PreSonus Eris E3.5 BT Speakers

Whoever designed these small studio monitors didn't miss a lick. Balanced 1/4 inch TRS inputs; RCA inputs; mini plug stereo input, volume, bass and treble tone controls... all for under $100? And they are clean, loud and clear. You can even plug headphones into it! Really, they sound better than my JBL bookshelf/monitor speakers that I bought 17 years ago. And they're powered with a built in 100 watt stereo power amp. The applications for these are limitless: TV, computer amplification, gaming... any device that has a physical output jack. Comes with power cord, stereo mini plug to L/R RCA outputs cord, and mini male to mini male cord for plugging in older cellphones, MP3 players, computer, etc. You can't beat these.

Presonus are more famous for their audio interfaces, yet I was surprised at how good these speakers sounded on these 5 1/4 inch speakers. Over the last 30 years I've mainly used various Tannoy Dual Concentrics or 2-ways designs as my main studio monitors. For 2 years I did use some excellent Adams A7Xs, until I got a pair of Tannoy Precision 6D Dual Concentric actives, 7 years ago. I've been using the Precision 6Ds until one failed. In reality, the Tannoys were too big and too loud for my small studio, so I shortlisted the Tannoy Gold 5, KRK Rokit 5 4th gen and Presonus Eris 5 XT. I've heard the Eris 5 and the Eris 5XT has deeper bass and a better overall sound to my ears. I decided on the Presonus offering, although there is no wrong answer here. They are all great ... MorePresonus are more famous for their audio interfaces, yet I was surprised at how good these speakers sounded on these 5 1/4 inch speakers. Over the last 30 years I've mainly used various Tannoy Dual Concentrics or 2-ways designs as my main studio monitors. For 2 years I did use some excellent Adams A7Xs, until I got a pair of Tannoy Precision 6D Dual Concentric actives, 7 years ago. I've been using the Precision 6Ds until one failed. In reality, the Tannoys were too big and too loud for my small studio, so I shortlisted the Tannoy Gold 5, KRK Rokit 5 4th gen and Presonus Eris 5 XT. I've heard the Eris 5 and the Eris 5XT has deeper bass and a better overall sound to my ears. I decided on the Presonus offering, although there is no wrong answer here. They are all great speakers for the money. I was expecting a really bass-lite sound, compared with the Tannoy 6Ds, but was pleasantly surprised. If you really need a lot of bottom end boom then you can use a sub woofer with these, but might be better off getting a larger speaker.These small Eris 5 XT speakers surprised me with their stereo imaging too, something I had taken for granted with Tannoy's Dual Concentrics. The Eris 5 XTs sound more neutral with less lower mid colouring than the Tannoys. If my old Tannoys sounded warm, then the Eris 5XTs are thinner but are a bit more revealing. To my ears there is more clarity. Voices seem to sit back in the mix whereas the Tannoys were notorious for projecting vocals forwards more in the sound stage. On some tracks the Eris 5 XTs sounded like the singer was lost in the mix to some degree, but this is all part and parcel of retraining my ears to the new speakers. The bass is lighter than the Tannoy 6 inch drivers, but only by a small margin. If anything, the Eris 5 XT bass sounds tighter and more focused compared with my bigger old Tannoy speakers.There are a plethora of controls and inputs on the rear and the front firing bass port means the bass is less boomy than rear ported designs like the Tannoy 6Ds, so I suppose you could have them closer to the wall of your studio if space was an issue. There are various Acoustic Tuning compensators for High, Mid and Space (bass) cut/boost filters to suit positioning and to provide some acoustic compensation for the room. That said, I run them with all Acoustic Tuning levels flat. I decouple them on acoustic foam with a gap of over 7 inches between the rear of the speaker and the wall.Allow a few days running in before the sound opens up. Absolutely no regrets. They suit my room and needs better than the Tannoy 6Ds, but there is a learning curve to retraining my ears.

Awesome, but!!!

These little speakers are impressive in their sound quality and in particular, the bass response. I'm happy with them for the price point, no question.The only thing that I don't like is that there appears to be a built in noise gate. This causes a weird dip in audio, between words and at any pauses, when listening to audio books. I know that isn't their intended purpose, but it is something to note. If the speaker trails off or pauses for a sec, there is a clip where the noise gate kicks in, then another where it releases. Result is hundreds of clicks on and off through the course of a four hour book.

Decent for the price.

