Sometimes it's best to review a product before learning the retail price. In fact we may institute a new policy for review articles here at Church Production Magazine. We’ll keep you posted on that.
Case in point: When the self-powered Electro-Voice ZXA1 Compact Powered Loudspeakers arrived in our office for review, my first reaction was that the boxes were smaller and lighter than anticipated. It was easy to put the pair of speakers on a little luggage-grade hand truck, throw them in the back of the car for the short trip to my church for a quick listen from our church technical director and musical director.
The ZXA1 is an eight-inch, two-way, powered loudspeaker (800 watts), bi-amped. Attached to the 90x50-degree rotatable high-frequency horn is a one-inch compression driver. A 100x100-degree version is available. Again, the horn is rotatable, but doing so would of course be pointless. It has an integrated floor monitor angle built into the solid, polystyrene enclosure, a pole mount on the bottom, a carrying handle up top, and four fly points for permanent installation. EV specs the unit at 19 pounds, but honestly they feel lighter.
The back panel mixer/amp controls include line and mic inputs with single gain control, a master volume control, built-in limiter, selectable high-pass filter for use with a subwoofer, and a master output for connecting to another speaker or a sub.
Upon arrival at the church, we set up the pair of ZXA1's as floor monitors for our church's music director/keyboard player. He likes his monitor mix really loud. “Not bad” at all was the initial reaction, but this was in a near-field monitoring application.
Next we turned them around into our church's 1,500-seat auditorium and listened to the obligatory Steely Dan CD, as well as live keyboards. Though by no means sufficient to fill the entire room, the output and sound quality were remarkable. The sound was rich, balanced and not a hint of harshness.
With nods and raised eyebrows all around, someone finally thought to ask about the price. I had to admit I didn't know. We hopped on the Internet and found the retail price was an unexpected $599, with street price around $499. I honestly expected the price to be 30% to 50% higher, considering EV's reputation for higher-end, professional-grade products. The ZXA1's are in line with EV's reputation for quality, but these units are priced to reach the masses.
The winner of a WFX (Worship Facilities Conference and Expo) New Product
Award in 2010 and a Pro Sound Web Reader's Choice Award, the ZXA1 is already recognized as a true winner in the small, portable, powered loudspeaker market. It could be a great choice for a small or portable church. Just add subs. And since larger churches often keep portable PA speakers around for off-site situations, outdoor events, or even emergency situations, the ZXA1 could provide the reliable, high-quality sound with just the right balance between features, flexibility and simplicity. In fixed installations, the possibilities are nearly endless.
