Another unpaid endorser for the EV PXM-12MP

[FPFL]

Been thru a series of practices with a single PXM-12 since the fall of last year and I'm so happy with it I bought a second so I'll have stereo on stage for our first outdoor gig later in the spring. Yes, I got the second device just for stereo, because it is so wonderful when you can get away with it. One EV is easily more than enough for most situations from a pure volume standpoint. I'm playing with a rock drummer and a second guitarist; I have lots of room left on the level knob.

There's no one thing that makes it killer. It's the combo of the excellent dispersion, the solid build, the light weight, and the many inputs that nails it for me. It's handy to leave two different rigs plugged in. Sometimes it's a fractal and a keyboard, sometimes it's a fractal and a dedicated looper or other pedal. It also sounds good, which to me is "sounds relatively neutral and is easy to get different sounds from".

Yes, there are things that cost less that are also good, but none that I've tried that check all these boxes so thoroughly. In this case you are getting what you paid for. At this point in life I like to buy the right thing and just be done. No more forum crawling and testing.

I'm also now selling and/or giving away some guitar cabs (not all!) to make room in the space, but not here. I'm just doing that local. Cabs are a bear to ship.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

It's nice to hear from someone else who likes the EVs.

 

[Jkist7]

I looooooooove mine for playing my electric drum kit. Sounds huge. Everything sounds good through it really. I run my synths through it too. The modelers are icing on the cake.

 

[FPFL]

It's nice to hear from someone else who likes the EVs.

You were one of the people that made me curious. I wasn't really familiar with EV expect for much bigger speakers before this.

 

[Deadpool_25]

The EVs are great. They're the first FRFR type speakers I actually liked. I liked them well enough that I kept two for use in my WDW setup (alongside the FR-12).

 

[PSea]

got 2. love them!

 

[FPFL]

What mode are folks running them in? Are you using the onboard EQ at all?
I read here that Monitor 2 is preferred by many and I have been using that with my FM9, but Monitor 1 seems easier to get the bass right with. Using that with the UA Lion.

 

[PSea]

monitor2. not using the onboard dsp. just speaker volume.

 

[Ericbr1]

The EVs are great. They're the first FRFR type speakers I actually liked. I liked them well enough that I kept two for use in my WDW setup (alongside the FR-12).

I hate to ask this, but have you ever tried the Yamaha DHR12m? I'm leaning that direction but can't find any info from anyone who's compared that Yamaha to the EV, or the Fender FR's. .

 

[PSea]

see 4 posts up. deadpool is using them w the FR12

 

[Ericbr1]

see 4 posts up. deadpool is using them w the FR12

Not sure if you were replying to me, but that's not an answer to my question. Maybe it was for someone else

 

[FPFL]

I hate to ask this, but have you ever tried the Yamaha DHR12m? I'm leaning that direction but can't find any info from anyone who's compared that Yamaha to the EV, or the Fender FR's. .

I absolutely love my Yammy HS8s studio monitors. I think they make good stuff. Never tried their live music gear but I bet it's also good.

 

[Bobbyoso]

I hate to ask this, but have you ever tried the Yamaha DHR12m? I'm leaning that direction but can't find any info from anyone who's compared that Yamaha to the EV, or the Fender FR's. .

I have used both the EV PXM12P and the Yamaha DHR12M both onstage and in recording sessions, probably 100+ hrs for the EV, and somewhat more for the Yamaha. To be honest, they're indistinguishable to me (and control booth playback confirmed that no one else was able to, either). They're both very clean, virtually no phasing issues as they're both coax, and both the power amps and the coax speakers (and enclosures) are capable of clean and unhyped reproduction up to and beyond pain- and tinnitus-inducing levels.

I have read (did not verify) that the EV has a couple more DSP functions than the Yamaha, but tbh, I don't process the sound downstream of my FM3 at all, so as an FRFR solution, for me, I find anything other than the power on switch and volume pots superfluous; if your use cases do utilize DSP processing, that's worth investigating.

So, after quite a bit of real-world use, my choice was the Yamaha DHR12M, bought 'em, and I have no regrets. The main deciding factor for me was its slightly lower price, as functionally, they were indistinguishable to me, but it should be noted that the Yamaha is a few lbs heavier, and connections are on the back vs. on the side for the EV. Not a crucial difference to me, but it may be for others. I liked the fit/finish on the Yamaha slightly better, but that's subjective/cosmetics; no rattles or buzzes from either monitors. Both enclosures are robust plywood, fwiw.

Both were better (to me) than reasonably high-end non-coax frfr or PA speakers such as QSC K series, Yamaha DXRs, and EV ELX/ETX offerings. Less smear, less phasing. And the dispersion is wider than in std non-coax powered PA speakers; whether that's a good thing depends on yr use case.

