PreSonus Eris E4.5 BT speakers: The convenience of Bluetooth, the accuracy of studio monitors

Aimed at home audio and video editors, these powered speakers are great for music, gaming, and general use, too.

- JON L. JACOBI

As a former starving musician, I can tell you that speakers marketed to musicians often deliver more bang for the buck than audiophile hardware. This is partially because musicians often don’t have a lot of disposable income, and partially because musicians are too knowledgeable to befuddle with nonsensical terminology or specs. The PreSonus Eris E4.5 BT Bluetooth speakers are an excellent example of this state of affairs.

These aren’t the best-sounding speakers I’ve heard, but they do sound fantastic for a $230 pair of self-powered monitors. I listened to them with one of the IDG chaps who serves as my sanity check, and both of us were impressed. The PreSonus Eris E4.5 BT reveal a lot of detail, or you can tweak them from reference quality to party mode in a heartbeat.

DESIGN AND FEATURES

The first thing I noticed about the E4.5 BT is how light they are: just 6.4 pounds for the pair, with the left speaker housing the 25-watt-per-channel amplifier, controls, and connections accounting for a bit more of the heft than the right. Lightweight doesn’t necessarily mean cheap construction though— these speakers are solidly built.

It does mean that there’s less resonance at lower frequencies, and less acoustic coupling in that range, which diminishes the need for isolation. That is, you can set them on a work surface and not worry too much about that surface enhancing the bass. The light weight also means they travel relatively painlessly.

The PreSonus Eris E4.5 BT speakers are a cut above the consumer-grade speakers you’ll find in the typical consumer electronics store.