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

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K

kee

New DJ
Jul 8, 2009
41
0
Currently I have 2 systems.

System 1: 2 Yamaha Club Series 15" Mains, 2 Yamaha Club Series 18" Subs w/ 2 Crown XLS-600 amps to push everything

System 2: 2 QSC K12's (and occasionally use the Yamaha 18" subs to go with it)

I find myself using the QSC tops with the Yamaha Subs most of the time because the tops are soo much lighter and seem to sound better with the 18" subs. For this reason I think I'm going to sell all my Yamaha speakers and buy a new pair of powered 18" subs. I was not impressed with the QSC K-Subs and they want WAY too much money for their 18's. I recently heard the EV Live-X 18" sub and liked it. I'm used to having allot of bass with the Yamaha 18's, but want something more compact and powered...

What sub do you think I would be happiest with? I'm currently looking at getting 2 of the the Mackie SRM1801 (Guitar Center has for $699) or the EV Live X 18" subs (about the same price).... Any experience with either of these? Should I be looking at anything else?

Thanks,

Jeremy
http://www.facebook.com/patriotdj/
 
If you buy the Mackies I will no longer share advice. The Live X are a better choice over many for tone and for compactibility. Its one of the best sounding 18 inch subs I have heard in the avg DJ Budget price range. Rick Ryan might pipe in but the jury is still out on his dislike for powereds. Contact Ben, Kat and gang at NLFX ben@nlfxpro dot com, [email protected] or [email protected].
 
Jon Tuck said:
If you buy the Mackies I will no longer share advice. The Live X are a better choice over many for tone and for compactibility. Its one of the best sounding 18 inch subs I have heard in the avg DJ Budget price range. Rick Ryan might pipe in but the jury is still out on his dislike for powereds. Contact Ben, Kat and gang at NLFX ben@nlfxpro dot com, [email protected] or [email protected].
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Right on Jon!!
 
It all depends on what you need them for/type of gigs you do.
I do mostly weddings, and the K-Sub is more than enough. If you are trying to rattle the walls/guests, then I guess it's not for you.
 
The reason the S115V's are not meeting your expectations is they need more power than the XLS600 can deliver. An RMX2450 will wake them up but I've found that feeding them with either a Yamaha P7000 or a PLX2 3602 really makes them shine.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love my S115V's... but my back and my ears seem to disagree :tribiggrin:

I still plan on using these speakers weekly as they are going to be installed in the church that I belong to (and run live sound for). I love the speakers, but just don't like using them in a mobile rig!!!

DJ SVO said:
The reason the S115V's are not meeting your expectations is they need more power than the XLS600 can deliver. An RMX2450 will wake them up but I've found that feeding them with either a Yamaha P7000 or a PLX2 3602 really makes them shine.
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Yes, I like to rattle the walls and I've been doing more party and bar work lately than weddings...

Bill Kexel said:
It all depends on what you need them for/type of gigs you do.
I do mostly weddings, and the K-Sub is more than enough. If you are trying to rattle the walls/guests, then I guess it's not for you.
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Point taken :)

Jon Tuck said:
If you buy the Mackies I will no longer share advice. The Live X are a better choice over many for tone and for compactibility. Its one of the best sounding 18 inch subs I have heard in the avg DJ Budget price range. Rick Ryan might pipe in but the jury is still out on his dislike for powereds. Contact Ben, Kat and gang at NLFX ben@nlfxpro dot com, [email protected] or [email protected].
Click to expand...
 
Don't discount looking at the Yorkville sub product line. I'm partial to Yorkville and really like the 18" Elite LS801PB @ 1500 watts. The down side, they are not cheap. The Yorkville has two rear mounted wheels with a partial tilted back. With top handle once tilted you can move it with ease, just like a 2-wheel dolly. It's heavy at 137 lbs.
 
That little XLS does not have enough power to drive either the S115 tops or the SW118 subs! 300 watts will get some volume out of the boxes, but they both want at least watts to perform at their best. Borrow or rent a GX7 or similar amp from someone and listen to the difference. They will sound MUCH better.

As for K-subs, in my experience they are a small room sub providing a nice clean bottom end for small tops. They are not what I would call a dance or even rock&roll sub. If I had $1,400 allocated for powered subs I would probably buy a single JBL PRX618-xlf which seems to be one of the best small powered subs on the market. A single 618xlf has about the same output as 2 live-x's, goes lower and leaves you room to grow and the ability to easily sell it used if you want to move in a different direction.
 
Jon Tuck said:
If you buy the Mackies I will no longer share advice. The Live X are a better choice over many for tone and for compactibility. Its one of the best sounding 18 inch subs I have heard in the avg DJ Budget price range. Rick Ryan might pipe in but the jury is still out on his dislike for powereds. Contact Ben, Kat and gang at NLFX ben@nlfxpro dot com, [email protected] or [email protected].
Click to expand...

I have no opinion on the live-x subs and the jury's still out on their tops. I did finally get my power amps back in but haven't even installed them yet. For now, the live-x are just going to sit in storage. The Carvins are really doing a great job for me. As for the original poster, there have been several here who really thought the live-x subs are good boxes.
 
I do like the idea of going with one more powerful subwoofer w/ the option of adding two at a later time. This would also save me some room and get me away from using the full size van for all of my gigs... Hmmm....

Scott Harris said:
That little XLS does not have enough power to drive either the S115 tops or the SW118 subs! 300 watts will get some volume out of the boxes, but they both want at least watts to perform at their best. Borrow or rent a GX7 or similar amp from someone and listen to the difference. They will sound MUCH better.

As for K-subs, in my experience they are a small room sub providing a nice clean bottom end for small tops. They are not what I would call a dance or even rock&roll sub. If I had $1,400 allocated for powered subs I would probably buy a single JBL PRX618-xlf which seems to be one of the best small powered subs on the market. A single 618xlf has about the same output as 2 live-x's, goes lower and leaves you room to grow and the ability to easily sell it used if you want to move in a different direction.
Click to expand...
 
I also like the Yorkville subs .. the ones in that price range are not 18s, but still kick butt and are very smooth. The KSubs I've heard aren't real smooth (though the new 18" really is nice). Of the Mackie/EV, I would also vote for EV. The Mackies thump, but it's not a real musical thump.
 
I use the QSC K12's (and the Live X 12's) with the Live X 18. I like the sub with both (they do kick). Really love my K12's! My Live X 12's have been doing most of the work recently.
 
Ah my GOD!!! My EV's were SO much ... 'better in value', we'll say. Tonal quality, they're both right up there. I think I like the response of the EV better (because of the wood). I think an issue with the QSC's were the way they market(ed) them. They're marketed as a 1000W cab and they're really a 500 x 2. Either way, they ROCK!

I actually debated going with a K Sub or (1) Live X 18. I ended up getting (2) Live X 18's.
 
TwinSpinDJ said:
Don't discount looking at the Yorkville sub product line. I'm partial to Yorkville and really like the 18" Elite LS801PB @ 1500 watts. The down side, they are not cheap. The Yorkville has two rear mounted wheels with a partial tilted back. With top handle once tilted you can move it with ease, just like a 2-wheel dolly. It's heavy at 137 lbs.
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That is 13 lbs lighter than one of my JBL Scoops. Maybe I should switch, eh! LOL
 
ahoustondj said:
That is 13 lbs lighter than one of my JBL Scoops. Maybe I should switch, eh! LOL
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And your scoops are 16 lbs. lighter than one of my CV's :D:D:D:D:D
 
I use the qsc hpr122i's with the livex 18 powered subs and they have had a multitude of compliments. I hope this helps.
 
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