CP8
As a maker of high-quality amplifiers and speakers for over 50 years, the QSC name should be familiar to anyone involved in live sound. The company’s newest speaker offering, the CP Series, takes the QSC self-powered speaker line in the direction of smaller and lighter.
The CP Series includes the CP8 and CP12, which sport eight-inch and 12-inch woofers, respectively. Both have a polypropylene cabinet for light weight, with the speakers weighing in at just 21 and 30 pounds, respectively. Both have an integrated handle for easy carrying, as well as an optional tote cover. Though both can be hung with an optional yoke mount, it's clear QSC designed the CP Series speakers to be easy to haul and use in a variety of portable applications.
CP12 (back)
In keeping with the flexibility goal, the speakers have one angled side that makes them suitable for use as a floor wedge monitor. Monitors with two angled sides offer more options for placement, so we'll find out during testing if the one angle chosen for the CP Series is a good one. For main speaker applications, the CP8 and CP12 have a bottom-mounted pole cup for use with a subwoofer (like the QSC KS112).
In keeping with the flexibility goal, the speakers have one angled side that makes them suitable for use as a floor wedge monitor.
Similarities and differences
Both speakers have 1,000 watts of class-D power, with 800 watts going to the woofer and 200 going to the high-frequency transducer. This power drives the CP8 to a respectable 124 dB SPL at one meter, with the CP12 delivering 126 dB. The CP8's eight-inch woofer bottoms out at 56 Hz (-6 dB), while the CP12 goes down to 49 Hz. High-frequency specs are identical for both speakers (20 kHz at -6 dB), though the CP8 has a 90-degree dispersion as compared to the CP12's slightly tighter 75-degree dispersion. As the speaker more likely to be used as a floor wedge, the CP8's wider pattern could turn out to be an advantage.
A built-in mixer has become the norm for portable speakers, and the CP Series does not disappoint.
A built-in mixer has become the norm for portable speakers, and the CP Series does not disappoint. The CP8 and CP12 offer three inputs including line, line/mic and stereo. The first two inputs use combo XLR and ¼-inch connectors, while the stereo input uses an 1/8-inch jack. You can use all three inputs at once if desired, which should be perfect for a small (or one-person) band using a guitar or keyboard, vocal mic and backing track.
Along with the three inputs, back-panel controls include a level knob for each of the line and mic/line inputs and a mic boost button. The mic boost button adds 25 dB of gain to the second input, which should be adequate for most dynamic microphones (the input offers no phantom power for condenser mics). Indicator LEDs are a nice touch, with two green LEDs showing signal present at the main inputs, and a third yellow LED showing when mic boost is engaged. An XLR "mix" output allows you to daisy-chain multiple speakers together.
Setup ease?
Making speaker setup easy for the end user is always a challenge, and QSC's solution for the CP Series is a simple "CONTOUR" knob. This knob tailors the system response to accommodate program material and whether a subwoofer is in the signal chain. Options include default (flat), dance, floor wedge and speech. The default and dance voicings also include a subwoofer setting, which engages an 80 Hz high-pass filter. The CP8 and CP12 apply a bit of logic when mic boost is on, ensuring that the mic doesn't share its "speech" voicing with the program material (and vice-versa). CPM looks forward to testing if this simple setup control is both intuitive and effective.
The CP8 and CP12 are priced at $500 and $630, respectively. Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/ycgb499u.
