The Monitor Thread™

[wub]

PreSonus Eris E5

Price (pair): £258
Design: 2-way ported
Woofer: 5.25-inch Kevlar cone
Tweeter: 1-inch silk dome
Frequency response: 53 Hz – 22 kHz

We can’t recommend too many monitors below the £200 price point. Options around £150 are much better than they used to be, but it’s impossible to ignore the fact that you get a lot more value for money if you spend a little more.

The point where you start getting great value for money is around the £250 mark, which is still relatively affordable for most beginners but allows you to choose from a number of good options. (If there’s absolutely no way for your budget to stretch to this level, take a look at the second-hand market before plumping for a cheaper model. A well loved pair of pre-owned monitors will give years of service and there are always bargains to be had as producers upgrade and sell old gear.)

With that in mind, our first recommendations are PreSonus’s Eris E5. PreSonus is a Louisiana-based company probably best known for audio interfaces and preamps. The fact that the Eris E5s (and their bigger brothers, the equally impressive E8s) are their first offering in the world of studio monitors is seriously impressive.

The Eris E5s are remarkable value for money. What sets them apart from most other options at this price point is that they don’t attempt to offer a hyped, flattering sound. They won’t blow you away with deep bass response and searingly bright highs. They won’t blast your eardrums with obscene sound pressure levels. They won’t make everything sound amazing. Instead, they’ll do exactly what a true reference monitor should do: provide a clear, revealing and accurate impression of your music with a relatively flat frequency response.

At this price, we have no hesitation recommending them to anyone wanting to get into dance music production.

[nowaysj]

Wonder what fans of these have to say:

[wub]

Equator Audio D5

Price (pair): £349
Design: 2-way ported, concentric setup with DSP
Woofer: 5.25-inch polypropylene cone
Tweeter: 1-inch silk dome
Frequency response: 53 Hz – 20 kHz

The Equator D5s are the odd one out in our list for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they’re the only monitors here to use a coaxial configuration for the two drivers: that is, the tweeter is in the centre of the mid-bass driver, a design which is intended to optimise stereo imaging. Secondly, they’re the only monitors here which use digital signal processing (DSP) to achieve a clearer, more accurate sound than more traditional designs would allow.

The D5s are part of Equator’s budget D series range, based on similar principles to the much more expensive – and very highly rated – Q series. The basic principles are relatively simple. In Equator’s own words: “What is the main reason for a bad mix? Lack of detail in the midrange during production.” In response to that observation, Equator as a brand prize mid-range clarity above all else, seeking to achieve sound reproduction which is free of phase distortion, exceptionally flat through the key mid-range frequencies and perfectly matched between the two monitors for a pin-point accurate stereo image.

We won’t pretend to understand every last detail of the complex DSP which Equator employ in order to achieve these aims (if you have the inclination you can immerse yourself in it here), but the end results speak for themselves. These are highly revealing speakers that allow you to focus in on every aspect of a mix. They’re also astonishingly good value, especially if you live in the US, where you can buy directly from Equator with free shipping.

The downside? A slight lack of bottom-end extension and overall oomph. If you’re looking for monitors to shake the walls, the D5s aren’t right for you. But in terms of their ability to reveal detail and make mix decisions such as subtle changes to EQ and compression easier, they can’t be beaten at this price point.

[nowaysj]

As an aside, wub, why is your name yellow?

[wub]

As an aside, wub, why is your name yellow?

I traded in some of my DSF loyalty points I've accrued over the years. Didn't quite have enough for the George Foreman.

[nowaysj]

I see that you are global now. Any chance you have control over your color? Yellow type is for the birds.

[wub]

Have asked to be put back to blue, yellow doesn't work against the white background.

[nowaysj]

Not as bad on my laptop, honestly, but still. As global, you should be able to stamp your staff onto the ground and change the color of all the fonts.

[AxeD]

Wonder what fans of these have to say:

What's the source?

[fragments]

The D5 review is about a year old from SoS. Being a D5 owing Im fan of the Eris. I listened to them stacked up next to KRK rokits...budget yamahas...some mackies etc...they sounded really damn good.

[wub]

The D5 review is about a year old from SoS. Being a D5 owing Im fan of the Eris. I listened to them stacked up next to KRK rokits...budget yamahas...some mackies etc...they sounded really damn good.

Same source had the Rokit's listed but only if you wanted something to colour rather than give flat response.

[Capture pt]

It's interesting to see what they say about the Rokits, which is spot on IMO based on my experience.


For anyone looking for the source, click the big banner images.

[Musick]

Slightly over that budget at $475USD is the Bowers and Wilkins 686's which produce a top of the line sound.

A dimpled flowport for proper airflow, 5" Kevlar cone, 1" aluminum dome tweeter. Frequency response is 55Hz - 22kHz

The originators of the Kevlar cone and dimpled flowports. Also used by a lot of professional studios.

[fragments]

The D5 review is about a year old from SoS. Being a D5 owing Im fan of the Eris. I listened to them stacked up next to KRK rokits...budget yamahas...some mackies etc...they sounded really damn good.

Same source had the Rokit's listed but only if you wanted something to colour rather than give flat response.

oh yea...it was like a budget monitor breakdown or something...I remember the SoS article led me to check out Equator...sold my fucking Rokits right quick after that and wont ever look back!

Now for the inevitable ...a knight in douchebag armor will run in to defend Rokits because X and Y producer had them in their masterclass video...

[SunkLo]

Now for the inevitable ...a knight in douchebag armor will run in to defend Rokits because X and Y producer had them in their masterclass video...

Bit sad actually


Kevlar just makes shit way more badass for some reason. Used to play high tension marching snare with kevlar heads in a drumline. Ooooh dat crack. Maybe that explains my affinity for high tuned snares. Nothing worse than a flabby rock snare that's like "doooooosh"

And yea wub get you some better colors, the yellow's like some invisible ink type shit.

[kaili]

asked this before on here but what u guys think of adam f5s, already ordered em but just lookin for opinions

[Capture pt]

yeah they;re r8 gud m8

[kaili]

yeah they;re r8 gud m8

not sure if internet sarcasm detector is workin on this one so help me out

[AxeD]

They are rather new models aren't they? Most people won't have had a chance to hear them yet.
But someone told me he was quite impressed with the F7's and that guy is used to top of
the line stuff.

[nowaysj]

Vxts 6 pristine going for 6 hundo me want.