Harbinger VARI SM508 8" Studio Monitor With 3-Voice DSP and Bluetooth

I use this product for my home studio

I wanted to sit with these for a couple of weeks to give my ears a bit to learn the curve of these - despite reference monitors being a similar size and composition and supposedly flat, In my experience, you really need to sit with whatever you buy and get your ears used to their particular sound. That said, I sat with these for a couple of weeks, and I feel like they are very usable. In addition to the monitoring modes, there's also a +/- low and high-end bump on the back, all the connectivity options you could ask for, including Bluetooth which was a breeze to pair. I'm using these for pedagogy, and they're a very affordable option for teachers like me.

I confess I was skeptical that a monitor at this price could be competitive, but my 25-year-old Alesis M1 Active monitors were dying, and I was on a budget. I'm glad I was, because otherwise I might have ignored these monitors. Pulling them from the bux, I realized that they were substantially lighter than my old monitors, but that has not seemed to have any adverse impact on their performance. The first thing I did after swapping them into my studio was play some of my favorite, well-mastered CDs through them in both "regular" and "reference" DSP modes without doing any EQ for the space. What struck me most was the precision of the stereo sound field. No smearing or vagueness in instrument placement in the playback field was to be heard. In comparison to my small monitors (M-Audio SP-5Bs) the 8" driver added beef without overly exaggerating the low end while in the reference mode. Normal mode is the expected "smile curve" so the lows and highs are a little hyped to come closer to most consumer systems. While I wouldn't track or do a primary mix in this mode, it's a great reality check before you push a mix out the door. The second thing I did was open up the IK Multimedia ARC 3 app to do some frequency sweeps to get them tuned to the room. A couple of quick adjustments of the back panel High and Low Frequency sliders to get as close to flat as possible and then running sweeps on the monitors got it dialed in for the room in just a few minutes. After a week or so of use, I'm still impressed and would have no hesitation in recommending these monitors to anybody, regardless of their budget.

I have been using an older pair of Event active reference speakers for video editing and one of them recently developed a noticeable buzz, so I wanted to try these SM508s - mostly because of the price and 30-day return policy. These speakers can easily go to head-to-head with brand named monitors double the price. The bass response is impressive, the mids and highs are clear. Being able to easily switch between "classic" speakers, which I equate to my old school bookshelf speakers to "ref", which is mostly flat, and then to "small" which is probably how most people watch videos and listen to music thru devices is super convenient. The look is clean and modern, nothing out of the ordinary. The speakers are lighter than they look, which made old school me a little skeptical, but the lost of structural heft doesn't affect the sonic weight it carries, if that makes sense. The connections and options for balanced/unbalanced is a plus. Bluetooth an added bonus. Very happy.

This is a great-sounding set of monitors for its size and price point. It has many features not found in similar products, some I found useful and some I don't. I appreciate the variety of input modes, the boost/cut options for high/low frequency shelves, and the front volume knob – all features lacking on my main set of monitors. I'm skeptical of the EQ modes and Bluetooth, though I can see how some may find them useful in reference monitors. There's a bit of latency with each unit when you press the button to change its mode, the unit cuts out for the second or so it takes to change modes, and the modes do not sync between pairs, so changing the modes isn't something you can really do on the fly. Personally, I've emulated this feature with EQ presets on my master track, of which I have several and can tweak to taste, but I can see how people just getting started would find this useful, especially the stark contrast of the "small" mode. As I said above, the sound quality is great for this size and price point, even over bluetooth. The EQ shelving options allow for some compensation for your room, and your mixes still sound clear at lower volumes. The bass response is acceptable, but if bass is important to your mixes, and you've got room for monitors of this size and a budget for these, you should really consider budgeting for a sub as well, regardless of what monitors you get. Because of the added input modes including Bluetooth, and the "normal" / "reference" DSP modes, I think these can provide extra versatility in doing double-duty as regular speakers. Switch them to normal mode, link them to your phone, and you're all set for your next party. They get acceptably loud to my tastes, I didn't turn them up all the way, but I am certain they go past 11 and into "Grounds for Divorce", the lowest number below "Structural Damage". Perhaps my single biggest gripe, which probably isn't a thing for most people, is the white light ring around the volume knobs. If you're working in the dark, as many often do, I can see this being useful in helping you find the knob to turn it. I'm not concerned with that, but I am concerned with being able to make my room as dark as possible while I listen to music, to the point where I've put gaffer's tape over the lights on almost everything not a screen or lamp. I can't do that with the lights on the volume knob on these units. It's probably not a big deal to you, but something to be aware of if you have similar concerns.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality of the SM508's at this price point. The sound field is sharp and in focus, and the frequency response is balanced. I really like the ability to easily check mixes using the three different voicing modes! I'd highly recommend these to anyone!