Anybody got their Presonus Sceptre S8 / S6 yet? What are your impressions?

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 26/12/2013 17:46:44

lowdbrent wrote: Monitor reviews are pointless. No two rooms, placements, sets of ears are the same. You cannot trust what someone else does. You have to try it in context. Find a local dealer with inventory and book a demo.

Completely agree!

As to the video on the comparison of the Sceptre to Ns-10's to Event. Such comparisons are so moot, really. While it's appreciated that someone go the mile to explain their impression, I'd feel pretty sorry for someone else to buy a product based on such frilly impressions. So the same holds true for any comparison. I wouldn't care if James B Lansing walked into Studio A at Abbey Road Studios, and tried to sell me on....well, anything. Such decisions go to ones ears. Even then, you have to prove out if the mix translates accurately elsewhere.
Anyone can be wooh'd, by accentuated clarity, or boosted, EQ curves and as pointed out, add to that, room acoustics, etc.

Btw, NS10's when compared to some other monitor side by side typically suck! They do however and respectfully serve a very real purpose in the industry as a go to flat response standard. Anyone trying to compare another monitor to them would be better served trying to sell ice to an eskimo.

I do like coaxial horn driven monitors to a degree, and the dispersion is quite good. I've always liked Urei monitors for the big brassy horns, and live nature, but there are also factors such as ear fatigue that set in from horns. One will love their sound while another will stick with a different design. As we all know different design meaning very varied, from baffled, non baffled, front/rear bass reflex, Crossover points/ circuitry, etc., etc, yatti yadda.

I could find myself liking the Sceptre's or even the Eris for that mater. That purchase would happen by performing my own A/B/C comparisons.

The Presonus audio monitor line seem to be very good bang for the buck (like most of their products), so while I am not going to lay down the money at this time for something on the order of Event Opals, I hope know one tries to sell others their impressions of Sceptre's against a pair of Opals. Why insult us further?

Comparisons will happen on different competing products. However, we don't have to "buy into" them. Especially when they're as weak as these comparisons.

Sweetwater has the Sceptres in stock and you can go there to preview them. AND they are set up properly.

I was blown away by them...but that is just me...

tommyomiller wrote: Sweetwater has the Sceptres in stock and you can go there to preview them. AND they are set up properly.

I was blown away by them...but that is just me...

Sounds good! I'll have to check in my area, as there are a number of places with adequate setups for checking monitors as well.

Looking forward to hearing them. Thanks.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 09/02/2014 17:49:13

I've been using the Sceptre 8s for a few weeks now. I'm really impressed - especially with the clarity and depth in the upper and lower mids.

I'm actually using them upside down, though - I find they couple better with my room with the bass ports firing over my head.

Did you flip the polarity so the + is + again?

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO KIDDING.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 02/04/2014 19:38:29

After a lot of research I just purchased a pair of S8s to replace a set of KRK Rokit 8s in a home studio. The S8s are, of course, in a whole different price/performance bracket so it's not really a fair comparison but after biting the bullet and plunking down substantial dollars for a new design I had both high expectations and reservations. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Now, I am not a professional sound engineer but I am a student of the art and a lifelong musician with a good ear and several years experience of hobbyist recording, mixing and mastering and it took all of two seconds to observe a very significant and positive improvement to the studio's sound environment and mixing accuracy. Clarity top to bottom and great stereo imaging/separation were immediately noticeable. I brought up a few mixes I've been working on and immediately heard flaws and imbalances I had not picked up with the Rokit 8s which I can only describe now as "muddy" in comparison. No disrespect to KRK, the Rokits for their category are a quality product, but the difference was remarkable.

Out of the box I increased input sensitivity on the monitors to roughly match how the Rokits had been set up. For a monitor of similar size the S8s demonstrated dramatically higher output. I reset them to unity and found I had to rachet them back a bit more. I also played around with the Acoustic Space option which as advertised helped to attenuate the bass response a bit given that I have the units placed fairly close to a wall (on isolation stands).

