Eve Audio SC208
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ON TEST Eve Audio SC208 Active Monitors Eve are a very new name in studio monitoring but, as this active nearfield model proves, they’ve got a wealth of experience behind them... PAUL WHITE f you haven’t heard the Eve name front plate and a more before, that’s because they are powerful magnetic motor I a relatively new company in the than other designs. There monitor market, founded in 2011. The are three large apertures more observant amongst you could in the front plate, with also be forgiven for thinking that the a magnetically attached, folded-ribbon tweeter suggests some fine, hexagonal grille kind of Adam connection, which there offering protection from is: Eve Audio was set up following small objects (this grille can be removed Measuring 255 x 390 x 330 mm and something of a schism at Adam, with CEO if preferred). weighing 10.9kg, the black cabinet has Roland Stenz leaving to become Eve’s The 150W PWM amplifier feeding the an understated feel, with only the metal principal designer. But, despite some woofer is set up to deliver a short-term control-plate at its base giving it a strong cosmetic similarities, Eve’s approach to maximum output power of 200W, allowing sense of identity. The cabinet body is monitor design is quite different from that peaks of up to 112dB SPL at one metre. made from 18mm MDF with a textured employed in the current Adam range. A separate 50W amplifier feeds the ‘foil’ covering, while the baffle is painted The SC208s reviewed here are ribbon tweeter, and both amps feature satin black. Both drivers are recessed the largest in Eve’s series of two-way in-built protection limiting. The rear-facing into the baffle, centrally mounted so monitors, which includes models based bass port is a large, rectangular slot that there’s no need for ‘left’ and ‘right’ around four-inch, five-inch, six-inch and designed to minimise port compression models, while the cabinet edges and (as in the SC208) eight-inch woofers. and wind noise at higher SPLs. corners are only slightly rounded. “The more material I tried with these speakers, Eve Audio the more I came to appreciate their candour...” SC208 £1559 PROS These speakers are aimed at the nearfield The bass response of the SC208 is user who needs to hear full-range audio specified down to an impressive 36Hz • Well-balanced and revealing sound. • Plenty of level on tap. without having to add a subwoofer. (-3dB), delivered by what Eve have • Realistically priced. Although the company are also building named their SilverCone woofer. This is larger monitors and a complementary powered by a 1.5-inch voice coil designed CONS range of subwoofers, their two-way to ensure plenty of linear excursion. • Rotary control legends very small. speakers are the first to come to market. A honeycomb cone material with a woven SUMMARY DSP, rather than analogue circuitry, is glass-fibre skin is used to combine While not every project studio owner can used for all the crossover and processing stiffness with low mass, and the cone is afford monitors in this price range, the functions, and the power amplifiers suspended in a roll surround. This crosses SC208s stand up very strongly against the use PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) over at 2.8kHz to Eve’s AMT RS2 folded competition in their market and deserve to technology. Even the folded-ribbon ‘Air Motion Transformer technology’ be taken very seriously. Their wide frequency range delivers large-monitor performance in tweeter is designed unusually, the RS2 ribbon tweeter, which takes the highs up a nearfield package. model used by Eve featuring a larger to 21kHz (-3dB). 70 October 2012 / www.soundonsound.com ON TEST EVE AUDIO SC208 Although the circuitry is largely digital, has a range of -5dB to +3dB above 3kHz. detail of the A7Xs and the smoothness the inputs are analogue on both balanced The low-shelving filter has the same range of the Opals, making it very revealing XLR and unbalanced RCA sockets (but and operates below 300Hz. Such controls but not overly forward or aggressive. no jacks), feeding into a high quality are fairly standard, allowing the monitors Good mixes sound fabulous, but poor Burr-Brown A-D converter. The DSP links to be tuned to the room acoustics and mixes have nowhere to hide! Indeed, directly to the power amplifiers, with no proximity to boundaries, but Eve have I found these speakers particularly good further stages of conversion required. gone further by adding adjustments to for revealing the distortions and tape DSP takes the place of the volume, help