Nord User Forum

Haha, sounds very similar @cphollis By the way, I blame you for my spending issues... bought the Yamaha and QSC speakers on your recommendation

Based on recommendations from several of you folks, I ordered a pair of QSC K8.2's, which currently are as rare as hen's teeth in the US. One of the units has arrived, and the other is now on the way. I've hooked up the K8.2 to the left channel out from my audio interface, and left one of my Bag End PTA 1200's connected to the right channel. While this gives me a limited ability to judge the K8, my initial impression is favorable EXCEPT for the fan noise, which several people have commented about here:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/for ... p?t=575922

https://www.harmonycentral.com/forums/t ... ise-issue/

My K8.2 powers up nice and quiet in my home studio, and stays that way until I've put audio through it at a comfortable listening level (with speaker gain at 0db) for a few minutes. The fan noise level is not enough that it'll cause problems at a gig, but in my quiet studio it's louder than the water cooler, and it's a buzz-kill when I'm writing at my Nords. I'm gonna try keeping my room cooler than usual, to see if that helps, and I'll see how blown away by the sound I am when the second K8.2 arrives in a couple days. I may end up not using them at home as much as I was planning to do, and relying on my studio nearfields more than I was intending.

The QSC CP8 doesn't have fans if I remember right (half the power though).

I learned that the K8.2 should be 2 m away from your ears because of the fan noise. But I sent one of my 2 commanded K8.2s back when I got them because the fan noise was noticeably louder than the other. So you might see if this is the case with you when you get the second.

FZiegler wrote:The QSC CP8 doesn't have fans if I remember right (half the power though).

I learned that the K8.2 should be 2 m away from your ears because of the fan noise. But I sent one of my 2 commanded K8.2s back when I got them because the fan noise was noticeably louder than the other. So you might see if this is the case with you when you get the second.

Thanks, FZ, for some useful info. I'll try backing K8s away a bit, and see how the 2 monitors compare once I have both. I've heard that the CP8s don't sound as wonderful as the K8s, and if that's the case I'll probably stick with the K8s.

Does anyone have an opinion about K8.2 vs CP8 sonically?

I think the CP8s are great for most gigs: sound great, loud etc. But if you appreciate a bit of "extra" with your sound, you'll like the K8.2s.

Just FYI, I now have a pair of K8.2s, and I've positioned them ~7 feet from my ears.They sound great! The fan noise is in the same ballpark for both speakers. The fans are silent when the speakers are powered on, start up pretty quickly once audio starts going through the speakers, and stop about 3 1/2 minutes after last audio goes through them. Again, this is only an issue when I'm sitting in my studio. I'm not worried about it at gigs at all. I consider it to be a negative of the speakers, but I'll accept it in view of their sound, light weight and price.

P.S. Thanks for your reply, cphollis, and for all your generous advice here and on the gearspace forums. Yes, I definitely appreciate anything "extra" to my sound quality, both at home and at gigs! To quote Frank Zappa: "Timbre rules. If you don't believe me, try playing Purple Haze on an accordion."

Nutha P.S. I also treated myself to a QSC KS112 subwoofer, which I won't take to gigs, but which makes my QSC rig sound VERY inspiring at home.

I also use the K8.2. Use them in my boys-toys-room, as monitors when gigging or as a PA (with sub).
The fans doesn bother me much in these situations, but I'm sure it would be somewhat annoying if I was to use them as nearfields monitors.
This is not the intended use of the Kx.2, so for studio-like environment I'd recommend other speakers.

If you want gigging speakers that could also do double duty as your home speakers, a good quality fanless powered PA speaker is the EV ZXa1. (OTOH, having a fan does reduce the chance of a thermal shut-down.)