Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

VERY New at PA stuff. Trying to find a good set of powered speakers to play out. Mostly bars, nothing huge. Being lead towards EV and also being told that 15's are the way to go.
So I looked at the EV ZLX15P and EC ELX115P, There's a $200 difference between the 2 and Trying to find out what the difference is between them.
I guess I have 2 questions. As far as playing bars......are 15's the way to go? they're both 1000w, which should be loud enough.
Also..what is the difference between the 2 of these.
any other suggests are welcome.
THanks

What are you putting through the PA system - all instruments, drums, just vocals? IFyou're miking up drums and bass guitar or keys, then 15" is the way to go unless you use subs (then you can use 12" mains).

The ZLX are plastic enclosure, so about 10 lbs lighter than the ELX wood enclosures.

The difference between ZLX and ELX is mostly loudness (SPL) and input section. I own a ZLX12P and use it mostly as a floor monitor. It may be the sweetest most natural sounding monitor I have ever used. Give em a listen. The ZLX are good for about 126 db which is plenty for most bars. ELX15s are good for 134db which is a lotta sound for outdoor shows.

RE 15s- Are you running bass and drums through the PA or mostly vocals? No need for 15s unless you need louder or big bottom and even they may not be enough for heavy music. Most metal bands mic the double bass, and subs are needed for that mighty chest kick that only subs can deliver. I have owned a dozen sets of PA speakers over the years in 12s, 15s, and W sub bins, and still use some JBL 15s. I see no advantage to my JBL 15s over the EV ZLX12s for covering vocals and keys.