20 Best 5 Inch Studio Monitor (2022 Updated)

I spent a lot of time to read and watch reviews on these monitors before deciding to purchase them from Andertons who offered them in the best price around for an overseas customer. They were replacing a pair of Yamaha HS80m (yes, this is not a typo!) Due to moving to a smaller place, I needed to downsize and replace my big monitors with something much more compact that would still produce decent quality sound.

The plan is to pair them with a small sub (Eris sub8). What can I say about these small beauties! No hiss at all, except you stick your ear to the twitters, something that HS80M is not famous for. Sound wise, I put them next to the Yamahas and was alternating between the 2 pairs.

Yamahas had of course more low end and depth due to the larger woofer, but I could now hear an annoying boost in middle / middle high bands that made them sound a bit plasticky compared to the RP5 G4’s.

The G4’s on the other hand, sounded more natural/neutral, less-fatiguing for longer sessions and very nice for regular listening apart from mixing work. What I hear is in line with the results of the Audio Science Review tests.

Their looks are great, now upgraded with KRK grills, and their construction looks very strong and long-lasting (time will show of course). Super happy with my purchase, Yamahas are already gone and I am waiting for my sub8 to complete my new dream studio :).

Overall: My first speakers when I started DJing back in 2018 were some cheapo Samson speakers that were ok at the time, but when I upgraded to a set of Pioneer DM 40’s, I was blown away by the sound difference.

Well when I upgraded from the DM 40s to two KRK Rokit 5 G4’s I was just as blown away as the first upgrade if not more. The bass is so clear coming from the KRKs and the highs sound perfect. I love that they have XLR inputs and the EQing you can do with the speakers is top notch.

I have them dialed in perfectly for my setting when I practice Djing at home. I love that they go into a standby mode to conserve power if you leave them on but not in use for a bit. They look really good too.

The subwoofer looks nice but I feel like I don’t need it with how booming just the speakers themselves are. I could host a house party in our one bedroom apartment with just these speakers alone. I can’t say enough how great they sound.

If you purchase a pair you won’t be disappointed I can promise you that. The fact that ZZsounds let’s you pay for them in steps is pretty cool too. I bought mine from a brick and mortar “guitar” place, but I wish I’d gotten them from zZounds.

Overall: I had been using M-audio monitors for about 8 years and I finally decided it was time to upgrade. I researched a few, but I really liked the idea that KRK had provided the opportunity to adjust the EQ to fit the room of the monitors.

Some other brands had not done that and it really mattered in my decision making. Of course there is also the sound. The clarity of the speakers is fantastic and the separation of the various frequencies so I can hear how all the sounds sit in the mix is more than I had hoped for.

I also decided to splurge and test out the subwoofer so I could hear how my music would sound on a system with deep bass and I am glad I made that choice. The two monitors and the sub sound great together and really bring the music to life so I can get a good sense of how the consumers will hear the music.

First and foremost, the price cannot be beat! I opted for this bundle over the 306P bundle for more headroom in sound. Second, despite the crazy winter freeze we had, my order arrived at a decent time frame in CA.

Now on to the items. THE SPEAKERS: 5 Stars. Very robust and well built. I might’ve bought more that what I needed (maybe I should’ve gone with the 306P bundle). But nonetheless these speakers are well built, has some decent weight to it, and the option of either a 1/4″ or XLR input is a plus.

Volume adjust knob is your basic 0-10 scale. I have these set to 6 with my DDJ-SX3 main volume and EQs at 12 o’clock. it is plenty loud at that level. You will need plenty of room if you are planning on using these as “book case” speakers.

THE STANDS: 4 Stars. I think the platforms are a bit small for the speakers imo, but they still hold and support the speakers just fine. Although a bit teeter-tottery, they work well (they are sitting on carpet).

Centering the speaker on it allows for a decent stand. The base weight will do well for speakers of this size and smaller. Adjustments are easy. Having a safety pin is a plus as well. However, be careful that you do not over tighten the knobs, or you can potentially strip the threads.

THE MOPADS: 3 Stars. I am using them now. But honestly, I do not think they do too much at the volume I have them at. I can see them working better if the volumes are higher. But for now it is a meh for the pads for me.

So i am satisfied with them. What they do add, is a larger platform for the speakers to sit on. THE TRS CABLES: 5 Stars. What DJ will not appreciate an extra pair of audio cables? These cables come in handy for when I actually need to use the 308Ps as monitors once I start gigging again.

