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A must for your home or pro studio
By: Keith Baker Dusty Attic Studio
Submitted: 8/30/2022
3 people found this review helpful.
Product Rating
Product Review
I have been using the Yamaha HS8s for several years and I was looking for a second pair of studio monitors. I heard great things about the PreSonus scepter S8s from a friend so I decided to give them a try. After owning them for about five months now, I’ve mixed multiple records using them and here are some of my observations: first, these monitors are extremely accurate and flat, i.e. they don’t lie. They make you work harder than other monitors however my mixes translate better from them to other speakers and listening environments. Secondly, I find I can mix extremely long sessions without getting ear fatigue, it’s not uncommon for me to be in front of these things for 5 to 8 hours a day. Lastly, I love the stereo image on the scepters, and due to the coaxial design you don’t have to do a lot of moving around to find the “sweet spot”, you literally can hear every detail and stereo separation even at low levels from anywhere in front of the desk. One word of caution, these are definitely heavy so you will need a proper set of speaker stands or a sturdy desk to support them. All and all I’m extremely happy with them and they were a great investment for my studio.
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Worth every penny, and then some...
By: Fire Side Studios
Submitted: 12/9/2020
2 people found this review helpful.
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Single biggest improvement to my mixing
By: Demian Norvell
Submitted: 5/25/2019
5 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
This was a blind purchase after doing as much research as I could stand, and I struck audio gold! The imaging is precise, and upon measuring their response with Sonarworks, they are quite flat down to the basement region, with only minimal correction for my acoustic space. After a couple days of breaking in and reference listening, my v1 mixes are already far closer. I'm coming from JBL LSR4326, which are no slouches! Anyway, I am delighted with the Sceptres and can recommend them unreservedly. In the long haul I expect to save money in time spent since I'm already doing fewer revisions, and that will only improve. The ONLY negative is that the internal amps produce a little hiss, but it's not noticeable while working.
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"Well worth the money"
By: EDWIN ANDRADES
Submitted: 1/23/2019
8 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
if your control room is well balance! this will sound good!
it's easier to mix your songs!
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I love this speaker. Very revealing and realistic soundingHelps your mix
By: anthony boyd
Submitted: 9/13/2018
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
Love it. I ordered one first to check out in mono. I quickly ordered the second one..lol. finally let's you hear what your mix really sounds like for accuracy in decisions. Price is a bargain. I had the AdamsAx7s before getting this.which l like and cost a lot more. Im good with just these now.
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Excellent mixing monitor.
By: EDWIN ANDRADES
Submitted: 8/28/2018
6 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
?? It sounds completely balanced and correct.
I recommend for prolonged mixing sessions.
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Absolutely amazing monitors! My mixes sound crystal clear.
By: DJ Andross
Submitted: 7/22/2018
5 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
After testing several studio monitors in my studio (acoustically treated) from Yamaha, KRK, Mackie, M-Audio and Adam all of them are great monitors but found that the coaxial design wins in my opinion. I recorded a mini trance and progressive mix with all of them and played the mix in different stereos. I even gave the mix to friends and lo and behold the Presonus Sceptre S8s were the clear winners. These monitors do not hide anything.. it's like seeing the sound through a glass.. you hear everything. They're absolutely great monitors. Love them!
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Nothing better in its price range.
By: Matthew Cosek
Submitted: 10/17/2017
4 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
Miles ahead of the Adams, better than the kh120s, just great monitors. In my treated room they're amazing, but I brought them to a buddies smaller and less treated room and they were great in there too.
I cannot recommend them enough. These are near "end game" monitors at a great price.
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1 small problem
By: Mike
Submitted: 6/26/2017
2 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
Everything is as expected but 1 of the speakers has some buzz/vibration when the volume gets to about half way during a kick. Its only audible when the kick is playing by itself. I swapped the channels on the interface and swapped the cables and the issue is 100% from the speaker. Other than that, they sound amazing, the clarity, detail, imaging and overall sound quality is amazing. Extremely transparent.
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Incredibly rich sound!
By: Jeff Lehman
Submitted: 12/9/2015
4 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
The ability of these monitors to present a stereo image is incredible! They are expensive, but well worth the money. One word of caution...note the dimensions and plan for their huge size before you receive them. Being able to accomodate these large monitors is no small task.
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Worth every penny
By: T Killer
Submitted: 3/17/2015
6 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
These make tracking very nice. Great sound down the whole freq range
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Natural Tone with a Digital "Cherry on top" I personally own a pair of Septre monitors, great choice
By: Anthony W, of Tones Files Pro
Submitted: 6/23/2014
1 person found this review helpful.
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Exceptional monitors!
By: Dan C.
Submitted: 3/10/2014
12 people found this review helpful.
Your general opinion of this product.
I conducted an in-depth monitor evaluation before selecting the S8's. In total I auditioned seven pair of monitors over the course of six weeks. I had very specific criteria that I used to make an informed decision. I evaluated monitors in the $1,000 to $2,600 per pair price range and found the Sceptre's to be competitive even at the upper end of that range. The S8's impressed me as revealing and pleasant; detailed but not overly analytical; able to reproduce transient detail, and powerful.
The fit and finish of the monitor is exceptional. The coax design is unique in this price range, and it's integral to overall quality of the monitors. The drivers, the enclosure, and the algorithms running on dual-core processors inside the monitors were all designed in concert - the design quality itself is remarkable. The design and build quality in turn deliver outstanding sound quality, and that is what matters the most for critical listening.
The Sceptre's onboard DSP provides user adjustable contour controls that allow you to fine tune the monitors to your listening space. The acoustic space control allows you to attenuate bass response to account for bass boost that occurs when monitors are placed near a rear wall or corner. The High-Frequency Driver Adjust allows you to balance the tweeter output with that of the mid/bass driver. If you are using a subwoofer, the High-Pass switch allows you to roll off the low frequency to match the sub's crossover. Last but not least, there is a sensitivity control that allows you to match the monitor to your mixer, audio interface, or monitor control system. The documentation is adequate, and PreSonus has an excellent video on how to calibrate the monitors using a smart phone app.
The coax design utilizing a horn tweeter is the most impressive feature. You can't separate the horn from the DSP because they work together to provide a single point source, and a symmetrical dispersion pattern - without the artifacts often found in coax designs. The result is an expansive soundstage, and precise stereo image.
I've done numerous long mixing sessions with the settings in the neutral (linear) position, and I find the monitor's very natural sounding. The horns have a presence; airy, a slightly forward tonality, but not hyped or fatiguing in any way. In a word, they are "transparent" - I feel like I'm listening through the monitors and not to them. The clarity of the highs, the definition for the upper-mids, and the abundant but tight bass completes the package. I'm able to hear details in my mixes that I simply wasn't able to hear with the last two pair of monitors I've owned. I can move around in the mix position and there are no dead spots, no smearing, and no hole-in-the-middle - even when listening to the monitors spread far apart (store display). I didn't think it was possible to own a pair of monitors at this price point that perform so well. If there is a weakness - I can't hear it.
Since I've only owned the monitors for just over three months, I have to rely on past performance of PreSonus equipment. I've run my studio on their audio interfaces, preamps, DAW controller, and monitor control systems for the past six years - I've never had an issue that wasn't promptly resolved by their tech support. I'm confident the Sceptre's will provide years of service.