Awesome budget studio monitors: iLoud Micro Monitors vs PreSonus E4.5 If you're in the mainland USA, contact me for your special price on either of these monitor pairs!
I have the Eris 4.5 for my small set up and they sound really nice. Really interested in the upcoming iLoud second gen speakers that IK announced at NAMM. They look amazing and if they sound as good as their specs indicate, I’m chucking my Krk5s for them for my larger studio set up.
Thanks for sharing your 2 different Monitors, as for sound check, I love that you put the Mics right in front. My Verdict is similar to what you said. I thought at first that the PreSonus was going to have more bass due to the larger size woofer, but , no, I was amazed to see your 300 dollar iLoud speakers wins between the two. and wow the Bass out of those tiny monitors. I think it's because the hole in the front acts as bass output sound. Wonderful! Can't say enough. And when you did the piano. wow! I am reporting from this year 2023, so by now, I assume something bigger is better? A matter of Choice. Thanks again for a great demo. Terry
I have both and iLoud sound more clear and open to me, E4.5 have more bass (especially if you have a wall behind them) and are more punchy. E4.5 are better if you are listening to them elsewhere in a room, iLoud sound very good when they are properly positioned in front-of you (near-field), but elsewhere in the room they lack bass. For me E4.5 sound is difficult to digest (too full, punchy) and can't listen to them more than and hour, iLoud are very easy to digest and can listen to them for hours. This is also the reason I prefer iLoud. Oh and iLouds are very small and the white version looks great on my desk. Please take into account that this is my personal experience, I am not using them for professional purpose, but I have some experience with pro audio.
I own iLoud mounted on mike stand to have the right height at the sweetspot, using it for nearfield purpose, and they lack some dB on the bass, but I compensate in mixing and mastering with DRC, headphones and crossfeed vst. Recently bought as gift for my daughter the Eris 4.5 , in another room (different acoustics and wall distance..), and compared using the same music (mp3 320kbps) via bluetooth. I had the same listening impression as you. More, Eris seem have a bit more efficiency in loudness (the Watt are the same), probably because the internal iK DSP limits the power when the input is too much higher, and seem show a better 3D depth, pretty hifi experience; iLoud more analytic, better for my needs and application. Of course better comparing would be with the same listening position and the volume knob set for the same SPL at the sweetspot for both the monitor. Both well built and great quality/price ratio. In the future I am considering if to buy a Presonus Sub for the iK, at the moment I work very well without it but I am tempted to try it one...
Nice job with the mics and capturing the sound of the two, there was an obvious difference, but through my laptop speakers I'm not 100% sure what to make of that difference. I would say iLoud muddy and PreSonus clean? But you were there, what are your linearity impressions?
Hi Chuck! Great review! I am torn between these two speakers. I am an Electric Guitar player who plays Classic Rock, i.e., AC/DC. i use amp modeling software like Amplitube 5, Tonex, Positive Grid Bis. classic rocks use a lot of bass. I am the iRig HD2 to connect my guitar to the software. i am using the iPad 10. which would recommend? Thank you.
I heard the Presonus E5XT with the ILoud MTM today. I think the MTM has deeper basses but the 5XT sounds tighter. The E5XT sounds a little more open to me than the MTMs. My problem is, I don't know how the Presonus 5XT sound at the piano... The 4.5 have much less bass and don't sound as good as the 5XT. I think the 5XT is the sound between the ILoud Micro and the MTMs. So better than the Micros, but a little thinner than the MTMs. What do you mean?
I have the Roland Juno ds61. What cable would I need to hook up the PreSonus Eris E3.5 to the back of my synthesizer. I am totally new at the non-built in speaker keyboards.
Es el único video en youtube en donde muestran como suena un teclado con unos monitores de estudio. Gracias, parece ser la mejor opción para conectar mi sintetizador.
Absolutely I agree with you ..I can not find another video describing what speakers sound good with keyboard....I have a CDP-135 it has only a headphone out and I have ordered the presonus 3.5 and I hope the will make the piano sound better
Always a little difficult to judge monitor tests over RU-vid because of course a lot depends on what the listener is using at their end. Having said that, the Presonus Eris 4.5 definitely has more definition and I do have a pair here so I know they are very good for the price. Those Ik iLoud Monitors are great though, given their size.
