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Thread: Next Upgrade

  1. #1
    Member DJ Elevate's Avatar
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    Next Upgrade

    Hey there folks - hope you had a great 4th of July, or a great Thursday wherever in the world you are.

    So, I'm pondering my next speaker upgrade.

    Currently, I have 2x QSC K12.2, 2x QSC K10s, and 2x QSC KS212Cs. While I like my KS212Cs way more than the KSUB I used to have... I'm still disappointed whenever I'm asked to "TURN IT UP", and I have to actually turn down the gains on my subs cause they hit the limiter before I can bump up my tops which are at unity.

    I'm part-time with no trailer - just a SUV, or a Mini-van if I have to go that route, so transportation space is a premium and I really don't want to have to get a trailer. KW181s are just too big, which is why I went with the KS212Cs instead.

    I'm thinking about getting a pair of QSC KW153s and just using those and not bothering with the KS212Cs. They seem like they'll fit decently in my SUV, but I'm wondering if it'll be enough still for larger events. By "larger" I mean maybe as big as a high school dance in a large gym - 300+ish bodies. I recently went to an outdoor event where someone had a pair of 153s sitting on top of a pair of 181s and it was pretty bumpin'.

    Thoughts? Thanks!
    Last edited by DJ Elevate; 07-05-2019 at 06:14 PM.

  2. #2
    You've run up against the laws of physics. For subs to keep up with mains they have to be at least eight times the physical size,with at least four times the power driving them. If a sound system is an iceberg the biggest part of it is going to be that which is beneath the surface.
    Bill Fitzmaurice
    Bill Fitzmaurice Loudspeaker Design
    www.billfitzmaurice.info/forum

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Fitzmaurice View Post
    You've run up against the laws of physics. For subs to keep up with mains they have to be at least eight times the physical size,with at least four times the power driving them. If a sound system is an iceberg the biggest part of it is going to be that which is beneath the surface.
    Stop crushing my soul!

    Haha man... ugh... there's going to be no way around having to get a trailer and getting some legit subs, huh? At least what - two 18" ? Sucks.. a pair of 181s are just barely too big with all the other stuff I have to fit in a car.. dammit.

  4. #4
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    You can't really be more than a small events DJ with a car or minivan, that's just the hard truth. The business I started almost a decade ago is filling a market providing sound and lighting to DJs that want to do medium to large weddings and parties but have no interest in owning or moving the equipment necessary. I frequently pack a full size cargo van with gear for a single event.
    Paul O'Brien
    Old Tech Guy
    www.Techott.com

  5. #5
    Moderator DJ Bobcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by conanski View Post
    You can't really be more than a small events DJ with a car or minivan, that's just the hard truth...
    ^^^^ This is SO true. I have a minivan, but it just barely has enough space for my primary and backup systems and a small light light system. I used to have a couple of subs and a couple of pairs of speakers, but now use RCF EXOX8’s, which save a little space, but there’s really no space for much more. Fact is; I don’t think I’d ever do events larger than 200-250 people anyway, so it’s not a big deal, but I’d really LOVE to have a RAM cargo van that I could actually walk into. Not likely to ever happen.😊

  6. #6
    Member DJ Elevate's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by conanski View Post
    You can't really be more than a small events DJ with a car or minivan, that's just the hard truth. The business I started almost a decade ago is filling a market providing sound and lighting to DJs that want to do medium to large weddings and parties but have no interest in owning or moving the equipment necessary. I frequently pack a full size cargo van with gear for a single event.
    Makes sense. I know it's been a game Tetris figuring out how to fit everything in my SUV or Mini-van, but I do alright for myself in my opinion anyway: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvII9ucnCCw/

    I just want more punch and I'll be good (I say that now but I'm sure I'll want something else after that lol), and man I need like maybe 3-5 ft more storage to fit a pair of 181s in there - frustrating.

    I used to rent for larger events but man that's an extra $230 in my area for rental, delivery, and pickup of a couple subs. Hard to pass that on to the client without taking from my profit. Guess you can't have your cake and eat it too though.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Elevate View Post
    Makes sense. I know it's been a game Tetris figuring out how to fit everything in my SUV or Mini-van, but I do alright for myself in my opinion anyway: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvII9ucnCCw/

    I just want more punch and I'll be good (I say that now but I'm sure I'll want something else after that lol), and man I need like maybe 3-5 ft more storage to fit a pair of 181s in there - frustrating.

    I used to rent for larger events but man that's an extra $230 in my area for rental, delivery, and pickup of a couple subs. Hard to pass that on to the client without taking from my profit. Guess you can't have your cake and eat it too though.

    I can fit a pair of my jbl srx828s and a pair of Yamaha dsr 112s in a Toyota Sienna minivan...

  8. #8
    With subs, size does matter. The KS212C specs are pretty good for their size (I never heard them), but their size is not too large. They go reasonably loud but not very deep.

    But the first question I have to ask is.. do you place your two subs next to each other? Or do you place them one to each side? If one to each side.. place them together! You'll get significantly more bass. If you're already doing that, then you choice is clear.. you either need more KS212C's.. or you need to switch to more capable (and probably larger) subs. Which leads to the question of WHICH sub. And that's a complicated (and possibly expensive) choice. Because at a given size, one sub design may be optimized for large quantities of punchy upper bass (kick), not so much lower bass. Another may have overall lesser output, but nice deep bass. It's all about what you need. Then, there's the reality that while size is the overwhelming consideration in subwoofers, it's not the only one, and you can have really significant differences between two subs of similar size and design, a difference you can really hear and feel! 3 to 6 dB may not seem like much on paper but it's a large difference in the world of sub output... So, yea.. you can get (somewhat) more output in the same space, but you will pay for that.

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