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QSC K10.2's random fails ?

pfschim

pfschim

Just a Skeleton with a Jazz bass
Supporting Member
Apr 26, 2006
9,348
10,941
SF Bay Area
#1
I have a set of QSC K10.2's (and 2 EV EKX15 subs) that I have been using for small/medium gigs where there is no house PA. They have worked fine/without issue for my use case for the past few years. This system never gets pushed to its limits in any way, when in use it's for modest volume needs.

In the past few months I have used the K10.2's as monitors in a few different situations, and they are starting to fail kind of randomly. Typically, they work for sound check and the some portion of the first set, but then they will go out and leave us without monitors .... very aggravating.

Now I understand that QSC users have been reporting a "Protect Mode 4" shutdown for the K.2 boxes. I have seen some reports of a QSC K.2 firmware update that may address this problem.

I'm posting to see if anyone else has had random, unexplained shutdown issues with their K.2 speakers.

thanks!
 
#2
Are you getting feedback from your monitors before they shutdown?

I had the same issue with my K10.2s a couple of years ago, and stopped using them altogether because they could not be counted on. They would typically shutdown when any feedback occurred, and would need to be reset mid-gig.

Switched to RCF TT 10-A IIs and couldn't be happier. Light, reliable, clear, and loud...perfect for medium sized gigs when paired with a sub. Never had an issue with the other QSC speakers; I still own the K12.2s and K8.2s. Got rid of the K10.2s.
 
#3
no feedback, just shutdowns without any overt/obvious cause. These have worked fine for me for the past few years other than the shutdowns over the past 3 months.

I'd really not buy more PA gear at this point, but if I did, I'd probably go with EV stuff as thats what my subs are.
 
#4
I had a big issue with my K12.2 that is detailed here.

However, my understanding is that the 'protect mode 4' issue causes a constantly restarting boot loop. That's certainly what happened to mine. I think an intermittent cut out might be a different issue. However, updating the firmware is easy and there's no downside.
 
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#8
musicman7722 said:
Could they be overheated based on their angle. I know a lot of Mackie spears had this issue in the day. There was not enough air flow on their under side?
Click to expand...
not really sure. In one instance, it certainly could have been a basic overheating situation. But in the other 2 situations it does not seem like they should have overheated. FWIW, in all cases of shutdown/failure on these K10.2's, they were being used as monitor wedges and the DSP set as stagemon1. I'd have to look and see how the airflow might have been affected by using them horizontally on the floor in front of the stage.
 
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#9
pfschim said:
not really sure. In one instance, it certainly could have been a basic overheating situation. But in the other 2 situations it does not seem like they should have overheated. FWIW, in all cases of shutdown/failure on these K10.2's, they were being used as monitor wedges and the DSP set as stagemon1. I'd have to look and see how the airflow might have been affected by using them horizontally on the floor in front of the stage.
Click to expand...
Monitor 1 is reduced bass under about 150Hz, and then the same from there on up.* So if anything I'd imagine that would give your speakers a comparatively easier time. It's also slightly cooler on the floor?

* At least it is on the 12s.
 
#10
Hi! I had a huge saga with my K10.2s that I will not repeat here, but the gist of it was:

QSC had a few bad batches from the manufacturing process where some of their boards have critical faults.
They attempted to address this with firmware updates, which only worked in a limited number of cases.

Fortunately, QSC has done the right thing and admitted that there is indeed an issue, and, if the boxes are still under warranty (sounds like yours are!) then they should repair them. In my case, they completely swapped out the amp units for new ones. I have had zero problems since the repair.

I strongly encourage you to contact QSC about having these repaired under warranty.
 
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#11
I have 2 k10s and one of them has done this twice. Did all the troubleshooting at gig, change cable, inputs, etc but couldn’t get it to make a sound. Then both times when I got home they were both working and have been for a while now. But it was very frustrating. I’m not even sure which one failed.
 
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#12
nutdog said:
I have 2 k10s and one of them has done this twice. Did all the troubleshooting at gig, change cable, inputs, etc but couldn’t get it to make a sound. Then both times when I got home they were both working and have been for a while now. But it was very frustrating. I’m not even sure which one failed.
Click to expand...
this is kind of like my experience. Both mine have worked fine since I bought them new in 2021. this shutdown behavior is kind of new.
 
#13
finally getting around to dealing with this as I have not needed the K10.2s for anything for the past month or so.

I'm kind of stumped actually.

I checked the speaker firmware and see that I'm on 1.2.0.3200.
QSC support page says that systems on 1.2.0 should update to 1.3.3 for "improved protection"
I went through the Software Update process and the QSC app synced with my K10.2's and showed them at 1.2.0 and indicated they were up to date.

So, I can't seemingly update to 1.3.3 as QSC Firmware support suggests (AFAIK you have to use their updated app to do this).

I also noticed on one of the speakers that even with no input, it sounded like a shorting cable (humming) with the level at 0dB

I did do a factory reset on both speakers.

Any ideas on what I should do re the firmware update?
I guess I can open a ticket with QSC support. Mine are from 2019 and should still be covered (I think it's 6 years).
 
#15
Perhaps, I may be living on borrowed time on thin ice; but, I’ve been using a K10.2 as a vocal monitor on every gig for the past 4 years, and as a bass AND vocal monitor for the past 14 months with zero issues.

@pfschim , did you ever sort out the issue you had?
 
#19
Jack said:
Please do. Just for the piece of mind. Mine were ok for years, right up until they weren't.
Click to expand...
Under Settings, I am reading:

K10 1.0.8.2888

So, appears I am on older firmware. Works fine as it is. Is there some issue running the older firmware?

I must say that if indeed these monitors are unreliable, I may be hard pressed to find a monitor which performs similar dual use monitoring.
 
#20
bucephylus said:
Under Settings, I am reading:

K10 1.0.8.2888

So, appears I am on older firmware. Works fine as it is. Is there some issue running the older firmware?

I must say that if indeed these monitors are unreliable, I may be hard pressed to find a monitor which performs similar dual use monitoring.
Click to expand...
They're not unreliable in general, they just are susceptible to getting caught in a boot loop. If you go to my post (#4) in this thread there a link to my k12.2 saga. Or just Google 'qsc protect mode 4' or similar. If they're currently healthy then a firmware update will stop that from ever occuring.
 
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