Inside Eve Audio’s TEC Award winning SC4070
This year’s TEC Award recipient for the best studio monitors of 2022 went to the astounding SC4070 from Berlin’s EVE Audio. Hailed for their impact, precision and scalability, let’s delve deeper into this powerful midfield monitor
Among NAMM’s most important fixtures, the TEC Awards returned with a sizeable bang this year. Once again, luminaries from the world of pro audio bestowed highly prized awards to manufacturers and designers across a range of technical and creative categories. But, when all is said and done, when it comes to the studio, is there anything really as important as effective, accurate monitoring? This year’s TEC Award honouree in that category – the mighty EVE Audio, took home a prestigious gong for the impressive SC4070 4-way midfield monitor.
With hundreds of entries being whittled down to a shortlist of the cream of the crop, EVE’s justified win cemented a year in the life of the company’s most precise monitor design ever. Launched back in March of 2021, the SC4070 was initially unveiled as a ’no compromise’ solution for those needing high-end clarity, low end oomph, the capacity to room-tailor and the durability to deal with considerable volume, day-in, day-out.
Unpacking the SC4070, and the Berlin-based company’s know-how when it comes to monitor-craft has never been more evident as it is here. Designed as a symmetrically aligned, 4-way monitoring system, and powered by four distinct Class D amplifiers at 250W, the SC4070 sports two 6.5 inch SilverCone woofers which grant notably hefty bass, while an advanced mid-range section results in a sparkling representation of all central frequencies. Meanwhile, EVE’s proprietary Air Motion Transformer AMT RS3.1 brings out every nuance of the high end. Make no bones about it, the SC4070 reveals every facet of any mix.
SPEAK EASY
Able to be positioned as either vertical or horizontal, and with a swivel-able centrepiece, the SC4070 furthers EVE’s location adapting design philosophy. Though the resultant sound is top tier out of the box, control and precise sonic scalability is simple. The multi-function SMART knob provides a way in, allowing control of the EQ, filter settings and many more of the high resolution DSP options found within the SC4070 (and every other EVE Audio monitor, we might add).
This central aspect of EVE’s design allows for gradual customisation to get the best possible balance to fit the room in which users are working in. In filtering terms, all frequencies above 3kHz can be boosted or reduced by 3db. It’s the same story for those frequencies below 300Hz. This razor sharp fine-tuning capability guarantees that users get the right frequency balance when settling in for a long mix session. This is made possible by the high quality A/D converter from Burr-Brown, which results in breathtakingly smooth, latency-free filtering across the board.
ALL ABOUT EVE
The launch of the SC4070 marked EVE Audio’s tenth anniversary. Founded in 2011 by Roland Stenz, the company has spent a decade perfecting a formula that has seen plaudits bestowed across the music technology media landscape. Stenz, a longtime audio engineer, developer and designer, eventually took up the mantle of CEO of ADAM Audio GmbH. Stepping out of that role, Roland sought to found a company that would further evolve studio monitor design, making them both more powerful, and more scaleable for both small and large rooms – and everything in-between.
Imbuing EVE’s initial designs with high-end DSP-based filter sections, wide front-slots to eliminate sound colouration, bespoke diaphragm material that resulted in extremely low distortion, not to mention the superior clarity of that aforementioned trademark Air Motion Transformer, EVE soon established itself as a major contender in the world of studio monitoring.
The resulting decade saw EVE’s stature grow, as the likes of the 3-way reference SC3010, the compact heft of the SC3070 and the diminutive SC203 desktop speakers all being well received by producers of all stripes. While the initial SC407, launched in 2014, was the smallest offering in the four-way SC4 series, it served as the bedrock for what would grow into the SC4070.
Ten years on then, and the SC4070’s exemplary characteristics are getting recognised, and not just by the TEC Awards panel. “What we have here is a very capable set of monitors with a great natural sound that can be, with the help of the onboard DSP, tailored to suit your room.” Said Pro Tools Expert, while ProAudio.de stated that “The SC4070 model positions itself without doubt in the upper class, not only in terms of sound reproduction, but also from a conceptual and manufacturing point of view.”
It’s worthy praise, and a testament to the results of a philosophy built on both innovation and the desire to provide the best monitoring solution possible, so users can spend more time zoned into their music, hearing every aspect in stunning detail.
SOUND OFF
To mark their win, we spoke with EVE Audio, to garner more insight into the SC4070, and learn what might be coming next…
AMI: Firstly, how does it feel to be recognised for the SC4070 monitors? What does winning a TEC Awards mean to you?
EVE Audio: For more than 20 years we’ve been working in the pro audio industry. We felt already deeply honoured for being a TEC Award nominee, but to win this award was absolutely out of all our considerations and at no time a part of our mindset. Therefore we were very much surprised and it took a few days to realise we really won the TEC Award. We think this is a great acknowledgment for what we do, for what EVE Audio stands for and how EVE Audio is recognised. Winning the TEC Award is a great inspiration and a great motivation for the entire EVE Audio team and for the next steps we make.
AMI: What makes the SC4070 such an attractive piece of studio technology, and how do they cement EVE’s legacy of innovative monitor design?
EVE Audio: The SC4070 is a high-resolution, four-amplified midfield/main monitor optimised for precise midrange and enhanced powerful bass response. It was designed and assembled here in our factory in Berlin, Germany. Our customers appreciate the outstanding performance over the entire frequency range. We believe our customers understand and like the perfect balance between the technical product – a ‘loudspeaker‘ – and the sense for the musicality which are both aspects we pay highest attention to when we develop our products.
We have a fantastic infrastructure here in our company and the perfect tools for detailed development. In-house we have our own anechoic chamber, we have our own echo chamber and our own reference listening room. Sometimes it feels like an ‘EVE campus’ with lots of different areas (R&D, offices, production hall and the acoustical lab).
A big part of the R&D process is also extensive listening to different genres of music in different rooms. Classical music, for example allows to see some imbalances in the speaker adjustments. To balance the technical and musical aspects drives our passion for what we do and to achieve the best possible results.
AMI: How do you intend to build on the success of the SC4070, and, more broadly, where do you see the future of studio monitoring going?
EVE Audio: Getting the best and most balanced sound reproduction remains our main target and policy when developing our products. There is always the opportunity to add features to a product. But with this there is the danger that things can become quickly very complicated for a user. Therefore we want to keep the usability of our systems as easy and understandable as possible. Room equalisation and audio network are interesting things to pay attention on.
It is easy for us at EVE Audio to open the doors to all these kinds of technologies, but if you have a system in the end where you need a computer to adjust or customers are forced to deal with software updates then we are concerned about the ‘ease-of-use‘ factor that is important to us.
