Presonus Eris E5

OK, so I was looking to buy a pair of studio monitors primarily for mixing/tracking/production of my own music and secondarily for a neutral medium with which I could fine tune my modeler's presets and maybe enjoy music through them.

I get anything from zero to some hiss but that depends on the room I use them and the outlet configuration so I know it's not the speakers that may or will cause any hiss (always TRS connection and volume set on max). So, that's that.

I use them in untreated 12-20 square meter rooms, volume wise there is no way you will ever need more volume than they can provide even if you want to throw a small party in the house (50 square meters).

Now, the most important part, the frequencies themselves. There are dozens if not hundreads of monitor speakers out there that are supposed to be flat but they are all different. The trick here is to pick the ones that fits your work in terms of sound fidelity, if you can, and if you own more than one set of monitors so you can cross-reference (different brands/models) that's great too. I find the E5's very balanced, not mid heavy than some of the star monitors out there, not high heavy and not bass heavy either (always by my standards, again, ymmv).

OK, now for the the bass freqs comment since most people out there may think that 5" monitors can't cope with those. Let me put it this way, If you love super accentuated bass freqs, and I am talking about freqs that don't even exist on an original recording (no matter if it's your creation or someone else's) then for your own good just forget all about studio/reference monitors and just buy big HiFi speakers, you will be more happy with that choice. If you are instrested in listening excactly or close enough of what has been recorded and your room is not humongous and you are after a nearfield pair of monitors, then the 5" ones will do just fine and in some cases way better than most of the bigger ones. And if your music consists of sub-bass freqs just look for something else (studio moniors + subwoofer, bigger studio monitors etc.).

The music I record comes from electric guitars and all of them are tuned in standard D, electric bass with 55-110 strings tuned in standard D etc. I can hear everything on the E5's and pretty much as they were recorded. In fact as I am writting this review, I am listening to some Miles Davis mid fifties music and I can hear the uptight bass loud and clear (and that's with -2db on the bass freqs due to speaker placement).

All in all, sorry but no, the E5's are not the "bestest" of all, there is no such thing. They are VERY balanced and sure a pair of HS5's (more mid and high heavy in my opinion) or 305's (somewhere between the E5's and HS5's in my opinion) may suit you more but those have the best balance for what I do.

In conclusion, If you'll be working in relatively small rooms, you don't want to break the bank and your main focus is on mixing/tracking/production (as long as you don't care about sub-bass frequencies) then those should be one of the first candindates.

EDIT 2022: after just two years of moderate use (apartment, low to moderate volumes) they crapped out. One of them lost a lot of volume comparing to the other (about 25%) while the other became scratchy at certain frequencies (clean electric guitar). I RMAed them and sent then back to Thomman which in their opinion they were fine and couldn't find any faults. When they sent them back to me, one was totally inoperable as it was like only the tweeter was reproducing any sound and that at no more than 5-10% of the nominal volume (so almost quiet) while the other had the initial freq issues. I have taken them to a local tech just in case they could be repaired and I just bought a pair of Kali Audio LP6 v2 instead to do get the job done. All in all, NOT happy with the Thomann service this time around and surely NOT happy with the Presonus reliability. Heck, I had a pair of 5" Tascam monitors for more than a decade with the same use and they were just fine after all these years.

I'm a music producer and I was looking for a pair of speaker to use for mixing and when I get tired of headphones when writing music. I use them in my bedroom studio. My room is approximately 10 m2 so was looking for about 5" speakers. The balance between frequencies is not perfect, a little bit darker for decent speakers but lets be honest, you can buy only one speaker for that price. If you consider their price, the sound is the best you can get. Also I used Yamaha HS5 before and i prefer Eris. The connection options are really good. You have plenty of options. You can connect to your source via XLR, TRS or RCA. Also they are looking really good on top of my desk.
Pros:
Price (Obliously, the best pair of speakers you can get for this price range)
Suitable for small rooms
They are sounding great
Clear enough for mixing
They look really good

Cons
A bit dark sound for pro use

Would I recommend them? Ofcourse I would. For this price range you can not find better pair of speakers in my opinion. But be sure your room is treated otherwise you can not have a flat response regardless of which speaker you use.

These are my first studio monitors. I did a lot of research into monitors within my budget (up to €500 for a pair) and decided on the E5's. I preferred the flatness that these offer vs the newer XT model which are a bit more bass heavy and expensive. I found the E5s easy to calibrate using the Presonus video instructions on YouTube and an app I downloaded on my phone. The high, mid and low cut adjustments on the back with a flat switch help to fine tune their output sound. It should be noted thatthe E5s have the most controls on them compared to all other studio monitors in the same class and price range. Once calibrated, I tested them out. They are very responsive and clear sounding. I hear little to no white noise. They have surprisingly great low end response which I wasn’t expecting. I use the E5s with my Boss GX-100, ToneX and Amplitube 5 and my guitar tones sound INCREDIBLE. I cannot believe how much better these tones sound compared to my Audio-Technica ATH-40 headphones. I’ve also been using the E5s for mixing and mastering without them giving me any ear fatigue. Even just listening to music through these is such a satisfying experience. Another important factor to me personally is looks and believe me the E5s look very sexy. It is safe to say I am beyond pleased with my purchase. I believe there are no other studio monitors at this price point that provide this type of quality and accurate results at this price point range.

Advantages: Perfect price/quality ratio. Wide possibilities for adjusting to the size of the room and the location of monitors in the space. The middle does not fail, and the low frequencies are enough to tune the bass sounds. The small size allows you to use them even in home studios. Fully justifies the stated characteristics. The metal grid in front of the tweeter allows you to hear high frequencies honestly, without clicking where they are not.
Disadvantages:
What upset me a little at first is the low-frequency speaker is smaller than the claimed 5.25 inches. Of course, judging by the size of the diffuser (which turned out to be 4.5 inches), the speaker, along with its mount, will just be 5.25 inches in diameter, but this spoiled my first impression. After checking all the stated frequencies were confirmed and about the size of the diffuser, I stopped thinking.
The midrange controller on the back panel, in my opinion, manages not the most successful range. I needed to lower the middle quite a bit, taking into account the peculiarities of my room, but along with the" extra " frequencies, some of the high ones were gone. I had to put it in the original position and take into account the small "middle" of the sound.
Comment: Despite the shortcomings, I really liked this model of monitors. The ability to adjust to the room - this is the biggest plus of all Presonus monitors. This particular model I recommend to those who are just starting to engage in sound engineering. But personally, I do not intend to say goodbye to them in the future, as the monitors of the near field, they showed themselves very well. Finally, given the customization options, they can also be used as household speakers, if necessary.