This review covers the Nexo ID14, ID24, P8, P10 and P12 PA loudspeakers and the Nexo NXAMPMK2 amplifiers.
Introduction
I’ve bought and used the smaller speakers in the Nexo PA speaker portfolio, and whilst Nexo publish lots of good data about them, there aren’t so many examples of real-world use of these cabinets. I think they’re all excellent in the right applications.
Nexo Speaker Series
Nexo have a few series of speakers. The current models covered here are from the ID (Inspace Definition) series in polyurethane cabinets and the wooden-box P (‘Plus’) series, which are the successors to the well-known PS8, PS10 and PS15 which launched in the 90s and were used a lot for 20 or so years.
I use the ‘touring’ versions of the ID and Plus series speakers. The ‘install’ versions don’t have handles, have more discreet but delicate cloth grille coverings, and swap speakon connectors for terminal blocks under IP-rated covers. They sound the same. There’s also a lower-end successor to the old PS series called the the ePS series aimed at installation use only, with matching eLS series subs – both not covered here.
Buying Into the Nexo System
Nexo equipment is firmly in the professional category. Their speakers are maybe 3-4x the cost of a mainstream music-industry speaker of the same driver size, but it’s not a like-for-like comparison (see later). The world’s absolute best PA speakers will cost even more new, but that’s a top-tier reserved for mid-to-large PA companies to invest in. There’s Nexo equipment on the mainstream secondhand market, but new equipment will have to be sourced from trade-only distributors.
When buying at this professional tier, the manufacturers (including Nexo) are providing a system, and although you can mix speakers and amps between brands, the sound quality benefits only come when you use Nexo speakers with Nexo amplifiers (or nearly as good, a third-party amplifier paired with a Nexo controller). Nexo speakers on a non-Nexo amplifier, or non-Nexo speakers on a Nexo amplifier, would be a waste of money.
Amplifiers
Nexo sell three amplifiers for the touring and live music market — the NXAMPMK2 series. They’re very similar apart from the power outputs. Each one is four channels of amplification controlled by four channels of signal processing and monitoring. On-screen or with network control, you configure each channel with the speaker model and application (floor, main etc.) and the amplifier will adjust the sound processing and protections accordingly. The amp will predict the speaker cone excursion and voice coil temperature and adjust the limiting based on that and the amplifier power. You can’t fry a speaker. It won’t let you.
I only have a couple of criticisms of the NXAMPMK2 amplifiers. The first only applies to conference-type work — the amp can sometimes ramp up its temperature-controlled fans and there’s not much you can do about it (although some people do mount the amps in racks with extra quiet fans). A conference mode would be good, where it either limited the amp power or pre-emptively did a milder fan increase to save a louder burst later. The other is the responsiveness of the touch screen, which is way too slow. It’s frustrating and not at all what you’d In expect at this price point. Keep your patience with it, and the flexible configuration and detailed monitoring is still pleasing.
The amps will all drive down to 2 ohms, or 4 ohms bridged, creating loads of options for distributing speakers across the outputs. For example, FOH left and right, mono sub(s), and front fills or delays, all derived from a stereo LR input if needed.
There’s another amp that is a miniature NXAMP: the nanoNXAMP4, designed for installation use. However, it can still be racked up and used on smaller gigs and put out 4x 250W, and it’s way cheaper than the smallest NXAMP. It only has presets for some of Nexo’s smaller speakers, it doesn’t have any physical controls on it, and it can only be controlled via the very powerful web interface.
The ID Series Speakers, Reviewed
The ID series extends from the tiny ID14 (single 4″) and extends to the ID84 (a column with 8x 4″ bass drivers) and its partner triple-12″ sub. In the middle of the range is the ID24 with two 4″ drivers and a horn, which sits well over the IDS-110 10″ sub, and the IDS210 dual-10″ sub is a further upgrade. The little ID14 can be used with the equally diminutive IDS108 8″ sub,
You can get all the specs from the brochure and datasheets, so I’m going to leave out some detail in favour of commentary and real-world use.
The polyurethane top boxes in the ID series are compact for their output levels.
The Nexo ID14
I use the ID14 for speech PA at conferences, seminars and weddings. It works for background music, too. I bought some adapters for the M6 threads on the ID14 to mount them on the 3/8″ threads on mic stands. Two speakers will cover a small-ish seminar. Four will cover a seminar of 100 people if well placed, at decent volume. The compact size means they suit events where discretion matters or sight lines are tricky, such as upmarket events, discreet front fill or even when you have to put speakers in the sight line for a projector screen.
