CR4.5

Gotchya! So I think that’s a tough price point. If I were in your position I would highly consider a cheap pair of monitors under your budget or save more money up. For cheaper I like the mackie cr3.5 ($100) or cr4.5 ($130) — personally I’d stay away from the presonus ones in that price range, based

Don't use a boombox that sounds voluminous through DSP tricks as a reference; instead, use studio monitors that sound as linear as possible (look for reviews; simply adjusting settings like treble and bass doesn't tell you anything) or at least an amplifier/stereo speaker setup. When you have some m

Sounds like you are on the right track. The growing pains are rough. If you really want to try something crazy, try the Tascam TH-MX2. You’ll hear obvious issue in any mix you thrown at them. I mixed my arguably best work in those days. It was torture, but the issues will stick out like a sore thumb