QSC

° What do you use the product for and within which context? We just bought this console for our trio and occasional sound reinforcement of an 11-man troupe of singers/musicians. We are amateur, I must add. We use it in the studio for rehearsals and for live gigs (2 vocals, 1 acoustic-electric guitar and 2 keyboards, including an arranger for the rhythmic foundation) * How long have you been using it? Since Wednesday December 3, when it came out in France. * Did you try out any other competing products before buying it? No. We made a decision based on the tech specs and our confidence in the QSC brand. We have a Soundcraft GB Rack + all peripherals * What are the things that you like the most and the least about it? The size and weight!!!!! No more breaking your back with racks. It's well designed and the interface is very simple (it's like a Mac: You think, you press and it works!). The display is easily readable. You select what you want to modify and set it with the finger. The rotary push-knob is very precise because when you turn it while pressing you can make finer settings. Everything is well thought-out! I have the impression that the output gain is high. We are no experts when it comes to compression, etc., so the presets are very helpful. At first I thought it only had 4 effects, but each of them provides lots of options, and you can customize them. It has lots of controls for the aux returns! Low-cut, high-cut, etc. anything you wish! Jack for headphone monitoring, which is nice. For the time being, this console has won me over. I set it up for my keyboards, put it in the transport case and the vocalist/guitarist was able to do the same at his place. Awesome! I'll update my review after a couple of live gigs. I don't know for pros, but it's great for experienced amateurs.

The QSC KW 153 was a bigger sized speaker than I was expecting. It is over 40 inches tall and 18 inches wide. The weight of it is not bad, but with it being so tall it gave some issues with getting it in and out of the van when we had it for a few shows. There are 1 XLR input/line in and 2 RCA ins. There are also 2 XLR outputs on the KW153. You can mount it to a pole if you choose to but we did not. The QSC KW153 is a powered subwoofer that gives you a 15” driver with a 500 watt D Class amplifier in it. QSC monitors and woofers can get a little expensive sometimes, this speaker will cost you 1300 dollars brand new. But if you look around you may be able to get an opened boxed on for a little cheaper but it won’t be much of a difference. The sound that comes out of the KW153 is very big, it can fill up and room with no problem and play over the crowd noise easily. The sound is very clear can concise making it a great decision to purchase a few of these if you can afford it. It is also very rugged, it sits in solid enclosures and bumping it into walls or where every it hits will not hurt or damage it, it probably won’t even scratch it. I choose this over the QSC KW152 (the previous model) because I feel like the sound is a little cleaner. The KW152 is only about a hundred dollars cheaper so if you are going to spend that money you mine as well spend a litter more and get the upgrade. If you need a good speaker and cannot afford this one you should also check out the QSC K12 or K10 models. They don’t have as many watts but still will work and sound great.

The QSC KLA 12 cost over 2500 dollars and is worth every single penny of that price! It is a 1,000 watt active speaker with a 1.75 inch high frequency driver and a 12 inch low frequency driver. It has adjustable frequency optimization features and a very good sound. It has a 12 to 1 ratio factor that will allow you to have up to 5 separate units. I have only had the chance to personally work with it 4 times now but each time that I do I love it. I would purchase it myself If I had the need for it. There is a tilt direct mount on it that makes it easy to get it in the perfect position for any room or set up. With the 500 watt by 500 watt power module, the sound you will hear with this speaker will be big and warm. The highs are clean and the mids sound just like they should. The lows are very clean and full, the frequency range is 44 Hz to 20 kHz. This bi amped speaker is powered and it has 1 XLR input and 1 XLR output. Moving this speaker from place to place doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult though I have not had to move it myself before though. It only weighs 55 pounds and stands about 15 inches tall, and 23 inches wide. These boxes sound great and if your budget can afford to get them I highly suggest doing so, you will not be disappointed. The space that I heard this speaker in was big enough to seat between 300 and 450 people. The sound was huge and had very good stereo imaging giving a wide and big feel to it. I heard live music coming through this speaker a few times and I can say that anyone could use a speaker like this in their live rig. Question is can they afford it, because quality like this doesn’t come cheap.

The QSC KW181 is a 1,000 watt 18” subwoofer that has a class D power module. This is the type of sub that will make your thump sound better than it really is. Just using this to listen to a previously recorded song that we did really shocked us because out of all of the other subs that we have used this is the one that exaggerated the low end, which could be a good and a bad thing if you are not careful. This sub is lightweight any easy to transport, it is also very durable and will last you a long time. We have bumped this amp so many times because for certain gigs we take a smaller truck and for some reason we don’t have good luck with unloading and loading it up. But it still keeps working perfectly but it does get nicks and scraps pretty easily though. There are handles on it that make it easy to carry especially if you have to carry it a good ways to get it inside. Because with it weighing almost 100 pounds you don’t think that any handles could help with that load it will put on your back and legs but the weight really isn’t an issue with the KW181. The maximum peak is 135 decibels and the driver size is 1 x 18. It gives you all of the drive and power you need for your whole set up. There are even dual balanced inputs (XLR) and dual balanced outputs. The frequency range is very good (40-112Hz), and for the price of this sub it could be one of the best options for someone looking for a new sub for their set up. If I had to get rid of any sub that I had and just keep one this would be the one that I would keep just because of the sound it provides and how durable it is.

