EAW speakers and AxeII

halenesque

Inspired
Ive been pondering for weeks on what direction I want to go in as far as getting a couple of speakers to mainly use for my Axe.
I guess I want the best of both worlds as I would like to be able to use them for monitors for my Axe at home and yet be possibly incorporated into my PA setup for live use as mains. I realize u have tradeoffs with everything but a really happy medium is what I am shooting for
with cost not really being the issue. Mainly being happy or content that I didnt waste my money. I am in a location where auditioning
speakers isnt an option at all so I have to rely on lots of research and good old questions. I know there are many different options and had sorta
narrowed it down to a couple and then I seen where at Axe Fest several people really liked the Eaw's used there. I know these are a little expensive and not too attainable but EAW also makes many different models and was wondering if anyone is using any for their setup with the Axe whether it be live or just home use. Ones I have looked at are the LA series (212) as well as the KF series (300's). These cost a lot more and are for a more permanent install but if u have the space would work at home if they sounded good. Id just like to get anyones thoughts on going this route as opposed to getting
a Matrix setup or RCF's, JBL's, Mackies etc. Many think they sound pretty flat and have a good midrange and bass response in general. If I went this route would I really need to buy a different power amp such as a Matrix GT1000 (I have several QSC's) to make it cleaner and more transparent. I sincerely appreciate any info/experiences. Thanks all
 
The EAW's at the Axe-Fest were $3K each but are no longer made. If you have that kind of money... go for it. IMHO, you get what you pay for. The value end delivers solid value and as you move up, you get more accurate. Just buy the best you can afford and then forget it and have fun.

Having heard them all first-hand now (and playing through them all first-hand on Friday) in addition to either owning/using/borrowing or reviewing many others... I still am happy with what I own. (*See my signature if you don't know). Other guys prefer other speakers; and it's all personal preference in the end.
 
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The NT series are no longer made. I do see them show up on ebay every once in a while. I'm not an expert but I'll tell you what I know. There were 4 NT models - 59, 56, 29, and 26. The first number denoted the size of the LF driver - 5 = 15, 2 = 12. The second number denoted horn dispersion - 90 and 60 degrees respectively. They are biamped with 1000 watts to LF and 500 to high for a total of 1500. They have EAW's Gunness Focusing signal processing built in. It compensates for issues caused by the horn and flattens the output.

As to cost, I don't believe they sold for $6K each when they were still being offered by EAW - more like $6K a pair. Someone posted a price of $12K a pair from a UK site. Not sure what that's about, but all I can figure is that they're trying to take advantage of the "hard to get" nature of the speaker. I bought mine used at a deal I couldn't pass up.

The NT59's are huge, heavy, and unwieldy. They can be hand carried, but I usually wheel them around on a small cart. I haven't had the opportunity to see or here the NT29's. They are certainly smaller and I would imagine sound every bit as good as the NT59's.

When I bought the EAW's, it was after trying JBL's, FBT's, Mackies, QSC's, and Yamahas. I played through all of these extensively. I really wanted to try the RCF's that are now growing in popularity but none were available. There are several other high end solutions - Meyer, L'acoustics, etc. They are all very expensive. I would put the RCF's in that higher-end category, but again, I haven't played through them. (I haven't played through the other high end solutions either - only the EAW's).

Anyway, finding the EAW's was a Godsend for me because I had become very frustrated with the solutions available through the normal retail chain(s). I drove the guy that was selling them crazy because I spent so long in his garage deciding. I finally decided to pull the trigger and nervously awaited my first use of them live. I used them that following weekend, was absolutely thrilled and haven't questioned the decision since.

I've entertained thoughts of preferring something lighter and have been curious about the RCF's and the new Atomics. The RCF's sounded great last weekend. But I can't comment on them from first hand experience. However, I will give you my impression of the EAW's.

A quick note before I do that. As I mentioned earlier, the NT series has on-board processing. I do not believe that any of the other solutions you mentioned do. EAW has the JFNT series that apparantly has it, but all of their other solutions require the purchase of their outboard processor to obtain their Gunness solution. This is an important consideration as I believe it is instrumental in attaining the very flat response of the NT series.

So my impressions. I find them to be as neutral as studio monitors. They do not seem to add much color at all. In fact, playing standard recorded material through them brings the same reaction from the casual listener as does a pair of good monitors - "kind of flat sounding". Funny story - the guy who sold them to me said that I would probably have to use an EQ to turn up the bass and highs to get a lively sound. :) Anyway, this transparency seems to reveal every nuance in the Axe's models. In every other solution I've tried (again - these were primarily the "prosumer" lines), I felt that I was hearing a considerable dose of the speaker's character mixed with the tone of the Axe Fx. With the EAW's, I don't get that feeling in the slightest. This really may be the case with all truly high end pro audio gear.

The result of this is strong confidence that I am hearing the models as accurately as possible.

As far as power and feel, well, frankly, they're pretty astounding. Even after having them for almost a year, I still smile when I play through them. And when I get to hook up both of them, I find myself laughing on occasion.

In the end, I would never have been able to justify, let alone afford a new pair of these. I was looking at the high end of the prosumer space. I found these and stretched that budget a little to get these. It was definitely worth it for me. But I would definitely recommend auditioning somehow before you make a decision to buy used.

I definitely echo Scott's words - you get what you pay for, but be sure you know what you're getting before you lay out several thousand dollars.
 
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If the US price was around $3000, then £3800 wouldnt be abnormal. We normally pay roughly the same in £ as you do in $ - with higher priced items often being a little more than that.
 
Thanks Scott and youngmic for the valuable and in depth input. Not familiar with the JFNT series but will look for some info
on them. If I could find a pair of the Nt series Im sure I would jump on them. I want something before too long but dont want
to rush and be unsatisfied.
 
Pardon me, but as far as I can see, the price in the link for the NT59 is € 3,947.87 (euros), not pounds.
 
It's showing £3835.99 for me, the website will probably recognise which location you're at and change the price accordingly....still expensive though.

just clicked the Euro price and its showing 4771.97 for me. Weird.

edit: if you click on the USD price option it give you the $6000 price CrazyTrainer mentioned....holy moly, are they serious?
 
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