Electro-Voice EVOLVE 50

[sunpowder]

Just because everyone seems to like to discuss line array PA systems here:

http://www.electrovoice.com/product-family.php?id=242


EV usually makes pretty nice stuff. Anyone familiar with this one? Looks to be new.

[larren]

I haven't seen or heard them yet, but was talking to a friend who saw them last week at an industry showcase, and he was very impressed. I'll get to see and try one in a week or two when my local EV dealer gets one in. Will report back then.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

I haven't heard one, but I bet it sounds wonderful!

Unfortunately, the net weight of 57.87lbs (26.25kg) is an absolute deal breaker for me.

BTW, I've owned a pair of 12" two-way EV home speakers since college (35+ years) that are the best home stereo speakers I've ever heard.

[TheShadowKnows]

Here's my take on the EV EVOLVE 50:

The 'demo' floor model came to my local GC on Friday 10-20-17. I was there on Saturday to check it out. I personally own the JBL EON 1 original flavor (10" bass spkr). Like most arrays, the EV has the sub + amp in the bass box, extension riser & then the array. What initially struck me immediately was how it DIDN'T look like all the other arrays that look like a toothpick stuck in a marshmallow!

This EV actually "looks" like a mini concert 'J' array stuck onto a bass box. But also what EV has over all the other boys is 8x 3.5" speakers with the bottom 3 angled down along with on the inside what looks like an acoustical lens or what EV calls a Wave Guide, covering them (seen from exploded view pics) which is TOTALLY different from what JBL / Harbinger & Bose does.Those guys just plop the speakers on the stick at angles & off they go! So it looks like EV really put some effort & design into this mini stadium array.

The Controls:
On the bass box it has a two 1/4" XLR inputs each with their own volume only. To the right of that for AUX in is a stereo pair of RCA's along with a 1/8" stereo input to connect to a source via cable & bluetooth tops it off for that channel. A single volume control is there for each channel. A video shows it without the 1/8" input & BT but that must've been a pre-production image.

To the left of channel 1 is a XLR output called THRU, which is a pre-fader out for channel 1. The manual says it can be used to power another sub or speaker system.
And left of that is the MIX out which is post-fader for all channels & is balanced. The manual says you can also use it for a mono signal without any impedance problems.

I've had an EV traditional P.A. speaker for acoustic amplification & it was incredible. I did hate the menu driven DSP control though. But once you find your sound, you set it & you're done. This box is no different. The main control shows the level. Then you can drill down into the sub-menus for different types of overall EQ's, adjust separately the Bass, Mids & Treble for the amp & do other housekeeping things like Bluetooth. You have 5 slots to save your custom configurations to. That, I do like. Get the manual here if you want to know more: http://www.electrovoice.com/binary/E...nManual_en.pdf

It does offer Phantom power which is a great feature for mics that need it. I really love the portable JBL Eon Pro for the extra 2 channels & battery power + phantom power. I think from here forward more array boxes will have phantom power as a standard feature.

Hauling it around:

From the specs, I really expected it to be much heavier than it actually was in person. The sub specs out at 44.5 lbs, the single connector column is 2.75 lbs & the array is 10.3 lbs. I took the unit apart in less than 10 seconds. When I picked up the bass box, I was really surprised how light it was to carry. Maybe it was well balanced but it sure DIDN'T feel like 44 lbs. One of my guitar amps is 55 lbs & feels like it weighs a ton!

The single connecting column & array were no issue as far as weight. A couple things I did like was that EV has magnetic latches as opposed to friction ones that JBL & others have. With the friction ones you have to push hard to connect the sections, which is ok. The EV connects with a magnet & goes SNAP! It's a whole lot easier to snap it in & out & you don't get the initial stuckness that you might with a brand new Bose or JBL unit. Those eventually relax & are easier to get apart as you work them.

So the column snaps into the bass box & the array snaps on top of that. It felt weird to have only 1 column there since my JBL has 3, which does make it more flexible if you need to put the whole unit on a table. With the JBL you can make the array part shorter because of the sections. With the EV, you're stuck at the height they give you. There's no shorter column stick. That could be a problem or not. The bottom 3 speakers are angled downward so even if you're playing on a riser, I'm guessing the dispersion will be fine. Only your live testing will tell if that is true.

The array has a very nice feature: it has a BIG handle on the back. And even though it's only 10 lbs, the handle makes for a very nice design feature. Someone was thinking about the musicians using this part in the field. Thanks EV. And since this EV array isn't 'one stop shopping' like the JBL, meaning the array & columns fit in the back, it does come with a padded shoulder bag for transport. That's to be expected for the price & also a nice feature. With the JBL you can get it bundled with a roller bag for the whole thing. Not sure if EV will be offering this later. It just came out THIS WEEK!

How did it sound?

