Thread: Powered 15" two way speakers

I am thinking of getting a pair of 15" 2 way powered speakers for my "B" rig. Most common use will be over subs for small bars, weddings and the like. Music is most often 50s to 80s rock, reggae, and world music.

It is said by some here that the horns in the QSC K and KW cabs get harsh at higher volumes. Really nice speakers tend to be multiple thousands each. No ROI there for me with those.

The Yamaha speakers seem to get pretty good reviews as do RCFs. My "A" rig is EV QRX and I like how they sound. Would ZXa5-60s also sound good?

The JBL PRX tops seem to have mixed views - sound and reliability. I do like the light weight of them though.

So, I want a 15" two way, self powered, pole mountable, better sounding than a K12 but not so heavy that I can't get em on a pole and in the $1500 each price range.

Suggestions and comments?

A friend of mine has 4 of the ZXA5-60s. Runs 2 per side with 2, 2-18 yorkville subs per side. They sound very good and are light. I'd guess around 45 to 50lbs. Horns seems to sound very good.
I'm mixing on his rig August 25. If you have any question or haven't purchased any speakers by then let me know and I'll report back on what I think of them using my 01v96 as a mixer.
I know 1 ZXA5 will keep up well with 1 yorkville EF500p. That says alot about their output.

Douglas R. Allen

I like the EV ZX5A's a lot. Once you tame the horn down, they sound very good and have output for days.



Evan

I use ZXA5 60s with Yorkville subs and they sound really good. Like Evan says, you have to tame the horns just a bit...they are on the hot side. These things get really loud and sound great with live bands. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another pair if I needed them....maybe one day.

I don't seem to have the same problem with the k12's but I also don't push them into limiting and leave it there, like a lot of bands do. I think i like the HPR ( my 152s are for sale) a little better, but they are at the limit of a one man lift.

I agree with what had been said about the Zx5a, which is why it is such a common utility speaker for bigger companies. And the extra hump on the horn is nice for pushing through crowd noise in bars where people are loud but still want music.

If you're running them over subs is there really a need for the 15"s? Maybe a pair of 12"s with better horns?

I have used the Yamaha DSR's and thought they were quite nice. Also my usual fanboy plug for ISP Technologies speakers; haven't heard their 2 ways but based on what I've heard of the bigger boxes I'm sure they are excellent. They have both 12's and 15's. Not the lightest though.

I used to own QSC K12's, but they got harsh and lacked low-end at high volumes. Yamaha released the new DXR series this spring, and I had a chance to test their 12's, 15's and 12sub. I was really impressed with their sound quality and output power, so I sold my K12's and got 2 DXR15's. I use them for most of my gigs, and they deliver nice full sound!

Does the EV ZX5a have some sort of a hi pass filter/crossover? If not and you wanted to use them with your KW subs you will need a crossover. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by Robert Kenton

Does the EV ZX5a have some sort of a hi pass filter/crossover? If not and you wanted to use them with your KW subs you will need a crossover. Just a thought.

Yes, switchable 100 Hz highpass.

So it seems (so far) that the Yamaha 15" and the zxa5 are good sounding choices.

The reason I am thinking 15" is for bar band like things where lots of low mids seem to be preferred. Am I off base here? Of course I would use em with subs for rock & roll.

Other ideas? I am avoiding 90 degree cabs as it is rare for me to have a very wide space and more often than not I am trying to keep the sound off of the walls.


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I would agree the 60 degree is a more useful choice than 90 degree and that does limit the choices.

Originally Posted by Rob Spence

So it seems (so far) that the Yamaha 15" and the zxa5 are good sounding choices.

The reason I am thinking 15" is for bar band like things where lots of low mids seem to be preferred. Am I off base here? Of course I would use em with subs for rock & roll.

Other ideas? I am avoiding 90 degree cabs as it is rare for me to have a very wide space and more often than not I am trying to keep the sound off of the walls.


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Like you I like to use 15's to have the better low mids or to keep the crossover point lower when needed between subs/tops. As I'm sure you know they are good to use on the nights where you can't or don't want to use subs. Its always good to get as many uses out of a box as possible. I use my Yorkville EF500ps for many jobs and had that in mind when I purchased them. Sad to say it but Light Weight is not used in the same sentence when talking about them.... I can and do put them on sticks myself but its an art. I wish the ZXA5 speaker was out when I purchased them as they are around the same price and have a higher spl.

Douglas R. Allen