Yes, its always difficult judging sound on RU-vid for the reasons you state... that's why I always do sound comparisons (2 or more sound sources). That way the listener has something to compare the sounds with when hearing them both! Demo's of a speaker/monitor that don't compare it with another sound source are useless. Thanks for your comments Saul!
@@PianoManChuck I have a pair of the iLoud Micro Monitors that I use for both my RD-700 and TV movies! The one BIG problem I've encountered, and from other reviews others have experienced the same thing, is that on certain bass notes, the mesh protecting the speaker rattles. It is very prominent on certain notes. I have not heard of anyone fixing this problem. Do you have any ideas? Also, do the new larger iLoud studio monitors (MTM) have considerably more volume and bass capability. I may get a pair if they do not rattle, as the sound is excellent.
What do you think will be better choice for me? Right now I have the HS8 monitors for my Nord Stage keyboard, and the sound is great, but, they're too large. So, I'm debating between the Rokit 5 and the iloud micro, I think I'll add a sub to either. Currently the Rokit 5 is cheaper but the iloud are smaller. Which is the better choice for a keyboard? thanks!
You do great reviews, no attention to negative people. You're very enlightening. To me all monitors are too bassy. I hate low end. Will try a stereo Blakackstar ID Core 10 guitar amp. They all have good midrange. No I don't work for them. Happy Holidays!! 🎅
How much difference would these make to a Casio PS X3000 as their inbuilt speakers are terrible. I was thinking of buying Yamaha HS8 for a home studio but thought these would be ok just for practicing at home
Thanks Chuck, they both sound very good. Presonus Eris wins for me. I was waiting for you to rap over that hip hop track. Then I would have had to say that DJ Jazzy Chuck is in the hooooouuuuse!!!
Thanks for your videos, very helpful and informative. Have a question and hoping you can provide me with some direction. I recently bought a brand new Roland RD-88 stage piano for my personal hobby playing and small occasional performances for my family ( I am a piano hobby player) also got a decent pair of monitor speakers and connected them to my piano via a set of TRS cables. While I am getting a great sound when I listen to piano using headphone; the sound I am getting through external monitor speakers are terrible when I connect them directly to instrument’s line outs, it is so bad I can’t even think of playing for anyone else other than myself! My question is, am I missing something or doing something wrong? How do you get such a nice high quality sound from your instrument? Do I need to put a mixer and/or an audio interface in between? Greatly appreciate if you or anyone else out there can give me a hint on this.
The thing that ilouds seems to address quiet well and makes them stand out is phase alignment between drivers. And that you can clearly hear in this test, hell, the presonus sound with so much phase issues...
Hi, Thanks for the review. I just bought a pair of Presonus Eris 4.5 for my Korg D1 yet to be received. What's the best way to connect them to the D1. If I use unbalanced cables from the 2 1/4 inch outputs on the D1 to the 2 TRS inputs on the Eris speaker will it work? or is there a better option? Thank you.
Can u help with me stuido monitor query; I am novice in piano; purchased privia recently but it doesn't sound good with inbuilt speaker as marketed in youtube; how can I achieve best quality sound??
I bought the iloud micro monitors after you did a review on them some time ago and they are terrific. I use them with my Nord stage 3 and they sound great. Thanks for the great reviews.
uuh! that is 4 years ago ! Well they still both on market. I still wonder how Iloud can go low to 55 hz at -3db ..... probably around 65 hz at 0db .. Its half the size of the Presonus and same power. I go for Iloud ! Sound is more neutral and palanced, made for long sessions.
The PX-S3000 is not available yet. There have been some unexpected delays and it now looks like it might not hit stores until the end of April, perhaps early May.
@Raji Singh - What @yamahamusicians said! And once I receive my PX-S3000 at that time, I first need to become thoroughly familiar with it before I can even think of doing a review.... so its going to be a while.
The ILoud's sound pretty good but you can't defeat physics when it comes to sound quality so I'm not surprised that the PreSonus' sound better and more dynamic. Still if you want small and good looking the iLoud's are great and being less dynamic they may be less fatiguing for extended listening, plus being front ported is great if you need to put them near a wall.
When I look at the back of the presonus I see slots for TRS cables but I only have TS cables. Could I plug TS cables into the TRS slot? I'm only using the speakers for my keyboard.