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If you're hiring a PA for a wedding, party, live performance or larger event, the speakers have a pretty important job to do.
They need to cover the room evenly. Music needs to sound like music rather than just noise coming from the front. Speeches need to remain intelligible when the room is full. And if there's a dance floor, you don't want the system struggling once everyone gets up and starts moving.
That's why we use the Electro-Voice EKX-15P for our 15-inch speaker package.
The package consists of two EKX-15P powered speakers, two speaker stands and two speaker cables. It's a stereo PA designed to cover the main sound requirements of an event without requiring a rack of amplifiers and processing equipment.
We've used plenty of different PA equipment over the years, and the EKX-15P is one of the systems we're happy to put in front of customers when the event needs a capable main PA.
Here's what we like about it:
A proper stereo PA
The first thing worth explaining is why the package is supplied as a pair.
Two speakers aren't simply about making the system louder. Positioning one speaker on each side of the area you're covering gives you a much more even spread of sound across the room and maintains the left-and-right information in music.
Think about a wedding reception with the dance floor in the middle of the room. You don't want everyone directly in front of the PA getting most of the sound while people around the edges are listening to a much quieter version of the same music.
With a speaker either side of the dance floor or performance area, you can distribute the sound across the room.
There's also the stereo image. Recorded music and DJ mixes contain information intended for left and right channels. Keeping those channels separated gives music a much more natural soundstage.
It's one of the reasons we don't treat the speakers as two independent pieces of equipment. The pair is the system.
Put them on stands either side of the area you're covering, angle them towards the audience and let each speaker do its share of the work.
What is the EKX-15P?
The EKX-15P is a powered two-way loudspeaker from Electro-Voice.
Each cabinet contains a 15-inch EVS-15M low-frequency driver and a 1-inch DH-1M titanium compression driver, with an integrated 1500 W Class-D amplifier. EV specifies maximum output of 134 dB SPL and nominal coverage of 90° horizontally by 60° vertically.
The amplifier being built into each speaker keeps the system fairly straightforward.
Each speaker needs mains power and an audio signal from your mixer or other source. There is no separate power amplifier to transport or configure.
For a hire customer, that simplicity is useful. There's already enough to organise when you're putting an event together.
What does a 15-inch speaker actually give you?
The 15-inch woofer is a large part of what gives the EKX its sound.
EV specifies a -3 dB frequency response of 55 Hz–18 kHz, with a -10 dB range of 48 Hz–20 kHz.
In practical terms, the pair can reproduce a full range of music without immediately needing additional equipment to fill in the middle of the frequency range.
There's useful weight in the lower frequencies, while vocals, instruments and higher-frequency detail remain clear.
That's particularly helpful when the PA has to deal with several different jobs during the same event.
A wedding might start with background music, move into speeches and then finish with a DJ and a dance floor.
A corporate event might be primarily speech and presentations, followed by music during drinks.
A private party can go from people standing around talking to a full room of people dancing.
The PA needs enough headroom to cope with those changes.
How does it sound?
This is obviously harder to describe with a specification sheet.
The EKX-15P has a balanced sound. There's weight in the low end without it becoming unnecessarily boomy, voices have good presence and there's enough detail at the top end to keep music sounding lively.
That's important with a hire PA.
You don't necessarily want the system to have a particular "sound". You want it to reproduce what you're feeding into it without making the job harder.
For speeches, that means intelligibility.
For music, it means being able to hear the different parts of the recording rather than everything blending together once you turn the level up.
For a DJ or live performance, it means having enough output available that the system isn't constantly being pushed to its limits.
Plenty of headroom
EV rates the EKX-15P at up to 134 dB SPL.
We wouldn't suggest looking at that number as a target volume.
The useful thing about having that capability is the headroom it gives you.
A room can sound very different once it's full of people. A level that seems more than adequate during soundcheck can feel quite different once you have a room full of guests talking, moving around and generally making their own noise.
The same applies to a dance floor.
A pair of EKX-15Ps gives you enough capacity that you don't have to spend the evening running the system right at its limit.
That's generally a better way to operate a PA, and it gives you some room to turn things up when the event demands it.
QuickSmartDSP keeps things manageable.
There's plenty of processing inside the EKX-15P, but you don't need to be an audio engineer to use it.
Electro-Voice's QuickSmartDSP system provides presets including Music, Live, Speech and Club, along with EQ and other configuration options.
For a hire customer, the presets are useful because they give you a sensible starting point.
Running speeches? Start with Speech.
Playing music at a party? Music is an obvious starting point.
Running a DJ event? Club gives you another option.
You can adjust the system further if you know what you're doing, but you don't have to work out the speaker's processing from scratch.
That's the sort of feature we appreciate in hire equipment: there when you need it, but not something you have to understand before the system will work.
They're substantial speakers
The EKX-15P isn't a lightweight plastic cabinet.
Each enclosure is constructed from 15 mm plywood, with internal bracing, an EVCoat finish, metal handles and a steel grille. Each speaker weighs 24.4 kg.
That's worth knowing before collection.
