Buying first pair of studio monitors

Aidan0222

New member
I've recently gotten into producing music, and I have all the things I need to record. But now I'm looking to buy a pair of studio monitors to learn to mix on, but I have no idea how many watts of power my monitors need to be. I also don't know what frequency response I should look for. I'm looking at the Presonus Eris E5s which has a total power of 70w and a frequency response of 53hz - 22khz. Is that enough? Or should I pay for the E8s, which is quite a bit more than I'd like to pay. The E8s have a total power of 130w and a frequency response of 35hz - 22khz. I will be mixing in my bedroom that I'm going to treat.
 
The low E on a bass guitar is around 43Hz, if that give you an idea of the low frequency you need. Kick drum can be lower than that, as can a bass with a low B string. Note that the low frequency number given my manufacturers is usually with a huge +/-dB, so its fudged. Wattage, doesn't mean a lot. If you're in an average-size room 70 watts is way more than you'l ever need unless you want to be deaf in a few years.
 
Presonus makes a decent series of entry level studio subs (affordable), so you can always add a sub later with the E5s don't cut it on their own.

Agree that total output needed for an average room isn't much.
 
Get a good rep' here..PreSonus Eris E5 & E8 |

An important point is the type of music you will be listening to? If you are into heavy rock or loud Electronica you will need the bass extension and sound levels of bigger, more expensive speakers, the 'watts' matter little, it is the Sound Pressure Level the speakers can produce (at 1mtr) that is important. If you want 'loud' look for a max SPL figure of better than 105dB. If however you are like myself and departed son, acoustic G and voice levels, 100dB will be fine.

I would also urge you to buy a modest Sound Level Meter. They can be had for $20 or so and you want one with a 'C' weighting. Then seek out articles about 'Calibrating Monitors' .

One last caveat. Some budget monitors are 'noisy' that is they put out a hiss that is audible at the Sweet Spot. Should not do this but there IS such poor design. Check for noise ASAP so you can ship them back with a stern note!

Dave.
 
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