EV ZLX 12P

I use these speakers in a variety of applications - main speakers in rooms up to about 150 people for DJ's, vocalists and presentations, and also as monitors for bands, vocalists and dance productions. After using them for a few years, I'm very happy with how they have performed, and my clients are happy too.

Appearance - sometimes how a speaker looks can be as important as how it sounds, and these are good looking boxes. They look the part for conferences and weddings, etc. Additionally, the EV logo puts a smile on the face of the artists I work with before they even start the sound check!

Sound - great for the price, they sound as good as some more expensive speakers I've used. They do need a little eq when used as monitors, but this is to be expected. My clients regularly comment on how good they sound, particularly the DJ's.

Power - they're not the most powerful speakers on the market but as long as you're realistic about what to expect at this price point, they are very capable. I've used them as mains in rooms up to about 150 people and as monitors with 9 piece funky soul bands where they have performed admirably, but I feel this is about the limit. You may get more mileage out of them by combining them with subs.

Features - the built in mixer is handy if you just need a mic or background music for drinks receptions, etc. The easy to use DSP is pretty useful, with a selection of EQ presets. Be careful with the "club" setting though, as it significantly boosts the bass causing low end feedback in the mic which can be difficult to control with typical DJ mixers.

Build/reliability - these are nice and light which makes loading and setup a breeze even if you are on your own. Some online reviewers have raised concerns about the build quality of these speakers but that appears to have been from an early production run, and I've certainly not experienced such issues with any of mine. As for reliability, I have 4 of these which see use most weekends and have had zero problems after 2-3 years.

Conclusion - excellent speakers for the price, versatile and a joy to work with. Will be buying more of these in the future and would definitely recommend to others.

I am very impressed with these at this price bracket.
Very reasonable sound, well balanced for vocals and acoustic instruments.

I eq out a little top end but then I prefer a more natural sound.

Having two inputs that can handle non-phantom mics, jack inputs from guitars or keyboards and line level make them suitable for performers who need a very small footprint (such as a musician at a wedding ceremony). Keyboardist would benefit from the 15" version to handle the lower notes effectively in that situation.

Of course having a preamp and some eq/reverb ahead of the speaker inputs would always be better but not essential in this case.

Recently used these as the only amplification for an outdoor event (beer garden) they handled acoustic guitars and vocals very well up to the acoustic level of a hard hitting rock drummer. Also worked great for an electric guitarist who plugged his pedal board straight into my desk.

They emit quite a lot of sound through the sides which could be beneficial for any small groups who cannot afford monitors as they will hear quite a lot of themselves through the side of the speaker!

After using these speakers since February, I have been impressed by them to the point at which I would probably never switch from EV to another brand again.

These speakers are packed with the highest-end features on a lower-mid price bracket speaker I personally have ever seen. The onboard DSP allows for so many options with subwoofers, mounting options and sound trimming I do away with an equalizer all together, but even the built in programs do a solid job at keeping good sound quality running all the way up to peak

Running these with my thebox 212 sub A (another highly recommended product) gave me sound that an audio engineer who usually runs top-of-the-line RCF and QSC products could not comprehend, quoting 'I can't even get that treble clarity on my £10,000 line array system'.

An amazing product on it's own for small-medium size venues, and with a sub, awesome for larger venues and events too!!

I initially only bought one of these to try, to get an idea of the quality before buying a second one.
As to be expected from Thomann, it arrived very promtly, and double boxed too. They even included a UK mains cable in a seperate package!

The build quality of the ZLX seems very good. The switches and knobs feel sturdy, and the grills seem solid. They certainly look a lot more expensive than they are.
The soft touch plastic on the handles does mark easily, but these usually wipe off.

The 3 handles are a nice touch, and allow for carrying in many different ways. (Handles on the top, bottom and side).

Finally, sound quality is excellent. I had no hesitations in buying a second one. They have a suprisingly warm low end for 12s, and go fairly low. Midrange is very natural sounding and the highs are very detailed, but not harsh.

I had the chance to compare this to the ELX, and they possibly sound a bit sweeter. (I'm sure the ELX go louder though)

These do have DSP controls, but I find I leave it on the default setting. There is a high pass filter in the DSP which is useful for using with a sub that's not feeding HF to the tops.

Overall a very recommended model! And at this price, it's just incredible value.

I purchased an EV ZLX 12P after researching on-line for budget options to power my Axe-FX II.

The speaker arrived promptly and very well packaged. Plenty of connection options available taking an either 1/8-inch auxiliary from an external stereo source like an ipod or similar device, 2 x XLR/TRS inputs, and 1 x XLR output allows you to send a balanced signal to and from the unit.

On-board is a well-designed LCD display for DSP that at first can feel a little complicated but is actually well thought out and a breeze to use in no time. Here you can make very precise EQ adjustments to the sound of the speaker. This is also where you can find some other very useful features such as input metering and complete mode changes to reflect how the speaker is being used (as a floor wedge or as a speaker on a pole or bracket) etc.

The sound is very crisp and clear, and can get seriously loud if needed. If offers 1000-W in a Class-D bi-amplified design with a frequency range of 50 Hz - 20 kHz.

With a super-durable composite construction these speakers are a total bargain for the price.

I bought a pair of these for my church, where their main use is as powered monitors. The sound quality from them is very good. They are a massive improvement over the cheap floor wedges we had before. We have been using them for several months now, and they have been rock solid.

We have also used them as front of house speakers for an event outside the main church building. At 1000W they have plenty of power for smaller events, although I think you'd want a sub for using them for bigger events.

The ability to taylor the EQ dependent on application is good - especially the floor wedge preset that cuts the bass frequencies when used in this role.

The one minor flaw I'd raise is that the knob that is used for setting levels and navigating the menus can get knocked a bit easily. Some of the guys at church accidentally set the level to +10dB by accident which got rather loud!

Overall, for the price we paid, they are very good speakers.