QSC PL380 Specification - Product
fact that it was lightweight, yet very pow-
erful. I was able to run it as an extra sub
amp, or as an extra amp for additional
front fills on multiple shows. I loved the
fact that QSC utilized the back panel con-
nections to work with whatever could be
thrown at them. Having both binding post
and Neutrik outputs and parallel XLR
inputs made things easier when adding it
in to existing systems, like I did without
the need of additional, sometimes flimsy,
adapters.
The PL380 sounded great, clean, and
quiet (when it needed to be). I used this
amp on a large, last-minute Latin concert
where I had to add two more EAW SB850
subs per side. The PL380 held up, and
even sounded beefier and punchier than
what I already had in my racks. With 2,500
watts per channel at 4 ohms, the PL380
exceeded my expectations. It was also
good to find out that I could drive this
amp hard for hours without it having any
problems.
The next time out was on a simple
corporate “talking heads” gig. I needed to
add some front fills in, as the hotel ball-
room was wider than I was expected. I
knew I did not need an amp as powerful
as the PL380, but it was what I had left in
the shop. Needless to say, the PL380
sounded great and powered Community
Veris 6s just fine. I even used it to power
some EAW JF100s for a lobby plasma
screen presentation at a corporate ball-
room show, and sent it out once with a DJ
and some full-range speakers just to see
what it would do. It responded great. Yes,
it was some serious overkill, but it proved
its versatility. Since then, I have used the
PL380 on almost every show as my total
utilitarian amp — I’d just grab it and go!
At every show, the PL380 outperformed
almost everything else I owned. The sonic
quality was fantastic, from subs to high
end to full range cabinets, with more
power than you would need for anything
in almost every arsenal. It ran cool and
quiet and never thermaled, never shut
down, and never left me hanging.
| SUMMARY
Today, there are more amplifier choices
flooding you than you can wrap your
head around or even have time to audi-
tion. QSC’s PL380, however, stands out as
a simply great product at a great price,
offering the “Swiss Army Knife” of amps.
David Rittenhouse is the senior sales execu-
tive and A1 engineer at Event EQ in Baltimore,
MD, and a regular contributor to PAR.
Copyright 2008 JRS Publishing (USA), Inc. Reprinted with permission.
Reprinted from Pro Audio Review
PRODUCT
POINTS
SCORE
Overall, a powerful improvement over the older series.
• Powerful
• Lightweight
• Great utility amp
• No DSP without additional gear