My DDJ-SX3 has dedicated outs for monitors and these TRS cables are an appreciated addition. A great bundle at a great price! Pick it up when they are in stock. They sell out fast so do not ponder on whether you should get them or not.

GET THEM!!!.

I had the opportunity to preview these at one of my jobs. I was debating between these and the yamaha HS8. Ultimately these won. Why? Their sound from top to bottom is beautifully clean!!!! While they do colorize the bass a little, its a clean colorization (no mud) and keeps the mids and highs true!$! (Thats flat/factory setting) With the colorization, you really dont need to add subs #tko The boundary eq functionality is a plus based on my studio’s layout.

They are good for any genre, though you may want to cut the bass for rock/classical. Ive always been a fan of jbl in the live sound realm. This is my first venture into the studio realm and i must say, im extremely pleased!.

A big complaint about these monitors is their lack of sub bass. If you’re buying these to produce HipHop or electronic music these may not deliver the sub bass frequencies you need unless you couple them with a separate subwoofer which was a little unexpected given the 8 inch drivers.

The only slightly annoying thing about these monitors to me personally is the mild droning between 125 and 135 mhz. That being said, Kicks are punchy, high hats sound crisp and bright, and vocals mix well with the rest of the sound.

Perfect for mixing things like rock/metal, country, or voice over work.

I moved my studio monitors, Adam ANF10s, to my listening room. Therefore, I needed to replace them in my studio. I auditioned several different monitors. KRK, Yamaha, etc. Before purchasing, I listened to the Adam T5V.

These monitors had the familiar Adam sound that I was used to. Their clarity was second to none and put the other monitors I auditioned in the back seat. I cannot recommend the Adam T5V monitors enough.

Definitely a great monitor choice.

(Purchased from another site) For the price they offer a different type of listener excitement compared to a KRK Rokit 5G3. Rokits have some pronounced/fun thump and exciting dynamics- great for jamming out (a valid creative advantage, but not a valid sonic advantage).

Rokits are fun because, to the listener, they function as a vignette into what your music may sound like on a live sound system with intentionally pronounced EQ, so it feels like you’re mix is already out there on CD in a club.

Similarly, these give you a great initial sensation of detail and imaging, and are super fun- IF you have never owned a pair of speakers with good upper register resolution. These are very fun listening, but your first decent set of monitors will always be fun.

These have decently tight midbass and acceptable low end for a budget 5″ monitor, despite a surprisingly light cabinet. Don’t expect anything useful below about 55-60hz, and anything close to critical kick drum work you can forget.

I would not recommend these as your only monitors, but rather a second set (they’re SO cheap) to have the folded ribbon drivers for reverb/ambience/transient timbrality, however I would not rely on them exclusively- the mids are too thin to compare to any respectable professional monitor.

Pick up a pair of the concept excites you. just don’t forget how easily excited new ears get to new types of sound reproduction. That lovely fine detail can’t compensate for the scooped sound signature, the barrel-bottom cabinet materials and design.

If you need one pair of speakers, please get something better than the first Chinese-made budget speaker from a company known for expensive and complicated speakers. These are good, but not as good as the rave reviews that will no doubt pour in from a ton of new producers and musicians buying their first monitors.

Other monitors/speakers used: -KRK Rokit 5G3 -KRK Rokit 8G2 -Genelec 8030 -B&W 805 Nautilus -Fostex 6. 4. 1.

Was looking for great sounding studio monitors without spending a fortune. After researching options and reviews, pulled the trigger on the T5Vs. Was leaning toward the T7V for more low end, but decided could add a sub if needed later.

Immediately after putting some music thru these it was looking like a good decision. After burning in for a day, gave a harder listen with various types of music including my own recordings. They sounded great by themselves on MOST music, but not all.

The low end for some bass drum sound on plug ins was a little lacking compared to my cans, so ordered the T10S sub from Adam Audio. All I can say now is WOW!!!! Best sounding speaker setup I’ve ever owned, which include Bose, Infinity, JBL, etc.

You cannot go wrong with the Adam Audio T5V speakers, but I would recommend their T10S sub in the selection. HIGHLY recommended!!!.

