Electro-Voice Live X 112P arrived today (unboxing inside!)

[rhequiem]

So, I took the plunge and, based on some positive press and reviews that made their way to me, bought one of Electro-Voice's new Live X loudspeakers (the 12"). It arrived today, and has officially been unboxed and lightly broken in. My first impressions of it are very good. It's certainly loud (it's rated at 132db max SPL), and seems warmer and less boomy than the QSC K12 that I previously had. It was also a darn might cheaper than the K12, and has a wooden cabinet, as opposed to the plastic enclosure of the K12. I have only played on it for about 30 minutes, only taking a short break to share my first impressions and share some of the pics I took of the unboxing with you all. It has some cool features, too, like a light-up EV logo (which has an on/off switch), and some kinda neat eq options for the speaker. Overall, the ELX112P cost me just over HALF of what the K12 cost me (new), so I think this could end up being a very very good option for a bang for the buck loudspeaker. I'll continue to update my impressions of the speaker as I use it (I have band rehearsal Sunday morning), and will gladly answer any questions you all may have about it.

 

[DC23]

Wow, looks fantastic! Very eager to hear your impressions about it after rehearsals with it. Just checked out my prices here in Canada for it, and they are like $500 cheaper than a K12! Definitely may look more seriously into this one down the road. At those prices, I could maybe buy two!

 

[mockingbird]

cool!! We look forward to your updates.

 

[The Shredding Hand]

Yeah, very interested to hear what you think. Could you let us know what kind of stuff you play and what kind of patches you're running (clean, rhythm, lead)?

 

[Gwillis]

can we have more news

thanks

 

[79_limited]

Yeah sounds promising. I am on the fence with an Atomic or QSC. I have EV's in the past and they have always been good. I am needing something that can do triple duty 1) guitar FR, 2) run occasional vocals for practice and 3) run my laptop music through it. I don't think the Atomics can do all of this. I do like the size of the Atomics and how they can lay down as a monitor. By chance can the EV's lay on its side like a monitor?

For sure keep us updated!

 

[rhequiem]

We ended up not rehearsing today due to a family emergency with one of my bandmate's family members. Even though I ended up being really busy today with other stuff, I was still able to get some time in on the EV112P working on some tones and such. I have to say, I really like it so far! I will definitely post more as I get more experience with it, but at a little over $500, I feel like this was an incredible value, and easily competes with the K12.

@79_limited: Input 2 on the EV112P has a mic selector, so you can definitely run a mic through it. It can also lay down on it's side, stood up verically, or be mounted on a pole. I am currently using it to run my laptop through (on input 2) as I play the Axe to shape tones (on input 1). You can run them both at the same time, and each input has its own level, so you can easily adjust the volume on each.

I'll post more as I get more experience with it

 

[rhequiem]

@ShreddingHand: I am in 2 bands right now - one that plays a lot of modern rock (like Shinedown, Nickelback, Lenny Kravitz, Wolfmother, etc), and another band that plays primarily hair metal (Scorpions, Ratt, Ozzy, some ACDC, etc). One of my main patches is based around the JMP1 (brit pre) with a drive in front of it (for the hair metal band), and I use a variety of patches for the other band (one using an ENGL, another using modern Recto).

 

[Rex]

I have a pair of EV SxA100s that I like well, so I have high hopes for your new speakers. 12" wedges are a great format for the Axe-FX. A couple of things I noticed looking at the specs:

• Vertical dispersion is 50­­°, which means that in wedge position, the sweet spot will be a bit narrow, though still much wider than guitar cabs.
• The only unbalanced in is the stereo RCA jacks. If you're sending your XLRs to FOH, you'll be feeding your monitors through the RCAs.

None of these is a deal killer by any means. I look forward to hearing how they work out for you.

 

[BBN]

The only unbalanced in is the stereo RCA jacks. If you're sending your XLRs to FOH, you'll be feeding your monitors through the RCAs.

Just curious why you would suggest that route?

If for some reason I was feeding stereo to FOH like you mentioned, then I would send my Output 2 unbalanced 1/4 outputs to the XLR/quarter inch combo input on that EV. Or any powered speaker for that matter.
Not sure why that is a 'downside'?

 

[The Shredding Hand]

@ShreddingHand: I am in 2 bands right now - one that plays a lot of modern rock (like Shinedown, Nickelback, Lenny Kravitz, Wolfmother, etc), and another band that plays primarily hair metal (Scorpions, Ratt, Ozzy, some ACDC, etc). One of my main patches is based around the JMP1 (brit pre) with a drive in front of it (for the hair metal band), and I use a variety of patches for the other band (one using an ENGL, another using modern Recto).

Right up my alley! Perfect, I'll stay tuned to the thread for sure!

-Eric

 

[LMO]

...at a little over $500, I feel like this was an incredible value, and easily competes with the K12.

Were you able to compare the EV directly to the K12? The specs for frequency response look good compared to the K12, but from what I can tell, the EV uses a single amp module, while the K12 is bi-amped. I'm looking forward to hearing more...

 

[79_limited]

Rhequiem,

By chance did you ever get a chance to use an Atomic active wedge? I am curious to how it compares since I am on the fence of which way to go. It looks like with the Atomic amp you can't run other program material (i.e laptop music, drum machine, etc) while using the Axe-Fx.

