QSC Pro Audio
From coffee houses to stadium stages, QSC Pro Audio is there! QSC is dedicated to manufacturing the best audio equipment on the market today. From speakers and subwoofers to mixers and accessories, you can be confident you’re getting the best sound quality when you choose any of QSC’s products.
QSC powered portable point source loudspeakers
Simple, straightforward, powerful. QSC Pro Audio has done it again with their amazing line of powered portable point source loudspeakers. They offer all the sound quality you’d expect from QSC in a travel-ready yet powerful package.
The QSC K.2 series of loudspeakers has been a mainstay in the live sound space for years. They’re the go-to for working musicians, DJs, and club owners because of their portability, durability, amazing sound quality, and, of course, incredible 2000 watts of power. Dial in your sound with the onboard LCD display and blast the tunes to the back row!
If you want versatility, it’s hard to beat the QSC CP series of loudspeakers. They’re made to be played with a lightweight design that can really take a beating. Enjoy 1000 watts of premium QSC Pro Audio sound quality to fill any venue — perfect for solo performers or mobile DJs.
Take your live sound to the next level with the QSC KW series of loudspeakers. The KW line is made from top build materials and features extensive digital signal processing (DSP) to bring the ultimate in sound quality to your next show.
Powered subwoofers
A full frequency range is essential for a great listening experience. Add some low-end to your sound with QSC’s lineup of amazingly powerful active subwoofers.
The QSC KS118 subwoofer is classified as “very high output.” When you absolutely, positively must be heard, this sub brings a bass-bumping 3600 watts of mind-blowing low-end sound to your performance!
Want a little more portability in your setup? The QSC KS112 subwoofer packs 2000 watts of low-end performance into a smaller, more manageable package. You might not even hurt your back on the way to your next gig.
And if you love the look of the KS112 but need a little more oomph, check out the QSC KS212C subwoofer. It’s very similar to the KS112, but it packs an extra speaker for up to 3600 watts of power. Plus, the KS212C is a cardioid subwoofer, meaning all that low-end bass sound will stay pointed right at your audience and not back at the stage for even better sound clarity.
Powered line-array loudspeakers
Take high-quality QSC Pro Audio line-array speakers, pack them full of amazing tech, and you get the incredible L Series of line-array loudspeakers from QSC.
With helpful tech options like one-button full array optimization to let you quickly and easily deploy your speakers with the touch of your finger to the QSC LEAF Waveguide to help you get even audience coverage and detailed voice reproduction, you can easily set up your speaker array without needing any tools or assistance!
The QSC KLA line-array loudspeakers serve as the foundation for your live sound setup. Their rugged and simple construction means you can skip much of the maintenance that comes along with standard line-array speakers. Whether you use a ground mount or fly them high in the sky, a QSC KLA loudspeaker is the perfect match for any gig or venue.
Digital mixers
When you need compact portability to simplify travel and setup, and a price tag that won’t break your budget, the QSC TouchMix mixers are ready to meet all your needs!
The QSC TouchMix 16 Compact Digital Mixer is the go-to for many professional and amateur musicians. With 16 inputs and a large easy-to-use touchscreen interface, it has enough channels for nearly any need. But its small size makes it easy to carry to your next gig.
If you need a few more channels for larger band setups, the QSC TouchMix 30 nearly doubles the inputs of the TouchMix 16. With 30 channels and premium mixing capabilities, the TouchMix 30 is ready to take on absolutely any mixing challenge.
Not sure you need that many channels? The smaller QSC TouchMix 8 brings all the mixing capability the QSC Pro Audio TouchMix lineup is known for and packs it into a compact and travel-ready 8 channel design that’s ready to hit the road.
Want to make your mixer even more portable? All the QSC TouchMix mixers can be rack-mountable with the QSC TMR01 accessory!
Q Who?
Patrick Howe Quilter is the Q in QSC; it once stood for Quilter Sound Company, before the name was officially shortened to simply QSC. According to Quilter, his high-school interest in physics and electronics gave him a head start in designing his first circuits at college. About this same time – 1967 – the bass player in Quilter’s brother’s high school band (The Blown Mind) was desperately seeking an affordable bass amp. The available amps of the day seemed wildly unaffordable to this young player.
