QSC's CP Series is a new line of super-compact powered loudspeakers for live sound reinforcement, portable work and fixed installations. Their low price and easy-to-carry, lightweight design along with a wide range of connection options--including direct microphone input - makes them universally adaptable for any application.
The CP Series starts with two, 2-way models: the CP8 weighs 21-pounds and is capable of 90-degrees of coverage from an 8-inch cone woofer and the CP12 (tested here) weighing in at 30-pounds with its 12-inch woofer and 75-degrees of coverage. Both models feature a highly efficient 1000-watt (peak) Class-D power amplifier divided between 800-watts for the woofer and 200-watts for the 1.4-inch compression driver. These are front-ported stylish-looking black polypropylene cabinets with a protective 18-gauge steel front screen and a 35-mm pole socket in the base. The cabinet's modified trapezoidal shape and design allows them to be used as floor wedge monitors, main PA on pole stands, or as an instrument amplifier.
The CP Series loudspeaker's rear panels include a Contour rotary switch for setting preset DSP filter contours for common sound reinforcement applications such as floor monitors, Dance (club) with/without an external subwoofer and for speech public address only.
There are two XLR inputs with separate gain controls for line, mic/line inputs and also a 3.5 mm stereo input for connecting music players. All inputs sum together automatically. There are LEDs to indicate the limiter action, power, and when the +25dB mic boost mode is engaged. Finally, the rear panel has a loop through XLR output for sending the line signal to another CP Series loudspeaker.
I set up a pair of CP12s in a medium size room for a party event. I had them about chest high on furniture in the room. I fed a stereo line level signal to them and they sounded big and fat with plenty of low frequency extension. I cycled through the available contours and they all worked fine--I went with the Default contour for playing music tracks. I also plugged in a PROformance P725 dynamic microphone (it has a mute switch) for the occasional announcement (and impromptu karaoke) and used the mic boost mode to get enough level to mix along with music.
I thought these QSC CP12 monitors worked perfectly and I can highly recommend them for any light to medium usage as designed. They are easy to setup, intuitive to use and sound awesome.
The QSC CP8 sells for $399 and the CP12 sells for $499 MSRP.
qsc.com/live-sound/products/loudspeakers/powered-loudspeakers/cp-series/
Barry Rudolph is a recording engineer/mixer who has worked on over 30 gold and platinum records. He has recorded and/or mixed Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, the Corrs and more. Barry has his own futuristic music mixing facility and loves teaching audio engineering at Musician’s Institute, Hollywood, CA. He is a lifetime Grammy-voting member of NARAS and a contributing editor for Mix Magazine. barryrudolph.com
