PreSonus Eris E8 Review – The Gentle Giant

Controls:
Features:
Performance:

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PreSonus is still somewhat new to the studio monitor market. However, their Eris series has proven to be quite a success. Eris E8 is the largest of the bunch, but also one of the most capable monitor speakers you can get for less than $500. Let's take a closer look.

Design

Much like other brands on the market do, PreSonus has chosen to take one design solution and spread it across the entire Eris family of speakers. With Eris E8, we are looking at what is essentially a scaled up version of Eris E5. In other words, you get a classic black cabinet made of decent MDF, paired with a slotted front firing port and an illuminated PreSonus logo in the bottom right corner of the front panel.

Build quality is good for the most part. Nothing rattles, there are no shady joints and the cab inspires a certain dose of confidence. The back panel is where most of your controls are located, as well as the I/O cluster. In terms of aesthetics, Eris E8 from PreSonus is the type of speaker that will fit into just about any kind of interior design you are using.

Features

The core of what Eris E8 has to offer has to do with the hardware PreSonus has chosen for this build. At the top, we see the very same 1.25″ silk dome tweeter that has proven to be quite quick and responsive. The bottom driver is an 8″ woven Kevlar unit that shares much of the characteristics of its 5.25″ smaller cousin, but with all the extra real estate. On top of that, we have beefier amps that will get you some 130 Watts of power at 105 dB peak SPL.

Back panel reveals an HF trim switch paired with a Mid Frequencies trim control. There is also a Low Cut switch that with three positions: Flat, 80Hz and 100Hz. Finally, there's the Acoustic Space switch. Overall, it's fair to say that PreSonus Eris E8 offers more than enough potential if you're adamant about tailoring your room acoustics.

Performance

Out of the box, Eris E8 comes across as well balanced and neutral. Some will say that having an 8″ low-frequency driver is an overkill for tight studios, but with those low cut controls, you can easily bring these speakers to where the low end doesn't feel overpowering. Overall response is pretty linear. There is plenty of transparency throughout the range. One thing that really impressed us was the off-axis performance of these monitors.

Even though there are no massive waveguides to be seen anywhere, you won't witness much dispersion when you move off-axis. PreSonus really hit the nail on the head when it comes to negotiating the size of the transducers and tailoring them for near field use. In many ways, Eris E8 punches above its price range, which is a great thing anyone looking to get the best bang for their buck.

Conclusion

First impressions with Eris E8 from PreSonus tell us that this brand is more than capable of dealing with their competition in the studio monitor segment. Eris E8 offers everything a proper studio monitor with an 8″ low-frequency driver should. On top of that, the price is just right.

For more info about the PreSonus Eris E8, click here.
For more studio monitor under $500 you might like, click here.