QSC CP12 powered speakers

ceciltguitar · #1 10-02-2018, 09:41 AM

Has anyone tried or heard (or heard about) the QSC CP12 powered speakers?

Promo was in my "inbox" this morning.

https://www.qsc.com/live-sound/produ...p-series/cp12/

Groberts · #2 10-02-2018, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceciltguitar

Has anyone tried or heard (or heard about) the QSC CP12 powered speakers?

Promo was in my "inbox" this morning.

https://www.qsc.com/live-sound/produ...p-series/cp12/

I wonder how different they are from the K Series? You would think the K series are superior, otherwise these would cut deeply into their sales.

Petty1818 · #3 10-02-2018, 10:31 AM

I did see a review online of them where the reviewer mentioned that the CP series uses the same technology as the original K series. If that's the case then these are probably pretty good speakers. I bet the enclosures are not as resonant but 20lbs for the CP8 seems like a no brainer for a monitor.

jonfields45 · #4 10-02-2018, 10:37 AM

I just placed an order for a QSC CP8 this morning and plan to use it Saturday night at a restaurant gig in place of my usual DBR10. It is smaller, lighter, slightly more powerful, and claims quite a bit stronger bass response than the DBR10 (we put an electric bass through our system for about 1/3 of our repertoire). I'll report back next week.

jonfields45 · #5 10-02-2018, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I did see a review online of them where the reviewer mentioned that the CP series uses the same technology as the original K series.

The original K's used symmetrical 500 watt amps for both tweeter and woofer. The CP's use 200 & 800 watts respectively. I guess "same technology" might be good marketing, but unlikely descriptive of what is inside. The new design makes more sense anyway.

philjs · #6 10-02-2018, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I just placed an order for a QSC CP8 this morning and plan to use it Saturday night at a restaurant gig in place of my usual DBR10. It is smaller, lighter, slightly more powerful, and claims quite a bit stronger bass response than the DBR10 (we put an electric bass through our system for about 1/3 of our repertoire). I'll report back next week.

I'll look forward to your thoughts on this, Jon. Just picked up a pair of K10.2 (sold 4 K10s) and was considering a pair of K8.2 for monitors but these are quite a bit cheaper.

Phil

Petty1818 · #7 10-02-2018, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonfields45

The original K's used symmetrical 500 watt amps for both tweeter and woofer. The CP's use 200 & 800 watts respectively. I guess "same technology" might be good marketing, but unlikely descriptive of what is inside. The new design makes more sense anyway.

I don't think he meant everything was the same but there was some type of overlap. I would have to go back and look at it. Regardless, these are entry models so there's a compromise somewhere.

Petty1818 · #8 10-02-2018, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philjs

I'll look forward to your thoughts on this, Jon. Just picked up a pair of K10.2 (sold 4 K10s) and was considering a pair of K8.2 for monitors but these are quite a bit cheaper.

Phil

I tried the K12.2 vs. my original K12's and I was actually surprised at home good the originals sounded. I think if I were buying new now, I would go for the k.2's but the originals still sound remarkably good.

kramster · #9 10-02-2018, 07:38 PM

I was trying to find out more about these new speakers as well.

jonfields45 · #10 10-03-2018, 05:43 AM

The CP8 I ordered will be delivered tomorrow. As it turns out, we are rehearsing here. Worst case it gets its first real try out at Saturday's gig. I'll report back. It seems like the perfect speaker for someone as lazy about lugging equipment as me.

GmanJeff · #11 10-03-2018, 07:34 AM

For an alternative which also has a 8" woofer, for a little more $ you can also get the EV ZXa1, which claims more bass extension, higher max SPL capability, and a lower weight, but lacks the QSC's contour switch.

Br1ck · #12 10-03-2018, 12:37 PM

Not saying they aren't good, but corners had to be cut to build to the price point. No company is going to undercut their own flagship product. But no doubt they compete very well with like priced product.

Petty1818 · #13 10-03-2018, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Not saying they aren't good, but corners had to be cut to build to the price point. No company is going to undercut their own flagship product. But no doubt they compete very well with like priced product.

It's true. One thing I will say though is that in many cases, once a company upgrades a product, the older versions are somehow all of a sudden cheaper. For example, I remember when Taylor released the ES2, the original ES system started to pop up on the 100 series and there wasn't a price change from the previous pickup. I remember when I bought my Taylor back in 2005, it had the original ES and it was a good $300 up charge for that pickup. Now the ES2 is the expensive option.

I did mention earlier that a reviewer stated that these new speakers use some of the same technology as the original K series. Who knows, maybe these speakers are closer to the original K series in some areas and QSC is just banking on the fact that the new K.2 versions are superior enough to warrant people upgrading to them.

ceciltguitar · #14 10-03-2018, 07:16 PM

My guess is that the QSC CP8 / CP12 is designed for the same market demographic that the Bose S1 Pro is aimed at: Solo performers wanting small lightweight system for using in small venues.

jonfields45 · #15 10-04-2018, 03:12 PM

The CP8 is here. We tried it out for our duo, including bass guitar, and it seems to have a bit more bass response than my Yamaha DBR10. It is quite a bit smaller, a little lighter, and has a remarkably better handle. The feel of its construction is more substantial and it oozes a little higher quality than the Yamaha (purely subjective). I regretted not getting a K8 instead of the DBR10 when I went lighter because the K8 was heavier. Now I can have QSC and lighter.

For the blasting Steely Dan's "Hey 19" in my basement just short of painfully loud, it sounds as good as the DBR10 and I can't see any reason to prefer one over the other.

Using my new handy power meter, the standby power consumption for the CP8 at 7.5 watts is half of the DBR10 that draws 15 to run its DSP, CPU, Fan, etc. Add 5 watts of wall power to either and you don't want to be near them given the volume (nothing I would ever do on a gig with a single speaker high and behind). Either would be good choices to run off a battery and inverter.

If I believe the specs, the CP8 is 6 dB down at 56 Hz and the DBR10 is 10 dB down at 55 Hz. I do think you hear a bit more bass guitar with the CP8. The max SPL's across the top-of-the-line products are 2 dB higher for Yamaha compared to similar QSC products which I would bet speaks to differences in how they were measured. QSC specs pink noise at 1 meter but even if Yamaha does the same there are a lot of other factors that make these numbers not really comparable. The DBR10 is rated 129 dB max SPL and the CP8 124. QSC needs for marketing reasons to have the Kx.2's louder than the CP's and larger drivers louder than smaller ones. Also physics favors the larger drivers. I think 124 is more than overkill for my needs and it might be that QSC optimized bass response over max SPL in their CP8 DSP programming.