PreSonus Eris 3.5 2nd Gen

Sources split, and every measurement and review sits on the critical side. Erin and Amir both measured it on a Klippel scanner and condemned the response ("downright abysmal", "as bad as it gets"); bonedo heard an unbalanced response with resonances, worse than the first generation, and Higher Hz calls it extremely coloured. Most owners at Thomann, Amazon and Sweetwater instead describe a balanced, clear and even "flat and honest" sound for the money — though Amazon's sound-quality mentions still run 89 negative to 310 positive.

Weak and uneven. Anechoic data shows a bump in the upper bass and a steep drop below about 70 Hz, and Amir traces a one-note character to a port tuned high. Owners hear both halves: a boomy note around 130 Hz (Thomann reviewers and a Reddit owner who returned his pair for it, often while playing guitar) and too little real low end without a subwoofer. A few owners at a desk call the bass tight or balanced for the size.

“Port is tuned high which in turns causes even more of a one-note bass response.”

Amir, Audio Science Review

“Very strong booming sound near 130 Hz (when playing C note on guitar).”

Gleb Big B, Thomann owner review

Recessed, by measurement and by most reviewers. Erin measured the midrange 7–10 dB below the treble; bonedo heard too little between 200 and 500 Hz and a resonance near 1.5 kHz, and Higher Hz an "unsettling lack" of midrange. Amir shows cabinet resonance below 2 kHz. Some owners still call vocals clear and present, which fits the raised presence region rather than the scooped lower midrange.

“The midrange of this speaker is about 7-10dB below the high frequency.”

Erin's Audio Corner

“Unsettling lack of mid-range.”

Higher Hz

Too much of it, say the measurements and reviewers: Amir found the tweeter hot enough to turn down before testing, Erin measured it well above the midrange, and bonedo hears an overemphasis up to about 3.5 kHz. Joe N Tell's in-room EQ also had to pull the top down. A few owners find the highs clear and not harsh.

“During pre-testing, the levels of tweeter were quite high so I decided to bring it down some.”

Amir, Audio Science Review

“the highs are detailed without being harsh”

ventzo, Thomann owner review

Owners consistently praise the clarity for such small, cheap speakers. No reviewer credits it with real resolution, and the lift in the upper midrange and treble goes a long way to explain the impression.

“For speakers this small (and this affordable), the clarity is genuinely impressive.”

KuzmaFarkas, Thomann owner review

“Clarity is excellent.”

Sean C., Sweetwater owner review

It doesn't play loud. Amir heard the woofer struggling at 86 dB during sweeps and measured at 80 dB instead; Joe N Tell found output limited even at his desk and had to cut the bass to go louder; owners on Sweetwater and Reddit wish it went louder, and one Reddit owner found the second generation quieter than the first. Erin measured less compression and distortion than the first generation. A few owners in small rooms find it loud enough.

“I could hear the little woofer struggling at my standard 86 dBSPL during sweeps.”

Amir, Audio Science Review

“I wish they got a little bit louder but that would kind of defeat the purpose.”

Sean C., Sweetwater owner review

A desk speaker with a small sweet spot. Horizontal dispersion is reasonable once the tweeter takes over, but vertical dispersion is narrow, so keep the tweeters at ear height; ASR's EQ poster also suggests toeing them in 10–15°. A Thomann owner on a TV stand likes that the sound is loudest at the listening position and falls off quickly. An Amazon owner says they must be isolated from the desktop, and Joe N Tell saw desk reflections in his in-room measurement. The port is on the back (bonedo), and Reddit owners in small rooms find the bass changes a lot as they move the pair.

“Vertical directivity is quite narrow so best to stay at laser level of tweeter”

Amir, Audio Science Review

“They absolutely require being isolated from the desktop!!”

Amazon owner review (3 stars)

Sources split, with the weight heavily on the critical side. Erin warns that a mix balanced on these will come out with a midrange boosted by 7–10 dB elsewhere, Higher Hz expects mixes to sound terrible on other systems, and Amir, bonedo, Joe N Tell and an Amazon owner all say they are not accurate enough to mix on. A smaller group of owners report good mixes, including one whose client called it their best mix yet, and some use them as a second, "typical speaker" reference.

Few reports, and mixed. Joe N Tell heard no hiss at his desk through a MOTU M2 interface. Amazon and Reddit owners report noise through the front 3.5 mm aux input and ground hum when both rear inputs are used at once, and a Thomann owner's speaker began to hiss after a month or two, which is a fault rather than the design.

“no hiss that I can hear”

Joe N Tell (YouTube)

“the 3.5mm is extremely noisy”

Amazon owner review (4 stars)

Well equipped for a $100 desktop pair: balanced TRS and RCA inputs on the back, an aux input and headphone jack on the front, bass and treble shelves and auto-standby. Missing: XLR, Bluetooth (that's the 3.5BT) and a subwoofer output. Reddit owners note the second generation dropped the bundled software until you register it.

“Speaking of the back, it is very feature rich”

Amir, Audio Science Review

“The connectivity options are good.”

JohnnyWho, Thomann owner review

Easy to live with on a desk. Even Amir likes the front-panel volume and headphone jack, bonedo and owners praise the auto-standby, and Amazon buyers mention easy setup 43 to 3. The complaints are small: a Sweetwater owner found setup unintuitive, and one Amazon owner's headphone jack kept muting the speakers after the plug was pulled.

“I like the front controls which makes it much more useful for desktop use than a traditional studio monitor with no volume control and gains in the back.”

Amir, Audio Science Review

“the auto-standby works as excpected and is a must with AB power amp”

electricmud, Thomann owner review

Sources split on reliability. The cabinets are very light but look and feel fine, and many owners report years without trouble. Against that, Amazon's durability mentions run 39 negative to 7 positive, eight of the ten most recent critical Amazon reviews describe a speaker that stopped working, often within a year or two, and Thomann's low ratings include two pairs that died at four to five months. Sweetwater owners report a failure after a month and a rattle on middle C. Reddit repair threads blame low-grade capacitors in the power supply, though most of those posts involve the first generation.

Sources split. Owners rate the value highly (Amazon mentions run 154 to 18 positive) and see it as a big step up from computer speakers. Every measuring reviewer disagrees: Amir calls it not worth buying at any price, Erin says save your money, bonedo no longer recommends it, Joe N Tell suggests spending about $50 more, and ASR members point to the Edifier MR3 or MR4.