counter the effects of mounting artifacts on albums remastered from ‘60s filter, phase and room-placement and early ‘70s studio recordings, controls, the parameters for and even on old classics such which are accessed via a single as ‘My Generation’ by the Who, push-and-turn knob on the front you get a very clear sense of the panel. An LED ring (dimmable plate reverb being used (as well to taste) around the control as tape degradation distortion, shows the status of adjustment. unfortunately), something that Once made, settings for volume doesn’t always come across well on or room adaption can be less detailed speakers. ‘locked out’ individually, using The more material I tried with a pair of DIP switches located these speakers, the more I came to on the rear panel, to avoid appreciate their candour. Quality tampering. Power comes in via differences between mixes show the usual IEC socket, and there’s up really well, yet the speakers a voltage selector switch for remain comfortable to listen to 115/230 Volt operation. and, more than that, they are musically involving, with a good Setting Up sense of detail and space in the All the settings — volume, the mid-range. There’s also a strong various filter settings and LED sense of both stereo width and brightness — are made via front-to-back depth, along with the rotary control on the front great vocal clarity. panel. Pressing the knob causes Every monitor design is one LED to come on and to a compromise, of course, but on flash alongside the name of the balance I’m extremely impressed function to be edited. Turning with the SC208s, and while they the knob allows a different aren’t exactly budget speakers, function to be selected, and they do perform extremely well pushing the knob again puts you within their price range and meet into the mode to adjust that setting. All the need for critical mixing, in that good the setting names are printed next to The rear panel houses the balanced and mixes sound good and bad ones don’t! unbalanced inputs, as well as DIP switches for the corresponding LEDs at the start of At least with these speakers you’ll know locking the speaker’s filter and volume settings. the LED ring, but these are extremely when you’ve got it right. small and difficult to read. Still, you the speakers above a reflective desk’s Eve may be a new company, but it is probably only need to set them once. If surface. These filters allow boosting of quite clear that there’s a lot of design you leave the control alone for a while, up to +3dB at 80Hz, and also a cut of up expertise and experience behind their it automatically reverts back to volume to -5dB at 300Hz. monitors, as well as a good sense of adjustment. I was rather hoping for some where to spend the money. For example, kind of cunning link system that would Sound a plain MDF box may not be the most allow the volumes of both speakers to be Tested alongside my own Adam A7Xs and attractive thing on the planet, but adjusted from a single control, but this my Event Opals, and with everything set choosing that approach does allow the seems not to be available. Again, though, flat, the overall character of the SC208s designer’s budget to be spent where it is once the levels have been set, any further tended to lean more towards that of the most needed — on the drivers, amplifiers level changes are likely to be made via Opals than the A7Xs. At the low end, and DSP crossover. It’s just a shame these a separate monitor controller. this is understandable, because the A7X monitors are in so much demand that The input gain can be adjusted from is a smaller speaker with a little less bass I can only use them for a week! off to +6dB, while the high shelving filter extension. Although the SC208 cabinet is ported, the designers have seemingly Alternatives played it safe with the port tuning, so £ £1559 per pair including VAT. In this price range, the main competition as to retain a tight bass sound with T Nova Distribution +44 (0)20 3589 2530. comes from the likes of Genelec, Focal, E [email protected] Neumann (formerly Klein & Hummel) and, minimal ‘overhang’. W www.nova-distribution.co.uk of course, Adam. The performance of the ribbon tweeter W www.eve-audio.com sits somewhere between the heightened 72 October 2012 / www.soundonsound.com Mix with the best! “Besides the excellent interviews and fascinating, “As a professional I admire Sound On Sound in‑depth recording and mixing articles, I can as one of the most trusted and credible always depend on Sound On Sound for sources of inspiration and information.” complete, unbiased reviews of the latest pro‑audio gear.