EV ZxA5's woofer out again... HELP!!!

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d2benz

DJ
Feb 10, 2011
112
23
54
washington dc
The woofer went out on my ZxA5 and EV eventually replaced the speaker.

The speakers were purchased brand new in April 2011, I dj almost every weekend averaging about 2 gigs per weekend.

The woofer went out on the replacement speaker this past Friday.
I'm getting frustrated with the woofer going out on this GREAT speaker. I love them, but EV has reconned the woofer like 3 times, replaced a woofer with a brand new woofer, replaced the amp.

I'm starting to think that the problem might be me. I usually run the zxA5 with sub-woofers either a pair of Yorkville 801P or the 720P's depending on the size of the room I'm dj'in. The ZX are always in the highpass mode. when matching with 801P's the volume settings are always between 2 and 3 oclock and about 10 o'clock when paired with the 720's, that sound to be a perfect mix of the the sub and the mid/high.

I use serato scratch live, rane TTM 57sl, and cdj 800's.
I've taken the TTM 57sl for signal check...and the Rane authorized center said that signal coming out of the mixer is "super clean"

Does anyone have the same issues OR experience??
what suggestions do you have for me??
Does anyone know what I might be doing wrong?

I love the clearity of these beast of a speaker.... I rented qsc KW 122 to do my gig on Saturday and Sunday, and I wasn't impressed at all...I actually had to support them with the working zx.
 
That's interesting.

I have had my ZXA5s for about 1.5 yrs & never had a problem with them. But I have never paired them up with a subwoofer (no need to) these monsters have unbelievable thump on their own. (for weddings)
When I do use a subwoofer, I will use my QSC K-12s or my EV ZXA1s with it.

Interesting.
 
d2benz said:
The woofer went out on my ZxA5 and EV eventually replaced the speaker.

The speakers were purchased brand new in April 2011, I dj almost every weekend averaging about 2 gigs per weekend.

The woofer went out on the replacement speaker this past Friday.
I'm getting frustrated with the woofer going out on this GREAT speaker. I love them, but EV has reconned the woofer like 3 times, replaced a woofer with a brand new woofer, replaced the amp.

I'm starting to think that the problem might be me. I usually run the zxA5 with sub-woofers either a pair of Yorkville 801P or the 720P's depending on the size of the room I'm dj'in. The ZX are always in the highpass mode. when matching with 801P's the volume settings are always between 2 and 3 oclock and about 10 o'clock when paired with the 720's, that sound to be a perfect mix of the the sub and the mid/high.

I use serato scratch live, rane TTM 57sl, and cdj 800's.
I've taken the TTM 57sl for signal check...and the Rane authorized center said that signal coming out of the mixer is "super clean"

Does anyone have the same issues OR experience??
what suggestions do you have for me??
Does anyone know what I might be doing wrong?

I love the clearity of these beast of a speaker.... I rented qsc KW 122 to do my gig on Saturday and Sunday, and I wasn't impressed at all...I actually had to support them with the working zx.
Click to expand...
I would like more information. Post a list of the equipment that you are using in the Chain Order, plus the settings for each.
 
Are you still using the BBE?
 
The OP has not yet posted a list of what he is now using and in what order, so I am not going to rush into judgement on this case. For the comments about the BBE..... in a post several months ago where he was blowing the same speaker, he was using the BBE before the crossover. First an external crossover is not needed for that powered speaker as there is already an electronic one active inside of its cabinet. Second, never use a BBE, Aural Exciter, Sub Harmonic Synthesizer or the like on a powered speaker because of course it is going to come before the speaker's crossover/processor.

BBEs, Aural Exciters, Sub Harmonic Synthesizer or the like are better applied after the active crossover on a raw woofer/sub passive cabinet. I have used it for years on my JBLs with no problem. I no longer use it because of the connections (RCA) first generation from DBX in the 70s. Used sparingly they can be a Godsend. For low volumes you can turn them up but at high volumes they can cause extreme speaker excursion and voice coil heat!

Lets see what the OP has to say about his list.
 
thanks for the responses...sorry for the delay in responding...My schedule is a little upside down..

I stopped using the BBE when the original damage happened. The only reason for BBE was to boost my lows on my passive subs. I've since replaced the subs with powered subs.

My signal flow is ... TTM 57sl -----> ZXa5 (in high pass mode) ---> Yorksville 801p... each side
settings - Low/Mid/High are all flat at 12 o'clock, master volume on mixer is about 1 to 2 o'clock.
settings on ZXa5 - highpass moded, volume at about 2 or 3 o'clock.
the singnal levels on the mixer is never in RED ...mostly in the amber/yellow...just above green level...

**I'm not a rookie in sound production. I had yorkville E400 passive speakers for like 10 years and only blew the fuse like 2 or 3 times...never had to replace any woofers/tweeter/ highs and also passive yorkville ls800 for 10 years.
I believe in the ZXa5..that's why I invested in them...I still love the clearity of sound that comes out of the speakers.

Most of the events that I do average 300 to 500+.... The music that I play requires a nice sub for good reproduction of the lows....

...cheers!
 
d2benz said:
thanks for the responses...sorry for the delay in responding...My schedule is a little upside down..

I stopped using the BBE when the original damage happened. The only reason for BBE was to boost my lows on my passive subs. I've since replaced the subs with powered subs.

My signal flow is ... TTM 57sl -----> ZXa5 (in high pass mode) ---> Yorksville 801p... each side
settings - Low/Mid/High are all flat at 12 o'clock, master volume on mixer is about 1 to 2 o'clock.
settings on ZXa5 - highpass moded, volume at about 2 or 3 o'clock.
the singnal levels on the mixer is never in RED ...mostly in the amber/yellow...just above green level...