The ID14 sound is a little boxy for my liking, but rolling off the lower midrange a bit solves that completely. Within the 4″ main driver there’s a concentric HF driver with a 1.4″ diaphragm, so the high frequencies are strong. It’s a proper PA speaker. I would also use it for delays and spot-fill uses or utility vocal PA anywhere. Any of Nexo’s amps can drive it loud and the NXAMP Mk2 can have up to eight on one channel.
Being a 1.7kg speaker, that’s fine on a decent mic stand, but the funny reality is that the speaker cabling you use for it is likely to weigh more than the speaker, if it’s heavy-duty. Nexo sell a dedicated flight case but I keep my four ID14s in a bag designed for small battery uplighters.
The Nexo ID24
The Nexo ID24 has dual 4″ mid-bass drivers and then a high-frequency horn that can be rotated with a control knob on the back (no tools needed, no need to open the grille). That means it can be mounted horizontally or vertically and keep your desired horn coverage pattern, of which there are a few to choose from. I’ve got the 120° x 40° model. There is a detachable bracket available but the much cheaper option is to buy a 35mm M10 top hat for a speaker stand (such as the K&M 24521-000-55), or use an M10 bolt on a hook clamp, or for floor monitoring there’s a 45° angle they’ll sit at. Each cabinet is 6kg.
As a speaker that can peak at 126dB, it’s great as a fill speaker within a bigger rig, such as a stage front fill or under-balcony fill. On its own it’s a fab vocal PA speaker for conference use, with a small front profile compared to the competition and enough volume to penetrate a good number of rows of people. Add a sub (Nexo suggest the IDS-110 or the IDS-210) and it makes a good PA for a small disco or modest live music. The compression horn is a strong point and responsible for a lot of the speaker’s presence. The double 4″ drivers are very respectable but don’t keep up with the bass you’d get from the 8″ driver in the PS8. The PS8 isn’t much heavier (7.5kg, and it’s a wooden box) but the ID24 profile is way smaller for a speaker that essentially is about the same power output. One ID24 feels (and is) more than twice as loud as an ID14.
As a 16 ohm speaker, again you can drive up to eight on one channel of the NXAMP Mk2.
Other ID Series Speakers
The Nexo Plus ‘P+’ Series Speakers, Reviewed
The P8, P10, P12, P15 and P18 from the Plus series all use dual-concentric drivers with a corresponding diameter in inches, with increasingly large compression drivers incorporated.
The touring versions of the P+ series are all multi-use with the same cabinet philosophy – lie them down for a floor-monitor tilt, or use the pole mounts for upright positioning on a tripod, or get the tilt brackets for tripods or flying. This means they can do different jobs on different days.
The finish is genuinely durable with tough steel grilles and rubbery textured paint. They’re very rigid and solid, with formed glued plywood. They’re heavy for their size, but only compared to more consumer-orientated boxes. With 2 Speakons on the back and one each side, they’re easy to connect and daisy-chain.
To make mine more weatherproof, I bought Neutrik’s rubber bungs to put in the empty Speakon sockets. It’s also possible to get cheap universal rain covers from Covers&All.
A party trick of the P+ series are the swappable inserts for the high frequency horns. Without tools you can swap coverage patterns and orientation of the coverage.
See the P+ Series web page and data sheet.
The Nexo P8
The baby of the P+ series, the P8 is suitable for small music gigs or discos for a hundred people when used with a sub (maybe the Nexo L15). On its own it’s great for content without much bass, such as speech, or for background music.
Put it on the floor and it’ll do as a monitor for folk and acoustic acts, or as foldback in a big conference scenario.
It’s also great as a fill or delay speaker in a bigger rig.
It’s based around an eight inch driver, but compared to the old PS8 it’s twice the volume: it’s about double the physical cabinet volume and it’s a good few dB more efficient, so double the audible volume, too. At 12kg, it has a bit of heft.
There’s a 1.5″ compression driver that makes for a nice clear sound. The default 100×100° horn is quite wide and so that will limit some long-throw applications. There’s an optional 110×60° horn insert which I haven’t tried but is probably more practical.