Well... I'd be lying if I said I liked my Eon 1 more. If EV advertised this before the JBL had a price drop, I would've waited to buy this one instead of my Eon 1. When testing, the EV was in the middle of the sound room & the JBL was on the end. The 2 units were not right next to each other so the JBL when testing didn't sound good at all & may have had a disadvantage. I'm going back on another day to pull the JBL next to the EV & test it again. I'll report on that later.

The EV has 1000 watts, 500 for the bottom, 500 for the top with a 12" bass speaker & eight 3.5 inch array speakers. That's not really fair to the JBL which has 250 watts for the bass & 130 watts for the six 2" array speaker. Not really apples to apples. The EV's gonna have more mids right off the bat. Although both units cross over at 200hz, the EV sounded 10 times better, sweeter, crisper & just like I was playing right there in front of you live, only louder. I'm seriously guessing it's the EV 12" bass & 8 larger array speakers. And 500 watts for a sub sure doesn't hurt!

I bluetoothed some test acoustic solo tracks through my phone to both units. The EV just simply sounded incredible compared to the Eon One. I think the JBL might've been defective or something. I don't recall it sounding that bad prior to my buying it, so something might be up. I'll have to retest with a different Eon 1 & report back. The EV has different master EQ curves for the amp so that can also help its overall sound. The JBL has no EQ curves except on the channels. Also, I was 180 degrees to the side of the EV & could still hear the crispness of the guitar strings. That was a very nice surprise since the specs state a 120 degree horizontal throw & a 40 degree vertical.

As far as looks are concerned, the EV does stick out visually like a sore thumb compared the the JBL which nearly disappears because the array is uniformly thin. I think that's something 'you' can get used to & maybe your audience just won't care.

Final Opinion:

I 'really' liked the EV. I didn't want to because it looks fairly ugly... but in our world, looks don't really count, it's how it sounds that does. I need to get a nice upscale acoustic with a good pickup & really put the EV through its paces. When I do, I'll report back & also on that possible defective JBL I mentioned. Sorry I can't comment on any testing of vocals. I don't sing. Someone else will have to chime in on that part.

Pro's: 1000 watts, 12" sub speaker, 8x 3.5" array speakers, bottom angled array. DSP with lots of settings to tweak. Bluetooth! Feels not as heavy as the specs say. Incredible bass, mids & highs. (my ears loved it!). Array & extension snap in place (magnetically). Less than 10 seconds to set up (literally!).

Cons: Not 1 stop shopping like the JBL Eon's (array sticks fit in the back). Heavier than the original Eon 1. Ugly-ish looking, not sleek or slender visually. Looks like it'd be easy to tip over because the array looks top heavy. Probably an optical illusion. Array at fixed height, can't lower like the JBL can (sections). 2 mic/line channels w/ only a volume knob. No other EQ available for the channels or aux / BT channel. (outboard mixer required).

Conclusion:

It'll be a toss up for me, whether to keep the Eon 1 original flavor or try to sell it for the EV. I might just do something crazy & get the EV & keep both. I'd have a great stereo room system to run my PC through! I think that would be appropriate behavior for our forum.

[Cuki79]

I am not defending the JBL but I don't trust bluetooth to compare PAs. The other day my AH4x4 had a really bad sound over bluetooth... I just put a cable and the sound was perfect.

Cuki

[TheShadowKnows]

That's a very good idea. I'll bring my own cable when I retest.

[TheShadowKnows]

Update to my lengthy review!

A few things I realized when comparing listening locations:
1.) My music room isn't GC's P.A. room even though it's fairly big.
2.) Having a wall behind you really helps the sound. At GC it was in the middle of the room.
3.) My JBL Eon 1 is in 1000x better condition than the GC floor model.
4.) House AC is different than commercial AC with lights & other gear plugged in compared to my singe Eon 1, a light & maybe 1 more thing. Lots more hum & bleed-over at GC.

EV Evolve 50. Brand new, 1 day out of box, testing.
JBL Eon 1, 6 months - 1 year on the floor. 1 unit had horrible hiss with no signal, the only other one had a lose 1/4" connector. All else ok.

I tested via cabled phone & Bluetooth music tracks consisting of anything from EDM, solo classical piano, Boston, progressive Jazz & my own solo acoustic tracks. I'll comment on a guitar plugged in 1st, and music tracks towards the end.

The guitar: 2016 Taylor 415CE with ES2 system.

Into the EV, the master EQ was set to 'live'. It had plenty of treble & bass. Actually I had to reduce the bass because of some faint growing bass feedback. The mids & trebles were crisp, clear & clean. String squeak was noticeable so maybe Elixer's would've helped. Harmonics were fine. I'm sure the sound could've been elevated to heavenly given a mixer or outboard EQ used in conjunction with the guitar. If you ever used an exciter pedal or rack, it makes the signal seem like someone took a blanket OFF the speaker. It adds incredible clarity. That's what the EV seemed to sound like. It was like they had a built-in exciter in the circuit. There was excellent separation of notes & tones. This also was evident with music tracks as will be mentioned later.

