QSC K series vs KW series...and/or CLR's

B

Brandon

Member
Hi all. I bought an active CLR Neo a couple months ago and am enjoying it for the most part in my music room at home. I would like to run stereo so that i can run my AxeFXII in stereo, and also run keys, vocals and v-drums for when I have people over to jam.

Sweetwater is doing 36 months no interest and I'm thinking of taking advantage of that to get a pair of powered speakers. I saw Dweezil Zappa perform and he was using the K series, I believe. I was right in front of him and though he sounded great. Does anyone have experience with both the K and KW series? I've read the specs and am searching out reviews, but would love for some fractal family to weigh in on any sonic/tonal differences, pros/cons, etc. The price is K12 $799 and $1099 for the KW12.

My thought is to either get a second active CLR Neo, or get two QSC K or KW 12's. What are your thoughts on using CLR's to run all those sources vs 2 QSC K or KW 12's? A sub will be added at some point down the road to either setup. Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated.
 
The difference between the QSC offerings and the CLR's has been covered extensively here. Just do a search. In a nutshell (I have both the CLR and a K10 that I have A/B'ed extensively), IMHO there is no comparison. The QSC K series is your typical (albeit better than most) pro-sumer grade powered PA speaker. It is not even close to flat response having hyped highs and lows. The K-series' mids (the toughest range to reproduce accurately) sounds very muddy and distant compared to the CLR. I could personally never go back to the QSC. But each person has their own tastes and ideas of what sounds best, so you should try to get your hands on a QSC to compare to your CLR and go with what sounds best to you.
 
I have the Kw122's,: I am pretty sure this is what Dweezle uses, not the K series. I have not list to the K series or the CLR but I can tell you that the KW's sound really good imo.
 
I was just watching a review today of the QSC KW and K series and sounds like one of the biggest differences is weight. I think it has a different power amp as well. The review did mention that a lot of the components inside are from the K-series and one of the other series.
 
I have both K12's and passive CLR's that I drive with a Carvin DCM1540L amp. I like them both. They sound a little different of course. One thing I do on both is place a 3" doubled square of gaffers tape over the tweeters on both the K12's and CLR's. Cuts down on the 'glare' from the tweeters aimed right at you. Never had a problem with the bass on either as the Axe FX EQ's control that very well.

The CLR's where supposed to replace the K12's but the K12's never left. They sound killer together (and huge)!
 
Brandon said:
Hi all. I bought an active CLR Neo a couple months ago and am enjoying it for the most part in my music room at home. I would like to run stereo so that i can run my AxeFXII in stereo, and also run keys, vocals and v-drums for when I have people over to jam.

Sweetwater is doing 36 months no interest and I'm thinking of taking advantage of that to get a pair of powered speakers. I saw Dweezil Zappa perform and he was using the K series, I believe. I was right in front of him and though he sounded great. Does anyone have experience with both the K and KW series? I've read the specs and am searching out reviews, but would love for some fractal family to weigh in on any sonic/tonal differences, pros/cons, etc. The price is K12 $799 and $1099 for the KW12.

My thought is to either get a second active CLR Neo, or get two QSC K or KW 12's. What are your thoughts on using CLR's to run all those sources vs 2 QSC K or KW 12's? A sub will be added at some point down the road to either setup. Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated.
Click to expand...

Take a look on Yamaha DSR112
 
I have CLR, K10, kw 122 and kw153 available for comparison, I'd love to do some side by side testing sometimes. I believe the bigger kw is supposed to have a tighter coverage pattern.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I guess I should have summarized my post into two questions -what's the difference sonically between the K and KW and should I save for a second CLR or take advantage of three years no interest and buy into a QSC system. Sorry I wasn't more clear. From what I could tell, the difference was a wood cabinet and different dispersion angles. I was looking for subjective opinions on variance in tone from axe owners.

I think I will save up and get another CLR. I'm basically looking for a home, small jam, stereo PA to run the Axe, V-drums, keys and vocals. I'll eventually add a sub. When I do gig, I'll just take one CLR and go FOH. I should have mentioned that in the first post. Thanks again guys.
 
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