**I'm not a rookie in sound production. I had yorkville E400 passive speakers for like 10 years and only blew the fuse like 2 or 3 times...never had to replace any woofers/tweeter/ highs and also passive yorkville ls800 for 10 years.
I believe in the ZXa5..that's why I invested in them...I still love the clearity of sound that comes out of the speakers.

Most of the events that I do average 300 to 500+.... The music that I play requires a nice sub for good reproduction of the lows....

...cheers!
Click to expand...
If this is your list, your words "Most of the events that I do average 300 to 500" tells me that you were driving those speakers very hard. It is likely they were over driven. You need more ammo for that kind of crowd, unless they are a bunch of old ladies or little children.
An EQ in the chain would also have been helpful. This is to tailor the signal coming from the Rane TTM SL. If you are running full gain and volume/Slider from the Rane, you are just asking for trouble. That signal is very very hot. At it's max, it may add in distortion. If the MP3 File is also bad/not clean, then thats another problem. Send that kind of signal straight to the powered speaker and its a recipe for disaster.

I had a major issue with another DJ last year for whom I was doing SR. He kept sending me a HOT and Distorted signal, also from a Rane TTM SL and I had to put a compressor/Limiter/Gate in the chain to slow him down.
 
Is the woofer cutting out? Or will be out and suddenly engage when you raise the volume on the mixer? I have to take care of some things in the office right now but I'll get back here in a little bit and let's try to figure out what's going on. By the way the outputs on the Rane's is quite hot and you probably are pushing the things hard for the amount of people you mention (As Canute pointed out) I would add more cabinets as needed and run cooler signals instead of pushing the cabinets past their limits.
 
ahoustondj said:
The OP has not yet posted a list of what he is now using and in what order, so I am not going to rush into judgement on this case. For the comments about the BBE..... in a post several months ago where he was blowing the same speaker, he was using the BBE before the crossover. First an external crossover is not needed for that powered speaker as there is already an electronic one active inside of its cabinet. Second, never use a BBE, Aural Exciter, Sub Harmonic Synthesizer or the like on a powered speaker because of course it is going to come before the speaker's crossover/processor.

BBEs, Aural Exciters, Sub Harmonic Synthesizer or the like are better applied after the active crossover on a raw woofer/sub passive cabinet. I have used it for years on my JBLs with no problem. I no longer use it because of the connections (RCA) first generation from DBX in the 70s. Used sparingly they can be a Godsend. For low volumes you can turn them up but at high volumes they can cause extreme speaker excursion and voice coil heat!

Lets see what the OP has to say about his list.
Click to expand...

Zxa5 are an active box......you want to use any other/additional processing processing, be prepared to pay the price (the OP has).

also the zxa5 does not have clip lights, so the operator has no clear way (unless he hears the speaker crying in agony) that something is amiss.

Lastly, why isn't a crossover being used?
 
Steve LeBlanc said:
Zxa5 are an active box......you want to use any other/additional processing processing, be prepared to pay the price (the OP has).

also the zxa5 does not have clip lights, so the operator has no clear way (unless he hears the speaker crying in agony) that something is amiss.

Lastly, why isn't a crossover being used?
Click to expand...

Crossover with active speakers?
 
Precisionpower said:
Are you looking to pick on me Mr Rick Ryan?? :)
Click to expand...

PP, I want you to know that you really let me down in this thread :triwink:. BTW, I'm pretty well settled in my mind that my Live-X issue was a loose connector on the sub speaker. No problems since I put the new amps in and tightened the connectors. Of course, the Live-Xs have not had main speaker duties since then either. And, to another poster in this thread, NO CLIP LIGHT ON A $1500 ACTIVE SPEAKER????? WT??
 
rickryan.com said:
PP, I want you to know that you really let me down in this thread :triwink:. BTW, I'm pretty well settled in my mind that my Live-X issue was a loose connector on the sub speaker. No problems since I put the new amps in and tightened the connectors. Of course, the Live-Xs have not had main speaker duties since then either. And, to another poster in this thread, NO CLIP LIGHT ON A $1500 ACTIVE SPEAKER????? WT??
Click to expand...

Well...Maybe clip lights would be a good thing....But, 300-500 people and using only 2 speakers like that...

I say you bring the rig for the gig.... I would use more than 2 tops for a crowd that big....but it's just me...what do i know??? :triwink:
 
I don't know, maybe the high pass switch on the speaker is bad and you're still sending a full range signal to that speaker and not the other one. In all honesty using the Yorkville/EV Combo I would use an external electronic crossover (DBX 223XL). Like I said in my prior post you may be asking too much from two mid tops so I would add cabinets to achieve the volume required without over taxing your amps/drivers.
 
You mentioned you've popped fuses in previous speakers, and based on the history you are providing with the EV's, it is pretty clear, to me anyways, that you are overdriving the speakers. Just because they don't have a clip light on them doesn't mean they are indestructible. And if you are using just these and a set of subs for 300-500 people, your are seriously under gunned.

I've always taken the position that more is better. More speakers move more air, while putting less stress on each speaker. Double up the rig. If you can't afford to, your not charging enough.

Also, perhaps it's time to invest in a compressor/limiter?

Out of curiosity, are you monitoring your source and output to ensure you're passing a clean, undistorted signal on to the amplifiers? Are you the type of DJ that runs your board hot (ie, faders at 10)? A bad signal will take out drivers, even if you aren't pushing the rig hard.

Not trying to be hard on you or put you down, just curious. I can tell you from experience that many, many world class DJ's run their boards hot, without knowing better.
 
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