Was looking for some monitors for home editing rig, needed to be compact and reasonably flat in response. The Presonus Eris 3.5 Active Monitors seemed to fit the bill with 25 watts per channel, and tonal balance controls. They aren't the best when compared with the larger monitors at way higher coin, but for the price punch well above their weight. Midrange and top is clear without becoming fizzy, and the bass response is tight and doesn't sound too lacking. If you need deeper bass down to floorshaking use them with a sub, Tried them with Classical music, and they were more detailed than some so called hifi speakers as individual instruments were clearly audible. the Sheffield Labs CD of Lincoln Mayorga playing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue sounded great. All in all ... MoreWas looking for some monitors for home editing rig, needed to be compact and reasonably flat in response. The Presonus Eris 3.5 Active Monitors seemed to fit the bill with 25 watts per channel, and tonal balance controls. They aren't the best when compared with the larger monitors at way higher coin, but for the price punch well above their weight. Midrange and top is clear without becoming fizzy, and the bass response is tight and doesn't sound too lacking. If you need deeper bass down to floorshaking use them with a sub, Tried them with Classical music, and they were more detailed than some so called hifi speakers as individual instruments were clearly audible. the Sheffield Labs CD of Lincoln Mayorga playing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue sounded great. All in all are good value, if on a budget and have a small studio space. A decent starter set of speakers for sure.

Great value and easy to connect

I was looking for some monitor speakers to use with a Tascam Portastudio and these fit the bill perfectly. They are very reasonably priced and have a compact footprint. There are a number of ways to connect the speakers to equipment and they come supplied with a selection of connecting leads. It's convenient that the on/off switch, volume control, headphone socket and aux in are located on the front of the main unit. I am happy with the sound. Maybe they are a little "trebly" as some other reviews suggest but in fairness I have only been recording classical guitar and there are bass and treble controls on the rear to adjust the sound. My only criticism is that the volume control has just a tiny dot (like braille) to indicate it's position. It's virtually invisible, ... MoreI was looking for some monitor speakers to use with a Tascam Portastudio and these fit the bill perfectly. They are very reasonably priced and have a compact footprint. There are a number of ways to connect the speakers to equipment and they come supplied with a selection of connecting leads. It's convenient that the on/off switch, volume control, headphone socket and aux in are located on the front of the main unit. I am happy with the sound. Maybe they are a little "trebly" as some other reviews suggest but in fairness I have only been recording classical guitar and there are bass and treble controls on the rear to adjust the sound. My only criticism is that the volume control has just a tiny dot (like braille) to indicate it's position. It's virtually invisible, so it you cannot see at a glance how the volume is set.

Humming for the price

I can only recommend these as a pair to own if you are on a budget. They sound ok but if you want really good reference monitors save a little more.Cons:They were crackly when changing the volume which I never expected from a pair of presonus.Even with the A/B amps there was some humming, after completely isolating the pair in the chain to not pick up signal noise the hum was still there. With conditioned lines and isolators I could not resolve the hum that shouldn't have been there.Pros:They do sound pretty good and have noticeable seperation of each range. Although I think they are still heavily bass tuned. With that said I could barely turn them up without worrying my neighbors might complain of mysterious vibrations through the walls, ceiling and ... MoreI can only recommend these as a pair to own if you are on a budget. They sound ok but if you want really good reference monitors save a little more.Cons:They were crackly when changing the volume which I never expected from a pair of presonus.Even with the A/B amps there was some humming, after completely isolating the pair in the chain to not pick up signal noise the hum was still there. With conditioned lines and isolators I could not resolve the hum that shouldn't have been there.Pros:They do sound pretty good and have noticeable seperation of each range. Although I think they are still heavily bass tuned. With that said I could barely turn them up without worrying my neighbors might complain of mysterious vibrations through the walls, ceiling and floors.We each hear differently, so what you like may be what I disdain so try them out for yourself. I will not say they're 4 star monitors with the humming noise, and will not say they're 5 stars and flawless. They're just not. They are a solid 3 for me and without the hum I'd of given them a 4.

Impressive little speakers

I'm primarily using these at my desk with a MacBook Pro and a thunderbolt dock. Sound is nice and clean, even at high volume levels. The overall balance across frequencies (when left at default settings) sounds very natural with no weird highs or lows. If there's one downside to these, it's that the lows do drop off pretty quick. Then again, they are only 3.5 speakers, so don't expect the full bass of a large pair of reference speakers. However, for general computing use and anything that doesn't demand full bass response, they sound quite nice. I can't argue with the sound quality for the size or the price. Overall, I'm pretty happy with these speakers.The bluetooth feature is a good bonus. I prefer a wired connection, but the convenience of bluetooth for ... MoreI'm primarily using these at my desk with a MacBook Pro and a thunderbolt dock. Sound is nice and clean, even at high volume levels. The overall balance across frequencies (when left at default settings) sounds very natural with no weird highs or lows. If there's one downside to these, it's that the lows do drop off pretty quick. Then again, they are only 3.5 speakers, so don't expect the full bass of a large pair of reference speakers. However, for general computing use and anything that doesn't demand full bass response, they sound quite nice. I can't argue with the sound quality for the size or the price. Overall, I'm pretty happy with these speakers.The bluetooth feature is a good bonus. I prefer a wired connection, but the convenience of bluetooth for occasionally connecting a phone to the speakers is nice.