From the badass bass lines of Marcus Miller and Brian Bromberg to the bright guitars of Will Ray and John Jorgenson I have to say I am very impressed with the units so far and looking forward to a good relationship with them, better mixes, and better listening. For the regular jam sessions where things get cranked up a bit the output and clarity of these units is really enjoyable. Environments and tastes vary of course but these are working very well for me so far. I can't speak for the professional but for a reasonably high-end home studio environment I would highly recommend these units if you are willing to spend the money.

Lastly, fit, finish and build quality seem strong overall and generally in line with that of other Presonus products I own. There is one small, errant drop of adhesive on one of the cones which was a bit disappointment for a fairly high-end product but otherwise solid.

Cool!

I'm still digging mine as well. When I first got them, I was still using my ADAM A7s to check things...but I've been getting such good results with the Sceptres where I don't feel the need to do that any more - everything I've done on the S8s has been translating to other systems perfectly.

dB

You guys are determined to have me spend money, aren't you.

Thanks for the reviews.

So the Event Precision Studio 8's that I have been using for years finally had on of the amps die on me. I've been looking at the Sceptre 8 since it first was announced. I've been skeptical not so much of the horn affecting the the high end, but just how much the horn blocks most of the LF driver. I understand there is DSP processing to help this, but it just seems to me that there would be serious reflections of LF waves off the back of the horn, hitting back onto the face of the LF driver causing cancellation, filtering, etc, and an overall "wobbly" sound to the low end frequencies.

I have yet to be able to find a store that has them in stock to listen to, but with all the great reviews stating that my concerns above are moot, I'm ALMOST ready to pull the trigger on these without hearing them first.(never done that before) Any opinions on how the corrections made through DSP are creating a possible "artificial" result in correcting these imbalances, or have they achieved a very natural result with the DSP? One last thing. A rep at Guitar Center stated that they had an issue with amps dying often on other Presonus monitors. Is it too early to know the reliability of the Sceptre S8?

I just joined here, and thank you for any responses in advance!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 15/04/2014 15:51:56

Dave Gunness is a brilliant speaker designer, and I promise you that he didn't just overlook this detail. While I don't know how exactly the DSP eliminates the "shadow" of the horn on the woofer, I'm certainly not hearing any artifacts or areas in the frequency spectrum that appear to be getting blocked. Quite the contrary - the mids are tremendously open and 3D - they're probably my favorite aspect of the Sceptre. The lows. of course, aren't directional and really can't be blocked. They're very tight and deep, even at higher volumes.

As far as amps dying - I've never heard anything like that nor seen anything about that on any of the forums. My guess is that the sales guy wanted to sell you something else...

You definitely need to listen to them for yourself in your space. If you can't find them at a local dealer, go to a place like Sweetwater that will let you try them out and return them if they don't work for you.

dB

Thanks for the response Dave, and I appreciate you explaining your experience with them, that is just what i was looking for. One thing that definitely caught my attention originally was the fact that Dave Gunness was involved in the development. Can't go wrong there! I'm sure you are correct about the rep at the store as well. It's unfortunate, but it can be difficult to get accurate info from sales reps if they are focused on selling something else to you. I've seen in other posts even on this thread that mixes have translating well onto other systems, so that was really great to hear as well.

Thanks again!

William

Much of the science behind these coaxial designs is in the alignment in time of the drivers, and the crossover. Dave uses FIR (finite infinite response filters) to tune horn and cone reflections and make sure that the phase of all the elements of the sound are in phase.

As for the woofer, and reflections from the horn, the lower the frequency, the less directional they are. LF and LMF wave propagation don't rely on direct line of sight, If you ever looked @ JBL line array speakers the woofers are about 2/3's covered by metal panels, these ace somewhat like phase plugs, Danley sound speakers have only 2 smallish holes for the LF to propagate through... you should really check it out, it's pretty amazing.

All in all I think Presonus has fleshed out it's product lines nicely.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 01/05/2014 05:26:46

davebryce wrote:he lows. of course, aren't directional and really can't be blocked.

Actually, this is not exactly true. Lows can be blocked. Check out the paper on stair cardioid subs by Danley.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 01/05/2014 15:51:50

Sorry for not being clearer - just about anything can be obstructed by a big enough object. Perhaps I should have said "the lows coming off the Sceptre's woofer can't really be blocked by the compression driver in front of it".

It's pretty apparent listening to the Sceptres that the lows are getting through just fine.

dB