On learning that the young man’s budget was around $250.00, Pat Quilter announced “I could probably make you something for that kind of money.” That was and is the first QSC amp. Quilter dropped out of college in favor of real “hands-on” electronic knowledge. An article on “bridging” transistors to increase the output power caught quilter’s eye, and he began working with germanium transistors that were, according to Quilter, “the size of doorknobs.” From there, Pat Quilter began producing and selling hand-crafted amplifiers out of industrial park garage in Costa Mesa, California.
The Motorcycle Story
It is one of the most serendipitous stories in the musical instrument business, and one that is often repeated. But it’s a great one. In 1968, Barry Andrews was riding through this same Costa Mesa industrial park when his motorcycle broke down. Waiting for a ride, Barry struck up a conversation with Patrick Quilter, who was hard at work in his shop. Quilter gave Barry Andrews a guided-tour through some of the amplifiers he was building. Barry Andrews discussed some of his experience in building speaker cabinets, and things just clicked. The two men became partners, and began plying their trade.
Early Adversity
Quilter and Andrews took advantage of some early funding, hired a small staff, and started up their fledgling amp business in earnest. To spread the word, they managed to have their amps placed and used onstage at prominent nearby rock clubs on West Hollywood’s famed Sunset Strip. There, the amps were heralded by the Doors, Cream, and other top bands of the day, yet big sales numbers remained elusive.
According to Pat Quilter, the company entered into vicious cycle. The amps were being built in the back of the store, and sold out in the front. As Quilter recalls, “It was a very boom or bust experience. If customers were coming in the door, we had to tend to them. Well, eventually we’d sell everything on the floor, and we didn't have time to build any more [amps], so eventually the customers would stop showing up because there wasn’t anything to buy. Then we had time to build stuff, but there was no customers!”
Just as the early company began to turn a profit, thieves cut a hole in the roof and stole all of the finished and working amps. This is the point in the story where most people would give up, close the door, and move on. But Quilter and Andrews used this opportunity to plan a new future for the company. Pat adds, "Even through those dark days, the thought of having to go out and get a 'real' job motivated us to work even harder."
The Transformation Trio
The heady days of the Sixties were over, and the young company realized that if they were to survive, they needed to conceive a better plan than just building great gear and hoping it sold. Barry Andrews summed it up: “We were pretty clueless as far as running a company went.” Quilter agreed, “We knew there was a lot we simply didn't know” The company incorporated as QSC Audio Products, Inc. John Andrews – Barry’s brother – had earned his business degree from UCLA and was brought on to mind the finances. Barry Andrews assumed the responsibility for sales and marketing. This allowed Pat Quilter to focus on overseeing the design and manufacture of the next generation of QSC Products. Playing to each other’s strengths, the trio took a long look at how the music industry was evolving, and started to formulate a plan.
Amps are the Answer
By 1975, the guitar amp market was saturated and ruled by large established names. Mixers, multi-track tape recorders, portable club-sized PA systems, synthesizers, and effect pedals were all beginning to appear on the market. Each of these products alone marked a turning point and offered a new direction, yet all had one thing in common: in order to be heard, they would need a power amplifier. This electronic common denominator would prove to be the key to success for QSC. Barry Andrews summed up their decision: “Through all the musical trends, the one thing that remained relatively constant was the power amp, and the one thing we knew really well was power amp technology … we decided to become the world's largest amp company.”
The Trail to the Top
With the target of being the world’s largest amp company in mind, QSC stepped up their manufacturing game by acting as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supplier to companies such as Pignose, Furman, Alembic, and Mitchell.
Orders came in on a regular basis, and QSC was able to sharpen their manufacturing techniques, and to hone their business skills. QSC attended their first NAMM trade show in 1977. New companies were springing up with unique products, and established companies sought relevance through specialization. “Everyone began to become specialists, and we became known as amp specialists.” According to Pat Quilter.