 

[rhequiem]

I have a pair of EV SxA100s that I like well, so I have high hopes for your new speakers. 12" wedges are a great format for the Axe-FX. A couple of things I noticed looking at the specs:

• Vertical dispersion is 50­­°, which means that in wedge position, the sweet spot will be a bit narrow, though still much wider than guitar cabs.
• The only unbalanced in is the stereo RCA jacks. If you're sending your XLRs to FOH, you'll be feeding your monitors through the RCAs.

None of these is a deal killer by any means. I look forward to hearing how they work out for you.

I believe the K12 has a 75 degree dispersion, but that's vertical - the EV112p has 90 degrees. Both the K12 and the EV112P can be angled when they are laying down all horizontal-like, so I imagine you can adjust the horizontal trajectory. I think, overall, the EV112P has a greater dispersion angle.

I'm a little confused by your second point. The EV112P's second input is similar to the K12, with RCA jacks. You can still plug a 1/4" jack into the XLR input on either input if you need to. That's what I do for my laptop (using a 1/8" stereo audio cable with a 1/4" adapter on one end). It works great for me.

When I run it live, I plan on using it the same way I did the K12 - with the Axe going into input 1 via XLR and output 2 of the Axe going into FoH, with the Axe output copying output 1 to output 2.

 

[rhequiem]

Sadly, I was not... My return time on the K12 expired before the new Electro-Voices were released, so I chose to return the K12. That was a few weeks ago, too, so I am using my memory to compare how the EV sounds with the K12. I did own the K12 for 2 months, however, so I am hoping I am remembering it fairly correctly. If anyone wants to do an FRFR speakerfest in California, I'd be happy to bring the EV

Were you able to compare the EV directly to the K12? The specs for frequency response look good compared to the K12, but from what I can tell, the EV uses a single amp module, while the K12 is bi-amped. I'm looking forward to hearing more...

 

[rhequiem]

No, I haven't had a chance to test out an Atomic wedge, yet. The K12 was my first foray into FRFR, and while I liked it, the K12 seemed "boomy" to me. I figured this had something to do with the material that the enclosure is made of, and so opted to try the EV due to some of the positive reviews I heard about it, and due to the fact that it has a wood enclosure. It has many of the routing and EQ options that the K12 has and for a fraction of the price. It also has 1db more max db than the K12 (which was plenty loud), so I'm hoping it's going to be loud enough to stand out at band rehearsal. So far, I'm very satisfied, but will definitely keep you all updated as I get more experience with it in various situations. And I'm very happy to answer any more questions you guys have about it

Rhequiem,

By chance did you ever get a chance to use an Atomic active wedge? I am curious to how it compares since I am on the fence of which way to go. It looks like with the Atomic amp you can't run other program material (i.e laptop music, drum machine, etc) while using the Axe-Fx.

 

[79_limited]

I may go ahead and give this EV a try due its price point. Like I said I have used EV passive speakers in years past and have always been happy with them.

How are the size and portability of the EV's? I need something smallish and don't need to push as much air as a 4X12 but I would need to transport 2 speakers.

 

[Rex]

If for some reason I was feeding stereo to FOH...

You have a valid point. Most venues run mono, and that would free up an XLR to send to the EV.

...then I would send my Output 2 unbalanced 1/4 outputs to the XLR/quarter inch combo input on that EV. Or any powered speaker for that matter. Not sure why that is a 'downside'?

The 1/4" outputs on the Axe-FX are unbalanced. The 1/4" inputs on the EV are balanced. You might not be happy with the results you get running an unbalanced output into a balanced input.

 

[Rex]

I believe the K12 has a 75 degree dispersion, but that's vertical - the EV112p has 90 degrees. Both the K12 and the EV112P can be angled when they are laying down all horizontal-like, so I imagine you can adjust the horizontal trajectory. I think, overall, the EV112P has a greater dispersion angle.

The K12's 75° dispersion angle is conical, which means that vertical and horizontal dispersion are both the same. The EV112P has a 50° vertical dispersion angle. When you lay the speaker on its side, that vertical dispersion angle becomes the horizontal dispersion angle.

In many cases, 50° will be plenty. It's just not as wide as most of the competition. Please bear with me while I geek out on the specs.

When I run it live, I plan on using it the same way I did the K12 - with the Axe going into input 1 via XLR and output 2 of the Axe going into FoH, with the Axe output copying output 1 to output 2.

Another assumption on my part. I'm used to sending XLR to FOH because that's what's available in the house.

 

[BBN]

You have a valid point. Most venues run mono, and that would free up an XLR to send to the EV.


The 1/4" outputs on the Axe-FX are unbalanced. The 1/4" inputs on the EV are balanced. You might not be happy with the results you get running an unbalanced output into a balanced input.

I run that way now, and I'm not unhappy with the results....but maybe I don't know what i'm missing.
What types of issues might you see by running an unbalanced signal into a balanced input?

And would it make a difference if the EV had an unbalanced input?
Said another way...if the output of the Axe is unbalanced, does it make a difference if you plug that into a balanced or unbalanced input?