Nord & QSC K10 : help needed please

[Michael Wright]

I have been reading these threads with great interest as I too am having difficulty finding the best sound. I am currently using two Yamaha MSR 250 's with a Mackie board. I find at home with the speakers in stereo about 10 feet away at about a 30-35 degree angle, and running the cabs at 50% I can get an acceptable sound. However get out live and limitations as to speaker placement and sound levels of the band everything goes to poo. Having the speakers blasting too close is not fun at all. I am not sure that an increase in power is the answer for me. With organ and synth patches cranking the volume poses no real problems, but whenever I try to get the piano volume up it just sounds terrible. In general I feel the on stage volume is to much anyway. I'd love to get the chance to hear some of these other setups that I have read about here. Expensive proposition swapping speakers out all the time!!! Cheers Mike

[rr123]

Several on this post mention connecting the Nord directly into the K10. Isn't there an impedance mismatch--instrument into line? Are you using a DI box? Appreciate any advise b/c I just picked up a K10 and am being told I need a direct box, xlr cable and must set switch to mic, not line.

[rr123]

Several on this post mention connecting the Nord directly into the K10. Isn't there an impedance mismatch--instrument into line? Are you using a DI box? Appreciate any advise b/c I just picked up a K10 and am being told I need a direct box, xlr cable and must set switch to mic, not line.

Hello rr123,
Welcome to the forums

The following is copied from the QSC K10 product page:

"Combo XLR and 1/4" TRS inputs accept both Mic and Line Level input"

Cheers, Hanon

[rr123]

Several on this post mention connecting the Nord directly into the K10. Isn't there an impedance mismatch--instrument into line? Are you using a DI box? Appreciate any advise b/c I just picked up a K10 and am being told I need a direct box, xlr cable and must set switch to mic, not line.

No, there is no impedance mismatch, the output of the Nord is a Line Level output, and will work perfectly well into the Line Level input of the K10. You absolutely do not need a DI box connected to the Mic input; an ordinary jack-to-jack lead is the right thing to use.

The term "Instrument Level" is frequently used to refer to the output of an electric guitar or similar, which is entirely different from the Nord's output.

[rr123]

I see thanks. The gain just seems really low. Any thoughts as to why it's not blasting like I expect from 1000 watts?

[rr123]

Imho, watts are less significant than spl, and obviously the relations between watts / price / spl / other numbers are not linear.
Talking about expectations, acoustic can change everything.
To get an idea of an amp's capacity, a test "in the worst situation" is often the best, without knowing the characteristics (numbers), just switch from one amp to another and compare, play various (representative) things, you'll hear which one matches the need.
I'm connected straight from the NS2 outputs 1 & 2 to the QSC line inputs 1 & 2 via two cables with mono (unbalanced) jacks.
The final db pressure can go very high, I have only a K8, and never had to push more than 3/4 the gain knobs.
But as I said above, in other words, that depends on what you are doing : what kind / size of rehearsal / stage are you playing ?

[rr123]

Ok thanks.

[RedLeo]

Another issue with the QSC K series is that the 1000 watt claim is pretty dubious. It does have 2 x 500 watt amplifiers inside, but it's almost certain that they are not used to their full capacity. The treble horn could not possibly reproduce anything like 500 watts, and you never have equal wattage values for bass and treble speakers anyway - typically the bass speaker uses far more power to run it than the treble - the size difference alone should make this obvious.

Secondly, watts make be quoted as Peak or RMS. Without getting too technical, the RMS value is a "real world" I-can-do-this-all-night-long value, while the Peak value, which is higher than the RMS value, is more I-can-just-get-this-with-everything-pushed-to-the-limit-for-a-short-while value. Ideally manufacturers would quote you both values, unfortunately some may quote a wattage rating without listing it as either Peak or RMS and you may end up thinking that the given wattage rating is RMS when it's actually Peak.

[rb4u1]

I recently purchased a Zxa1 & have been using the K10 for over a year. Although there has been more info in the past year, there hasn't been enough comparisons for keyboards. So here's another opinion.
The K10 will cover almost any situation. It's pretty loud and has great connectivity.
The Zxa1 sounds similar but is not as loud and although it has adequate connections,
Practically nothing comes close to the K series connections.
Tonally the Ev may just eke ahead of the K10.
The overall sound seems relatively flat & natural across the Audio spectrum.
In my small practice area the Ev has nice highs & lows & seems like it's not
Hyped at all. The Mids seem open & natural, almost airy.
In comparison, the K10 seems to have a hyped upper bass & the highs are a little stronger.
Overall the K10 could be used for anything, anytime (Blues, Rock or Jazz) & seems to get pretty loud
just running a cable from a Keyboard to the line input. On special occasions if you use the mic setting it will get
Especially loud and is on the Edge of it's capabilities.
My initial use of the Zxa1 was a 1 hour set for a room of about 125-150 people.
I used a Roland Fp-4 which has a rather anemic output directly into the Ev & simply
turned it all the way up using the regular input. It sounded terrific.
It seemed to be a little lacking in the very high end, but the bass was full & natural. The Mids were solid. Not overly emphasized or lacking in any way.
The QSC K10 could have easily have done this gig.
The K10 has to be the better speaker for B3 sounds or any combination of
Piano & Organ/Rhodes/Wurly etc.
The Ev seems like it is more suited for acoustic piano at more reasonable levels (coffeehouse or jazz setting).
I'm not sure how the Ev would fare with a mixer but it wont compete
With the K10. My apologies for the long post & the Hi-Fi speak.

[Frantz]

My apologies for the long post & the Hi-Fi speak.

Hey ! I've read it all, it's interesting, thank you for "the long post" it's nice to read your feedback.