PreSonus Eris E8 XT Active Studio Monitor Review

[shadyJ]

Continuing our series of reviews of studio monitors, we have the PreSonus Eris E8 XT. Like many of the other monitors in its class, it is a self-amplified design using an 8” woofer and a tweeter loaded into a waveguide. It has a lot in common with the Kali Audio LP-8 including similar size and weight, a slot port under an 8” woofer, an elliptical waveguide around a dome tweeter, and a host of response-shaping options on the amp. It is among the more popular monitors for online retailers of pro-audio gear so we thought it would make for a good inclusion for our look at monitors. PreSonus has been around since 1995 where they started manufacturing studio gear such as compressors, limiters, audio interfaces, and mic preamps. They started producing loudspeakers in 2014, and the Eris line was one of their first series. In the short time since their launch, the Eris series has become one of the best-selling studio monitors on the market. This brings us to the question of what the Eris series has done to garner that level of success in such a short time frame? What is so special about these speakers? Let’s dig in to find out...

READ: PreSonus Eris E8 XT Active Studio Monitor Review

 

[XEagleDriver]

Shady,
FYSA, the "READ: PreSonus Eris E8 XT Active Studio Monitor Review" statement did not have a link.
- I was using the Tapatalk phone app.
v/r
XEagleDriver

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[NINaudio]

Shady,
FYSA, the "READ: PreSonus Eris E8 XT Active Studio Monitor Review" statement did not have a link.
- I was using the Tapatalk phone app.
v/r
XEagleDriver

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Yeah, they like to mess with us and put the link in later...

 

[shadyJ]

Review now live. But yes, we do like to play mind tricks on the forum regulars.

 

[ryanosaur]

Review now live. But yes, we do like to play mind tricks on the forum regulars.

 

[KEW]

Good to see you are now reviewing pro audio speakers.

I believe they represent significant value over the normal street prices (that does not include thr 50%+ discounts we have seen on DCM, JBL, Infinity, etc) for most name-brand home audio speakers ... at least off-setting the cost of the included amplification, which (among competent companies) is sure to be optimized specifically for each driver!

Two arguments I have heard against pro-audio monitors are:
1) They are designed for near-field and will not sound good in a normal HT.
2) They sound too "clinical".

Either I don't understand what they are really saying, or it is BS; but please emphasize it if you come across deficiencies that reveal either of these issues! Aside from something like a mini-monitor with 4" speakers that falls short at volume from 12' away, I have not seen a monitor that falls short as mid or far-field.

 

[shadyJ]

Good to see you are now reviewing pro audio speakers.

I believe they represent significant value over the normal street prices (that does not include thr 50%+ discounts we have seen on DCM, JBL, Infinity, etc) for most name-brand home audio speakers ... at least off-setting the cost of the included amplification, which (among competent companies) is sure to be optimized specifically for each driver!

Two arguments I have heard against pro-audio monitors are:
1) They are designed for near-field and will not sound good in a normal HT.
2) They sound too "clinical".

Either I don't understand what they are really saying, or it is BS; but please emphasize it if you come across deficiencies that reveal either of these issues! Aside from something like a mini-monitor with 4" speakers that falls short at volume from 12' away, I have not seen a monitor that falls short as mid or far-field.

A loudspeaker designed for near-field use can still sound fine for far-field use. What determines near-field use is the proximity from the speaker where the sound from the drivers integrate. But when they do integrate, they stay integrated at all further distances. So long as the speaker has the dynamic range to overcome the attenuation in SPL of far-field listening, it will be just as good as in the near-field.

As for the word 'clinical,' that is audiophile gibberish. It's almost another word for 'accurate' in the way that audiophiles use it. If your speakers reveal problems in the quality of your recordings, the problem is the recordings, not the speaker.

 

[User5910]

... What determines near-field use is the proximity from the speaker where the sound from the drivers integrate.

Genelec publishes a table showing the minimum distance for the sound from their multiple-driver speakers to sum correctly. The smaller conventional (3" and 4" woofer) and medium-size coaxial (non-round drivers) speakers sum down to 0.5m (1.6'). The largest (15" woofer) sum down to 1.5m (5'). Reference: Monitor Setup Guide PDF linked from Genelec's Catalogues & Guides page.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I think besides obvious utilitarian looks, such Pro Monitors will whip behinds of many many consumer-level bookshelf speakers. I will never get rid of my LSR2325p. Look at that flat line FR, barely anything even 2x price could touch it.

