PRESONUS Eris E5

This two-way bi-amp listening monitor offers excellent value for money, very accurate response, strong bass and very clear highs. Depending on the acoustic space, it can also be adjusted in various ways, allowing users to create a more accurate listening environment or, conversely, to simulate a variety of common listening environments. This is a feature that is not at all common in this price range.

The Eris E5 monitor features a 5.25" Kevlar low frequency driver, coupled to a 45W Class D amplifier; and a 1" (25mm) silk tweeter, driven by a 35W Class D amplifier. This combination cranks out up to 102 dB SPL at peak. The frequency range is 53 Hz to 22 kHz.

The Eris E5 offers separate balanced XLR and 6.3 TRS jack input connectors, plus unbalanced RCA (cinch) inputs. The monitor is shielded against radio frequency (RF) emissions, has thermal protection, output current limiting and subsonic protection.

Users can also adjust the monitor's characteristics. Acoustic Space four-position switches control a second row of shelving filters centered at 100 Hz and with three attenuation settings (no attenuation, 2 dB, -4 dB). So you can limit bass when the monitor is placed against a wall or in a corner. If, on the other hand, you don't want to limit the bass, set it to 0 dB. The High Pass switch determines the low-frequency cutoff (-12 dB/octave), which can be set flat, at 80 Hz, or at 100 Hz. You can also adjust the high and mid frequency content, anywhere from -6 dB to +6 dB.

This combination of all possible settings offers the possibility of linear listening and therefore accurate monitoring. It also allows you to simulate different acoustic environments, so you don't have to listen to the mixes in your car, PC speakers or home Hi-Fi setup to have better control of how the music will sound with different systems. Instead, you can adjust how the Eris listening monitors behave without leaving the studio. No other monitors in this price range offer this degree of control.