In the light of their new success, “Reliability” became the mantra for QSC. From their earliest, cash-strapped days, Pat Quilter saw to it that QSC preserved an unblemished reputation with suppliers and dealers. For the end user, that reputation was reliability. “One of the things that distinguishes QSC is our legendary ruggedness and reliability,” according to Pat Quilter. “We always try to remember that people use our products to make a living, and if our products let them down they’re not just embarrassed, they’re losing money.”
This need for reliability even began to drive the design of the product. Patrick Quilter designed the AC Coupled circuit topology that remains the basis for their core technology, and for which QSC received their first patent in 1978. By the end of the decade, QSC was on the rise, with a stellar product line and a solid reputation. In 1979, QSC generated one million dollars in sales for the very first time.
Reaching for the Stars
QSC continued to explore new opportunities for growth in the 1980s. The touring and fixed sound systems that had once been custom creations were giving way to a more modular format, where components from various manufacturers could be mixed and matched to create an optimized system at a lower cost. In this fertile environment, QSC took to building the Series Three, their most advanced power amplifier to date. Packed with high-end features designed to satisfy the audio professional, the Series Three was seen as the way to announce the QSC brand to the audio elite. To bring the audio performance of the Series Three to the wider clientele of working musicians, QSC distilled the essence of the Series Three into the Series One.
The Series One was a true crowd pleaser, with rear-mounted controls that prevented tampering. In another ground breaking move, QSC equipped the Series One with 1/4" inputs, balanced XLR inputs, and barrier strip input connections, providing convenient connections to other equipment without the use of cumbersome adapters.
Pat Quilter explained the thinking behind this and other decisions, “One area I think we do better than most is to make ‘user-friendly’ products that are easy to understand and easy to get good results with. We have all experienced highly advanced products that are so hard to learn that we end up frustrated rather than fulfilled. We would like every encounter with QSC and our products to leave the customer feeling richer and more rewarded.”
In 1981, Dolby Labs approached QSC to provide rack-mounted power amps for use in movie theatres. Dolby’s efforts paved the way for QSC amps to be installed in movie houses all across America. “The customer base pretty quickly realized who was making the amps,” according to Pat Quilter. Barry Andrews explains, “Dolby went from putting their name on our amps, to leaving the QSC name on it and offering it in their catalog - the Dolby processor with QSC amp. It became a de facto endorsement from Dolby." The acceptance of surround sound, the proliferation of multiplex theaters, and advances in digital sound have allowed Cinema to remain an import part of the core QSC business to this day.
Strawberry Fields (Not) Forever.
By the 1990s, QSC could clearly see the hurdle that they needed to cross to advance the company to the next level. QSC was left with the choice to either outsource manufacturing, or to bring everything under one roof, and to centralize manufacturing using latest in flow production techniques. After extensive consultation, the hiring of a task-force, and much soul searching, QSC broke ground on a totally new 55,000 square foot state-of-the-art production facility that was capable of producing close to 3,000 units a week.
“We realized we would never fully optimize our product designs if we didn't manufacture them ourselves,” Barry Andrews explained, “We had to intimately understand the cost and the process." Pat Quilter agreed, “There were quality considerations as well. Some of our designs required fairly sophisticated hand-tuning that would take longer to explain than to do ourselves." Their gamble paid off, and sales increased a staggering 40% for the year. This manufacturing expansion was a turning point for QSC. With the additional capacity, QSC was able to procure more OEM business, making private label amplifiers for top speaker companies.
Within a few years, QSC was ready to once again expand. This time, their aim was create an automated system to produce each product on demand. John Andrews picks up the story, “So we had this flow mass manufacturing thing down pretty well, but we knew we needed to move beyond that. We had been toying with this idea of ‘build-to-order,’ where you really wouldn’t carry any finished goods. To do that, it’s not just about how you build it, it’s about how you design the product, how you procure the parts that go into the product. It’s a holistic solution.” In 1998, QSC began working on a new 81,000 square foot facility adjacent to the existing building. John Andrews continued, “This building was a field … the last strawberry field in Costa Mesa, actually, when we signed the lease with the landlord to build this building for us, so it was a purpose-built-facility … and we designed this build-to-order manufacturing facility that transformed the business over the late 1990s to early 2000s”.
