PreSonus Eris - Manual (Page 12)

3 Tutorials
3.2 Input Gain Setting
Eris™ Series E5 and E8
Owner’s Manual
3.2 Input Gain Setting
The best place to start is to set the Input Level control at its 12
o’clock position, which is labeled “U” for “unity gain.” That
means the level of the signal reaching the amplifier is the same
as the level of the signal entering the monitor’s input. This
ensures a good, strong signal level without amplifying any
extraneous noise. Make sure that the gain controls on your
audio source have been optimized for maximum signal level
and minimum noise. This process is called “gain staging,” and
you can learn about it from many online sources. You should
always set the Input Gain on your Eris monitor so that all other
level controls in the system needn’t be turned way up or way
down to achieve a comfortable listening volume.
If setting the input gain to Unity is unsatisfactory, you can
try different settings, but remember that it’s better to avoid
settings above U if possible. If the volume is too loud at
unity gain, feel free to turn the Input Gain control down
a bit—but not so far that you have to crank your audio
source’s output level to its maximum setting. If you set it
too low, you’ll have to crank your audio source’s output
level way up, which will increase the audible noise from
your source signal. If you set it too high, any noise in the
signal will be amplified, which you don’t want, either!
Again, if you properly gain-stage your audio source, setting
Input Gain to U or slightly lower should work fine.
Once the monitor’s Input Gain control is set, leave it
alone; don’t use it as a system-volume control. Leave
that job to your audio device’s output-level control.
3.3 Equalizer Setting Suggestions
The Eris E5/E8 provides three EQ controls in its
Acoustic Tuning section: High, Mid, and Low
Cutoff. (There’s also an Acoustic Space control,
which is covered in the next section.) In general,
setting the High control to 0 (no boost or cut) will
produce the best results. However, if the sound is
generally too bright or shrill, try turning this control down
below 0; if the sound is too dull and lifeless, try turning it
up above 0. It’s always better to cut than to boost and to
use the smallest cut or boost needed to get the job done.
The Mid control is a mid-frequency peak filter that boosts
or cuts frequencies centered on 1 kHz and extending
about one octave above and below that frequency. Again,
setting this control to 0 will generally produce the best
results. If you want to emulate a car stereo, try turning it
down below 0 to approximate the common “smiley face”