Electro-Voice EVM12L Classic Speaker User Reviews at zZounds

"World's Hardest-Working Woofer" submitted February 21, 2011

By a customer from msn.com

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Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Gigging musician, former live sound engineer

Music Style: Easy listening and classic rock

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Sound: I obtained an old Magtatone amp (push-pull 6BQ5 output tubes so about 18 watts RMS). The 10" peashooter Jensen 10 oz. magnet speaker that came stock with it was blown so I did some jigsawing on the baffle board and managed to make enough room to put an EVM 12L and a bullet tweeter with an almost equally massive magnet structure in there. My aim wasn't just power handling since many car subwoofers are rated as ridiculously high wattage because the coil gap and overhang simply lower the efficiency of the speakers to almost useless - not the EVM though. With that modest amp I can just about keep up with my lead player who plays through a 50 watt Marshall with a 4-12 Celestion cabinet. Watt for watt the EVM 12 is the most efficient speaker I have ever used. I speak from experience because my other amp is an Ampeg Reverbrocket (push-pull 7591s) retrofitted with a JBL K140 and the EVM-equipped Magnatone puts out very nearly the same SPL with considerably fewer watts of input. The transient response and overall tonal clarity of the EVM 12 is unsurpassed. You wouldn't think a 12" speaker with a 2 1/2" voice coil would be able to compete efficiency-wise with a JBL 15" with a 4" voice coil but in fact is does so quite favorably. Your amp is only as good as your speaker and the EVM12L makes the best sound out of the signal that's fed into it. I also recommended the EVM 12 L as the ideal speaker for my freind to put in an old wedge-shaped corner cabinet which he uses with a vintage VM 20 watt hi-fi amp which he uses as a studio recording amp. He is equally impressed as I am with the tone and output SPL of the EVM12L. The old SRO 15s were good enough for Ted Nugent to install in his stacks of Fender Dual Showman amps during the Amboy Dukes era and Arlen Vicelli (lead guitarist with with Salem Witchcraft out of Detroit) also used two Ampeg V4 cabinets loaded with 4 EVM 12L each with an Ampeg V4 head (120 watts RMS) and could shut down any Marshall stack made at the time and this setup would no doubt favorably compare to anything on the market today. Feature: Heavy as sin (but still not bad for the output it produces. Alnico magnets have simply become prohibitively expensive to manufacture so virtually all manufacturers have switched over to ferrite nowadays. The old Alnico magner SRO 12 was a couple of pounds lighter for the same voice coil but hasn't been available new for many years now. Ease of Use: Plug and play - what you hear is what your amp is putting out. Quality: I've never known one to fail except in cases where an output transistor failure has placed rail DC voltage across the coil. Value: You can buy Eminence professional grade that will put out high quality sound somewhat cheaper but in the end you tend to get the level of quality you pay for. Manufacturer Support: I've has occasion to deal with EV before for microphone replacement parts. They seemed quite helpful. Overall: No reason to ever want to ugrade since there is nothing better I could upgrade to.

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"Simply The Best Speaker" submitted February 3, 2011

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: Active Musician

Music Style: Traditional Country

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Sound: The sound coming from this speaker is EXACTLY what your amp is putting out. If it's a great amp it'll sound great. If it's a crappy amp, it'll sound crappy. It's an honest speaker that wasn't made to color your sound. Good players with great amps will love this speaker. Feature: This speaker is solid, very well built and looks and sounds top shelf all the way. Ease of Use: Just choose your amp or cabinet and play.It's right at home in an open back cabinet. Very big sounding. Clean, clear with thumping lows. Quality: It's been a consistently reliable speaker. Electro Voice is simply the best. Every detail in manufacture is perfect. Value: If you want the best, this is yet. It's worth every dollar you pay for it. When you buy this speaker you know you bought the best. Manufacturer Support: Don't know about support. Haven't needed to use it. The Wow Factor: It's a nice looking speaker that looks as good as it sounds. Overall: This speaker isn't going anywhere. It's a keeper. It does exactly what I expect it to do. It's totally flawless and gets my sound out there night after night. No complaints.

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"flooded out send it to a good speaker repair shop a for 125 dollars you have the same new speaker" submitted December 1, 2011

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Features

Ease of Use

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Musical Background: All my life my first pro gig was in 1970

