18" Sub Preference (Mackie, EV, or other)

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I love my Passive EV TourX and wanted to go powered LiveX for smaller shows and to have the ability to expand for bigger shows..... but, this makes me nervous.....

On the one hand you have a lot of people, I'd say the majority, that rave and have nothing but praise for the LiveX line of powered speakers.... but.... BUT then you have a few that have heat issues, power issues and, this one here, with clipping issues....

Did he get a bad batch? Who knows.... Do I want to risk it? If I do I will buy from someone I trust... Ben at NLFXPro.....

BTW where did you get yours?
 
I got mine at a national dealer, Northern Light & Sound, here in Pittsburgh. Saved me shipping costs and time by being able to pick it up.
 
The ELX sub is designed to run at 12:00 for most inputs (0 or unity gain). It goes above and below that to adjust it to the output level of the input (a mixer in most cases). If your mixer runs hot (signal wise, not heat wise), you may well be clipping it at 3:00, even at what you consider a low volume. Make sure the sub IS NOT on boost, set the gain to 12:00 and put the woofer through it's paces.

You may have a bad sub, but you may have also set up the gain structure to put it into clipping earlier than expected.
 
As stated, I run an NS6 with no processing at all. The gain was at unity and the volume on the channel was at a minimum. I was getting limit lights during cocktail hour. That is what told me I had a problem.

Dance music was constant limit lights. Absolutely no headroom at all.

I have been doing this for a while and I certainly understand the importance of gain structure but I really don't think that was the problem.

Also, the sub's eq switch was set to "flat" _____.
 
Then maybe you got a Monday or Friday built sub ... ;)
 
djmm said:
I got mine at a national dealer, Northern Light & Sound, here in Pittsburgh. Saved me shipping costs and time by being able to pick it up.
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Why not test out the other Sub to see if it works properly.... and have them replace the defective one.... before dumping the line all together..... I've seen soooooo many great reviews on the LiveX line that I'd be inclined to think that I just got a bad unit if I were in your place.... it happens... even to BIG companies....

I am curious though.... you said there was what appeared to be some sort of "Service Tag" on the box and it appeared to have been opened and resealed. Were you sold these speakers as "New" or "Open Box"?
 
Possibly Steve... haha!

I was sold these as new. But remember, I know for a fact that EV took back much of their inventory to fix the thermal problem that was causing units to shut down. This was a major problem when the LIVE-X was first introduced. EV told me that all outstanding units (not sold) were modified to prevent this problem from happening in the future. Perhaps this was one of the repaired units?

I do not, in any way, blame Northern Sound & Lighting. The outside box was sealed with EV tape. The other box, however, was sealed with clear tape.

I would try another sub if I had time... I just don't. I have bride meetings all week, two proms on Friday and a wedding on Saturday. I need it to work now. To think, I sold my Yorkville NX720 for all these problems, thinking I was getting ahead by getting an 18" driver. (Constantly kicking myself now).
 
When companies insist on building things cheaper and cheaper, corners HAVE to be cut somewhere. Sorry to hear what happened to you though.

While I do believe the Chinese can copy and build electronics fine, I don't think they have speaker construction down to a science yet. I always believe that those with a passion for what they are building will build a better product. Just like those deejays that 'give a $hit' will put on a better show than those that are just doing it to collect a paycheck.

Fire at will.
 
This is one of the prime reasons why I think processing can play a major role. With the proper processing, you can tame "Hot" signals down some before sending them off to your other equipment (Amps or Speakers).
 
I always wondered why GIVE a $hit is a good thing. I understand that EAT $hit isn't so good, but I wouldn't want to receive a $hit. And how do you take one, when you actually leave it?
 
I ended up taking the subs back to NLS. They will test it later today to see what the problem was. They sell hundreds of these and have had a few come back for the problem I was describing. While certainly not a wide spread problem, I certainly and not willing to risk my reputation on this possible defect.

I picked up the QSC KW181. Just one of them. I will see how that goes.
 
djmm said:
I ended up taking the subs back to NLS. They will test it later today to see what the problem was. They sell hundreds of these and have had a few come back for the problem I was describing. While certainly not a wide spread problem, I certainly and not willing to risk my reputation on this possible defect.

I picked up the QSC KW181. Just one of them. I will see how that goes.
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Did you get it at NSL? I didn't think they carried QSC. And do let us know how it works out.
 
Correct, they do not carry any QSC.

I will be testing tonight and be giving it a good run with the EV ELX112P and also with the Bose L1's.
 
djmm said:
Yes, I had a two days to try them out at home but only for short times. They worked fine for 25 minutes or so. In fact, I made my original post based on the fact that they sound good.
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They do sound good.

djmm said:
Also, there is/was a slight burning or paint smell coming from the cabinet. Not sure which but it smelled electrical to me. And also, it had that service tag on it.
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For me, it was the paint smell. That took so long to get rid of!

djmm said:
Let me also say that I am in NO WAY bashing EV. But, if you can only put the gain on the sub to "3" and anything after that you get limit lights, as some guys have described... that seems like an issue. Sure, there is a ton of bass at "3" but what about when you need more. What if you have to go to "5" on the dial? You just don't have any headroom left.
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What I said was that "I" put it up 3 based on my signal and requirements. By changing that signal, I could most definitely get more. Someone else posted that they run it at 12 noon.

djmm said:
Like I said, I LOVE EV and Cam and I are friends so I do hope he chimes in, cause he really knows gear.
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I'm hoping he chimes in too.

djmm said:
Thanks for the great discussion. Hopefully, today I will be talking about the QSC KW181 and how nice it is.
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djmm said:
You get what you pay for, as stated. I went the inexpensive route and am not happy.
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jokerswild said:
I love my Passive EV TourX and wanted to go powered LiveX for smaller shows and to have the ability to expand for bigger shows..... but, this makes me nervous.....

On the one hand you have a lot of people, I'd say the majority, that rave and have nothing but praise for the LiveX line of powered speakers.... but.... BUT then you have a few that have heat issues, power issues and, this one here, with clipping issues....

Did he get a bad batch? Who knows.... Do I want to risk it? If I do I will buy from someone I trust... Ben at NLFXPro.....

BTW where did you get yours?
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, the heat issues were because of placing them in direct sunlight, which the manual warns about - same as with other active speakers.
 
djmm said:
Possibly Steve... haha!

I was sold these as new. But remember, I know for a fact that EV took back much of their inventory to fix the thermal problem that was causing units to shut down. This was a major problem when the LIVE-X was first introduced. EV told me that all outstanding units (not sold) were modified to prevent this problem from happening in the future. Perhaps this was one of the repaired units?

I do not, in any way, blame Northern Sound & Lighting. The outside box was sealed with EV tape. The other box, however, was sealed with clear tape.

I would try another sub if I had time... I just don't. I have bride meetings all week, two proms on Friday and a wedding on Saturday. I need it to work now. To think, I sold my Yorkville NX720 for all these problems, thinking I was getting ahead by getting an 18" driver. (Constantly kicking myself now).
Click to expand...

Funny, I think that Cam and myself have some of the ones from the first batch - no issues that I'm aware of. The thermals that I know of are because of direct sunlight and something with the cables coming off inside at the amp. Rick Ryan documented it on ODJT.
 
Oh My... could you imagine a prom with no low end!

Don't get me wrong, I had backup gear in the truck that I could have easily put in to adjust for the low end.

I played the QSC for an hour or two last night and I could not get it to limit... this may be exactly what I need.
 
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