mobbaddict
Headphoneus Supremus
Ok so I had a chance to audition the 4070 last week-end. The former owner of the 4070 is a sound engineer. He bought it without auditionning it and he happened to give it away to a friend later because he didn't like the 4070 so much. He actually went back to his SR-202 for private listening as well as monitoring sessions (he records classical pieces). He borrowed the 4070 from his friend to compare it with the Omega 2 Mk1. We also compared them with his speakers, some Yamaha NS1000X monitors.
So I will try to sum up his impressions. According to him the SR-202 is already a bit too bright and agressive in the mids-treble. It also lacks bass extension. He told me that he has to cool the treble down while recording pieces with the 202. The issue that he had with the 4070 is that it's even more agressive and hotter in the treble. He does find bass extension better with the 4070 but not as good as the O2. He also finds the soundstage too narrow with the 4070. But of course isolation is a big plus with the 4070.
He liked the O2 very much. According to him the whole balance is more real with the O2 than with the 202, especially in the mids (more low mids with the O2). Bass is bigger and more extended than with the 4070. The O2 sounds more refined than the 4070 according to him. He found that the O2 smoothens the mids-treble a bit compared to his Yamaha speakers. He told me that if he used the O2 for monitoring he would have to take that into account. So that means neither is perfect for his needs but the O2 and the 202 fit the bill overall.
I have to say I mostly agreed with him. The O2 sounds bigger in the lows than the 4070, and smoother in the mids-treble. More natural to my ears. The 4070 sounds quite analytical to me. It's OK for acoustic recordings but not so much for pop music and such. The 4070 remains very transparent and clear-sounding, not close-in at all, which is a good point.
He made me listen to Le sacre du Printemps from Stravinsky to show me how extended in the lows his speakers are. The O2 could obviously not compete with the physical impact of his Velodyne DD 15 (the vibrations!) but I felt it could more or less compete in terms of bass presence. It was just not as refined. I must say that I'm not very comfortable with sub-bass though (I don't really know if I'm supposed to hear something, or just feel the vibrations?).
Hope that helps!
So I will try to sum up his impressions. According to him the SR-202 is already a bit too bright and agressive in the mids-treble. It also lacks bass extension. He told me that he has to cool the treble down while recording pieces with the 202. The issue that he had with the 4070 is that it's even more agressive and hotter in the treble. He does find bass extension better with the 4070 but not as good as the O2. He also finds the soundstage too narrow with the 4070. But of course isolation is a big plus with the 4070.
He liked the O2 very much. According to him the whole balance is more real with the O2 than with the 202, especially in the mids (more low mids with the O2). Bass is bigger and more extended than with the 4070. The O2 sounds more refined than the 4070 according to him. He found that the O2 smoothens the mids-treble a bit compared to his Yamaha speakers. He told me that if he used the O2 for monitoring he would have to take that into account. So that means neither is perfect for his needs but the O2 and the 202 fit the bill overall.
I have to say I mostly agreed with him. The O2 sounds bigger in the lows than the 4070, and smoother in the mids-treble. More natural to my ears. The 4070 sounds quite analytical to me. It's OK for acoustic recordings but not so much for pop music and such. The 4070 remains very transparent and clear-sounding, not close-in at all, which is a good point.
He made me listen to Le sacre du Printemps from Stravinsky to show me how extended in the lows his speakers are. The O2 could obviously not compete with the physical impact of his Velodyne DD 15 (the vibrations!) but I felt it could more or less compete in terms of bass presence. It was just not as refined. I must say that I'm not very comfortable with sub-bass though (I don't really know if I'm supposed to hear something, or just feel the vibrations?).
Hope that helps!