The master EQ was set to flat so it was only running with the 'live' curve which gave the best balanced sound, not too much bass (club EQ) or too thin (music EQ). I did need to bend over close to the sub & get to the DSP to change settings via the volume control push button. EV also has an app that can change setting but possibly not all of them.

JBL Eon 1: I plugged into the 2nd channel & it was shorting out a bit. Had to wiggle the connector to get it to work. This was only due to it being an aged floor model most likely well abused. The Eon 1 has bass, treble & reverb. I killed the reverb & kept the bass & treble flat. I noticed right away I needed to add bass about 20% more compared to the EV. Same for treble. That was from the guitar controls only.

After that was done, it sounded great. The bass seemed more tame & not so rowdy like the EV. The trebles were crisp but didn't have that super high-end the EV had. Maybe that great separation the EV has could put it at a disadvantage with acoustic guitars. The Eon 1 simply sounded smoother than the EV when playing. I did notice to some extent the mid-presence missing from the Eon1 compared to the EV. Well of course. 3.5" drivers vs 2" drivers? Go figure. I'd place a bet that a simple EQ would put into the JBL what it was lacking that the EV had.

I made several recordings on my phone which has excellent sound quality. I noticed the EV had very good presence & separation, but the JBL had better smoothness of tone & was more pleasing to my ear. The EV put the acoustic sound out front with its separation, whereas the JBL seemed to be less 'excited' & dimensional but smoothed out the sound & seemed to be very easy to listen to the longer I played.

Live playing conclusion:
A very tough choice. Personally I think most forum members would agree that our audience won't hear all the details we hear & if you play wine bars, they probably don't care. (but I know we do)

For hauling around the JBL has it with 1 stop shopping of all the array sticks behind the sub. The EV has an extra bag but maybe it's not that big of a deal to you.

Even though the EV checks in with 500 watts each, top & bottom, the JBL didn't seem to be lacking at all in volume with 250 watts for the sub & 130 for the top. The biggest deal was the EV sparkling more & the JBL smoothing things out pleasantly. I guess you'll have to try both of them out yourself & decide if the EV is worth the extra several hundred dollars compared to the Eon 1.

On a side note, I'm not seeing JBL discontinuing the Eon 1 for a while since they just came out with the Eon Pro 1 battery powered unit. They'll need to see how the battery version sells compared to their flagship model.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music track testing.

Here's where it got interesting. Over Bluetooth the EV just killed the JBL. The EV sounded fantastic. The 'club' EQ really pumped the bass into it. Unfortunately, the JBL over BT sounded really thin with no bass. It was a great disappointment which is sad because I own it. But things changed radically when I cable plugged into the JBL's eq-able channel. I did try plugging into the aux channel that has no EQ but it still sounded thin with no bass.

Playing tracks into the JBL with a cord out of my phone I was able to use the bass / treble EQ & that changed everything! On the channel EQ I cranked the bass about 50% & the treble about 20% & the JBL kept up with the EV no problem. And actually, it out-performed the EV when EDM songs with heavy bass played. Not exactly sure why but the 10" bass put out a whole lot more than EV's 12" speaker. I didn't have the JBL bass dimed, but about 3/4's of the way up. It appeared that the JBL shined when you pushed it with a bass heavy song. I had the EV on 'club' EQ but it didn't put out as much bass. The EV's B/M/T eq would've taken care of that I'm guessing.

The biggest difference between the EV & the Eon 1 for music tracks was again, that the EV had much better separation & midrange than the JBL. Plus the EV had this top end sparkle the Eon 1 didn't have. All that without tweaking the B/M/T on the EV, just using a master EQ preset. On most of the tracks the EV shinned. But after a while it got tiring to hear such fidelity & separation up loud. I'm guessing if you're DJ-ing, the audience won't know or care. But I know we do and will.

Switching over to the JBL it didn't have the top end sparkle or separation the EV had, but again, it had that smoothness & ease of listening which made most every track very pleasant to my ears. I'm no paid studio engineer but my ears can tell what's easy to listen to & what it can only handle for a short while. I love the EV presence & separation but for all night listening, I'll bet even a drunk audience would prefer the JBL.

It was fun to crank both units with various music from EDM to Jazz, classical piano to Boston & everything in between. If you got a very good external mixer with sweepable mids (which I'll prob get), the JBL will keep up with the EV for DJ-ing or acoustic playing out, that is if you want to emulate the EV sound. Otherwise, the JBL smooths out your tracks for all night ear pleasure (both you & your audience).

I'd love to hear from folks regarding the vocal qualities of both units, which was not included in my review since I don't sing.

[necrome]

Great write ups dear sir! Thank you for taking the effort to do such extensive testings

[RogerPease]

Yes, thank you for the extensive write ups. _RP

Originally Posted by necrome

Great write ups dear sir! Thank you for taking the effort to do such extensive testings

[Groberts]

Very interesting report. Thanks for taking the time.

[bbigsby]

Do you think the harshness of the EV could be eq'd out via external mixer. I really like the idea of having a 1000 watts.