See the Nexo P8 web page and Nexo P8 data sheet. The P8 was launched in 2020.
The Nexo P10
The P10 is a big jump up from the P8 in terms of power – despite there being just a two-inch increase in driver diameter, there’s a 7dB increase in peak output and the cabinet is physically a lot larger (the size of some compact 12″ speaker cabinets). The high frequencies are covered by a 1.7″ compression driver. Where the P8 can shout at you, the P10 can punch you.
As an FOH speaker, I’d use this with function bands with a dancefloor of 50-150 or so. Paired with strong subs, you’ll get good coverage from the bass right to the top of the spectrum. That means nice strong snare hits and toms.
As a floor monitor, I would use it where I would have used my previous active 12″ floor monitors. It will hold its own. Above the volume the P10 can deliver for monitoring, that’s a stage that’s too loud as far as I’m concerned! Maybe only a bass instrument or a monitor carrying the bass drum would need more bass. Maybe.
Much like the P8, the P10 is good for filling coverage or as a delay speaker on larger systems. For acoustic acts, background music, and speech, you’ll be OK without a sub. Like the P8, by default it’s 100×100° or you can get the horn insert for 110×60° instead. It’s not ideal for long throw.
See the Nexo P10 web page and Nexo P10 datasheet. The P8 was launched in 2020.
The Nexo P12
The P12 is the original of the P+ series. From this size upwards, the cabinets support bi-amplification and the high-frequency compression drivers have bigger diaphragms and have deeper horns that extend beyond the speaker voice coil area. The bigger horns can take a variety of waveguides: as-is the horn is 60×60° but you can add inserts for 90×40° or with variable coverage like the original PS horn (60-100 x40°).
The P12 has the same efficiency as the P10 but, with a 3″ compression driver, more of the midrange is covered by the horn, and it’s very detailed. It needs a lot of power; one channel of the NXAMP4X1 will not get the most out if it – two channels bridged will, or use the NXAMP4X2.
Even at the 12″ driver size, this cabinet is still not especially tuned for deep bass. I’m sure that’s by design. It will do it, but for real full range you still need a sub. Since it peaks at 138dB (or 140dB bi-amped), that likely needs to be a good 18″ sub (such as the L18) if it’s going to keep up. That gets you a PA for live music outside (think pub car park festival or similar) or for a function room with a few hundred people. It’s a pleasure to mix on, pleasingly clear and strong at all frequencies, making drum kits and good instruments sound great.
As a floor monitor, it’s fantastic. The PS horn adapter can be used to give it an ideal dispersion.
Without a sub, it’s quite a point source powerhouse, and will throw further than the P8 or P10 because the horn dispersion is narrower. You could use them for a mobile disco or any manner of general PA tasks.
At 20kg it is on the heavy end for a manual lift onto a tripod. Fix the tilt bracket on it and it can be even trickier, but the ability to raise it up and tilt it down is worth it, even if the tilt bracket is also fairly pricey.
See the Nexo P12 web page and Nexo P12 datasheet. The P12 was launched in 2019.
Conclusion
For small production companies and PA businesses like mine, these are an excellent set of amplifiers and speakers that are versatile and perform well in lots of combinations and applications. They are a significant investment, but because every speaker is effective in multiple roles and the NXAMP can drive all of them, your overall inventory can be less than with single-purpose, less powerful cabinets. For redundancy reasons I always like to take out at least two amplifiers of some form, which does add to the cost, though.
I haven’t covered the partner subs for the P+ series, which are the L15, L18 and L20 (referring to the driver size). I own two of the L18, and (short version) I like the way it sounds very much. Indoors, one will probably match fine with a pair of P12s, outside, two are probably better (depending on the music style).
I went off-script at one point and bought a couple of eLS600 install subs and added Speakon connectors and M20 pole mounts to make them more gig-ready. They’re efficient and powerful and plenty fun for small gigs. The L15 is bigger, heavier, tour-ready, louder and deeper, so I’ll still buy at least one someday.
I also haven’t covered Nexo’s line array offerings, but at my small scale, point source just makes more sense.
Availability of Nexo gear seems reasonable in the UK (at least three trade distributors I know of, I use Leisuretec), residual values are good, and under Yamaha’s ownership, they have strong foundations.
You can see my current inventory and feel free to ask questions. If you need a high quality PA system for a gig in Devon, hire me and you can hear it for yourself!