EV EKX vs ETX

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
I borrowed a pair of EKX 18 powered subs this past weekend for a high school prom to go with my EKX tops and I fell in love. The deep thump, the looks, the fairly light weight cabinets, etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SEDJ
I scored a pair of almost new ETX15 tops at half price from a owner who thought his ETX were clipping too early, lucky for me he didnt read the manual and realize it was just a limiter light (not a clip light) that practically stays on by EV's design and is NOT a result of over driving. Its actually very difficult to make an ETX truly "CLIP" without intentionally over driving or abusing it. Well, his loss my gain

So, you are okay with a LIMIT light staying lit all night. Do you realize that the speaker is REACHING IT'S LIMIT when the light is on and the internal limiter is being activated? This is per the fine folks at EV. When a limit light is on, you are at the speaker's limit, per EV.

That is why so many people are ditching these speakers and going with something else.

To compare, I had my Bose speakers beside my EV's and while the bose were limiting left and right, I still had plenty of room on the Bose.

Poor design and people are dumping these speakers left and right for that reason.
 
So, you are okay with a LIMIT light staying lit all night. Do you realize that the speaker is REACHING IT'S LIMIT when the light is on and the internal limiter is being activated? This is per the fine folks at EV. When a limit light is on, you are at the speaker's limit, per EV.

That is why so many people are ditching these speakers and going with something else.

To compare, I had my Bose speakers beside my EV's and while the bose were limiting left and right, I still had plenty of room on the Bose.

Poor design and people are dumping these speakers left and right for that reason.

I see limit lights on my Yorkville LS801p, very often as well. This is while running the units at 25%, and without driving signal level much at all. It amazed me that as soon as I put a dbx166xs between the mixer/speaker that limit lights are no more. Same thing holds true for my QSC tops, Bose L1, etc. etc. My point being, when coming straight off the mixer, seems that most all powered speakers hit limit lights pretty easily.
 
So, you are okay with a LIMIT light staying lit all night. Do you realize that the speaker is REACHING IT'S LIMIT when the light is on and the internal limiter is being activated? This is per the fine folks at EV. When a limit light is on, you are at the speaker's limit, per EV.

That is why so many people are ditching these speakers and going with something else.

To compare, I had my Bose speakers beside my EV's and while the bose were limiting left and right, I still had plenty of room on the Bose.

Poor design and people are dumping these speakers left and right for that reason.

There's a difference between input limiting and output limiting. Input limiting can be caused by improper gain structure which can also activate the limiting in the EV ETX/EKX line, but it does not necessarily mean the speaker has reached or is close to its maximum SPL. Driving your input levels too hot on the EV EKX and ETX speakers can activate this Limit functionality per the owner's manual.

"Problem Possible Cause(s) Action
6. Sound is distorted front LED is OFF, LCD screen LIMIT is ON
Excessive input level - Reduce the input level or loudspeaker level knobs to prevent limit.
Incorrect gain structure or source input (mixing console/preamp) is overdriven -
Verify level controls of the source are properly structured by using the VU meter indicator on the LCD screen. If the VU meter bar is solid or the system indicates LIMIT, the input or source level is too high. Fore more information, see System status, page 21."

This long forum post link below is an example of a user who was sending too hot of a signal to his ETX speaker and was complaining that he was not getting near loud enough expected volume. He was overdriving the speaker input which caused the limit functionality to activate. On page 6 he states that he readjusted his gain structure (lowering the source input gain, raising the speaker output gain), then the speakers performed over expectations, "..Wow what a difference this had made to my complete overall sound the speakers was more punch I could actually hear and feel the base SPL at the rear of the room which at a guess I'd say was roughly 20 metres away from the stage to the bar the sound was warmer and just overall amazing!!"

EV ETX
 
I've been considering a speaker upgrade, and the EV's are high on the list to check out. But, the weight on the ETX line is amazing. The KW-181 is 88 pounds, with a single 18. The ETX 15 sub is 91 pounds!

Wild that it's so heavy. I'll still listen to them, but I wasn't expecting to move down in woofer size, and up in weight.
 
Freddie, thank you for enlightening me with gain structure. :-/

Perhaps you should try the speakers yourself and state you own opinion and not copying and pasting from a manual.
 
Freddie, thank you for enlightening me with gain structure. :-/

Perhaps you should try the speakers yourself and state you own opinion and not copying and pasting from a manual.

