD22 has pleasant preamps and high-performing converters, which places it well above the Focusrite Scarlett.

For the microphone, we have an Aston Origin, which is just THE microphone I recommend for the home studio because:

• its quality/price ratio is literally stunning;
• it is versatile enough to record many different sound sources.

For the headphones, this time I selected a beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro (80 Ohm version), which is a headphone offering precise and clean sound, commonly used in professional studios.

In addition or instead of the headphones, the Focal Alpha 65 speakers, designed by a French brand, will allow you to mix your tracks for many years before you feel the need to upgrade to a higher model.

In other words, in terms of sound, whether it’s for the interface, the microphone, the speakers, or the headphones, this is quality equipment associated with a relatively affordable price, all things considered.

Finally, regarding the accessories, we slightly upgrade compared to the previous packs, especially for the cables — without going for anything overpriced.

Pack n°4 : “Advanced Amateur” (approx. €2400 with speakers)

If your budget exceeds the kits presented above, then pack n°4 should meet your expectations.

Of course, one could imagine all sorts of high-end packs, with increasingly expensive equipment.

Here, the idea is rather to have a pack containing equipment that I would consider to be upper mid-range: not necessarily the best, but more than sufficient to record and produce music in nearly professional conditions.

This direction is primarily reflected in the choice of the interface: a RME Fireface UC. The German brand is particularly reliable, both in terms of sound quality (notably the converters) and extremely low latency.

In terms of microphone, the choice may be surprising, but I again recommend the Aston Origin mentioned in pack n°3 as I appreciate it so much. It is largely equivalent to microphones two or three times more expensive.

In the same vein, for the headphones, I stick with a recommendation of the beyerdynamic DT 770 which is really high-performing. However, for the speakers, we move on to something much higher-end, namely the Adam Audio A7X — very precise, these are the speakers I use to mix my own tracks.

Finally, regarding accessories, the selection of equipment is based solely on the brand K&M, which truly offers robust products, as well as good quality cables without falling into improbable prices.

To go further…

Of course, these home studio packs are designed primarily for beginners who want to equip themselves with coherent, compatible equipment, without necessarily delving into the technical details of each item.

However, if you want to go a bit further to better understand how all this works, I invite you to check out this detailed guide on home studio equipment.