Mackie MR524 or Presonus Eris E5? Which one should you get and why? Comparison review

Today we will compare two well regarded studio monitors - Presonus Eris E5 and Mackie MR524. E5 and MR524 compete in the same price category, so we will try to find out which one is worth buying more. Here we go!

Build Quality & Features

Presonus E5 is slightly more compact than Mackie and sports bass reflex port facing forwards which means E5 will be easier to place in cramped desks spaces. What also will be helpful in those situations is the E5's more extended tone control section, that besides of bass and treble controls MR524 also has, includes midrange level section and switch for high pass filter that will be helpful when pairing monitors with subwoofer.
Build quality is on similar level between E5 and MR524, they both use plastic on the front panels and they both look rather utilitarian, but E5 has cleaner look than MR524. Presonus and Mackie have audible hiss coming from the tweeters while idling, MR524 is slightly less audible than E5, but neither is terrible in that regard.

Sound Quality

Flat frequency response is an important feature in studio monitors and both E5 and MR524 can say they are quite flat but neither is perfectly flat. Presonus E5 sounds slightly darker than MR524 due to frequency response that, after slight lift between 1.5kHz and 3kHz, ever so slightly and gradually rolls off towards the treble. E5 also has a dip around 1.4kHz that results in slightly less present distorted guitars and vocals. Mackie on the other hand has quite a bit of boost between 9kHz and 11kHz that adds a bit of artificial snap to snare drums, boosts the overtones in cymbals and brightens the sound. Mackie has faster transient response in the upper mids and clarity in the vocal range.
Big difference between E5 and MR524 can be found down low in the bass response, where MR524 extends down to almost 40Hz while E5 reaches 60Hz and misses most of the information below that point. Mackie in result has more punch down low, but also sounds slightly slow due to heavy bass port use. E5 feels tighter and more nuanced in mid bass but also a bit boomy in the upper bass range. On the downside, E5 needs support from a subwoofer with those frequencies below 60Hz.
Soundstage is good in both tested monitors, but due to lift in lower treble MR524 has more sense of precision and air to it, while E5's soundstage lacks a bit of depth.

Frequency response comparison between E5 and MR524 measured in room at 1meter using UMIK-1:

Here is asound comparison video between Presonus E5 and Mackie MR524 from my YouTube chanel:

Conclusion

In the end both Presonus E5 and Mackie MR524 are solid studio monitors, but they will appeal to slightly different user. Presonus should be on the shortlist for users that like slightly darkes sounding monitors and have limited desk space and smaller rooms, or for users planning to pair their monitors with external subwoofer. Mackie will work better for users that like that extra clarity and sparkle in the upper ranges and need their speakers to work well without an additional help from subwoofer.