Will it be the K8 or the K10?

[innervisions89]

I've been fighting with myself for the last few days now...

 

http://www.montrealfilmjournal.com/img/picb/A0000071.jpg

 

...whether to get the QSC K8 or K10. It's not a matter of money (both are priced similarly) but portability. I rely on subways and cabs to get to my shows here in Manhattan, and am wondering if it's worth going for the K8 simply to minimize the schlep factor. And, of course, what (if any) sonic sacrifices I would be making if I opted for the smaller speaker (for shows in bigger clubs w/o sound guy)...

 

Thanks in advance; I just don't have much experience when it comes to powered monitors.

[ITGITC]

 

That's a great question.

 

If you rely on subways to get to your shows, I can't see you taking anything bigger than the K8. However, the K10 will offer you better bass response and can be used as a monitor wedge.

 

What else are you taking on the subway along with the K8 or K10?

 

Tom

 

[innervisions89]

Just an electro and a stand...pedals and cables would go in the speaker's soft case.

[ITGITC]

Just an electro and a stand...pedals and cables would go in the speaker's soft case.

 

An Electro, a stand, and a K8 is about all I would venture out with - using the NYC subway. If you've got someone to help you... hmmmmm, I dunno. I'd still probably take the K8.

 

Tom

 

[Polkahero]

Forget that, use one half of a Yamaha Stagepas 300. Not as much power but a lot lighter and cheaper, I'm happy with the sound of mine. Add the second speaker if you want to run stereo.

[Michelle ggurl]

I just bought an EV ZxA1 (8") which to me had better sound than the K8. In many ways I like the sound better than the K10 as well, which is why I bought it. It does not have as much energy, ie, power, but it's 800W and does pretty good.

 

The thing with ANY speaker less than 12" I've found from my recent research, is that it's going to have some boxiness in SOME frequency. The K10's is higher in the midrange than the K8s. A slight tweak in my onboard EQ on my Kurzweil PC2 handles this just fine. Also, there is plenty of bottom end for what I do; mostly piano and EP sounds. An amazing amount for at 8", really. Better bass response than my old Motion Sound KT-80 with a 12" by far(but the KT-80 is louder; the quality of the sound is not as good, but it's clear they have compressed and pushed it into the midrange for more loudness).

 

So if it's portability you want, if you can, compare the K8 and EV and see if you like it. The EV is $450 to $500 so a bit cheaper too.

[ITGITC]

I just bought an EV ZxA1 (8") which to me had better sound than the K8.

 

The EV is only 19 pounds. The QSC K8 is 27 pounds.

 

Geekgurl, as usual, has a good point. You probably want to listen to the EV before you pull out your wallet.

 

I would.

 

[AnotherScott]

I just bought an EV ZxA1 (8") which to me had better sound than the K8.

Ah, now I know "how the story ended" after our PM exchange! Yup, you came to the same conclusion I did... if you A/B them, the EV just sounds better than the QSC, at least for piano (which is the toughest thing to get sounding good). The K8 definitely cranks louder, but if you don't need quite that much volume, the EV sounds better, is cheaper, and back to the OP here, is much lighter at 19 pounds. Especially if you're carrying it with your Electro on a subway, the EV is clearly preferable to the QSC, unless you must have more volume, and are willing to put up with the extra weight and lesser sound quality to get it.

[innervisions89]

I actually considered the EV, but was drawn in by QSC's 1000 watts and responsive bass. I use the B3 on the Electro about 60% of the time, so I need something with a fuller low end and enough power to allow it to scream (and leave any distortion to the on-board overdrive).

 

In terms of portability, the Nord backpack case makes it a bit easier to lug heavier equipment. I was actually considering picking up one of those foldable cases to throw in the gig bag, but have heard mixed reviews.

[Polkahero]

Can you discuss what EQ adjustments you're doing to enhance your Kurzweil piano sound? I'm also running a PC2 piano but with the module which doesn't let you save EQ adjustments.

[innervisions89]

I ended up going out and buying the K10 at Guitar Center this afternoon...and am blown away! Cannot believe that such a rich, room-filling sound can come from such a small speaker...

 

Thanks for your advice, everyone.

[Michelle ggurl]

You're welcome, Innervisions. Regarding the Nord backpack straps (I assume you mean the straps that are zippered into a compartment on the back of the red soft gig cases by Nord), be careful about carrying your board like that; I believe others here have used it and overwhelmingly experienced strap failure. I know I've seen it discussed here before; if you do a search you will probably find it.

