Electro-Voice Evolve 30M

ALEX WILSON EXPLORES A COMPACT SPEAKER AND MIXER PACKAGE THAT MAKES LIVE SOUND STUPID EASY.

In the past decade or so, the big (literally) audio tech of live sound has been challenged by smaller digital upstarts. While the tired “analog vs. digital debate rages eternally online, any time working in the live industry will show you the writing on the wall. Digital smokes analog in the venues of the world. Big tube or transistor warmth is not nearly as compelling in the rush and roar of live sound as in the studio.

Electro-Voice (EV) obeys the law. They keep shrinking the technology required for live shows down into smaller packages. The 30M is an even slimmer version of their already compact 50M. These are two slightly different versions of a one-stop-shop product that attaches a digital mixer to a highly portable PA system, placing everything you need for a small show or event under your fingertips.

If you’re the kind of person to ask, “what’s a column system?” then this product has been made to be easy for you. The column is the stand and small rectangle of speakers that sit atop it. Column arrays have less perceived loudness than larger box speakers, but EV have unflinchingly committed to the portability and user-friendliness offered by the smaller drivers. The end result, is impressive. The 6-by-2.8-inch drivers in the column, powered by 500w (solid-state) and with another 500 going to the subwoofer, pump out a fairly impressive 123 decibels of SPL. In real terms this is enough juice for a medium size, medium volume band or a cranking dancefloor where uncle Terry can cut rug to Hall ‘n Oates after a few pinots.

I didn’t have any similar speakers on hand to compare with the 30M, but on its own the one I had offered ample, transparent headroom. Some of this can be attributed to the little slant on the column array that offer 120 degrees of coverage. Or in other words, shoots a bit of treble and mids towards the floor so it can bounce around and hit the ears of people that might be sitting down. The 30M also has a low-key but powerful sense of quality despite its bantam weight. EV is now owned by home appliance artisans Bosch, so its quite possible that fastidious and efficient German engineering accounts for some of the 30M’s oomph.

And with the sub weighing a (relatively) paltry 16 kilos, any relatively healthy human can carry one. Included with the 30M is a custom-designed zipless backpack to carry the stand and the column array.

With the pack on your back and the speaker in your hands, it’s a single trip from the stage to the car.

EV sell a matching padded bag for the 30M’s sub separately, and also have a generic sub transport bag that includes wheels and a telescopic handle if you want an extra hand free for another item.

This is going to sound super-cheesy, but the 30M really does put control in the hands of the average person far more than most units that come across my desk, claiming the same thing on their ad boilerplate. The key takeaway is that a non-professional could familiarize themselves with the basics of how the 30M works in fifteen minutes and then be ready to get on with running their event, or busking, or whatever.

Talking shop, the 30M includes an eight-channel digital mixer. Different signals hit the mixer via six combi-jack inputs on the back. One of these jacks can be switched to a quarter-inch Hi-Z input, better for quiet signals like guitar or bass pickups. Another is a stereo pair that can be switched to unbalanced RCA or eighth-inch inputs, say for plugging in a phone, TV or computer.

Another simple, inspired feature is inclusion of dedicated and flexible Bluetooth connection. In the first instance, the digital audio that can be played via Bluetooth makes up the final stereo pair of the eight-channel input stage. I love the democratic, unsnooty vibe here. It’s a kind concession to average, non-techy folks who wouldn’t think to bring an aux cable or RCAs if they want playback from another device. The Bluetooth feature can be taken further, either as a means of connecting your control device to the speaker, or even as a means to commonly connect and control multiple 30Ms if you want to expand the setup. Classy.

All these various signals are controlled by EV’s QuickSmart app, run from iOS and Android devices. In addition to QuickSmart, more features are built into the sub and tweakable via buttons and an LCD. But you could do near everything in the app. Boot it up on your phone and you’ll have access to basic digital channel strips for each input, as well as master controls to control the overall response of the unit and the balance between the different speaker sections.

QuickSmart is not as complex as other digital mixer platforms, which is mainly a strength but also a qualified weakness. What I love is how simple and bullshit-free the app is, making it quick to learn and hard to screw up if this is your first live sound rodeo. In terms of sheer capability, it pales in comparison to competing mix software from Soundcraft, for instance, or Mackie. But this critique, while valid, must also be kept in context. One doesn’t need bells and whistles to use the 30M as intended, in small settings where portability and ease-of-use overshadows the need for finnicky detail.

THE BOTTOM LINE

By definition, no product can be perfect, because it can never be everything to everyone. But judged as an accessible, comprehensive and fairly-priced audio solution for small events, the 30M excels. Provided you don’t ask it to scream volumes louder than its small size can handle, it won’t let you down.