Hi all, I'm looking to get new monitors for my humble home studio. Again, the budget is pretty low. I record mostly jazz, funk, rock, and sometimes other kinds of music, but mostly these three. I'm also listening to other people's music with the monitors, since my DAW is also My everyday PC. Price range 100-200$, preferably around 150$.

What characterizes "decent" varies greatly. Many will tell you anything in the price range you seek is anything but decent. The KRK rokkit monitors are very popular among the budget conscious. Behringer truth series are decent in my opinion for the money, despite how polarizing opinions on the brand can be. The Samson resolve series is also not bad in that price range. I would suggest you go to local place like Guitar Center (or similar chain large enough to have a large selection of monitors set up to audition) and take a listen. Keep in mind that most will sound relatively good because they are set up in a room designed to sound great, but it's a start.

^excellent advice

For the record.... I personally disliked the rockits and found them really unbalanced. I fought with trying to get my mixes to translate to other systems as it was not even close to a flat representation. I'd work on cans for a bit, save more money and buy a decent set later if I had to do it over again. Even on the lower end Make sure to go with a set of 8" speakers or so, so that you get better low range response and regardless of what monitors you get you have to spend hours listening to music you know well on them to tune your ears to the speakers.

I'm about to grab a pair of Yamaha HSM80s to replace my BX8As -

they are on sale in February at MF/GC - buy one get one half off, I believe the HS50Ms are also on sale - a little more than your stated budget but if there is any wiggle room you might want to give them a listen.

These are powered monitors, if you have an amp that you want to use you have a different set of options :).

Do I need an amp if I have a FireBox interface?

With a $150 budget, there are two practical ways you can go: a) a pair of ATH-M50 headphones, or b) a pair of second-hand hi-fi speakers.

zoobooboozoo


Do I need an amp if I have a FireBox interface?

You don't need an amp if you buy powered monitors.  If you buy unpowered monitors (monitors without built-in amps) then you need an amp.
 
As for your budget, Craigslist might be your friend.  It's going to be hard to find brand new monitors at that price point that will do the job.

zoobooboozoo


Do I need an amp if I have a FireBox interface?

You would need a separate amp for non-powered monitors, the powered monitors have amps. You can use headphones with the Firebox without an amp.
 
more info here:
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio/studio-monitors/buying-guide.php
 

zoobooboozoo

Price range 100-200$, preferably around 150$.

Nothing decent at that price point.  Try looking on eBay for a used pair.  Alternatively, get one single speaker and work in mono.