Music Style: Pop, Rock Folk jazz Swing Country

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Sound: This is my favorite all time Guitar and P.A. speaker. It sounds good at low or high volumes and lasts for years. I have been using one for 35 years ten of which six nights five hours a night. Its cast frame and heavy construction and clean sound puts it shoulders above most other speakers. I use this and a “Weber Beam Blocker” for my Guitar amps. I also use these in my P.A. cabinets. I have yet to use Weber Speakers but have heard that they are a top quality product. Feature: These speakers are work horses they put out what you put into them. If you are happy with the sound of your amp and want that translated thru your speakers they are ideal. Highs are clean lows are tight, not flabby. Ease of Use: Put them in and wire then correctly, make sure if you are using more than one that they are in phase. A note4 to those who have Fender type amps is they are larger than the stock Celestion or Jensen speakers, so make sure you have enough room to mount them. I put one in the bottom of my Hot Rod Deville as I could not replace the top one because the transformer was in the way. I have original Celestion with a Beam blocker in the top and a EVM 12L in the bottom the amp sounds a bit smoother and fuller without doing all the modifications which are advertized. He top rings like a bell and the low E and F sound like a grand Piano Quality: This product is made well although the QC is diminished since Bosh acquired the company. I received the EVM 12L with both the box and speaker incorrectly labeled. I bought the 8 ohm model which was marked 16 ohm. I called Zzounds which was happy to replace the product. I put a ohm meter to the speaker and found out it was actually 8 ohms. I called EV(Bosch) and the technician was already aware of the speaker mislabeling issue. I called Zzounds back and told them although the speaker magnet assembly looked like it was dragged across sandpaper and it was mismarked I would keep the speaker. Value: This is the Best speaker of its kind I have ever used. I have older versions and newer ones. I just re-coned an older one and it sounds great. I have never blown one. It is worh the money.If you do not like it you can always get your money back by selling it Manufacturer Support: Zzounds support is great. EV support seems to have diminished. The technicians are good but it seems that it is no longer the American company which cared very much about its products. I have a dozen EV products and on occasion have called the company. I called and told them the speaker was scratched and mislabeled and it was like”ok we already know” not further help was offered. I The Wow Factor: It is a speaker not a necklace. Overall: If it were stolen I would be pissed.

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"EV guitar speakers are the best speakers on the market" submitted April 10, 2011

By a customer from gmail.com

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Active musician and recording engineer

Music Style: All styles

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Sound: The EVM12L speakers I purchased are the best speakers available for guitar cabinets. I have them in my studio and guitar players who use them absolutely love them. Feature: These speakers are nothing but high quality all the way around! Ease of Use: I had to mount them in cabinets and connect the speaker wires and that was all that was needed. Quality: These speakers are American made and they are nothing but high quality all the way! Value: The price on these speakers was a little higher than other speakers but you usually get what you pay for and these were worth the extra dollar. Manufacturer Support: support is number one! Overall: I will be using these speakers for amny years to come!

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"Original EVM 12L Speaker" submitted February 9, 2012

By Paul Newman in Christiansburg, VA

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Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: I have been playing for 38 years, some of it professionally. I play Guitar, Bass, Lap Steel, and Mandolin.

Music Style: Blues, Rock, Classic Rock, Country, Bluegrass and some stuff that has no category!

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Overall: If this "Classic" EVM 12L is anything like the original there is no way you can go wrong. I have an Original 1956 Fender Tweed Deluxe that I am pretty sure is rated at a whopping 12 watts. The original speaker was trashed and I tried a few other speakers before finding a EVM 12L in the early 80's. The other speakers would blow or rattle due to extensive controlled feedback I used in the style of music I played. When I put the EVM 12L in it was like my amp came alive and like one reviewer has written on the "Classic".....my 12 watt Fender was holding its own with much more powerful amps and I have never needed anything else on stage.....PERIOD! I did do a little "tweaking" on my bias and stuff in the amp but the speaker made the difference. It is the most efficient speaker for the money out there and what goes in it comes out BETTER! After almost 30 years use I am suffering a slight rattle from certain notes but most speakers would have died long ago. I am searching for a re-cone or I am going to by one of these new "Classics" and hope they are like the original! Actually I can't help but think they actually would have improved over the years since I bought mine!

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"EVM12-L It`s a CLASSIC and here comes another generation." submitted March 5, 2007

By a customer from sbcglobal.net

Overall

Sound

Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Hobbyist , I loved it since i was a kid

Music Style: rock --genesis ,pink floyd,metalica --everything below

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Sound: i have own 2-EVM-12-l`S probably since they where first introduced.I`ve built my own reflex cabinets for them,tuned them almost to perfection, but they need a little more. I`ve melted the soldered connections on the crossovers a couple of times.I was driving them with a SANSUI 9090-dB-125 WRMS AND also 2- 300 watt SouthWestTech amplifiers which i built from kits [Tigersaurus`s-- DC-400,000 Hz`s] [situations] the police have been around to tell me to turn it down,i guess they don`t like Genesis or Pink Floyd to much? I`m thinking about what used to be the EVM-15B,but now with technology the way it is i`m being more open minded about how efficient i would like to be with ground and chest pounding bass,it feels good don`t ya think. Ease of Use: my equalizer is my learning curve Value: i believe i paid about 150 ea bucks,around the early 80`s?? my oldest daughter was born in 1984,the speakers where already built. The Wow Factor: it kicks ASS Overall: i`m thicking about trying to outdo the evm-12L`s.I`m going to be doing my research. i need to get better spec`s on other candidates

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ElectroVoice EVM12L Classic Guitar Speaker (200 Watts, 12 in.)

User Ratings

"World's Hardest-Working Woofer" submitted February 21, 2011

"Simply The Best Speaker" submitted February 3, 2011

"flooded out send it to a good speaker repair shop a for 125 dollars you have the same new speaker" submitted December 1, 2011

"EV guitar speakers are the best speakers on the market" submitted April 10, 2011

"Original EVM 12L Speaker" submitted February 9, 2012

"EVM12-L It`s a CLASSIC and here comes another generation." submitted March 5, 2007