I purchased the HS8s for Home Audio listening and not for Mixing or Studio purposes. Many reviews state that these powered speakers present a truthful sound when creating/mixing initial performances in studio.

For better or worse. Some say they are brutally honest, some say they present a necessary accuracy needed to create an appropriate mix. Bright, forward, real bass. I have for many years now discovered powered studio monitors have provided me with an affordable path toward audio bliss.

Currently I have several pairs of M-Audio studio monitors. Easily driven by the Cambridge Audio Dacmagic 200M or the Emotiva DC-1 Stealth DACs. Total cost of a complete system under $1500. I decided to try the HS8s as they have different tonal characteristics than the M-Audios.

After breaking in the HS8s after a month, I came to the following conclusions: The HS8s are forward and bright. Accurate and detailed. I agree they are more honest presenting what ever media is played through them.

The M-Audios are laid back. Warmer sounding. Still presenting much of the detail. The HS8s surprise you by making you aware of details not previously noticed. I hear more decay from the HS8s. The M-Audios draw you in with a pleasant, warm presentation not giving up tonal accuracy but with bit less bass articulation.

The M-Audios can be a warm blanket with some media. Always enjoyable and inviting. The HS8s challenge you. They tell you to wake up and listen! They can change perceived instrument location in the sound field compared to the M-Audios.

The bass is more articulate and still able to dig fairly deep depending on the media. The good news is I have two different sounding presentations yet both able to provide pleasing sound reproduction, once again, depending upon the media.

I have mostly conquered speaker hiss by plugging all devices into a Panamax 5100 power conditioner, upgrading power cables and XLR interconnects. I stopped turning the powered monitors off with their own power switches.

Power on, power off controlled by the Panamax for all devices. This may or may not help you as there are many variables in the audio chain.

Crisp, clear and honest sound. Timeless and elegant design. High quality feel and craftsmanship. I bought two white HS7’s that I use as studio monitors, and am mostly satisfied. The only issue is that one of the speakers pics up RF interference from our iMac and constantly makes little sounds.

I taped some tin foil to the side of the speaker which solved the issue. I assume that the speakers usually have internal RF shielding since my other speaker doesn’t have the same issue. Been contemplating to take the speaker apart and shielding it from the inside instead, but I don’t want to mess these beauties up.

What do I do? I still recommend these products and they are well worth the money. Would give it 4. 5 stars if I could.

As a producer of 20+ years, hiphop/rnb, the yamaha hs8s are amazing. I look for great highs, mids and solid lows and these live up to its name. Accuracy As a sound designer, the clarity reaponse is so clear, it picks up sound id usually not hear with other speakers, I am able to create big sound such as realistic strings that sounds huge.

Tweaking sounds is what I love, so tweaking frequencies with bass or 808s so they will not clash with other low end sounds, these speakers are perfect for that. Lots of producers have this issue, I highly recommend for aound clarity.

Bass Ive owned lots of speakers, as I work with lots of bass and 808 sounds, the hs8s by far have amazed me, solid and tight kicks, 808s etc. All sound amazing and not muddy, not to loud and over bearing and not to soft.

Perfect responses. The bass and kicks are so tight, id leave a beat I am creating on loop for hours because I be amazed on the clarity. Overall Highs, Mids, Lows are what my ears judge when it comes to speakers and Yamaha did a great job, id give this 10 stars.

So if you take your sound serious like I do, get the yamaha hs8s, you will not be disappointed.

These studio monitors have the iconic white woofers that other high-end Yamaha speakers are known for. They sound terrific and have larger speakers for that rich bass sound. These speakers are excellent and as far as my mixes sound flat with no distortion.

They give me a true sound and they are my main monitors that I use for mixing because they give me an accurate representation of the low end that smaller monitors don’t give me. When I play the mix in my car it sounds exactly like it sounds coming out of the monitor.

Great job Yamaha! Thank you for making them easy to pay for American Musical!.

Had these for a few years. Sound quality and appearance is great, but a very annoying buzz drove me absolutely crazy. I’m almost certain the buzz is due to poor shielding from EMI: it occurs when no inputs are connected; occurs in unison in both units; modulates in weird rhythms like a digital signal; occurs more during the day than at night, and stops if i drape tin foil over the speaker (faraday cage).

This may not be audible for all users: I live in a dense urban area (tons of radio signals), the buzzing is pretty low-level, but i have these positioned pretty close to my sitting position.