 

[bounce]

If you test studio monitors you should test them at midfield distances 10-13 feet.I posted on Kali Audio monitor about being told by a recording engineer not to buy studio monitors because they are designed for nearfield use. I do not do nearfield listening. Test these at 10-13 feet & SEE HOW THEY PERFORM. i have READ REVIEWS OF hOME tHEATER SPEAKERS & THEY ARE TEST IN A 2 CHANNEL STEREO mode.People will buy these for stereo 2 channel. I do not listen to music from computers. What passive bookshelf speakers do these compare to? Are they better than similar priced bookshelf?

 

[shadyJ]

If you test studio monitors you should test them at midfield distances 10-13 feet.I posted on Kali Audio monitor about being told by a recording engineer not to buy studio monitors because they are designed for nearfield use. I do not do nearfield listening. Test these at 10-13 feet & SEE HOW THEY PERFORM. i have READ REVIEWS OF hOME tHEATER SPEAKERS & THEY ARE TEST IN A 2 CHANNEL STEREO mode.People will buy these for stereo 2 channel. I do not listen to music from computers. What passive bookshelf speakers do these compare to? Are they better than similar priced bookshelf?

The response isn't going to change if tested at greater distances, there is no need to test at that distance. These monitors work just as well for near-field use as mid-field. No home theater speaker is tested in two-channel mode by any objective standard, although they may be subjectively listened for two-channel mode evaluation.

As for comparisons to passive speakers, not many have performance as good as these for the same price. I honestly can't even think of any. Maybe someone else can?

 

[slipperybidness]

Good to see you are now reviewing pro audio speakers.

I believe they represent significant value over the normal street prices (that does not include thr 50%+ discounts we have seen on DCM, JBL, Infinity, etc) for most name-brand home audio speakers ... at least off-setting the cost of the included amplification, which (among competent companies) is sure to be optimized specifically for each driver!

Two arguments I have heard against pro-audio monitors are:
1) They are designed for near-field and will not sound good in a normal HT.
2) They sound too "clinical".

Either I don't understand what they are really saying, or it is BS; but please emphasize it if you come across deficiencies that reveal either of these issues! Aside from something like a mini-monitor with 4" speakers that falls short at volume from 12' away, I have not seen a monitor that falls short as mid or far-field.

Argument #3--No grills.

Doesn't matter to many of us, could matter to some.

 

[panteragstk]

Argument #3--No grills.

Doesn't matter to many of us, could matter to some.

DOWN WITH GRILLS!!!

Also, if your speakers don't have grills, you can't do an @Pogre and put them on upside down.

 

[slipperybidness]

DOWN WITH GRILLS!!!

Also, if your speakers don't have grills, you can't do an @Pogre and put them on upside down.

I may or may not like/want grills. Just depends on how the drivers look, and where they speakers are placed. My DCM with the yellow woofers and in the living room--keep those grills on! My DIY BMR in my man cave--we don't need no stinking grills.

 

[hawkins]

The 8 XT is a bit too large for my application. I bought the 5 XT instead. I have the JBL LSR305 for a long time also. I listened to them side-by-side and both sounded very good for a while, better then a pair of old cheap Polk towers set up at the same space, next to them. Then one day, I played the same music, both the JBL & the Presonus sounded clear but dried, which I never heard from the JBL that I have had for a couple of years. Then I played the same music with the cheap Polk and somehow it sounded better. This remains this way for a week already. Very baffling. No set up has change. What gives?!?!

 

[head_unit]

I didn't see any mention of noise: any hiss? And I wonder how loud these can play...can I blast Motorhead loud enough to want earplugs?

 

[shadyJ]

I didn't see any mention of noise: any hiss? And I wonder how loud these can play...can I blast Motorhead loud enough to want earplugs?

There is a slight hiss, but it is not as severe as much as most monitors in its class. As for blasting Motorhead, in a near-field placement, yes, you will want earplugs for that (I would want earplugs for Motorhead regardless of volume), but for a larger room or a far distance from the speaker, they might not be able to get super loud.