Sound Test!! QSC K12.2 vs. Mackie SRM-212 V-Class (DSP Modes)

Online sound tests are not the best way to hear speakers - and I'm using royalty free music without vocals - so I know it's not the "BEST" that you may want to hear.

Even if the parameters are not exactly what you personally may want to hear - it's music being played evenly across both, so you can hear differences in these two speakers as the @mackietv SRM 212 V-Class goes up against the QSC K12.2 in a comparison of DSP modes.

I used a @rodemic Video Micro to capture the audio in the room with 9 foot ceilings.

I did NOT test the speech or microphone modes on the speakers for this test, just "Flat" "Club" and "Live" modes.

My business:

[eyes]

I really appreciate the demo of the 2 together I was going to buy the QSC but after listening im totally sold on Mackie good job!

[bennettshapiro]

This was an eye-opener. I’ve been mixing on the K 12..2’s for the last year and a half. And I like them. But I was hearing parts of the mix with the Mackies that I just wasn’t hearing with the QSC’s. I’m going to have to check these things out.

[innisgbor]

Just ordered the 15"s and one SR18s can't wait to take them out. Will see how they compare to my DB technologies opera 15s

[kashlott]

A year later how's the hardware holding up?

[guitar]

I think Mackie is a little bit loader but not producing clean sounds. I can here the mid so much that it sounds like a mic place on a hall and picking up noise while the QSC has the well balance distribution of high, mid, and bass

[igooog]

Man I'd almost been sold on the K12.2's but now I'm thinking I need to see if I can find one of these guys to test out.

[teclairedikoume]

Following the sound test Mackie is like a Ferrari and QSC a BMW Powerful and alive sound from Mackie, great video 👍

[djaga]

I have been on the fence on changing my speakers from EV to QSC. Never considered the SRM, but they do sound good. For me, the QSC is tighter sound while the Mackie louder, it has it usual bassier sound and a little hollow. Sometimes that punchier sound covers the highs. Is that a common thought for QSC 12.2 vs Mackie?

[DJBennyswift]

The V-Class had a better sound to me, I’m looking at the V-Class or the Yamaha dzr10

[rahachi]

I’ve always heard the problem with the QSC’s is that a lot of the midrange frequencies are not as present with their speakers. So your mixes are two instead of Three dimensional sounding, like you would hear with Mackie or Alto speakers

[Chris-yyqc]

I already own a pair of Mackie SRT-215 along with SR18S Subs and I love them. But the setup is quite bulky.
Thats why I took a look at the QSC KS212C subwoofers and man are they awesome. The power they put out is unbelieveable and cardoid works perfectly. So I bought 2 of them...
My problem now is: Which tops do I buy to go along with the subs? You read a lot of bad things about the K.2 series and the KW series is quite old. And I have to admit I dont like the tincan sound of the K.2s at all. Which makes me think I might combine the 212C subs with a pair of SRM-210 for my "micro system".

[MobileDJManchester]

Here in the UK you just cant get either the hi-tech QSC or Mackies speakers repaired So buying 2nd hand is a BIG RISK. I use both QSC and Mackie. My Mackie DLMs have been great but got a few faults developing now and one driver has gone. Nobody is interested in repairing them. I spoke to Polar Audio who distribute Mackie in the UK they said they don't actually repair speakers any more but they gave me a contact of Surrey Amplification who can repair them. I spoke to them on the phone and they said they cant get parts for Mackie at the moment and the are hoping to hear something in March 03 from the manufacturer but they have not ha any parts for over 12 months. Even if they could get the parts to do any repairs their average cost to repair the Mackie speakers was from £350 upwards per speaker plus postage. I said that's a big blow, do you think I should invest in the QSC K12.2 speakers? He said only if you buy them brand new as nobody will even look at repairing those either. SO BEWARE OF BUYING THESE SPEAKERS 2ND HAND because if something goes wrong with them you might as well throw them away,

[sickegg]

I am debating mackie or alto…., but that srm212 sounds alive!
It’s not little different, it’s very different, ESC sounds like Sony….
Thanks for the work!

[spinmoney]

I always liked the mid to high class mackies sound but the headroom from QSC is unmatched and the work horses in the real world.

[heathphoenix]

kudos Great job, , , to Mackie as well

[alpoulin]

Levels of each speaker should have been properly matched before hand, if not the speaker with higher gain sensitivity is automatically going to "appear" to sound better to most ears. Gain sensitivity has nothing to do with sound quality and is not an indication of actual output capability either. It just means a given speaker will require more or less signal to produce a certain sound level. In my experience, the QSC will still be out gigging in 10 years, while the Mackie will be either in a landfill or in a repair centre patiently waiting for Mackie's lackluster customer service.... Mackie was good about 20 years ago, but has been producing questionable quality since its acquisition by Loud technologies. QSC has earned their reputation for quality and customer service ;)

[Ziggy_v]

Hey Andrew thank you for these videos. Question - I use a pair of K12.2 with KS112 subs - I usually use Live Bright Preset and reduce the mids by -2bBs. But I don't change the Hz or Q. I'm looking for a smiley face EQ setting. Curious if you ever mess with the EQ on the speakers. If so what setting would you recommend?

[marcusgreene]

Still going with the QSC 12.2 heard the mackie brand does not last long and will go out on you ? After so many hours of use ?

[ericphilpott]

why would you not sound balance the two units ? Kinda discounts the side by side test.

[Pinoysoundmachine]

I think Qsc I’d say still better than the mackies in terms of overall performance in sound quality. I love Mackie speakers and I owned two Mackie thump15a. If I have to choose between these two speakers I’ll pick the Qsc any day.