Do I need studio monitors? (Presonus Eris E3.5, E4.5, and/or E5 any good?)

[chk071]

I adjusted my speakers' position a bit (adjusted the tilt so that they point directly at me now). Already changed the sound quite a bit, and its much more pleasant now. Think I always sat too high. I'll surely get those blanket insultaors (or whatever they're called) as well though. Sound is still a bit boomy due to the reflections on the wall (I assume).

[Ploki]

I adjusted my speakers' position a bit (adjusted the tilt so that they point directly at me now). Already changed the sound quite a bit, and its much more pleasant now. Think I always sat too high. I'll surely get those blanket insultaors (or whatever they're called) as well though. Sound is still a bit boomy due to the reflections on the wall (I assume).

Blanket insulators?
Boominess is usually due to lowmids and lows... I doubt you'll do much with blanket insulators (Whatever you mean by that doesn't sound really full of mass and suited for the job)

[chk071]

Blanket insulators?

Those... things...

https://www.thomann.de/de/the_takustik_hilon40.htm

[Ploki]

Blanket insulators?

Those... things...

https://www.thomann.de/de/the_takustik_hilon40.htm

this will effectively kill high frequencies and if anything emphasize boominess an exacerbate the problem.
I have studiobuild in progress and i only use this for padding in cases for microphones

this will be more effective (and i'm not even joking)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pABvTWSxOes

[Passing Bye]

[chk071]

I just did some tests (we have lots of thick foam... don't ask ). IMO, absolutely hopeless. You put some of that on the wall behind the monitors, and it does absolutely nothing, because every other wall and corner still reflects (just gotta stand in different parts of the room... some places resonate like mad, while in others, there's absolutely no bass left). As I don't want to dam the whole room, I think it's rather "accept and get used to it".

[Ploki]

I just did some tests (we have lots of thick foam... don't ask ). IMO, absolutely hopeless. You put some of that on the wall behind the monitors, and it does absolutely nothing, because every other wall and corner still reflects (just gotta stand in different parts of the room... some places resonate like mad, while in others, there's absolutely no bass left). As I don't want to dam the whole room, I think it's rather "accept and get used to it".

Even rockwool is not enough for controlling basses in small rooms, it's effective to about 120Hz. So standing waves (where stuff resonates, and other's where there's no bass) will likely remain even with rock wool. It might help with low mids tho! Will be better than nothing.

This is not even the end of the story tho, even if you sink a fuckload of money into acoustics (I sunk a lot more than my speakers are worth into acoustics), then you have SBIR (speaker boundary interference) which also causes dips, but it's not related to room-modes dips and happens in treated rooms.

And. So. Forth.

Imo, treat the corners with some decent bass traps (membrane traps from GIK, or google DIY limp mass membrane absorber) and treat first-reflection spots with smaller porous absorbers. It will not kill the room and it will improved the sound 10-fold.

But note, room acoustics are worth 100x more than speakers and affect the sound MUCH more. Speakers are the detail then, but even a 200€ speaker in a treated room will sound 10x better than a 5000€ speaker in a poorly treated room.

[chk071]

Yep, it slowly begins to dawn here... Guess I'll leave everything as is for now though, I neither have the budget nor the will to change the room that much, as it's a multi purpose room, which also serves as a TV room (and the computer is also gaming and work computer), and I'm merely a hobbyist anyway.

Thanks anyway, has been very interesting, and, if I ever plan to build more of a studio, I definitely don't start at zero.

[baplaso1]

I have the e4.5, it was good for couple months. However, the main powered speaker somehow got muffled (like no high freqs), and i have to ajust the volume up and down for a few times, and it got back to normal, and it got muffled again...
Anyone has the same problem?

[Ploki]

I have the e4.5, it was good for couple months. However, the main powered speaker somehow got muffled (like no high freqs), and i have to ajust the volume up and down for a few times, and it got back to normal, and it got muffled again...
Anyone has the same problem?

sounds like either a capacitor issue or a cold-solder somewhere in the signal path.
since they're not biamped, my bet goes on the latter

[robotmonkey]

Last week got a pair of JBL 104 monitors for a small room. They are amazing for the price. Actually they were discounted 100$ due to clearance, so for the price they are super amazing.

Wanted IK iLoud Micros for that room, which are probably the best small monitors around, but the price difference with the JBL's was so big that I decided the JBL's to be better investment. JBL's also have somewhat better design and ergonomics (front panel headphone amp, volume control and internal psu so there's no power adapter brick).

[MMaarrkk]

As a starter, it's always a good idea to break away from the bass polluted consumer market, so even if some would say, that cheap offerings, such as Eris E5, might not be considered great monitors/speakers in the context of offerings towering $1000, it's still miles better than a cheap $50 set of speakers you would find in an electronics store.

When it comes to headphones vs monitors debate, it doesn't hurt to have both. A properly treated room with a set of monitors definitely has its advantages over a set of headphones and that's what you should aim for, but checking how your mix sounds on both will help you better understand how it translates over different devices.

Most, if not all consumer don't have great audio equipment.