Not my type of sound

The last time I listened to monitors was almost a year ago. They were Yamaha HS5. I remember that they are neutral and sound ok, also at a low volume level. I compare the feeling from Yamaha with DT 770. They are matching, I think,E5 XT sounds strange. Something “mumbling” ¹ is going on mid-low frequencies. I lowered the level to –7 dB on 110…125 Hz. Looks like there is too much energy, and I hear only distortions. Again, I compare the feeling with DT 770, which I listen to this year without equalizer tuning.If you already have this model, you can try the song “Wolf Like Me” from the TV On The Radio band, and skip to ≈3:05.Maybe because of that compromise I can’t listen to them at low volume. The sound is annoyingly flat. I turn off the equalizer on low ... MoreThe last time I listened to monitors was almost a year ago. They were Yamaha HS5. I remember that they are neutral and sound ok, also at a low volume level. I compare the feeling from Yamaha with DT 770. They are matching, I think,E5 XT sounds strange. Something “mumbling” ¹ is going on mid-low frequencies. I lowered the level to –7 dB on 110…125 Hz. Looks like there is too much energy, and I hear only distortions. Again, I compare the feeling with DT 770, which I listen to this year without equalizer tuning.If you already have this model, you can try the song “Wolf Like Me” from the TV On The Radio band, and skip to ≈3:05.Maybe because of that compromise I can’t listen to them at low volume. The sound is annoyingly flat. I turn off the equalizer on low volumes.Maybe the problem is in the sound card, but it works well with both HS5 and DT 770. Doesn’t look like it’s about it.But I want to thank the delivery service. I ordered the shipment to Israel and the package has no damage at all. Great.¹ Original word in my language is “бубнящий”, which I tried to translate.

Revised review

I tried to revise my review but the system won't allow it - so it looks like I'll post a second review. You really need to be aware that if you have any thought of adding a sub and want to use USB connections you will need a DAC (this is just an observation, not a problem). Here's the problem. If you also want to really use the blue tooth in the speaker - well, you can, but there is no way to make it useful with anything other than the speakers. What a waste of a feature. These are great, but the bass is so light you really need to have a sub. So in short, if you do connect a sub, forget using the blue tooth or the Aux in at the front of the speakers. So, I stand by my statement that these are much easier on my ears - easy to listen to. But once you start to add a ... MoreI tried to revise my review but the system won't allow it - so it looks like I'll post a second review. You really need to be aware that if you have any thought of adding a sub and want to use USB connections you will need a DAC (this is just an observation, not a problem). Here's the problem. If you also want to really use the blue tooth in the speaker - well, you can, but there is no way to make it useful with anything other than the speakers. What a waste of a feature. These are great, but the bass is so light you really need to have a sub. So in short, if you do connect a sub, forget using the blue tooth or the Aux in at the front of the speakers. So, I stand by my statement that these are much easier on my ears - easy to listen to. But once you start to add a sub you lose functionality big-time. Poorly conceived features - you really need a sub-out on these folks.

The 4.5s Hit the Sweet Spot

I wanted my desktop computer system (actually, a laptop with a docking station) to have a decent, affordable audio set-up for playing HiRes FLAC audio files, up to 24-bit/192kHz. I also needed to monitor audio in Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro.I built a great yet inexpensive audio system by plugging in a Schiit Audio Modi+ USB DAC and then connected it to a pair of Presonus E3.5 powered monitor speakers. I use the ROON Labs audiophile player on the computer to organize and playback HiRes music files.This setup turned out to be fine...but the speakers weren't quite up to the job. They're great computer speakers for playing back Youtube videos and streaming music files, probably better than the usual consumer computer speakers by Logitech, etc. The 3.5s are ... MoreI wanted my desktop computer system (actually, a laptop with a docking station) to have a decent, affordable audio set-up for playing HiRes FLAC audio files, up to 24-bit/192kHz. I also needed to monitor audio in Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro.I built a great yet inexpensive audio system by plugging in a Schiit Audio Modi+ USB DAC and then connected it to a pair of Presonus E3.5 powered monitor speakers. I use the ROON Labs audiophile player on the computer to organize and playback HiRes music files.This setup turned out to be fine...but the speakers weren't quite up to the job. They're great computer speakers for playing back Youtube videos and streaming music files, probably better than the usual consumer computer speakers by Logitech, etc. The 3.5s are perfectly sized for the desktop when placed next to a full-sized monitor, but they're not quite audiophile-caliber. The bottom is just not there in a speaker this small, and there's a bit of a boxiness sound to my ears instead of a clean, clear punchiness.So I replaced them with a pair of E4.5s and oh man, the difference is night and day. Clean, clear, colorless. The bass is tight and well-defined. It's really surprising how much punch these produce from a 4.5 inch driver. Wow.If you can fit these on your desk, get them. They'd make great home theater speakers, too.