You said:
Ambitions for the music are high. I want songs to “translate to any speaker” of course!!!
…So i need “flat response”…yeah! i think flat response is the best we can do—call it honesty, eh?
So I say:
Room treatment – $500. You can do a lot of DIY with $500. My room has good absorption and control of bass and I did it for about $500, building traps and panels myself
Monitors, preferably non-ported (don’t go overboard) – $1,000. My monitors are the ONE piece of gear that have outlived all the others
a good microphone – $500
I thought it was interesting how one guy said “room treatment at this budget is absurd,” and then suggested asking your question over at gearslutz… if “room treatment” isn’t the most oft-cited suggestion over there, then ignore ANYTHING I have to say, EVER