A few weeks ago, I started hearing a slight crackle at the loudest parts of whenever sound was playing through my PreSonus Eris E3.5 speakers. It was very faint, but quite annoying, especially when editing my YouTube videos.



For a few days I thought it could be a hearing problem (at this point in my life, every year brings a new health adventure...), but after testing my wired headphones and another small computer speaker on the same output, I determined the problem was, indeed, coming from the PreSonus speakers.

Jeff Geerling is a software developer, author, and open-source contributor known for his expertise in infrastructure automation and Drupal development. Readers can learn about DevOps practices, Ansible automation, and web development with Drupal. With blog posts, tutorials, and open-source projects, Jeff Geerling shares  insights and best practices for building and managing web infrastructure.

Jeff Geerling

PreSonus Eris E3.5 studio monitors developed crackling sounds after 5 years of daily use. Diagnosis revealed two bulging 1000µf 25V capacitors that needed replacement. The repair involved removing the back plate, dealing with brittle glued components, and replacing the failed capacitors with 1000µf 35V versions. The speakers were successfully restored to working condition for continued use at a workbench.

Recapping My 5 Year Old Studio Monitors