By Chase Jewell
I have tried many pieces of audio equipment in my years working with it. I would have to say a lot of people have personal preferences and some can only afford certain equipment and that is OK. In this article, I am going to tell you about the ElectroVoice ZLX-15P loudspeaker. I have been using my pair for about a year now and I can tell you these things are workhorses. From punchy lows to great highs these things rock for the price point they are at. With an MSRP of $499, these are a great starter solution for any DJ. I will be going over the features and some of the ways to use in this article.
Features
First, I want to say in the immortal words of Arnoldo Offerman, WATTS DON’T MATTER!!!! The wattage that is listed on an amp in powered speakers is the power rating. These speakers are powered by a class-D 1000 rated watt amp which features an amazing digital signal processor (DSP), 2 XLR balanced inputs with individual channel gain, 1 1/8” aux input, 1 XLR output for a thru connection, a lighted display for the menu. The cabinet contains a 15” woofer and a 1.5” titanium High-frequency driver. These bad boys sport a 127 dB SPL Max rating. They have a range from 40 Hz to 20 kHz. The DSP has multiple presets for different situations. These settings are Music, Live, Speech, and Club. Music is good for recorded music playback and EDM applications and is the default setting for the DSP. Live is for live sound applications where a sound technician is adjusting the EQ on the fly from an external mixer. Speech is for applications where a majority of the input signals are from speeches or live speakers. And Club is for an EDM focus. It also has different settings for how it is mounted which is Pole, Monitor, and Bracket. The sub menu selects a high-pass filter for use with a subwoofer. It has multiple settings depending on your sub.
Gig Use
After having these speakers for a year they pack a punch. I have been pushing them to their limit on multiple occasions. When I was trying to push these past their limit I haven’t found it yet. In a good sized room, it is loud enough without a sub to pack a HUGE punch. It has 2 options for showing you when reaching the peak limits. The first is showing clip on the line inputs. With my experience using these I have NEVER hit clip on any of my events but if you do you should reduce your line gain on the speaker or the output volume on the device connected. The next is 2 different limit levels. On the LCD screen on the back, the small limit will indicate by showing Limit in small letters in between the line level indicators. This means that the built-in limiter of the amp is active and keeps the distortion under control. The Large Limit will take up the entire LCD screen when this is active IMMEDIATELY reduce the master volume of the speaker. I have never hit the large limit but frequently hit the small limit.
At most weddings in a medium size venue, you will never need another set of speakers to fill the room. You will not even need a sub! These speakers put out plenty of sound and don’t distort when you try to push them. I add a sub or two when I do school dances because usually, I need a more dynamic range that is provided for use with a sub. They go to a new level with use with a sub because you can push them even more! With the punchy bass and great range when using with a sub taking some of the work from them you can put out the sound the kids are expecting! The sound is just as important as lighting at all events and if you are just starting out these are at a very good price point to give you a great sound system with a minimal investment. These speakers are light! Weighing in at 38 pounds they do not break your back at all! With the handle placement on them, they carry very naturally and comfortably.
Conclusion
While these speakers are not the cheapest on the market to start with I think EV hit it out of the park trying to build a budget speaker cabinet. For the price, the clean sound, light weight, and quality construction are an awesome value for your budget. As with anything I recommend ALWAYS try it out for yourself. You can do this by going to your local pro audio retailer and preview them. Do your research and test them out. I would highly recommend these units to anyone for the flexibility of use!
