Does anyone here have any experience with these? Good? Bad? I may add one but have not ever used one. Thanks in advance..
QSC PLD amps
- Thread starter Kemper Watson
- Start date
Used some for a monitor rig (Martin LE2100).
Better than Crown XTI2, not quite on level with a Powersoft X8.
About as expected.
Better than Crown XTI2, not quite on level with a Powersoft X8.
About as expected.
I got a pair of 4.5 this spring and have been using them over the summer. It's been an 8 mix passive monitor, done sub duty, ran distributed SOS, tops/subs + four mix small rig duty. Package is great, 8 ch of 1kw@8 in four spaces with DSP, VERY efficient. Minuses are, IMO, the editing software and the glitchy data entry wheel. I have heard of reliability issues but have not experienced any.
I've got a few of them. One rack I have 3 QSC PLD 4.5s. The sister rack has 3 Crown iTech 5000HDs. On paper, in 2 channel mode, they are pretty close spec wise for continuous power output. However, when I use the Crowns, I seem to get quite a bit more punch from the system.
The advantage of the PLD is that they are 4 channel amps and have great flexibility in their configuration. They are lighter weight than the Crowns as well. Also, the on screen display is much easier to configure the unit than the Crown. (unless you are just switching between presets, and in that case, it's a tie)
The huge disadvantage of the QSC is that they use USB as a communication protocol instead of Ethernet. This makes remote monitoring and control a royal PITA. With the Crowns, I can use my iPad to monitor the amp, or my WIFI connected laptop to adjust the configuration. (windows only though, which BLOWS) For the QSC, I need to have a computer at the amp rack for monitoring purposes. Lame. I did rig up a USB to Ethernet kit with a raspberry pi that sort of worked, but was less than desirable in the performance category.
The advantage of the PLD is that they are 4 channel amps and have great flexibility in their configuration. They are lighter weight than the Crowns as well. Also, the on screen display is much easier to configure the unit than the Crown. (unless you are just switching between presets, and in that case, it's a tie)
The huge disadvantage of the QSC is that they use USB as a communication protocol instead of Ethernet. This makes remote monitoring and control a royal PITA. With the Crowns, I can use my iPad to monitor the amp, or my WIFI connected laptop to adjust the configuration. (windows only though, which BLOWS) For the QSC, I need to have a computer at the amp rack for monitoring purposes. Lame. I did rig up a USB to Ethernet kit with a raspberry pi that sort of worked, but was less than desirable in the performance category.
I have been using a PLD 4.3 for monitor and speaker on a stick duty for almost a year now. Perfect so far with light weight and built in processing!
I have a bunch of them now, (11 I think) I am using a combination of 4.2 and 4.5 in Bi amp monitor racks. though I have had one hiccup QSC did fix it. I actually find the software quite easy to use, I made some presets at the shop and the only thing that i do on site at a gig is recall presets and sometimes adjust gain, both of which are easy to do from the front panel. Dollar for dollar, I don't think there is anything better out there for what they do. I have run some single 18 subs off of them, but I prefer a little more power when using the big double 18s. That being said these amps have been well received by Me and my guys. I will probably continue to purchase more of them as the need arises.
I've had two 4.3's in a portable church install for over a year no issues thus far. Also two 4.5's in a rack for some jbl srx 218 subs and again no issues .
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