QSC HPR122i vs KW122

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Daniel Postilnik

Junior
Jan 14, 2011
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San Francisco, CA
Ok, the internet seems to be silent on how these boxes compare to each other. Everyone wants to know how the HPR122 compares to the K12 or the KW122 to the K12, which is weird because I thought the KW122 was supposed to be the new HPR122, and the K12 a new line entirely.

I am asking because I am upgrading from SRM450s so I have a nicer "standard corporate box" and a nicer option for powered wedges. I have heard that the KW boxes sound worse than the HPR, and their only advantages are weight and routing options (which is not always an advantage).

I'm looking at a pair of open-box HPR122i's in mint condition, with stands, for $1500. However, I also get decent pricing on new KW122s, so I'm not sure what to do. Without telling me that I should really just shut up and get the RCF TT22As, would anyone with experience like to weigh in on these two QSC boxes?

Thanks.
 
Re: HPR122i vs KW122

Daniel Postilnik said:
Ok, the internet seems to be silent on how these boxes compare to each other. Everyone wants to know how the HPR122 compares to the K12 or the KW122 to the K12, which is weird because I thought the KW122 was supposed to be the new HPR122, and the K12 a new line entirely.

I am asking because I am upgrading from SRM450s so I have a nicer "standard corporate box" and a nicer option for powered wedges. I have heard that the KW boxes sound worse than the HPR, and their only advantages are weight and routing options (which is not always an advantage).

I'm looking at a pair of open-box HPR122i's in mint condition, with stands, for $1500. However, I also get decent pricing on new KW122s, so I'm not sure what to do. Without telling me that I should really just shut up and get the RCF TT22As, would anyone with experience like to weigh in on these two QSC boxes?

Thanks.
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I do a lot of shows with these sized SOS rigs. I still think that the resultant sound is about 40% the skill of the operator, 40% how the box interacts with the room, and only about 20% the box itself. Therefore I would not worry about, or even try to descirbe differences between the two, because those differences are going to be insignificant compared to moving the box from room to room.

I did a short wide theater with my K10's last weekend that was 30-40 seats across and 25 rows deep. I usually would have brought my HPR's for that show, but we found out at the last minute that the installed PA did not work, and there was no budget for me to drive my truck 4 hours away to bring the bigger rig. So a walkup turned into me bringing a pair of K10's and stands. When I saw the width of the theater I knew there was no way to cover those seats, but I also did no expect anyone to be seated there. So I set up to cover the center section. During soundcheck I hit 105 at the back of the room with the speakers just ticking the limiters. Since it was bluegrass I ran most of the show at 85-90 at the back of the room and peaked at about 93. Where most of the audience was was probably a nice 90. Clarity was great, both for speech between songs and for the vocal parts.

The point is that thinking about where the audience was going to be, what levels and coverage I needed, and what I could safely give away made far more difference than the exact box i brought.

K12's, KW12's and HPR122's are really a tossup. Since QSC is still servicing and supporting HPR's, even the fact they are discontinued isn't a negative. I do think the HPR's are a little smoother when running into the limiters, but my advice for that is whatever box you get, don't run them into the limiters.

If you think the sound difference is enough to swing you one way or the other than you really need a listening test. (Of course that test will be under different conditions from every show you will ever do with them).
 
Re: HPR122i vs KW122

I own the HPR122 cabs and have run the K12s and was happy with both. To my ears, the HPR seemed fuller and cleaner than the K12, but both were adequate for my needs (small events not needing immense volume). Have not yet messed with the KW122, so cannot do a direct comparison for you.

If pure sound quality is the top concern, the HPR trumps the K. For flexibility in connections, stand mounting, and portability, the K wins hands down. I strongly suspect the KW, being of similar construction to the HPR, would sound similar.
 
Re: HPR122i vs KW122

Dick Rees said:
Taurus feces.........
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I have to agree. I have yet to hear at least a K series rig that impressed me. And I have mixed on a few. They might be great for low level and acoustic stuff but for party/rock stuff they run out of gas and sound bad doing it. Vocals seem to get smothered when other instruments are mixed in. I know most use powered small rigs but my rigs are passive. Just picked up a used set of Community S 3594's. They are light enough for me to lift easily and the 3 way design is just superior in every way, IMO. I am not using cheaper 2 way boxes for FOH anymore, though I am sure the more expensive options may be a lot better.
 