I have a small well acoustically treated room. I exchanged a couple of 7’s for a couple of 5’s, finding the 7’s a bit too big for my small studio. I was pleasantly surprised to find not only that the bass sounded tighter than the 7’s, but the difference in hiss was remarkable.

The 7’s have a mild hiss typical of other monitors. But the 5’s had little to no hiss at all, I’m guessing due to the smaller tweeter amp. The 7’s sounded awesome, no knocking the 7’s, but the 5’s sounded even better.

I’m sure things would be different in a different room or with different tastes. But for me, these 5’s fit the bill perfectly!.

I was looking for near-field speakers that weren’t so bass-oriented as the Bose pancake I’ve had connected to my notebook for many years. Now that I received these Eris E3. 5 powered monitors and set them up, how impressive – the improvement I’m hearing in dynamic range! (I’ve placed them on my corner desk top, set at 45 degrees towards me – the powered speaker to my left, and the passive speaker to my right.

The left is ~ one inch from the wall and the right is ~ one inch from the corner. I’ve adjusted the treble up by ~ one third, and the bass down ~ one third. ) In these first few minutes I’ve listened to tunes by Bela Fleck, Al Petteway and Nickel Creek.

The clarity and presence I’m hearing is truly astonishing! I’ve even moved around my music room away from the speakers; the sound is still full up to 15 ft away. Nice to have front-facing access to power on/off, volume control, aux input and headphone jacks.

After only an hour or so of test driving I feel I can easily recommend these monitors – especially at this price point!!. Just. WOW!.

I was looking for some monitor speakers to use with a Tascam Portastudio and these fit the bill perfectly. They are very reasonably priced and have a compact footprint. There are a number of ways to connect the speakers to equipment and they come supplied with a selection of connecting leads.

It’s convenient that the on/off switch, volume control, headphone socket and aux in are located on the front of the main unit. I am happy with the sound. Maybe they are a little “trebly” as some other reviews suggest but in fairness I have only been recording classical guitar and there are bass and treble controls on the rear to adjust the sound.

My only criticism is that the volume control has just a tiny dot (like braille) to indicate it’s position. It’s virtually invisible, so it you cannot see at a glance how the volume is set.

Whoever designed these small studio monitors didn’t miss a lick. Balanced 1/4 inch TRS inputs; RCA inputs; mini plug stereo input, volume, bass and treble tone controls. all for under $100? And they are clean, loud and clear.

You can even plug headphones into it! Really, they sound better than my JBL bookshelf/monitor speakers that I bought 17 years ago. And they’re powered with a built in 100 watt stereo power amp. The applications for these are limitless: TV, computer amplification, gaming.

any device that has a physical output jack. Comes with power cord, stereo mini plug to L/R RCA outputs cord, and mini male to mini male cord for plugging in older cellphones, MP3 players, computer, etc.

You can’t beat these.

I bought these as a gift but I have a pair myself. I seen negative reviews in the comments but honestly these are great. They are near field monitors. I use them for making music because they are made to let you hear things you’d missed on regular speakers.

If you’re getting a static noise try using the aux to rca cable that plugs into the back of the speakers. But these speakers perform best if you buy an audio interface for them which can cost an additional $100-400.

Best Buy has some decent Presonus ones. My preferred is the Scarlett brand. But even without them they are good. My nephews were blown away by the sound quality. The bass on these are good but if you’re seeking for a lot of it there is a presonus Eris sub that’ll give you that extra thump you’re looking for.

The PreSonus Eris E3 speakers are a great pair of monitor speakers for the price if you are looking for video editing or music production quality. The speakers do not include an amplifier for it to work.

The speakers includes power cable, red and black outputs to connect both sides and an auxiliary cable to connect to your labtop or desktop monitor screen. Speakers include acoustic tuning knobs on the back to control decibel levels to your preferred taste.

The speakers also include TRS inputs to connect to your work interface or amplifier. Overall, the quality and versatility of the PreSonus speakers are fabulous for the price. Highly recommend!.

Currently these monitors are on my desk, horizontally configured, with signal coming from a SMSL M200. Sound is what I was expecting after reading numerous reviews on monitors. The bass at 0dB (not dampened with the switch on the back) is quite robust, all sounds are punchy/clear, and imaging is great.

