Electro-Voice EKX-18SP Powered Subwoofer

Very damaged, terrible damaged.

Look how damaged it is. What the hell????? So pissed. I got a party tomorrow and this won't work....

0:25

Mike

December 18, 2021

EKX-18SP 🔥🔥🔥

I ordered the EKX-18SP - 18-inch powered subwoofer loudspeaker system, I love the product, sound quality is great and you are getting major bang for your buck,however,

I paid alot of money for this system and it came with dents and scratches, thats very noticeable. That all the excitement away..see my video review

2:42

👍🏽

really good system

Can't wait to own two of these!

I dj and one of my fellow dj partners has two EKX 18sp's. Wow, not saying that it's a Bass Boss sub or anything but wow it really has good tone and the punch you need for medium or even large venues. He plays them on the live setting and if you hear them you'll understand why. I'm simply at aw at what comes out of these subs. So if your looking for a lightweight durable road worthy sub try the EV EKX 18sp and you won't be disappointed, I heard them rock right out of the box at a large venue about 500 people and we had to turn them down because we used two pairs of EV ELX 15 tops and two pairs of Bose 812 tops so to drive the subs hard would have been overkill. They are not the strongest or the loudest but, they have a great musical tone and at the price point they are a real good item, we also have two ETX 18 Sps' as well. DOUBLE WOW!!!! I just purchased another one from Pro Audio Star that was used but in mint condition no scratches or sound problems at all. So in conclusion buy two of these and with the correct settings music or live at 0 decibels @ 80 to 100 Hz you can easily pump up 250 guest or more with the proper tops ,right now I'm using them with the Bose 812s and the sound is amazing. Don't have any complaints here! And buy covers as I am doing soon my buddy has them they protect your investment and give you that professional look that you may want. In case you were wondering what's on top of the subs it's the Eminence Definimax 4012ULF-8 1200 watt subwoofer that I use for extreme mid bass because it can peak at around 1800 to 2000 watts consistently without damaging the speaker but, you will need the proper enclosure with strong internal bracing because these things pack a whole lot of punch and with two of these there's no need for additional subs. Again small footprint but huge clean sound with a lot of power and headroom to spare. All my equipment has been tested by other professionals besides myself.

Andrew Yates

June 23, 2015

Powered, yet compact 18" thump for the low bass you & your client want!

**WARNING: REVIEW FROM A REAL PERSON, NOT A SALES REP**

I’ve been in pro audio since 2001, running my own mobile DJ company in southern California since then. I have used a lot of JBL, EV, Cerwin Vega and QSC speakers over the years. The EKX series from EV is one step down from their flagship ETX series, and a step above the ELX (Live-X) series. These new speakers are basically upgraded ELX’s with a much needed fan added for cooling, updated drivers and improved DSP – the new DSP taken from the ETX series.

I wanted a new 18” powered sub, so I compared and shopped for a couple months, listened to in-person demo’s of several subs (see bottom of review), and applied what I already knew about subs currently on the market. For me, the EKX18-SP fell directly into my needs: compact, relatively lightweight, powerful, low & hard hitting 18” powered sub from a reliable company. This speaker is only 20x24x24 (pretty compact for a decent 18” sub) which fits into my Honda Fit (see pic). It sits on top of my Pioneer DDJ-SZ flight case and has room for a QSC K-12 (14 inches wide) next to it (the other K-12 goes in the passengers seat.) At 72lbs, even with no casters included, this is fairly easy to move around. The sub looks good, although beware the “EV-Coat” finish will scratch/chip if you’re not careful. Buy the $69 cover, it looks good and protects your sub in transport; allowing you to put it on a dolly and stack things on it with no fear of surface scratches. The EKX18SP has a dual braced 18g grill on the front with an LED you can turn on or off, or use it to show limiter status. It comes with the M20 threaded pole mount, but rarely (my opinion, watch out!) is it ever best to have your system setup with your sub/subs with tops on them on two sides of a stage. I know it looks nice, but coupling multiple subs (or using the cardioid mode as these come with) is certain to sound better. Even if you’re using just one of these subs, place it between your two speakers, under your table, for likely the best and smoothest bass result.