I think the "TF" comment was meant in opposition to John's and my comments. My point wasn't that QSC has no point in audio, in fact we sell them and owners are typically happy considering the price; rather, you never hear anyone who is primarily interested in accurate sound gushing about how incredible the QSC ________ speakers sound.
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

While not a fan of the HPR/K/KW, I do like the KLA. IMHO they are a good value vertically arrayed box, 2 or 3 per side can do quite a bit. They are in a different price range though than the OP is likely looking for.
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

Caleb Dick said:
I think the "TF" comment was meant in opposition to John's and my comments. My point wasn't that QSC has no point in audio, in fact we sell them and owners are typically happy considering the price; rather, you never hear anyone who is primarily interested in accurate sound gushing about how incredible the QSC ________ speakers sound.
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I agree. They're a great average level PA speaker but truer sound quality is out there, albeit at a higher premium.

Like someone above mentions, I felt the HPR's sounded smoother and better than the K-series especially when going into limiting. The K and KW series seem to squelch certain frequencies a little more harshly when the limiters are kicking in. Forget the holier-than-thou "you shouldn't go into limiting" responses because it's apt to happen; when it does, the HPR's sound smoother.
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

First, I think the HPR122i is only slightly different in its "good behavior" when going into limiting .... but the others are correct, it does sound better when you get there than the KW122 and especially the K12 (which I think starts getting a little "ice pick in the ear" sounding quite a bit before limiting).

The KW122 is a very good sounding speaker all the way around.... but what it would come down to for me is the difference in weight. The HPR122i is a 60 lb speaker ..... that is just a bit much for my back when putting it up on poles over subs. The KW122 is quite a bit lighter at only 49 lbs.

I did a pretty good test drive of nearly all the speakers in this price range and ended up with the Yamaha DSR112's. To my ear, the KW122 was equal to the DSR112, but at the time I would have had to spend $1100.00 each for the KW's while I got a killer deal of $740.00 ea for the DSR112's.

If you can find a GC with both, you should go give them a listen yourself.

Good luck with your decision.
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

I have owned the Hpr 122,but moved them on as they kept damaging the horns(overheating and seizing up)shame because they were very smooth and clean sounding,now using the Rcf TT22a unbelievably good.
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

Hello Tim, I have never had one hit the limiter yet,they are in my opinion the best point source speakers i have owned,in fact i have just found out they have Bang & Olfson amps in them,i also have the TT25 Sma monitors as well and they are unbelievably good.
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

Steve Garrick said:
I have owned the Hpr 122,but moved them on as they kept damaging the horns(overheating and seizing up)shame because they were very smooth and clean sounding,now using the Rcf TT22a unbelievably good.
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I have heard others say they had reliability issues with the HPR 122.

The RCF TT22a SHOULD be a much better sounding speaker than the HPR, K, KW speakers. It is a $3000.00 box. At that price, it is getting close to the price of a Meyer UPA-1P. Is it a better sounding speaker than the Meyer?
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

I have 4 HPR122i's that I use for monitors. At the time I bought them they were heads above anything else on the market in thei price range. I can't tell the difference between them and the KW's. The K's are no where near as forgiving. As a matter of fact I would compare the K's with the Early PRX series from JBL. Ice picks in the ears at moderately high volumes. If you have a need to push them to limiting you just don't have enough rid for the gig. That goes for all of the boxes I mentioned. I think that the wood box makes a huge audible difference in the sound of any speaker.
 
Scott Bolt said:
The RCF TT22a SHOULD be a much better sounding speaker than the HPR, K, KW speakers. It is a $3000.00 box. At that price, it is getting close to the price of a Meyer UPA-1P. Is it a better sounding speaker than the Meyer?
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The TT2xA speakers can be had well below $3k. They are similar to Meyer, but I wouldn't say better. I put them into that higher league, rather than the upper MI league.
 
Re: QSC HPR122i vs KW122

I know this has been quiet for a while, but I just ran across it and thought I might put my 2 cents in for anyone that may come by in the future.

I have 6 of the HPR's that are used as monitors and occasionally front fills. They have been used by everyone from Brandi Carlisle to New Found Glory to Bone Thugz to Fitz and the Tantrums. They might not be the best loudspeaker ever made, but I will say they can take a beating with a stiff upper lip and I've never had a guest engineer listen to them and say anything bad about how they sounded (most are surprised at how stable they are). That being said, they are heavy as sin and the XLR connectors are vulnerable to breaking if someone gets the brilliant idea to flip them over. The XLR connectors will crack (eliminating a ground and causing a buzz) and they are board-mounted, so it could damage the PCB. Going into limiting they are definitely smoother than most other boxes in their range. All-in-all, I'm a pretty big fan from having used them HARD for the past 5-6 years.

BTW, "Taurus feces" is amazing. Thank you for that one.
 
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