The RMX 4050 HD is a high powered amp with 4000 watts and filters on it. It comes with clip indicators and clip limiters giving you the most possible power that you could ask for. This is one of the most expensive amps that I have used from QSC costing over 1500 bucks. You can rack this unit and it will take up 3 rack spaces, it also weighs about 70 pounds which makes it a little more difficult to tote around with you over some of the lighter QSC models. But if you are looking for power this is it, it will provide more than enough power for your set up even if you are in a large space. It also has a cooling system built into it because with this much power and using it for long periods of time it will get warm and even hot pretty quick. The cooling system is automatic and you don’t even have to worry about it, it will stay cool. This amp I also very quiet outside of hearing the fan kicking on, you will not hearing any humming or hissing coming from this amp. On the RMX 4050 HD it gives you the options to select your low frequency filters, you can pick from 30 HZ or 50 HZ, and you can monitor your show or performance right on the front of the unit with the clip LED lights. This unit has everything you need for your show, I recommend getting this if you have the 1500 dollars to spend on an amp. You will get your money worth with the first use once you hear how much power it will give you and how big your sound will be. I have used this amp many times for larger shows, and it is by far one of the best larger amps I have ever used.

The QSC K10 have been a part of my gear since August of last year and I have used them on a large number of different artist, bands, and DJ’s. I have not had a single complaint with them yet and even when I use them with my band we all love the sound we get with them. I love what they do for vocals though; they can really pump out a natural sound. This speaker does have a high pass filter which is what will be used when you have it hooked up with woofers. But when that is being used, it could take some time to get use to the sound because it will change the dynamics of your overall sound. The speakers are pretty light, they weight about 30 pounds but they are tall so it could cause some problems with transporting it depending on what kind of car you have. It never really was an issue with us because we use a van with double back doors to take all of the gear out of. The frequency range is 56Hz to 20 kHz and I really feel that with a subwoofer this speaker is perfect. It just takes some time to get use to the sound as a performer because it sounds completely different with a high pass on and a sub hooked in with it. The LF driver size is only 10 inches and the HF driver size is 1.75. The highs sound really good and they are clean. With vocals you will feel like you are listening to a 3000 dollar speaker! I have not heard any acoustic guitars with these yet. That is something that I am really excited about and cannot wait to test them out. There are also inputs XLR and TRS on this speaker with 2 XLR direct lines out. This 500W class D speaker has the sound that any performer needs!

The QSC K8 is an 8 inch powered PA speaker and it is built to last a long time. The outer casting of it is very solid and I have bumped it on metal door trims and on concrete floors a lot over the years but it has stood strong. It did weight more than I expected it to weight though, that is one thing I definitely remember about using it. We had this for about a year and used it over 20 times, it sounded great with almost any type of audio we put through it. I think that it sounded best when paired with a nice amp that was warm. I did not like the way this PA speaker projected the bass in dance music though for some reason. With dance music bass, it hits on pretty much every beat and it just didn’t sound that well too me. When played with more of a jazz or even rock music it sounded much better because the baselines tend to flow a little better and don’t pulsate like bass in dance music. The highs are very clean and crisp and when pushed to high volumes it remains clean and crisp without distortion. But with this speaker it will come down to how good your amps and microphones are. It will only be as good as that equipment is. The price of the QSC K8 seems kind of overpriced being over 700 dollars just for one of them but it is built very good and tough so I can see why it is not as cheap as some other speakers with similar specs. This is a great PA speaker to get for a first time buyer because you will have the peace of mind to know that you are getting a speaker that will last you a lifetime.

I have been using the QSC 12 since 2010 and it has never let me down. It is a powered PA speaker with an amazing sound. It projects 1000 watts of class D sounds and it will peak at 2000 watts. It is very clear and puts out a big sound no matter where your shows are inside or outside. There are XLR and ¼ connectors with a mic input line and RCA inputs. It pretty much has every single connection that you could need to run your show or gig. The Max SPL is 131 dB and the weight of each speaker is just under 50 pounds which may seem like a lot but it really isn’t that bad carrying it because of the way the weight is distributed and the handle on the side makes it easy to carry. The low end frequency on the QSC 12 is very precise and warm, I have yet to have a bad experience with this speaker and the low end is what I love about it the most. We have run all sorts of audio through this powered speaker and no matter what we put through it (live or not) it still sounds amazing. The high pass filter that it has is also pretty good considering how much this speaker will cost. We also purchased some higher end cables to go with it to make sure how sound was as good as it could possibly get with the QSC 12. This is a great speaker but there are rumors that some of them go bad quickly. We have not experienced this and hope we never do. We have been using it for over two years and it has not caused us any issues. The only thing that happened to us is that the handle on the side of one of the speakers has gotten kind of loose but it was a quick fix and we did it ourselves.