I actually have used the ETX12p speakers for weddings with subs and birthday parties without subs. They are fine speakers that go loud and sound fine when properly operated. Not my first choice, since I think there are some better options out there, but I don't agree that they are poorly designed. My point of quoting the manual is you shouldn't assume that just because these speakers say they are limiting that they are necessarily reaching their maximum SPL limit. It could also be user error overdriving the input.
 
I actually have used the ETX12p speakers for weddings with subs and birthday parties without subs. They are fine speakers that go loud and sound fine when properly operated. Not my first choice, since I think there are some better options out there, but I don't agree that they are poorly designed. My point of quoting the manual is you shouldn't assume that just because these speakers say they are limiting that they are necessarily reaching their maximum SPL limit. It could also be user error overdriving the input.
100% agree. I think one of the issues some users may be having with the ETX is that they are confusing Limiting (ok) vs Clipping (bad). They are 2 totally different things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DJ TJ and steve149
I've been considering a speaker upgrade, and the EV's are high on the list to check out. But, the weight on the ETX line is amazing. The KW-181 is 88 pounds, with a single 18. The ETX 15 sub is 91 pounds!

Wild that it's so heavy. I'll still listen to them, but I wasn't expecting to move down in woofer size, and up in weight.
I like the EV ETXs for live music .. IMO, there are better choices for dance music.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Albatross
I like the EV ETXs for live music .. IMO, there are better choices for dance music.

The speaker that is VERY heavy, but I was considering adding to my arsenal is the BassBoss 18. Not sure if you heard their stuff at the Expo, but their subs are the TRUTH. I'd only use one of those, but it's overkill for most of what I do.
 
The speaker that is VERY heavy, but I was considering adding to my arsenal is the BassBoss 18. Not sure if you heard their stuff at the Expo, but their subs are the TRUTH. I'd only use one of those, but it's overkill for most of what I do.
I saw the havoc they wrecked on the ceiling tiles in their demo room. They were definitely killer subs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger
I've been considering a speaker upgrade, and the EV's are high on the list to check out. But, the weight on the ETX line is amazing. The KW-181 is 88 pounds, with a single 18. The ETX 15 sub is 91 pounds!

Wild that it's so heavy. I'll still listen to them, but I wasn't expecting to move down in woofer size, and up in weight.
The EKX 18 subs are only 72bls and I think they def do the job.
 
The speaker that is VERY heavy, but I was considering adding to my arsenal is the BassBoss 18. Not sure if you heard their stuff at the Expo, but their subs are the TRUTH. I'd only use one of those, but it's overkill for most of what I do.
125lbs is a little more than I want to handle for load in/out.
 
I saw the havoc they wrecked on the ceiling tiles in their demo room. They were definitely killer subs.

They are from Texas, and when I was in Austin for a wedding in December, I ended up in a bar that had a BassBoss system. It was a really clean sounding system in real life - not just that demo room environment.
 
Guys, I have the ETX 18's. If you feel they don't have enough power you are doing something wrong. Most school dances i don't even turn the subs up past 2 ( They go to 11 ). The bass is incredible. I would recommend the ETX powered 18's over ANY powered sub. While they are heavy , the wheels on them are so nice that they are easy to load in and out and roll wherever needed so the weight is hardly a factor for me. Plain and simple - ETX subs just perform and impress at every event
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger
Guys, I have the ETX 18's. If you feel they don't have enough power you are doing something wrong. Most school dances i don't even turn the subs up past 2 ( They go to 11 ). The bass is incredible. I would recommend the ETX powered 18's over ANY powered sub. While they are heavy , the wheels on them are so nice that they are easy to load in and out and roll wherever needed so the weight is hardly a factor for me. Plain and simple - ETX subs just perform and impress at every event
The ETX18 is a killer sub, but for some of us, the weight is a mitigating factor. I have to dead lift anything up into my SUV, so 115 pounds is out. I managed it with my old Yorkville Unity Subs because they were 40" tall and I could tilt them back and slide them up and in. If you have the right vehicle, they are certainly among the best in that class.
 
The ETX18 is a killer sub, but for some of us, the weight is a mitigating factor. I have to dead lift anything up into my SUV, so 115 pounds is out. I managed it with my old Yorkville Unity Subs because they were 40" tall and I could tilt them back and slide them up and in. If you have the right vehicle, they are certainly among the best in that class.

Gotta agree. Even at 60 pounds each, my subs are no fun to move around. I COULD lift more weight, and do so frequently, but why risk injury unnecessarily? I have a portable ramp for rolling stuff into my van, but there are times you still have to lift gear over obstacles and such.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk