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Author Topic: Peavey EU218 Subs  (Read 19968 times)

Bob Josjor

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Peavey EU218 Subs
« on: December 15, 2010, 07:28:33 AM »

Haven't seen any mention of these anywhere in the forum so I thought I'd throw a little mini-review up here.  Be forewarned that I am a Peavey dealer and as such my racks are 90% Peavey and Crest gear.  Yeah, I know...you wanna bash Peavey so go ahead....but do it on another thread.  This one is for people that may be interested in this little sub.  Anywho......Though I'm a dealer, I am NOT trying to sell anybody on them and will try and be as honest as possible.

Here's the product page: http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detail/item /116925/EU%20218%20Sub.cfm

The first thing that strikes you as you unbox the EU218's is just how stinking light they are.  Just 76.50 pounds.  This is acheived by using neo-dymium magnets on the speakers and "9-ply 18 mm ultra-light plywood." (Peavey's words)  And they're small too.  Approximately a 24" cube, smaller than most traditional single 18's.

The second thing that hits you is the finish.  In the product page Peavey calls it "GatorHyde" and on the spec sheet they call it "Hammer Head" finish.  Whatever it is, its durable, but really rough.  I'm pretty sure I could re-finish hardwood flooring with this stuff.  I use Peavey QW2 tops, which sports the same finish, but in name only.  My QW2s have a really durable finish, but it is comparitively smoother than a babies butt.  Maybe the excessive roughness is just on my samples of the EU218's?

Connection is acheived via Neutrik connectors, two in parallel for daisy chaining.  These are 4 conductor connectors, but only two are used.  I may do some tweaking of the cabs in the future so that I can use get the benefits of using 4 conductor cables.

So on to the testing and sound.  For your information and help in understanding the rig, here are the components that make up the FOH enclosures and amps:
QW2F pair
EU218 pair
Power rack includes:
CS1400 (hi's)
CS4000 (mids)
CS4000 (subs)
VSX26 system controller

Peavey doesn't have a VSX download for this particular cabinet combo so I downloaded their pre-set for the QW2/QW118 combo as a starting point.  A complete spec sheet including freq. response wasn't available for the EU218 when I first tried it, so my initial testing and gig lacked some fine tuning that came later.

The initial impression was that they sounded good, but lacked a bit in the "low lows."  A nice punchy sound, very tight.  Sonic qualities are hard to put into words that make sense to everyone, but I would say that if you are doing classic rock or modern country, this is a good tone for you (even better after the tweaking described later).  If you're a hip-hop, modern dance, or techno person, you'll probably want something "looser."  I know, not very definitive, but its like trying to describe a color.  Tough to do and very subjective.

Now the tweaks.  About two weeks after recieving the subs Peavey finally released a complete spec sheet that included a freq. response curve.  You can see that here: http://www.peavey.com/assets/literature/specs/03600480_10370 .pdf  Now with this info in hand, its time to do some tweaking.  First off, I wanted to give the 15's in the QW2's a little more work.  The QW2's actually have a pretty good low end for a cabinet of its type and size.  So I lowered the crossover point to 90hZ.  I overlapped the crossover to the EU218 to 100hZ.  Then, looking at the EU218's freq. curve you will note a pretty fair downslope on the lowest end so I added a shelving EQ at 40hZ with a 6dB boost to flatten things out.

Much, much nicer.  The low end filled up quite nicely and adding a bit more low end to the QW2's allowed them to take up some of the punchiness I like.  A very tight bass with much better presence than the folded horn I was using.

Summation

Pro's:
Light weight and compact.  I'm a pencil neck and I can haul these around by myself without a cart.
"Tight" sound.  No "woofiness" and well defined bass.
Versatile set-up.  Small enough that a center cluster doesn't seem intrusive in front of the stage and a pole mount on the top if you're wanting to do a stack with a top cab.

Cons:
Light weight.  Why is that a con?  Well, there is a stand mount on the top, but if you're using QW2's like I am, the light weight of the sub doesn't exactly give a feeling of confidence if you put the heavy cab on top of the light cab using a stick.  Probably fine with the companion lightweight EU tops, but if you're using a heavier cab like the QW2, I probably wouldn't use the stick option.
Finish.  I don't know if its just my sample, but this finish is really rough.
Light cabinet.  It does exhibit a bit of cabinet flex.
Frequency response.  This is correctable for the lower end, but unless you are using a DSP, you might have a problem compensating.  DSP's are getting better and better and cheaper and cheaper, so the excuses for not using one are getting fewer and fewer.

Overall I am pleased with them for my applications.  I'm in the sticks of Nebraska so 90% my gigs are classic rock, country (new and old), and blues.  These have the correct tone for that type of application.  90% of the time I'm setting up solo, so their light weight and size are big plus for me.  I'm looking forward to getting a couple more in the future so I can play with some sub arraying.  The small size and light weight means I can fit multiples in the trailer and not kill myself deploying them.

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Douglas R. Allen

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2010, 07:01:13 PM »

Thanks for the review. I did wonder about these subs for small/mid size gigs. Look forward to some gig pictures.
Douglas R. Allen
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Evan Kirkendall

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2010, 08:15:56 PM »

Bob Josjor wrote on Wed, 15 December 2010 07:28

 Then, looking at the EU218's freq. curve you will note a pretty fair downslope on the lowest end so I added a shelving EQ at 40hZ with a 6dB boost to flatten things out.




Shocked

Good thing you're a Peavey dealer!



Evan
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Bob Josjor

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2010, 06:17:37 AM »

Evan Kirkendall wrote on Sun, 19 December 2010 18:15

        Shocked

Good thing you're a Peavey dealer!



Evan


Did you miss the part in the intro where it said to Peavey bash somewhere else? Wink

Seriously though, find me a 218 sub that street prices for $900.00 and has a truly flat response or doesn't have some bumps or dips in the freq. curve.  Now find one that also weighs only  75lb and takes up less than 8 cubic feet in the trailer.  

There are trade offs in nearly every peice of equipment one chooses.  It's a matter of what one is willing to accept to get the features one wants.  As it happens with the EU218 the trade off is the cabs roll off at 40hz, something that is very easily accomodated by even the most basic of DSP's.
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Steve Hurt

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2010, 07:57:19 AM »

Bob Josjor wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 06:17


Seriously though, find me a 218 sub that street prices for $900.00 and has a truly flat response or doesn't have some bumps or dips in the freq. curve.  Now find one that also weighs only  75lb and takes up less than 8 cubic feet in the trailer.  




Add 10 pounds and subtract $100 and the JTR Growler fills the bill (not a 2 x 18 but who cares what the driver complement is if the output is there)

Peavey must have made up some featherweight 18's to get 2 of them in a 76 lb box.  Interesting stuff.  
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Bob Josjor

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2010, 09:06:31 AM »

The JTR's are a really interesting cabinet and one I would seriously consider for a small, efficient one.  I've never seen a published frequency chart for them, just the 45hz at -3 published on JTR's website.  Got one?
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Marlow Wilson

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2010, 10:13:35 AM »

Bob Josjor wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 06:17

Evan Kirkendall wrote on Sun, 19 December 2010 18:15

        Shocked

Good thing you're a Peavey dealer!



Evan


Did you miss the part in the intro where it said to Peavey bash somewhere else? Wink

Seriously though, find me a 218 sub that street prices for $900.00 and has a truly flat response or doesn't have some bumps or dips in the freq. curve.  Now find one that also weighs only  75lb and takes up less than 8 cubic feet in the trailer.  

There are trade offs in nearly every peice of equipment one chooses.  It's a matter of what one is willing to accept to get the features one wants.  As it happens with the EU218 the trade off is the cabs roll off at 40hz, something that is very easily accomodated by even the most basic of DSP's.


I think he meant that you will have access to affordable replacement baskets if you damage any trying to squeeze the last bit of LF extension out of the speaker.   I have no specific experience with the product in question, but a quick look at the chart makes me wonder the same thing Evan did. 40hz looks like a good place to set the HPF (okay maybe not perfect) but certainly not where I would BEGIN adding shelving EQ.

*EDIT* I mean to say he was not Peavey bashing, but was perhaps critical of your corrective EQ choices from a durability perspective.

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Bob Josjor

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2010, 10:42:32 AM »

My shelving setting was actually a suggestion from Marty McCann, one of Peavey's gurus.  The rolloff is also at 40 hz.   And it could be that maybe I'm not expressing myself correctly.  Lemme see if I can get a screen shot of the settings.
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Bob Josjor

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2010, 10:47:04 AM »

And here's one of the crossover.
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Marlow Wilson

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Re: Peavey EU218 Subs
« Reply #9 on: December 20, 2010, 10:54:56 AM »

Bob Josjor wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 10:47

And here's one of the crossover.



I can see how it makes sense with the HPF enabled.  I wasn't doubting your settings but really just clarifying what I interpreted Evan's comments to be.

On another note, thanks for the review.  It's always nice to know what other products are lurking around.

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