The Best Powered Subwoofer for Live Sound Reviewed

A common problem with live sound systems is that low frequencies become reasonably hard to hear and reproduce especially when there are too many people, that is since normal live speakers alone can’t produce enough power needed to project those low tones better.

And to solve that issue, there are subwoofers specially made for live sound systems. For those who don’t know, a subwoofer is a speaker mainly dedicated to reproduce low frequencies. Having a subwoofer to your live gigs will give your event more energy and emotion, with all said, here are the Best Powered Subwoofers for Live Sound.

Do you need a subwoofer that’ll get every job you need done? If that’s the case then the Electro-Voice EKX18SP can do everything from home parties to medium-sized events, pair it with another sub and you’re good for large events, that is possible since this is capable of kicking out 1300 watts of power.

On the back, this has a master volume control, a small control monitor, 2 inputs, and outputs. And a variable speed cooling fan that is controlled by multiple onboard sensors. This also the QuickSmart DSP feature which is extremely useful for a quick and easy setup and tuning. 

You can even get the main speakers mounted on this speaker thanks to the M20 threaded pole mount at the top of this speaker, and together with the output channels on the back, you can easily have a whole speaker system with this as a base.

To cover everything up, the enclosure of this subwoofer is made out of 15mm plywood, and it has the durable EVCoat finish, making sure that this subwoofer will look good, and sound good, and on top of that, it’ll be durable. And with that, this subwoofer is great for live events, and this may be a good investment if you have an audio rental service. 

Do you need something similar to the previously mentioned subwoofer? Something that delivers a bit less power, but delivers the same quality?  Then the Electro-Voice ELX200 may be the subwoofer for you. There’s nothing much to compare between the EKX18SP and the ELX200.

One noticeable feature that the ELX200 has is that it can be set up wirelessly using the EV QuickSmart mobile application, which can be a lifesaver if you are setting up more than one of these. The biggest difference could be that this speaker only delivers up to 1200 watts of power compared to the 1300 watts the EKS18SP can deliver, although the extra 100 watts shouldn’t be that much of a difference when used on actual events. And due to the 1200 watts of power, this speaker only peaks up to 132dB.

On the back, this also has the  2 XLR/TRS input, and also has the 2 output, and besides that are the small monitor and the master volume control. Covering up the subwoofer, this also has the 15mm plywood construction which also has the M20 threaded pole mount.

This is still very similar to the EKX18SP and despite that, the ELX200 can be better for you as the previously mentioned EKX18SP can be a bit overpowered for other small event applications. And with the smaller power output, this should also be a bit power efficient, in the end, this is more suited for people who like the EKS18SP but can’t quite afford that one. And yes, this is one of the best-powered subwoofer for live sound.

This active PA subwoofer packs good features at a small package, featuring a powerful 12 inches transducer that is fed by a 500 watts amplifier, capable of kicking out deep, clear, and rich bass tones to your audience, and of course, this speaker has 500 watts only so it should be ideal to use this for small to medium events only.

In terms of input and output capabilities, this speaker has 2 XLR inputs, and 2 thru outputs, which means that the output is the same as the input, and there are 2 main outputs which have gone through the effects and filters set in the speaker, and while we’re at it, this speaker has a built-in high cut filter which I could’ve liked the low cut filter better since this is a subwoofer, and a boost frequency which lets you pick a frequency between 45Hz and 90Hz and add a +10dB boost to that frequency, which is useful for live applications, and last is the phase switch which reverses output phase to compensate for frequency cancellation.

This also has an intelligent limiter for protecting your system from distortion that can destroy the speakers, but despite all the good features, this still has a con, mainly the power supply and amp of this amp tends to break after a year or two, but then that can be an easy fix.

But for the money you are paying for this one, I think it is only to be expected to at least maintain this. All in all, this is still one of the best-powered subwoofer for live sound, as, despite the drawbacks, this still packs good sound quality and features.

To Sum It Up

In conclusion, if you need something reliable and capable that’ll accompany you for years, better get the more expensive ones, as it would be worth it as an investment, but if you are on a tight budget and you are ready to deal with compromises then go ahead, but do consider your needs for a speaker, and you should be satisfied with what you get.