When you’re in the live sound equipment rental business, you’re in the business of providing the proper audio solutions to your meet clients’ live sound needs even though those requirements can vary greatly from one project to the next. In the majority of cases, your clients look to you to be the authority on the matter, helping them choose the right system/fit for their event. Maintaining a versatile product offering requires keeping a wide range of inventory on hand, and that means dealing with all the issues that stem from that. It’s here that features like weight, size, quality, and diversity come to the forefront when choosing gear that can be good catch-all solutions. Taking major business factors into account, there is a relatively new line of loudspeakers that merits your consideration when building up your inventory. We’re talking about QSC’s CP Series loudspeakers.

Introduced in late-2018, the CP8 and CP12 quickly found their footing as contenders for the best loudspeakers in their class. Audio forums and review sites are pretty close to unanimous in raving about their ultra-compact form factor and class-leading value. So, what does that mean for the equipment rental business? This post is going to run through some of the various benefits of having a few sets of these speakers in your inventory.

QSC = undeniable reliability = a solid rental fleet

One quick look anywhere online will bring up numerous testaments to QSC’s name. Long known for their high performance, outstanding quality, and lasting reliability in amplifier technology, QSC has been industry leaders in loudspeaker design itself for well over a decade now.

The CP Series continues this legacy.

With an 18-gauge, powder-coated steel front grille, and a rugged polypropylene cover, both the CP8 and CP12 will take the abuse of multiple handlers during setup/teardowns. What’s more, their light weight (see weight comparison further down in this article) makes transport and handling easier, mitigating possible errors that could cause their ruggedness to be put to the test. Combination Neutrik XLR/1/4″ locking connectors minimize possible torsion and problems that could result from haphazard pulls on cables.

In short, the CP Series delivers the goods in terms of reliable construction. Your rental fleet needs to last as long as possible with minimal repairs, and these loudspeakers fit right in.

Dollars per square foot, direct impact on overhead

Now, all that quality is great when your CP Series inventory is doing its thing out in an event space. What about when they’re in holding? Taking up precious space in your warehouse is the last thing you want from a speaker, but it’s inevitable. What really matters in this regard is how overhead intensive CP Series speakers are.

If you’re wondering how much space CP Series loudspeakers are going to take up in your warehouse, the short answer is that the Series’ compact size will occupy roughly 22% less floor/rack space than other popular models.

A cursory calculation across seven different competing models (each) of both 8- and 12-inch powered loudspeakers, reveals that the CP8 (at 0.03 m³) runs about 21% smaller than other 8-inch models, and the CP12 (at 0.06 m³) runs a cool 23% smaller than the average 12-inch powered loudspeaker.

What’s surprising about this is that our comparison includes even lesser-wattage consumer models. Some models we looked at topped out at a mere 200W, a far cry from the CP Series’ 1000W peak rating. This means that for all the power the CP Series provides, the form factor is still more compact than even some consumer-level powered loudspeakers.

This smaller footprint means that by rounding your inventory with CP Series, you’ll tie up less of the valuable space in your warehouse to store these speakers as opposed to others in their class.

We can’t tell you what warehousing is like in your own market, but if you’re not factoring this in, you could be leaving money on the table.

Light weight, light on transport costs

Along with the CP Series’ smaller size, there’s also the question of weight. You’ll be pleased to know that the CP Series delivers here as well, with the CP8 and CP12 weighing an average of 12% and 11% lighter than the compared models respectively. Not only does this mean easier handling for the end user, but this also means that when you’re responsible for getting this from point A to point B, your going to be spending less in fuel. That’s always a good thing.

It begins and ends with the end user

Beyond the hard numbers and facts that you can use to calculate ROI on your end, are the real-world opinions and experiences of those that pay your bills, your customers. It is here that the CP Series really shines. For the end user, it really comes down to three things:

Price

Let’s face it, sometimes a customer just doesn’t have the budget to dish associated with renting a set of premium powered loudspeakers. Sometimes the event space and system requirements don’t even call for it. The CP Series lets you offer a high-quality QSC loudspeaker in an attractive pricing tier. Giving the customer the right gear at the right price will keep them coming back.

Sound quality

The CP Series are voiced similarly to the premium K.2 Series. Similarly, not equally. There is no substitute for K.2 Series when a situation requires a higher SPL or better DSP control. But this does mean that as supplemental inventory, once users experience the performance of CP Series speakers first hand, they’ll be extremely satisfied.

CP series is voiced with its own identity and is the perfect choice if you don’t need the extra output power of the K.2 series

Ease of use

With versatile, yet extremely straightforward controls, the CP Series gives users the means to control their sound easily and without guesswork. There are no menus, just simple controls that even a less-skilled AV tech or novice end user can work out. One dial controls the audio contour, and two other dials control the gain—each dial well mapped to the input they relate to.

This means happy renters that can do most of (if not all) the setting up on their own. It really is almost a plug-and-play audio solution—one that you probably won’t have to be on call to come correct (depending on the types of service packages you offer), and one that allows you to confidently offer a DIY rental tier for events that rarely even have an AV tech on hand, such as golf tournaments, church and school community events, and more. Events reinforced with CP Series speakers will leave customers feeling good about their sound reinforcement choice as a whole.

CP Series: inventory that makes sense (and cents)

For those in the know, QSC’s reputation for quality precedes them. For those who don’t know yet, there are many ways for them to find out. A quick online search will show them that they’re in good hands with QSC. Up until recently, the option of offering QSC quality to anyone but the most demanding live sound situations (with the budget to boot) just wasn’t in the cards for most rental houses. CP Series speakers change that by being best-in-their-class loudspeakers that make for great supplemental rental inventory, one that wins on all fronts for you and your end users alike—high quality and fast ROI in one simple-to-use (and simple-to-promote) loudspeaker package.