K8's vs K10's

[BoB335]

Hello There and Merry Christmas!

 

I'm new to this forum and I'm a guitarist. I came to this section in a search for the QSC K8's and K10's of which I see the most talk in this section of the Music Player Network. (I will do more checking through the Guitarist section)

I would like to put together an Acoustic Duo (maybe a trio) with a female vocalist/guitarist. Always a possibility of it being a keyboadist or even a bass.

There are very portable units geared more towards the solo performer talked about on the Acoustic Guitar Forum such as the SoloAmp and he BagAmp as well as the Bose systems. I'm leaning towards a small mixer and a K speaker (either an 8 or a 10. Hoping to find some information here to help me make this decision.)

 

And again, Merry Christmas!

[ITGITC]

Merry Christmas BoB & welcome to The Keyboard Corner.

 

 

Tom

 

[KeyMoe]

Merry Christmas!!! Do a search in this forum on either the K8's or K10s. There are a couple good threads on each.

 

I actually owned a pair of the K8s and they sounded awesome at low and mid volumes. At higher volumes they sounded a bit stressed....My problem, the band I wanted to use them with never played at low or mid volumes. So I kept the powered EVs

Sx-A360s I was previously using.

 

But the K8s really sounded very very good. Great clarity and punch for their size. You really need to give them a listen.

 

Matt

 

 

 

[BoB335]

Merry Christmas!!! Do a search in this forum on either the K8's or K10s. There are a couple good threads on each.

 

I actually owned a pair of the K8s and they sounded awesome at low and mid volumes. At higher volumes they sounded a bit stressed....My problem, the band I wanted to use them with never played at low or mid volumes. So I kept the powered EVs

Sx-A360s I was previously using.

 

But the K8s really sounded very very good. Great clarity and punch for their size. You really need to give them a listen.

 

Matt

 

 

 

 

You used them with a whole band? What did you run through them besides vocals?

[KeyMoe]

Sorry, actually I used them live just as keyboard monitors, not for the whole band.....The band uses a very large JBL system.

[Maze Sound]

I'd suggest the K12's.

[BoB335]

K12's for a small acoustic act??? Might as well keep my JBL Mpro415's and QSC PLX3402. Or I just sent back a pair of EV SX100's to use with my EMX5000-12. They were only 31 lbs.

 

Guess I was probably mistaken. Thanks for the advice.

[Jeff_D_in_MD]

K10s are somewhat more directional than K8s, and can be positioned as wedge monitors. That makes them more versatile than K8s, IMHO.

 

I'm using my K10 with a small mixer--either to mix two boards, or simply to add a little extra gain to compensate for the weak output in the Nord Electro 2.

[Rocket Man 2]

How LOW a volume are you going to run them at? If I remember correctly, K8's are 120 degrees, K10's are 90 degrees, and K12's are 75 degrees conical dispersion. I have the K12's, use them for keyboard monitors (better bottom end) and have used them for stage monitors (directionality works well).

 

Everyone wants lightweight equipment these days, but there are definitely some trade-offs: efficiency and dispersion for sure.

 

I think the QSC K series sound great at not loud volumes, but when you crank them up they do sound stressed--rather brittle. Beware, QSC rates them at 1,000 watts. I consider this advertising hype. There's all kinds of ways to rate power: from conservatively rated to ratings that are advertising gimmicks:

RMS (or EIA-archaic) @20-20kHz (real-world), @1000Hz(realistic for drivers, NOT loudspeakers):

@ sine-wave, for a period of time (rigorous test),

@music-power (normal use);

peak-power (advertising hype);

@peak-to-peak power (advertising super-hype).

 

The K series is rated at peak power (advertising gimmick: 500 watts peak is for the woofer and 500 watts is for the driver. 700 watts for the woofer and 300 watts for the driver would make more sense because the high frequency driver is so much more efficient and therefore requires much less power, but that is not the case here.

 

As keyboard monitors TWO K12's sound good at a reasonably loud volume on stage. At a really loud volume (long before the compression/limiter light comes on) they don't sound so good (they're being stressed).

 

My suggestion: If you don't want to buy your equipment twice, define you volume level and stick to it. Easier said than done? After defining your volume level, get the beefier gear. You might complain about the extra weight, but you have a much better chance that the equipment with work well again and again.

 

If you are going to do a duo for about 60 people in a church (eg., female vocalist and an acoustic guitar with a Fishman pickup singing Christmas Carols), you can use TWO Bose L systems and sound absolutely great. Any louder and the P.A. just doesn't cover well--you have to revert to directional P.A.

 

If you go with the QSC K series, K8's are for low volume, wide dispersion, near-field application (people sitting close to the performers--intimate setting). Don't uplevel the volume without upleveling to beefier equipment. K10's with subs could be feasible--90 degree dispersion works well. K12's with subs would be more substantial, but now your limited to 75 degreee horizontal dispersion, a real trade-off, unless you run 2 K12's per side: better dispersion and +3dB in volume (+10 dB is perceived as twice as loud).

 

The bottom line: this isn't rock band P.A. This is "P.A. on a stick". You only get so much out of "P.A. on a stick"--good for piano bars, good for acoustic duo's, good for keyboard monitors (with a full P.A. out front). Just because it's light and compact, don't let your band-mates talk you into using them as out-front Rock-band wedding P.A. down the line.

 

Good luck!