Electrovoice ZX3

As with many moulded speakers, the rear faces are angled to allow it to double as a floor monitor (at 45 or 55 degrees), and there are built-in rigging points for flying or installation purposes. These comprise four single-stud attachment plates, plus seven forged-steel I-bolt points. These are positioned two on the top of the cabinet, two on the bottom, two on the side, and one on the rear panel. Indeed, most of the user handbook is given over to mounting options, and the flexibility of the system is impressive. For the rest of us, there are two standard pole-mounting sockets in the bottom of the cabinet.

Though a passive crossover is built in, operating at 2kHz, there's also the option to switch the speakers to bi-amp mode, in which case you'll need two channels of power amplifier and an electronic crossover per speaker, as opposed to just a single channel of power amplifier. A passive limiter helps protect the tweeter against abuse.

Measuring 397 x 362 x 613mm, the cabinets are made from a structural polypropylene foam and weigh 19.8kg each. There's a single side handle, and the entire front of the cabinet is protected by a black, powder-coated, perforated steel grille with what looks like nylon mesh or foam behind it, so the drivers aren't actually visible.

The nominal drive impedance is 8Ω, with a minimum impedance of 6.2Ω, and the manual comes with detailed polar plots at a range of frequencies. Connection is via a pair of Speakon connectors; only two pins are required for passive operation, while in bi-amped mode the tweeter feed uses the additional two pins. Both Speakons are wired in parallel for easy linking. The connection panel is safely recessed out of harm's way and incorporates a slide switch for passive or bi-amped operation, along with details of which pins carry what signal in each mode.

Used alone, the speakers have a frequency response of 58Hz — 15000Hz (-3dB), and are 10dB down at 48Hz and 20,000Hz. The drivers are pretty sensitive (97dB at 1W/1m), which means plenty of level when you look at the power handling of 600W continuous, 1200W program or 2400W peak. The maximum calculated SPL is 131dB, but as power compression sets in as the drivers heat up, the actual figure is likely to be a few decibels short of this.

As a mainly vocal PA, the speakers have bags of clean level available, providing you have enough power amp headroom at your disposal. They project well in small to medium-sized venues, and have the mid-range integrity necessary to do justice to keyboards and guitars. Indeed, their power handling is pretty impressive, but then you have to take the price into account. You could, for example, buy a pair of active Mackie SRM450 PA speakers for somewhat less than a passive pair of ZX3s. Arguably, the ZX3s will give you better mid-range clarity and a bit more maximum level, but by the time you've budgeted for a good power amplifier it is by no means a cheap option. Nevertheless, with EV you know that you're getting genuinely professional quality equipment that is likely to be reliable, and there's good backup should you find yourself in the position of needing spares. You may also find that one pair of EV's ZX3s will do the job in situations where you might otherwise have needed two less costly, similarly sized cabinets per side.  0