These were my first monitors and I used them for playing studio recordings and practically everything else on my PC too. I even used them once on stage, inside an 'empty' upright piano, with a CD player while pretending to play piano. And it sounded very convincing. This probably also demonstrates the sound level of these speakers. If you have a small studio space, these will be more than loud enough. Ok, so real studio monitors probably shouldn't have treble, bass controls on them. However, if your use is more casual hobby than critical application, then these's should suffice. The tone controls means you can use them for playing movies, music etc. as well. And these will last you a long time. I had them 2 years without a problem. I then upgraded to different speakers.