Nord User Forum

My observation is that the QSC speakers (any of them) sound better from 20 feet away than they do from 2 feet away. It's amazing how clearly they project into a room.

I really enjoy my pair of TurboSound iQ12. [emoji1360]


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NoDirection wrote:Hi - One question about the QSC 8.2 that so many recommend. I have no doubt that they play fantastic turned up, but I wonder how the play in low volume. My small hobby room where I play every day in my house is only like 8 m^2 and the speakers are place right in ear height in front of me. So will they play good in low volume, or will they be noisy or just blow out my ears (and annoy everyone else in the house)?
Today I use a pair of Yamaha HS7 - and they are good practice speakers, but nothing for playing for others. So I also have a SpaceStation v3.. Would be nice (and good economy) if I only needed one pair of good speakers - QSC 8.2

I too am looking at the QSC 8.2s and I do see that there is a “Studio Mon” preset for near field monitoring that is described in the QSC documentation as follows:

“A voicing that provides a more balanced overall speaker response with deeper extension to be used as a nearfield or studio monitor for mixing.”

https://www.qsc.com/resource-files/prod ... ebands.pdf

Probably worth trying out.

ajstan wrote:

NoDirection wrote:Hi - One question about the QSC 8.2 that so many recommend. I have no doubt that they play fantastic turned up, but I wonder how the play in low volume. My small hobby room where I play every day in my house is only like 8 m^2 and the speakers are place right in ear height in front of me. So will they play good in low volume, or will they be noisy or just blow out my ears (and annoy everyone else in the house)?
Today I use a pair of Yamaha HS7 - and they are good practice speakers, but nothing for playing for others. So I also have a SpaceStation v3.. Would be nice (and good economy) if I only needed one pair of good speakers - QSC 8.2

I too am looking at the QSC 8.2s and I do see that there is a “Studio Mon” preset for near field monitoring that is described in the QSC documentation as follows:

“A voicing that provides a more balanced overall speaker response with deeper extension to be used as a nearfield or studio monitor for mixing.”

https://www.qsc.com/resource-files/prod ... ebands.pdf

Probably worth trying out.

Well, I just got 2 K8.2s and tried this setup myself. I set the speakers up on either side of my NS3-88 as monitors facing me. The fronts of the speakers are lined up with the back edge of the keyboard, and the sides of the keyboard line up with the QSC logo in the midlle of each speaker.

Using the Studio Mon preset, I have to say that the sound quality is really good and I can play at a low volume and hear all of the details. Pianos sound great and I'm enjoying rediscovering the NS3 sounds in stereo. I set the K8.2 gain to 0dB and control the volume through the NS3 and a Radial Key Largo mixer. Totally fine for programming sounds and practicing. The only drawback is a slight, but noticeable, audible hiss that you'd expect from a PA speaker (the hiss is there even with nothing plugged in).

I think I am going to use this as my main home practice setup for a while. I'll also try the floor wedge setup and placing the speakers a few feet behind me once my 25' TRS cables are delivered. Can't wait to open up the volume on these with the NS3 (as soon as I can get the speakers far away enough from me). From what I've heard so far, there's plenty of clean headroom.

Short answer: Yes, it works well at low-to-medium volume if you don't mind a little hiss from the speakers and the sound of the fan occasionally turning on.

ajstan wrote:

ajstan wrote:

NoDirection wrote:Hi - One question about the QSC 8.2 that so many recommend. I have no doubt that they play fantastic turned up, but I wonder how the play in low volume. My small hobby room where I play every day in my house is only like 8 m^2 and the speakers are place right in ear height in front of me. So will they play good in low volume, or will they be noisy or just blow out my ears (and annoy everyone else in the house)?
Today I use a pair of Yamaha HS7 - and they are good practice speakers, but nothing for playing for others. So I also have a SpaceStation v3.. Would be nice (and good economy) if I only needed one pair of good speakers - QSC 8.2

I too am looking at the QSC 8.2s and I do see that there is a “Studio Mon” preset for near field monitoring that is described in the QSC documentation as follows:

“A voicing that provides a more balanced overall speaker response with deeper extension to be used as a nearfield or studio monitor for mixing.”

https://www.qsc.com/resource-files/prod ... ebands.pdf

Probably worth trying out.

Well, I just got 2 K8.2s and tried this setup myself. I set the speakers up on either side of my NS3-88 as monitors facing me. The fronts of the speakers are lined up with the back edge of the keyboard, and the sides of the keyboard line up with the QSC logo in the midlle of each speaker.

Using the Studio Mon preset, I have to say that the sound quality is really good and I can play at a low volume and hear all of the details. Pianos sound great and I'm enjoying rediscovering the NS3 sounds in stereo. I set the K8.2 gain to 0dB and control the volume through the NS3 and a Radial Key Largo mixer. Totally fine for programming sounds and practicing. The only drawback is a slight, but noticeable, audible hiss that you'd expect from a PA speaker (the hiss is there even with nothing plugged in).

I think I am going to use this as my main home practice setup for a while. I'll also try the floor wedge setup and placing the speakers a few feet behind me once my 25' TRS cables are delivered. Can't wait to open up the volume on these with the NS3 (as soon as I can get the speakers far away enough from me). From what I've heard so far, there's plenty of clean headroom.

Short answer: Yes, it works well at low-to-medium volume if you don't mind a little hiss from the speakers and the sound of the fan occasionally turning on.

This is pretty much as I'd expect. The K8.2s are not near-field studio monitors. Trust me, I've got a few of those, so I know the deal. But pressed into near-field monitor duty, not the worst thing in the world, all things being equal. I could live with them in that role.

The floor wedge setup doesn't work for me. I tried it a few times, wasn't happy. They belong on stands.
Putting then on the floor sucks the life out of them, vampire style. Maybe your experience will be different?

The hiss thing can be mostly overcome with gain staging. Whatever you're dialing in for the gig won't work for studio monitoring. Turn the K8.2s way down, boost your keyboard signal. All good. And no fan noise.

Rawk on!

Thanks, Chuck. I didn’t like the floor wedge placement either, no matter which preset I used. I’d say the “vampire” description is pretty accurate. No fun at all. The speaker stands don’t take up that much space anyway and it’s easier to make adjustments, so I will have them in the air whenever I can.

As for the hissing, I think it’s just the baseline noise for the K8.2. Not an issue at all, and only noticeable because I’m in a really quiet room. It won’t matter at practice or on stage. There is no noticeable change between having all three gain controls at “off” or all the way up to about +3dB. Even after that it’s very slight. It’s like nothing is being strained or pushed beyond its limit. I’ll try setting it lower gain (around -5dB to see if the fan stays off longer. With all that power in such a small enclosure, I suspect the fan is going to go off at times anyway just due to the heat of the amplifier being on and ready.

On a separate note, I can’t believe how invisible the Key Largo is. I can crank the NS3 up to full, the Channel Level on the KL to full and I don’t get any noise added until the Monitor Level control is at 75%, and again, even then it’s very slight.

Finally, do you have a preferred preset that you start with when using the K8.2s for your keyboards on stage?

Looking forward to turning the new rig loose at rehearsal tomorrow!

My preferred preset is "flat". All the other ones sound unnatural to me. If I occasionally feel the need to EQ this or that sound, I'll do it on my Nord boards.

I remember the first time I brought the K 8.2s to a rehearsal. The guys kept asking me to turn up.