Electro-Voice EX-18
A single mode switch turns two independent two-way channels into one mono three-way crossover. No patching, no jumpers.
Overview
In two-way mode each channel operates independently — house and monitors, two separate monitor sends, or straight stereo. In three-way mode the two channels are placed in series to form a mono three-way crossover. No external patching beyond inputs and outputs is required in either direction, which is the kind of detail that only matters once you've spent an evening on your knees behind a rack with a flashlight in your teeth.
The steeper slope minimizes out-of-band signals reaching the wrong drivers, which cuts distortion and adds a measure of driver protection at the same time.
The service documentation is blunt. That warning exists because someone, somewhere, did it.
DB Magazine (July 1987, p.72) listed the XEQ-3 at $716.00, with dimensions of 1.73 x 19 x 7.28 inches and a weight of 6.8 pounds. The EX-18 sits well below that tier.
Period advertising for the EX-18 leaned on a single line, that it "could well become a classic audio tool." It ran across multiple 1982 issues of Modern Recording (April 1982, p.51; May 1982, p.11; June 1982, p.13). That's marketing copy, not a review verdict.
For anyone running a bi-amped or tri-amped system today, such as a small PA, a rehearsal space or a home-brew two-way with a horn, the EX-18 still works as a plain tool. The crossover covers the range most two-way systems actually need. The recessed panel and security cover suggest it was built for installs and rental racks where knobs get bumped.
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Related Models
- Electro-Voice EV) XEQ-2
- Heathkit AR-1502 (1975)
- Heathkit AR-1503 (1975)