The Digital Domain
Digital Audio caused a shakeup in the music and sound camps in the 1980s. Even as these nascent technologies began to appear, it was easy to see that the future of audio would, in no small part, be digital in nature. As early as the mid-1980s, QSC had started to invest, fund, and research the benefits of these new digital audio technologies of networking and digital signal processing (DSP), as well as examining the challenges to be overcome. Pat Quilter explains the attitude of QSC at the time. “We recognized that, while the technology wasn’t quite there yet, ultimately networks were the future of sound systems. As a privately held company, we have been able to focus on long term success. We have also been able to make patient, long-term investments.” Their patience paid off, and in the mid-1990s, the company’s QSControl (pronounced Kyooz Control) quickly became an industry standard for large scale audio network integration. In addition, the QSC RAVE (Routing Audio Via Internet) technology delivered 64 channels of digital audio over a single Ethernet cable. The lessons QSC learned regarding DSP and audio processing would prove invaluable in the company’s next chapter.
Meet the Speakers
After decades of focus on creating the world’s finest audio amplifiers, QSC expanded their breadth in 2001 to embrace the design and manufacture of world-class pro audio loudspeakers. The QSC ACE Series was introduced in 2001 to wide acclaim. Based on that success, QSC added their WideLine line array speakers, the DCS Digital Cinema Series, as well as the AcousticDesign and ModularDesign series of passive and active pro audio loudspeakers. Again, a new facility – this time over 42,000 square feet – was added to accommodate the increased demand for QSC loudspeakers.
Within five years, QSC had already established themselves as a major player in the loudspeaker arena. Today, QSC loudspeakers bring together versatile cabinet designs, proven power amps, cutting-edge DSP audio processing, convenient remote control, and superior transducer components for accurate and reliable sound that goes above and beyond the call of duty. Gary Tschetter is the Vice President for Professional Product Development at QSC, and was eager to add his comments on the new loudspeaker lines, “The audience and the performer’s expectations regarding audio production values have risen. QSC strives to bring these users products that go beyond just features by delivering great results. We endeavor to give users all the tools that concert pros rely on, and to present those tools in a way that is accessible and useable to those with less experience. At the same time we don’t “dumb down” performance and capabilities … the same products we offer to broad consumer markets are also widely used by touring and production professionals.” QSC founder Pat Quilter sums up his thoughts about the loudspeaker design, “Real-world focus is essential for good product design, and good products will keep the customers coming back.”
The Quality Equation
One underlying principle unites all of the QSC people and products: the commitment to reliability and the assurance of quality. Barry Andrews puts it bluntly, “We sell equipment that people use to earn a living. It’s gotta work. That’s what it’s for. If your goal is to make the most reliable product in the industry, if your goal is to never let your customer down, and you mean it and are prepared to back it up, then you really have only one choice, and that is to thoroughly test your product.” And test they do. As Andrews describes the process, “We maintain elaborate test procedures that are really the sum total of our experience over years, whenever we find a new failure mode out in the field, we document that failure mode, we engineer a fix for that failure mode, and we create a test to make sure that failure mode never happens again.” From there, Pat Quilter picks up the theme, “We continue this testing process until we can see there are no more weak links … every part of the product is giving the best possible service it can, and then we feel it’s ready to send out and put in real people’s hands.”
Ray van Straten, Senior Director of Marketing at QSC takes a broader view. Quality is not limited to you what has happened, but includes meeting future challenges as well, “We let the customer’s needs become our challenge to meet. Quite uniquely, QSC has loudspeaker, DSP, software, mixer, and amplifier engineering and support teams located all under ‘one roof’. That gives us the ability to look at the customers’ needs not from the perspective of ‘what product do they need,’ but in terms of how, given our competencies and experience, are we going to solve this problem? For years we were just an amplifier company. Then we added DSP, followed by loudspeakers. Our experience in those three disciplines helped create the K Family phenomenon. The common thread through all of this is a pattern of learning, growing, and innovating – always with the goal of being the best solution for the customer, both before and after the sale.”
