PreSonus Eris E44, Dual 4.5-inch, Active MTM Studio Monitor

PreSonus E5 Incredibly clear sound. These reference monitors are absolutely brilliant for a desktop setup with a laptop or desktop computer. Ideal for small studios. The E5 gives excellent sound - the 5 inch driver gives a full clear sound & with the front port gives a solid accurate bass response. EQ as flat as a pancake - good enough for mastering FX with the right studio setup. The 5’s are the optimum size for small to medium studios - far easier to setup. They are front ported so the bass is a little easier to control. Acoustic modeling for the chosen speaker position is possible with extensive controls at the rear of the speaker - see end of post for easy studio setup. The E5’s quality & clarity makes music production a dream. The mix image is clear, you can hear every detail, so every track can be picked out, modified & levels accurately set. Dump the cables supplied in the box & get some good quality SHIELDED cable connectors. TISINO make a quality TRS stereo splitter cable from Amazon - a good choice for a basic direct computer connection with a 3.5 jack – extra long for awkward sockets. All line voltages should be well shielded or you risk interference, hum & crosstalk. The freebie software has some instruments but Ableton is the one. The 5’s have a full solid bass & 80W amp power, so you get lots of headroom before distortion. A sub is really for pleasure not for music making – of course, you should audition your work with a sub &other inferior speakers, once it’s finished - maybe tweaks are needed. These are near field so your position is at the point of an equilateral triangle with the speakers – the point of max clarity – the bliss point. They are good value for money. They are quality kit that can be added to as money allows - USB interfaces, mixers, Ableton Push, whatever – they will shine whatever you throw at them. Their quality build means they should last for years. The E5’s are excellent reference monitors for small studio setups, at an attractive price. You can buy bigger, better and more expensive - £4000+ for a HEDD setup - but you must have the space to set them up properly, with good sound insulation or you will never hear their potential - expensive can easily become cheap boom boxes in the wrong surroundings. It’s all about control of highly dynamic beasts. As for the 5’s, if your space is cramped & who’s isn’t, a carpet hung on the wall behind the speakers will suffice for rooms with some sort of soft furnishings in them – bed, carpet, curtains, sofa, even open wardrobe doors or coats hung on the door, more mess the better - it all helps moderate direct reflected sound & gives you a cleaner sonic space to work in. Moderate volume levels provide you with the most sustainable working environment & the room resonances are easier to control. Front, back, top, walls closely adjacent to the desk – best avoided - & the desk itself are the key surfaces to control. Speaker mounts are essential - 3 tennis balls & maybe a bit of blu-tack under each speaker works well, until proper mounts arrive - don’t let your desk become a muddy-bass amplifying sound board - super nasty. A 1.5m x 1m [approx] medium density sound absorbing ceiling tile suspended above & between, the speakers & your head, at a slight angle to the rear, would be the cherry on the cake. If you just want intense listening pleasure at your desktop & are not bothered about music making, you won’t find better speakers for the price. You’ll be amazed. You get addicted to the detail. Just pop them on your desk with suitable mounts & you’re away. EQ can be applied for the desired warmth & tone. Music becomes a more dynamic 3D soundscape. Gamers will be blown away by the direct blast of explosions, consumed in action. Movies are brilliant. Voice audio is as clear as a bell. For all desktop setups these near field monitors are difficult to beat.

I've been using PreSonus products for a few years now in a home studio context. Every one I've purchased (beginning with the Studio One 2 Pro DAW) has proved itself to be excellent value for money but also, more importantly, of uncompromising quality. When I first heard that they were going to launch several models of active near field monitors I didn't doubt that the company wouldn't release anything that was 'below par' where the established competition was concerned - they have a rapidly growing reputation to defend and seem genuinely proud of all the gear and software that bares their name. Quality hardware usually means high prices so I was therefor a bit surprised to see just how low the price was for these well specified units - surely they couldn't be that good? Doubts aside they were perfectly sized for my desk-top editing setup so I decided to trust in past experience of the company and buy a pair. I'm very glad I did. Firstly they are superbly built, nothing in their construction or controls says 'budget'. Properly supported (I'm using the IsoAcoustics stands you'll see in some PreSonus ad's) they are powerful, fast and really articulate - fed by the output of a PreSonus AudioBox 22VSL they open up the mix and image precisely. You do miss out on extreme bass though as only so much is physically possible with a cabinet this small with a bass/mid driver (Kevlar cone or not) of modest dimensions. To be honest though I'd rather that was the case than to have an inaccurate deep bass. If you need to critically monitor that lowest region you're going to have to match them to an equally articulate sub-woofer; if we're lucky PreSonus might oblige by producing one themselves in the future. If the quality to price ratio is anything like as good as with the Eris 5's it'll be a must have purchase.

Absolutely fabulous studio monitor! Good output and sound quality for its price! Clear sweet clarity with punchy bass and decent mid, do wish the mid is clearer. The sound stage is not quite wide and elaborate but can't complain with this price! Excellent for listening music, might be best to invest more if using it for sound production. Might need to take some time to adjust the position of the monitor to get it right and avoid interference. Definitely invest on a pair of good AUX cables to avoid noise. Just leave the setting to the way it is and turn the high little bit higher allow more definitions(look 2nd pic). Overall brilliant performance, definitely recommend!!