Two speakers are nearly 50 kg before you add the stands, cables and anything else you're taking to the venue. You'll want enough room in the vehicle and someone capable of handling the equipment safely.
Once they're set up, however, the construction makes sense. These are sound-reinforcement cabinets designed to be moved between venues rather than domestic speakers that happen to be loud.
The integrated pole mounts allow the speakers to be used with the supplied stands, which is how we'd normally recommend setting up the pair.
Getting the setup right
Good equipment can't compensate for poor positioning.
Put the two speakers either side of the area you're covering, raise them on the stands and angle them towards the audience.
Getting the cabinets above the heads of the audience gives the sound a much clearer path through the room. It also helps avoid a situation where the people at the front absorb much of the sound while people at the back are left with less.
If you're using microphones, keep the speakers in front of the microphones rather than placing the microphones between the speakers and the audience.
That simple positioning decision can make a significant difference to feedback.
The supplied stands and cables are therefore not just accessories that happen to come with the package. They're part of getting the system set up properly.
Where the EKX-15P pair works particularly well
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are a good example of why a versatile PA is useful.
The requirements can change several times throughout the day: background music, speeches, announcements and then dancing.
The EKX pair can handle those different jobs without needing to rebuild the main PA every time the event moves into another stage.
If the reception is going to have a DJ and a busy dance floor, adding a subwoofer is worth considering for additional low-frequency impact.
DJ events
A pair of 15-inch tops gives a DJ plenty of output for music, while the stereo configuration gives the mix the width it was intended to have.
The Club preset is also a useful starting point for dance music.
If the music is particularly bass-heavy or the dance floor is a major part of the event, adding a subwoofer takes the system further.
Live music
Live sound puts different demands on a PA.
Vocals need to remain clear over the instruments, the system needs to cope with peaks in the performance and there's little benefit in having a PA that sounds good during soundcheck but is struggling once the band starts playing.
The EKX-15P was designed for sound reinforcement applications, and its combination of a 15-inch woofer, compression driver and DSP makes it well suited to this type of work.
Corporate and community events
For presentations, conferences and awards nights, speech intelligibility is the priority.
The stereo pair gives you broad coverage across the room, while the Speech preset provides a useful starting point for spoken word.
The objective isn't to make the room as loud as possible.
It's to make sure the person sitting at the back can understand what's being said.
When does a subwoofer make sense?
The EKX-15P has a 15-inch woofer and produces useful low-frequency output, but it is still a full-range loudspeaker rather than a dedicated subwoofer.
For music, speeches and general event sound, the EKX pair can handle a lot on its own.
If the brief is a dance floor with substantial bass, however, we'd recommend adding a subwoofer.
The reason isn't simply volume.
A dedicated subwoofer handles the lowest frequencies, allowing the EKX tops to concentrate on the rest of the music. Kick drums have more impact, basslines have more weight and the system has a different physical feel.
For a DJ-led wedding or party, that can be a worthwhile addition.
What's included?
The Audio Hire 2 x 1500 Watt 15" Speaker Package includes:
2 × Electro-Voice EKX-15P powered speakers
2 × speaker stands
2 × speaker cables
Each speaker has a 1500 W amplifier, giving the package its advertised 3000 W combined amplifier rating.
The speakers are powered, so you don't need a separate amplifier.
You'll still need an audio source or mixer, depending on what you're connecting to the system. If you're hiring microphones, a mixer or other equipment from us at the same time, we can help you work out what needs to connect where.
Our view:
We like the EKX-15P because it's straightforward equipment that does its job well.
You've got two substantial 15-inch powered speakers, proper stands, useful DSP and enough output to handle the changing demands of a real event.
The stereo configuration is just as important as the speakers themselves. Positioning the pair correctly gives you much better coverage than trying to concentrate the sound in one place, while keeping music in proper left-and-right stereo.
For weddings, parties, DJs, live music, corporate events and larger functions, it's a combination we're comfortable recommending.
And when the event calls for more low-end impact, the pair can be supplemented with a subwoofer.
The EKX-15P package at a glance:
Specification EKX-15P
Hire configuration 2-speaker stereo pair
LF driver 15-inch EVS-15M
HF driver 1-inch DH-1M titanium compression driver
Amplifier 1500 W Class-D per speaker
Maximum SPL 134 dB per speaker
Frequency response (-3 dB) 55 Hz–18 kHz
Frequency range (-10 dB) 48 Hz–20 kHz
Coverage 90° × 60°
DSP QuickSmartDSP
Weight 24.4 kg per speaker
Specifications supplied by Electro-Voice.
Hire the EKX-15P in Adelaide: https://audiohire.com.au/products/15-speaker-package
If you're planning an event where the PA needs to do more than provide a bit of background music, the EKX-15P 15-inch Speaker Package is a good place to start.
You get the two Electro-Voice EKX-15Ps, stands and cables, ready to form the main stereo PA for your event.
If you're planning a wedding, party, corporate event or live performance and aren't sure whether you should add a subwoofer, tell us a little about the venue, number of guests and what you're planning to play. We'll help you work out the right setup.