So how does the EKX18-SP sound? Really good actually! Used it at several events right away. Very rich and deep bass, and yes – you can feel it punch. Not a huge chest rattling punch like a 150lb box will give you, but you can feel it. Its range is down to 40hz, and the -10db rating is 35hz. It gets low, not ETX low (28hz), but for most any mobile application it should sound very good, including hip-hop or EDM. I run it at 0db and haven't felt the need to push it past that at all so far. I also run my bass on a separate master volume control than my mids/highs, which allows me to more easily manage the bass track to track without having to rely on just down EQ’ing if I want more. The EKX18-SP has three DSP modes: Music (default), Live (for bands...but leave it here!) and Club (slightly deeper). Random TIP: I found using the ‘CLUB’ mode in the DSP had me limiting much earlier, the default ‘Music’ mode sounded good and gave a little more headroom, and the 'Live' setting allowed it to get the loudest and provided even more headroom. It has selectable crossover from 80-150hz and includes preset crossovers for many current EV speakers. The limiter is a two phase system. First it will indicate ‘limit’ in small letters as the signal rises, basically telling you you’re fine but the built in limiter recognizes its limits and is starting to work as sound quality is uninterrupted. Pushed harder the LCD display will indicate ‘LIMIT’ in bold letters, now you’re clipping and your sound is starting to become compromised. SEVERAL people believe the limiter on these speakers is coming on too fast, and I see what they mean. It does feel kind of quick to trigger, but at the volume it’s coming on for me the sub is pretty dang thundering loud, so I keep it just at its peak and the sound/output has been plenty and fine. As a test I ran this side by side with a QSC HPR181i and actually they limited at almost exactly the same time. It did quite well at a 100/150 person nightclub that’s about 4,000 sq/ft playing EDM and hip-hop for four hours straight.

Comparing the EKX18-SP to other subs:

QSC KW181 ($1399) | I did a side by side comparison: the QSC hit slightly harder and limited a bit less quickly. EKX18 surprisingly gave it a run for its money. Was actually pretty impressed with how close they did sound, but the 181 indeed edges out a win. It’s also larger (30in deep vs 24, and 88lbs vs 72.) Features wise and build quality are nearly identical all around (aside from the 181 using birch plywood instead of regular..birch is known to be a bit stronger) The 181 is a fantastic sub, frankly I would have chosen it; I just don’t have the space, and don’t want to deal with 88lbs alone all the time, but honestly give this a listen and you'll be impressed with how the EKX18 does.

QSC K-Sub ($1099) | Dual 12” 1000w sub. Again I did a side by side comparison: The EKX18 sounded deeper, hit harder, is cheaper, and fits better in my car. QSC again has the warranty (6 years vs 3 years), and the K-Sub has its applications, but hip-hop and EDM aren’t them in my opinion. EKX18 clearly sounded better.

QSC HPR181i ($1149) | Nightclub I work at uses these subs. They’re the predecessor to the KW series. The EKX18 was on par with this sub head to head. They actually sound basically identical in person, got equally as loud, limited about the same, hit equally as low. Nothing to feel bad about here! The HPR181 was a big seller at 700w (continuous) 18” 134db max that weighs 127lbs – but still the EV really held its own here. (see pic for size comparison)

JBL PRX718XLF ($1299) | Sadly I did not compare these side by side. I think EV’s EKX series is a direct response to the PRX series. This sub is too big for my car at nearly 29” deep and 27” tall. I have not heard them in person but have been told they’re anywhere from amazing, to “not as good as a KW181” depending on who you listen to. If you have the space, I’d demo them – their specs (take those for what they’re worth) are really good. 5-Year warranty.

Yorkville LS801P ($1349), RCF 705ASII ($1099) | The Yorville is way to big (137lbs, 32” wide) and heavy for my setup, but sounds really beastly. Like an angry sub. Kind of dirty/nasty sound – but the kind you don’t mind for EDM especially. The RCF of course sounds good. Rich and deep, not sure how it would do side by side an EKX. Quality speakers all around.

EV ETX18-SP ($1499) | Yes, I did them side by side. Long story short: The ETX18-SP wins. Lower, harder, louder, but of course is also $500 more, 42lbs more, is a much bigger box – and why would EV put out a smaller cheaper sub that would be better than this one? Nice sub, hits really hard. Casters included and needed at 114lbs.

Cerwin Vega P1800SX ($999) | Direct competition. Have heard these separately, not side by side. I actually liked the P1800SX a lot, thought it sounded really good. Probably about the same as the EKX18, not exactly sure. It’s a little heavier (84lbs) and slightly bigger, but looks good (not cheesy big red woofers like many CV products) and hit hard. Nearly went with one of these. Had a bit of trouble with two CV subs in the past, which probably steered me to EV, but this sub was actually quite nice.

Bottom line: For $999 new, I’m not sure you can do a whole lot better if you want a deep, strong, 18” powered sub that won’t break your back or take up a ton of room. There are cheaper 18” powered subs out there, but I’ll stick with EV on this one. My biggest complaint is that EKX18-SP's power is rated at 1300w, but it's not at all stated what kind of rating this is. I've read that somebody at EV stated that during testing these consistently peaked higher than 1300w (about1600w), and didn't have continuous power at 1300w of course. As an educated guess I would say they're 1600w peak, and 800w program, which would also seem to make sense from what I heard live. Wish they would just STATE that. An 800w program power sub is not the end of the world EV, just state it confidently instead of the random power ratings so many companies are doing now. Hope this helped anyone looking for info on this 2015 line!