Ok, I've been looking at these speakers for about a year! Read all the reviews, good and bad. One minute a 'must have', another minute 'best avoid'. Crikey, we all get headaches going in circles when we read so many differing opinions and experiences. Here's MY truth: These were THE perfect size for my limited footprint. I wanted MTM (mid, tweeter, mid) arrangement and I so wanted these to be good. Most were either too big or simply out of my budget. This is a small speaker. Most bad reviews were to do with high levels of mains hum and interference when connected, so that's a no-no. But the good reviews never mentioned this so after a year of worry and sweat, I thought, surely it can't be that bad? I should find out for myself. I could always send them back right? They come nicely packaged and look pretty cool out of the box, if not just a little plastic. Yes there is hum, but thankfully not as bad as some people had suggested. Maybe inconsistent manufacturing? Both mine are identical in that respect. When positioned about 1m away my old ears could not hear them at all. My computer is way noisier even when the fans are on low. Make sure though, that you mount them correctly using high density rubbers to avoid contact with any hard surfaces as this will likely transmit the hum to an audible level at your normal sitting position. Definitely a little noisy on connection even when using balanced inputs, but this is easily resolved to acceptable levels by attenuating the input gain on the back of the units. They're plenty loud enough! If yours are making unusual noises even when not connected, they're probably faulty!! Sound quality - surprisingly good and better than I had imagined a speaker of this price range and size would sound. I'm actually a hater of the phrase 'they sound great for the price'.... What the heck does that even mean? You just want to know if they sound good or not. Yes they do. Are they flat? No, not exactly, but this will depend on your room and they do have various acoustic settings to help with your positioning which is very effective. Mine are wall mounted so they are close to the wall. There's a setting for this. My studio has a low ceiling so they are close to the ceiling (similar to being in a corner of the room). There's a setting for this also and when engaged they sound great. Even expensive 'flat' studio monitors will sound different from one room to another. What's important is that you can hear all the instrumentation with clarity and have a good sound stage for correct stereo placement and so on. These speakers have a good stereo image and are very clear, so box ticked. Listening fatigue - I have not yet experienced a particularly long session with these speakers but initial thoughts are, that at the right volume these speakers are not fatiguing. No harsh mids, no sibilant trebles and no drone. But I guess time will tell. So far I'm happy and yes 'they are good for the price' @$!

These are loud, great sounding, honest monitors. I bought a couple of them for my home studio and my god they are good. Sound quality is fantastic and very well defined. Mids and highs are great, low mids are well defined and bass is pretty good too. The volume control is easy to access but really you should use an audio interface or other external sound card with these, for the convenience of being able to control each of them simultaneously, and for the superior audio quality. Their application for gaming is pretty good but has a downside - don’t get me wrong, they sound amazing and gaming with these is awesome, but they require a proper audio interface to work as intended, which could cost around £100 or more; though if you have an interface already then these are absolutely fantastic. I personally love my pair and probably won’t be replacing them for a good while - even when I do, I don’t think I’ll let go of these given how good they sound.

Just wanted to write a review as I was nearly put off by the noise/hum issue. I also experienced this problem but was remedied by using higher quality (from KabelDirekt). I also have a mains conditioner. I have upgraded from the audio engine a5 and am very pleased with the sound which is much fuller and detailed highs but with plenty of controlled low end which is why I changed to these! Tips: Buy good cables, have a good source. Have the gain on the speakers set low as possible and increase the volume from your DAC/preamp and source.. These put a massive smile on my face when listening to my favourite music and that is ultimately what I want from speakers & headphones :D

This is for a review of the E5s - so both speakers are powered.. No issue with hiss or hum like other reviews which seem to be mainly on the passive speaker. These blew me away with the sound clarity.. I was instantly able to recognise where tracks needed to be ducked because the frequency interference is so visible (for want of a better word!) through these.. Mine are paired with a little Behringer audio interface only - and my goodness.. I heartily recommend them to anyone who is using a DAW for any kind of semi-professional use upwards.

As noted on a couple of youtube videos. Presonus Studio reference powered monitors seem to be a little on the noisy side. I thought I'd give them a chance, as I love the design of them, especially with the waveguides. (Compared to KRK, Adam, Yamaha etc.) Plugged into a 24bit 96Khz interface via balanced outs. Well, they sound flat, yep, like *flat* flat. (Like they are supposed to). Near linear response when tweaked for the room (using the included guide to positioning and bass tuning). If you want something 'exciting' to listen to these are not for you. But if you are mixing full range audio, then yeah. The big problem is the noise floor. The induced amp hiss even on balanced xlr is just bad. Compared to my Edifier 360DB set at lower volumes, the noise floor is just too high and noticeable. In the end I went back to my Sennheiser HD650's for reference mixing, and it was a disappointing return.