Summary: if you love one, I can't imagine you wouldn't love the other. Now, I have also played the FM3 thru a pr of Meyer X40s (I think they're called that??) for ~10+ hours, and while very high quality, I can't say they were empirically "better" than the EVs or Yamahas, but they sounded very good.

But, you can buy a rather nice car AND a pair of either the EVs or Yamahas for that kind of money, and (again, to me) the difference wasn't worth even $500/pr. I'm not even sure I would like the Meyer Sounds better if I'd had the same familiarity with them; they're slightly different than either the EVs or Yamahas, but all three are very good at clean sonics.

 

[Ericbr1]

I have used both the EV PXM12P and the Yamaha DHR12M both onstage and in recording sessions, probably 100+ hrs for the EV, and somewhat more for the Yamaha. To be honest, they're indistinguishable to me (and control booth playback confirmed that no one else was able to, either). They're both very clean, virtually no phasing issues as they're both coax, and both the power amps and the coax speakers (and enclosures) are capable of clean and unhyped reproduction up to and beyond pain- and tinnitus-inducing levels.

I have read (did not verify) that the EV has a couple more DSP functions than the Yamaha, but tbh, I don't process the sound downstream of my FM3 at all, so as an FRFR solution, for me, I find anything other than the power on switch and volume pots superfluous; if your use cases do utilize DSP processing, that's worth investigating.

So, after quite a bit of real-world use, my choice was the Yamaha DHR12M, bought 'em, and I have no regrets. The main deciding factor for me was its slightly lower price, as functionally, they were indistinguishable to me, but it should be noted that the Yamaha is a few lbs heavier, and connections are on the back vs. on the side for the EV. Not a crucial difference to me, but it may be for others.

Both were better (to me) than reasonably high-end non-coax frfr or PA speakers such as QSC K series, Yamaha DXRs, and EV ELX/ETX offerings. Less smear, less phasing. And the dispersion is wider than in std non-coax powered PA speakers; whether that's a good thing depends on yr use case.

Summary, if you love one, I can't imagine you wouldn't love the other. Now, I have also played the FM3 thru a pr of Meyer X40s (I think they're called that??) for ~10+ hours, and while very high quality, I can't say they were empirically "better" than the EVs or Yamahas, but they sounded very good.

But, you can buy a rather nice car AND a pair of either the EVs or Yamahas for that kind of money, and (again, to me) the difference wasn't worth even $500/pr. I'm not even sure I would like the Meyer Sounds better if I'd had the same familiarity with them; they're slightly different than either the EVs or Yamahas, but all three are very good at clean sonics.

Thanks, I had done neurotic-level research and you're literally the 1st guy who's posted who's used both of those monitors THANK YOU for your reply. Believe me I'm not interested in Meyers .. I have a massive amount of PA gear here and if someone would buy my old unpowered, large, and analog pa stuff, I'd buy a new car instead.. .lol.. I've enjoyed any Yamaha or EV stuff I own, and it's too bad as we used to have a very large solely Yamaha dealership locally in Vt (Contois Music) but they closed doors awhile back. I would've easily been able to test the DHR12m there. There's an online friend who's owned the best of everything and his band is loving the DHR12M's as monitors, and only 1 guy who's posted a lot about it being his favorite FRFR for Modeling. Either way I'm sure I'll love either, and need to just make up my mind. THANKS SO MUCH

 

[unix-guy]

Thanks, I had done neurotic-level research and you're literally the 1st guy who's posted who's used both of those monitors THANK YOU for your reply. Believe me I'm not interested in Meyers .. I have a massive amount of PA gear here and if someone would buy my old unpowered, large, and analog pa stuff, I'd buy a new car instead.. .lol.. I've enjoyed any Yamaha or EV stuff I own, and it's too bad as we used to have a very large solely Yamaha dealership locally in Vt (Contois Music) but they closed doors awhile back. I would've easily been able to test the DHR12m there. There's an online friend who's owned the best of everything and his band is loving the DHR12M's as monitors, and only 1 guy who's posted a lot about it being his favorite FRFR for Modeling. Either way I'm sure I'll love either, and need to just make up my mind. THANKS SO MUCH

Somewhere on the forum I did a comparison of specs only since I have no experience with the DHRs.

Based purely on that, they align pretty close with what @Bobbyoso wrote.

The EVs are a little smaller and a little lighter, have a little more DSP options and (possibly more I/O) and cost more.

If cost is the deciding factor over size/weight then the DHR seems like an obvious choice.

 

[Ericbr1]

Somewhere on the forum I did a comparison of specs only since I have no experience with the DHRs.

Based purely on that, they align pretty close with what @Bobbyoso wrote.

The EVs are a little smaller and a little lighter, have a little more DSP options and (possibly more I/O) and cost more.

If cost is the deciding factor over size/weight then the DHR seems like an obvious choice.

It's only 'sound' I'm looking for in the comparison as all the rest was 'readable' I'm possible the #1 gearhead internet 'shopper' since 1995 lol