Eve Audio SC305 Studio Monitor Review

[3125b]

Not great, better then a 2-way of this design, but still.
Trading in lower distortion for worse directivity would be ok if it was only that, but this is twice the size and price of a regular 5“ monitor without better bass extension or anything of that kind.

 

[respice finem]

One thing are the measurements and other the quailty of the drivers and how good they represent micro details. B&W 802 D1 measure far from flat but the level of detail you get are galaxies away from the 'flat kings' here aka Gens 8030 or Neumann KH120 ... and I can asure you have used all of them.

Actually I got the KH 310A, which would be more expensive, but was thinking, for closer comparison to the test object, of the cheaper Adam T8V and T5V.
Or, the JBL 308p Mk2 I got for my secondary setup:

Adam T8V Studio Monitor Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Adam T8V active monitors (speaker). It was kindly sent to me by the company a few months ago. I was surprised at the very low cost of these speakers at US $299 (each) considering that they are DSP speakers with dual amplification. This is one...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Adam T5V Review (Studio Monitor)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Adam T5V Powered Speaker. It was kindly purchased new by a member and drop shipped to me. The T5V costs US $200 each. Much like the rest of Adam speakers, the T5V has a serious look to it: Back panel shows good connectivity and usual...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JBL 308P MKII Studio Monitor Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the JBL 308P MKII 8-inch Monitor (powered speaker). I purchased this from a member a few months ago. New, they cost US $249. The 3 series look the same for good or bad: The large plastic waveguide is really in your face. Wish JBL would provide...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Yes I know, 2-way, but much better "bang for the buck" IMHO.

The "level of detail" should be better in a 3-way speaker, but it not always really is.
Lower distortion should be the other strength, but it also not always is...

I'm generally very skeptical about any "properties" that aren't really backed by measurements. How to measure "level of detail"? If I compare the Neumann to the JBL directly, the Neumann seems to be a bit more detailed in midrange, indeed. But, only a bit, and that bit can be bias, since I can't blind test myself.

 

[restorer-john]

Looks like a product to give a very wide berth to. Avoid like the plague.

 

[KSTR]

FYI, this DSP speaker design is over 10 years old. That might explain some of the compromises.

 

[Aperiodic]

I must say I'm puzzled by a speaker with graph comments like "War zone!" and "Lots of resonances" being on the "Recommended" list

Not very attractive to look at either although I'll overlook that if the sound is right

 

[kopczas]

Eve Audio was established (founded) by former employees from Adam Audio

I always thought that Eve Audio is sister company to Adam Audio.

 

[ssashton]

Certainly impressive low bass distortion for a 5" driver. If you MUST have it on a meter bridge and not block vertical space I guess there is not much competition that will be better in terms of directivity.

A 2-way coaxial would be taller and have more limited dynamic range I expect. Still as a near-field I'd put driver integration over dynamic range.

 

[ROOSKIE]

I find it strange that so many have been unaware of this horizontal MTM design in studio monitors.
It's over a decade old.

This is not an MTM.

 

[Zvu]

I always thought that Eve Audio is sister company to Adam Audio.

That would be weird.

More like ex wife company

 

[Laniciffo]

The Focal Alpha Twin Evo has the same 2.5 way design, but with front ports and for 550 €.
It has 3 amps (50+50+30W) and is rated for 108 dB max at 1 meter.
There is a switch to set the speaker to either left or right, meaning that the two 6.5 " drivers are exactly the same, just driven differently.
Following the good review on this site of its sister, the alpha 65 evo, I bought the twin as center speaker for my home cinema setup.
I hesitated to take this untested speaker but considering the non-MTM design and the good directivity of the 65 I still preferred the lower profile and 4 dB higher output.

The Focal design has the large drivers closer to each other than in the Eve audio speaker tested here, and the tweeter is shifted higher, but I can also very clearly hear the shift to the mid range side.
This is very distracting at short range with a single speaker but it does not bother me much from my couch roughly 3-4 m away from the screen and speaker.