These were bigger than I expected, because I initially was going to buy the 305p’s and didn’t read the dimension specs. When they arived, the boxes for each speaker was about the size of an AC window unit box.

I probably could get better sound if my desk was larger and I was further away from them. My desk is 48 wide by 24 deep and if it was any smaller I wouldn’t be able to fit them. Standalone speaker stands or a couple of tall nightstands could help someone get around that.

I use Ableton and produce House music, listen to some funk and rap, everything sounds how I would want it to. There is little audio bleed to its sides or rear, which is great since I have a few roomates and little sound isolation in my room.

I have not tried to really push them. I mostly keep the volume nobs on the speakers at 50%, and the DAC at -20dB. It’s plenty loud for me at this point and I don’t hear any artifacts. Another option I should consider is dropping the bass response to -3dB and then turn the DAC up to -15dB for more focus and clarity in the mids/highs for Classical, Folk, or other genres while minimizing noise pollution.

The last time I listened to monitors was almost a year ago. They were Yamaha HS5. I remember that they are neutral and sound ok, also at a low volume level. I compare the feeling from Yamaha with DT 770.

They are matching, I think, E5 XT sounds strange. Something “mumbling” ¹ is going on mid-low frequencies. I lowered the level to –7 dB on 110…125 Hz. Looks like there is too much energy, and I hear only distortions.

Again, I compare the feeling with DT 770, which I listen to this year without equalizer tuning. If you already have this model, you can try the song “Wolf Like Me” from the TV On The Radio band, and skip to ≈3:05.

Maybe because of that compromise I can’t listen to them at low volume. The sound is annoyingly flat. I turn off the equalizer on low volumes. Maybe the problem is in the sound card, but it works well with both HS5 and DT 770.

Doesn’t look like it’s about it. But I want to thank the delivery service. I ordered the shipment to Israel and the package has no damage at all. Great. ¹ Original word in my language is “бубнящий”, which I tried to translate.

Presonus are more famous for their audio interfaces, yet I was surprised at how good these speakers sounded on these 5 1/4 inch speakers. Over the last 30 years I’ve mainly used various Tannoy Dual Concentrics or 2-ways designs as my main studio monitors.

For 2 years I did use some excellent Adams A7Xs, until I got a pair of Tannoy Precision 6D Dual Concentric actives, 7 years ago. I’ve been using the Precision 6Ds until one failed. In reality, the Tannoys were too big and too loud for my small studio, so I shortlisted the Tannoy Gold 5, KRK Rokit 5 4th gen and Presonus Eris 5 XT.

I’ve heard the Eris 5 and the Eris 5XT has deeper bass and a better overall sound to my ears. I decided on the Presonus offering, although there is no wrong answer here. They are all great speakers for the money.

I was expecting a really bass-lite sound, compared with the Tannoy 6Ds, but was pleasantly surprised. If you really need a lot of bottom end boom then you can use a sub woofer with these, but might be better off getting a larger speaker.

These small Eris 5 XT speakers surprised me with their stereo imaging too, something I had taken for granted with Tannoy’s Dual Concentrics. The Eris 5 XTs sound more neutral with less lower mid colouring than the Tannoys.

If my old Tannoys sounded warm, then the Eris 5XTs are thinner but are a bit more revealing. To my ears there is more clarity. Voices seem to sit back in the mix whereas the Tannoys were notorious for projecting vocals forwards more in the sound stage.

On some tracks the Eris 5 XTs sounded like the singer was lost in the mix to some degree, but this is all part and parcel of retraining my ears to the new speakers. The bass is lighter than the Tannoy 6 inch drivers, but only by a small margin.

If anything, the Eris 5 XT bass sounds tighter and more focused compared with my bigger old Tannoy speakers. There are a plethora of controls and inputs on the rear and the front firing bass port means the bass is less boomy than rear ported designs like the Tannoy 6Ds, so I suppose you could have them closer to the wall of your studio if space was an issue.

There are various Acoustic Tuning compensators for High, Mid and Space (bass) cut/boost filters to suit positioning and to provide some acoustic compensation for the room. That said, I run them with all Acoustic Tuning levels flat.

I decouple them on acoustic foam with a gap of over 7 inches between the rear of the speaker and the wall. Allow a few days running in before the sound opens up. Absolutely no regrets. They suit my room and needs better than the Tannoy 6Ds, but there is a learning curve to retraining my ears.