The K Sub will give you the sound you need for your live set up. I have heard the QSC K Sub in over 25 different situations and venues and I don’t have a single complaint about it except for maybe the fact that it is not priced to sell. It cost 1200 dollars which did scare me off at first until the guys at GC explained to me that if I didn’t like it I could return it which kind of gave me a little piece of mind. But after hearing it there was no way that I was going to return it. It took our sound to a whole new lever when we used it at some of the bigger places we play at. If you want to get studio type of quality on stage then this sub will do it. You will be able to give your listeners the same experience you have when being in the studio and mastering the song for the first time. The K Sub is a fully active dual 12 inch sub that has 1,000 watts and has some major thump to it. It has also pretty portable but it is nowhere as near as light as some of the other subs that we have used, so getting this in and out of the trunk does cause some problems because it weighs over 70 pounds easy. You can pole mount it if you choose and it has ¼ and XLR connections on it. The frequency range is 48 to 134 HZ, which is pretty wide and it has enough power to get your small to medium sized clubs (indoor) enough thump to get the crowd moving. I have used several other subs from QSC. They make some really good ones but the K Sub is one of my favorites that they make.

The QSC GX5 is a 2 500 watt at 8 ohms and 2 700 watt at 4 ohms amp with a crossover over function. This is one of the more affordable amps that you can get that will still give you a sound worth paying for. This is a smaller and lighter amp that you can rack and it will only take 1 rack space. It has a great stainless steel look to it but I do not think that it is built as well as some other amps that I have had before or now. The knobs on the front are decently made but I don’t see them lasting for more than a year if you are putting them to heavy use. The maximum in put level on the GX5 is +24 dB which is not bad for an amp at this price. If you are a beginner and you are stepping into some larger venues this will be a great amp to get you started. It is not powerful enough for a huge space but for a mid sized club it will work great. The best part about it is that it is affordable. I had this amp back in 2010 and used it for about 6 months. It gave me a great sound during the time that I used it. The only concerns that I had with it was could it hold up for a long time. I didn’t think that it would last me past a year and with no warranty I didn’t want to take the chance, plus I wanted more power so I upgraded. This amp is pretty heavy but it is not built to last you a long time. I do not regret my decision because this being one of the first amps that I had taught me a lot about amps and power.

The QSC MX700 is a stereo power amplifier which is no longer being made. It is pretty simple as far as power amps go, but this one offers up a good amount of power in a sturdy build. Each of the two channel has 1/4" TRS connections as well as those for running speaker wire to it. The front panel has gain knobs for each of the channels and LED lights to show power and clipping, as well as few other things. It also has a big fan in the back of it to keep this guy cool, as it can certainly get hot when you've got it on for an extended period of time. It is rack mountable and takes up two rack spaces in a traditional casing. The MX700 is suitable for powering up passive studio monitors of all types, and I have used them with both a set of Tannoy and JBL monitors. The main thing to remember is just to make sure that your monitors match up with this in terms of power and ohmage. I've never had a problem with the QSC MX700 as both sets of monitors that I've run through it end up sounding great and how they should on the other end. There isn't any noise at all - the bottom line being that the MX700 does it's job and it does it's job well. Even though they are no longer manufacturing the QSC MX700s, they are still pretty readily available as I believe that these were discontinued not too long ago. The price doesn't make it the cheapest stereo power amplifier on the market, but it isn't very expensive and I would say that it is worth it for such a top notch power amp. If you're got some passive monitors that need some serious power, definitely look into the QSC MX700.

The QSC KW 152 is a 1000 watt speaker that has a 15 inch low frequency driver and a 1.75 inch high freq driver. This speaker was a lot heavier than I expected it to be, it weighs around 65 – 70 pounds. It has 2 XLR outputs and 1 XLR combo input and 2 RCA inputs. It can be mounted on a pole/fly. This speaker is a good frequency range (44 Hz to 20 kHz) but sometimes it is hard to tell just how broad it is. When playing a lot of bass heavy music, it seems like the low end frequencies kind of got pushed to the side because they do not stick out the way that I think they should with the specs that this speaker has. The highs and mids sounded great though, and even the bass sounded great on some music, the music that has low frequency baselines. But the kick would still sound pretty good no matter what music it was; it was those baselines that didn't fulfill my needs. This speaker has a very rugged construction and will bring about no issues when traveling with it or getting it in and out of the van. It has a class d power module and handles that make it easy to carry even though it weighed more than I thought it should weigh because I have used Peavey speakers that have the same specs but weigh about 5 to 10 pounds lighter. The QSC KW 152 does have a well balanced sound but for this price (1200 USD) I think any user can get a lot more going with a different similar speaker. You can get the 1000 watts and virtually the same drivers in another speaker for about 150 dollars less than the QSC KW 152 cost so for that reason I do not recommend purchasing this speaker.