Although I obviously can not test it, I suppose the source shift would not be a big problem in a stereo setup.

I have no measurements to back my impression, but I did not experience very large tonality changes depending on my seat position.

One issue though is a bad static probably due to a ground loop between the speaker and the denon avr x3600h single-ended pre out.
I still have to find a solution...
Would a pseudo symmetric xlr connection help?

 

[HansHolland]

Although Amir tested (always) 1 speaker (mono), this speaker is meant to be used in a pair (stereo).

And you can use it vertically.

Both will have a positive impact on the soundstaging.

I like them, just a bit expensive. I am waiting for an upgrade of this series (no, I don't know anything, just wishing).

 

[dfuller]

I never really understood the fascination with Eve. They're essentially like very old generations of Adam monitors - this looks exactly like a smaller version of the (crappy) S3As I used to own.

 

[617]

I always thought that Eve Audio is sister company to Adam Audio.

Certainly impressive low bass distortion for a 5" driver. If you MUST have it on a meter bridge and not block vertical space I guess there is not much competition that will be better in terms of directivity.

A 2-way coaxial would be taller and have more limited dynamic range I expect. Still as a near-field I'd put driver integration over dynamic range.

You can turn the two way coaxial on its side. The kali in 5 are only like 7 unches/18cm high in this configuration.

 

[amirm]

Although Amir tested (always) 1 speaker (mono), this speaker is meant to be used in a pair (stereo).

I didn't get that impression from company website. It shows it as being a center speaker (can't link to the image): https://eve-audio.de/index.php?page=SC305#nogo

Edit: here is the image:

 

[Cars-N-Cans]

I didn't get that impression from company website. It shows it as being a center speaker (can't link to the image): https://eve-audio.de/index.php?page=SC305#nogo

Edit: here is the image:

Maybe I’m being a bit pessimistic, but it seems to be a solution searching for a problem. In home cinema the 2.5 way design helps cure some of the issues with conventional MTM speakers that have to scoot under a flat-screen TV, but the only thing it really brings to an LCR mixing setup is maybe some enhanced SPL capabilities from having two woofers, and aesthetics, but then comes at the expense of reduced performance in terms of directivity. To me it’s potential utility would be in places where you have limited space but still want to have good monitors. There it at least provides some form of compromise.

 

[sarumbear]

That's why I put "sub" in quotes. It is not a real sub but plays the same role for say, a 2-way speaker in bringing up lower end.

Wouldn't this be called a 2.5 way? The "sub" and the woofer plays in parallel up to a frequency which compensates for the baffle effect. In a 3-way, woofer and mid-woofer are "crossed" over.

What I fail to understand is how come they managed not to cut off the "sub" woofer properly and allowed driver break-up to mess the output while using an active crossover. Strange...

 

[617]

Maybe I’m being a bit pessimistic, but it seems to be a solution searching for a problem. In home cinema the 2.5 way design helps cure some of the issues with conventional MTM speakers that have to scoot under a flat-screen TV, but the only thing it really brings to an LCR mixing setup is maybe some enhanced SPL capabilities from having two woofers, and aesthetics, but then comes at the expense of reduced performance in terms of directivity. To me it’s potential utility would be in places where you have limited space but still want to have good monitors. There it at least provides some form of compromise.

Perhaps it intentionally simulates the compromised directivity of the end user's transducers

 

[sarumbear]

I didn't get that impression from company website. It shows it as being a center speaker (can't link to the image): https://eve-audio.de/index.php?page=SC305#nogo

Edit: here is the image:

They could have used smaller driver and place the tweeter inline with one of the drivers. They would reduce the dispersion anomalies while keeping the height manageable and the piston area the same.

Wait! Someone actually did that 30 years ago

SILVER 5L | The Only Closefield Monitor In The World

silver5l.com

 

[crappypanther]

expected more

 

[renaudrenaud]

This design looks like the one used for the new Focal Aloha Twin Evo, and the selection for the woofer, which one is medium and which one is the sub...