 

Since you are doing B3 sounds a majority of the time, yes, your needs are different than mine. I will say, however, that once I got the EV home I was able to test it with piano and EP and get it to painfully loud levels without distortion (I recorded a MIDI performance, then played that MIDI performance back so that I could hear the actual instrument play -- not a playback of it through a sound card, etc -- and checked the meter light in the back while plugging my ears to check, LOL). But I don't know about the EV's balls. There is definitely more energy in the K8, just not as refined a sound. So for what you are doing you prolly got the right one.

 

AnotherScott, that's funny, you concluded as did I. Sorry I did not update you; I only purchased the thing Friday and will test it on a gig this Tuesday.

 

Polka, my EQ settings are simple and minor: using the global 3-band EQ, low=0 (leave as default), M= -2, H= +2. That was a very cursory experiment but seemed to do just what I needed. If I decide to change this after gigging it on Tuesday I'll let you know.

 

 

[ITGITC]

I ended up going out and buying the K10 at Guitar Center this afternoon...and am blown away! Cannot believe that such a rich, room-filling sound can come from such a small speaker...

 

Thanks for your advice, everyone.

 

Excellent.

 

The EV, K8, or K10 - any of these three are great choices. And much better than most "keyboard amps".

 

Good luck to you, innervisions89!

 

Tom

 

[Polkahero]

Polka, my EQ settings are simple and minor: using the global 3-band EQ, low=0 (leave as default), M= -2, H= +2. That was a very cursory experiment but seemed to do just what I needed. If I decide to change this after gigging it on Tuesday I'll let you know.

 

 

Will the PC2 save that setting when you turn the keyboard off? Sounds about what I do on my mixer, boosting the treble a little to get more brightness. Don't have midrange. . .yet!

[innervisions89]

I believe others here have used it and overwhelmingly experienced strap failure

 

Unfortunately, I've been there! Strap failed, but no damage to the keyboard.

 

Until the zipper failed.

 

That time, the board fell wood-first onto the asphalt on 59th street. Yeah.

 

Thankfully, there wasn't too much damage. The metal got a bit warped and there's a minor dent on the side. Otherwise, it's fine.

[Rocket Man 2]

I actually considered the EV, but was drawn in by QSC's 1000 watts and responsive bass.

 

Beware that QSC is playing the wattage / advertising game. The rated 1000 watts is not 1000 watts RMS. Furthermore, it would make more sense to have 700 watts on the woofer and 300 watts on the high end, as other companies (JBL, etc) do. I believe the effective RMS wattage is actually 250 watts per channel, which is quite week on the low end.

 

I have the K12, which has the same amplifier. My experience is that it sounds really good until you push it hard, and then it sounds harsh. Yes, it's loud, but it sounds brittle. Still, it sounded flatter (and therefore better) than the JBL powered monitor that I compared it with in an "A to B" comparison. (And I LOVE JBL for vocal monitors.)

[AnotherScott]

Beware that QSC is playing the wattage / advertising game. The rated 1000 watts is not 1000 watts RMS.

They do say 1000 watts continuous, 2000 watts peak. Sounds like RMS, but they are not that specific. EV is also vague about how their 800 watts is measured.

 

it would make more sense to have 700 watts on the woofer and 300 watts on the high end

Yes, the 500/500 split is odd, since the low frequency drivers need much more power than the HF drivers to achieve the same output. I guess their amp design is such that delivering "less" power to the horn wouldn't be any cheaper for them to manufacture, and this way, well, they can advertise 1000 watts total. Again, EV is probably doing the same thing, as their ZXA1 does not specify how much of its 800 watts is directed toward each driver.

 

Though another issue, is that wattage comparisons between integrated amp/speaker combinations is meaningless. As it happens, yes, the QSC goes louder than the EV. But you can determine that from the SPL spec, which is much more meaningful than the wattage spec. If the EV had a higher SPL spec but lower wattage, it would be, in essence, the more powerful speaker. That doesn't happen to be the case, but it's not impossible for such a design to exist. 500 watts of power going into a more efficient speaker can be louder than 400 watts going into a less efficient speaker. Since you can't "de-couple" these amps from their speakers, the wattage spec is pointless, you just have to look at SPL. Wattage is only a spec worth looking at for amplifiers to which you can attach different speakers, to determine how different amps will drive a given speaker. If you can't choose the speaker separately, the spec is pointless.