Q-Sys is the most powerful yet simple solution on the market for audio processing, control and management. It is designed and backed by the industry leaders of audio engineering and service.

A Completely new technology platform
Q-Sys™ has no equal as an integrated, scalable audio solution. Built from the ground up on a powerful, open, IT-friendly foundation, the Q-Sys platform transcends the limitations in scope, performance, and usability that have kept previous networked audio control systems from reaching their full potential:

• Architecture - Alternative systems use old-school architectures based on dedicated DSP chips. By comparison, Q-Sys uses fast, flexible, server-grade CPUs whose constant improvement is driven by the entire global IT market.
• Networking - Alternative systems are limited to Layer 2 networking, which doesn't scale beyond its chosen network hardware. Q-Sys uses the same Layer 3 hardware-independent IP technologies that enable wide area networking and the Internet.
• Scalability - Alternative systems struggle with capacity chokepoints that are inherent in distributed processing. Q-Sys uses centralized processing to ensure that the system's full power can be flexibly allocated as needed. Simply put, by starting with this smarter approach, Q-Sys is able to achieve vastly superior results, enabling you to do more with your system while worrying less about critical issues such as scalability, latency, and redundancy.

Innovation through technology
Q-Sys represents the latest advance in QSC's long history of defining the state of the art in audio routing and control systems. As the world's first licensee of Cobra Net™, QSC created DSP-based audio processing products that enabled new capabilities in both commercial and performance sound reinforcement systems. As developments in IT continued to enhance the capabilities of CPUs and IP networking, we responded with new solutions offering far greater power and flexibility than the proprietary approach still being embraced by our competitors. That's the QSC way; Building on our heritage while constantly evolving through new technologies.
Power, reliability, and ease-of-use
With the bandwidth to handle even the most complex configurations, Q-Sys is ready for any sized job, from boardrooms and clubs, to airports and stadiums. But it's not just power that sets Q-Sys apart:

• Ease of use - An intuitive user interface that supports remote access makes Q-Sys easy to configure, operate, and maintain.
• Reliability - Field-proven for over 40 years, QSC reliability ensures that you can depend on Q-Sys for mission-critical deployments.
• Support - Our worldwide support network is ready to help 24/7, keeping you running around the clock.

Combining unprecedented capabilities and performance with extraordinary reliability and support, Q-Sys offers unsurpassed value for facilities across the spectrum of installed sound.

The integrated systems approach
As a worldwide leader in the manufacture of installed sound solutions, QSC believes that complete, tightly integrated systems are inherently more efficient at every stage of the life cycle than systems assembled from a grab bag of discrete parts. That's why QSC designs and builds processing, amplification, and loudspeaker products with the total system in mind. Creating complete integrated systems allows us to think through every detail of how each component can and should work together, and to benefit from the resulting efficiencies in the form of products that are easier to design, install, configure, operate, and maintain than anything else on the market.

• Efficient to design - everything needed to ensure smooth inter-operation between the various parts of a system has already been well thought-out and built into Q-Sys™ and related QSC components. Once you've defined your needs, simply select the system size and configuration that matches your requirements. Because QSC designs and tests system components together, the way they are used in the real world, we've taken the guesswork out of building a system that fully meets your needs.
• Efficient to implement - Q-Sys can piggy-back onto a facility's existing Gigabit network infrastructure, and with QSC's unique centralized processing topology, many connections between functional blocks are handled by a single processor. This greatly minimizes wiring and labor costs, while simultaneously eliminating multiple points of failure. It all adds up to fast, smooth deployment, reducing the facility downtime and allowing you to start recouping your investment quickly.
• Efficient to operate - the Q-Sys Designer software interface is incredibly simple for systems staff to learn and to use, allowing fast system configuration and modification. And Q-Sys is designed throughout to facilitate the flow of status information and control signals both internally and to human-facing interfaces. With centralized operation and status monitoring of multiple zones from on-site or off, Q-Sys enables a more cost-effective allocation of staffing resources for system supervision, diagnostics and maintenance, and helps ensure that problems are caught and addressed before they cause costly downtime.

The result of these Q-Sys efficiencies is a significant reduction in the total cost of ownership for your entire audio system and a faster and far greater return on your investment.


Q-Sys system elements
The primary elements of a Q-Sys system are the Core, the Designer software, the Q-LAN network, and the peripherals.

• Q-Sys Core is the brain of the system, performing all audio routing, processing, and control functions.
• Q-Sys Designer software provides the interface for system design, configuration, and control.
• Q-LAN is the IP-friendly network that connects the system into an integrated whole.
• Q-Sys peripherals such as I/O Frames, I/O cards, page stations and touch screen controllers provide fully customizable, application-specific functionality.

Total cost of ownership
No matter how a facility is owned and operated by a business, a public agency, an educational institution, or a non-profit organization the purchase of an installed sound system is a capital investment. As such, the true cost of the system isn't simply the line item price on the quote, but rather the total cost of buying, operating, and maintaining the system over its useful life. Here are some of the key performance factors that can help to calculate the true value of a Q-Sys™ system:

• Reliability - Q-Sys exemplifies the build quality and trouble-free operation that has made QSC a coveted nameplate for decades.
• Scalability - Q-Sys is powerful enough for any installation, yet flexible enough to accommodate system growth beyond currently anticipated needs. Expansion is very simple to implement, requiring only the connection of additional I/O interfaces to the network and the enabling of the new components in Q-Sys Designer software.
• Future-proofing - Designed to enterprise-class standards of quality, the Q-Sys Core is actually an Intel® server running rock-solid Linux software. Unlike systems based on proprietary chips, the Q-Sys platform will benefit from gains in processing power and speed as the worldwide computer market drives continued advances in processor performance.
• Redundancy - Q-Sys offers the most advanced redundancy measures of any digital audio networking product, ensuring smooth failover in the unlikely event of a component failure. That protects your operations against costly loss of revenue from downtime, and protects your customers from danger when the system's built-in emergency paging/voice alarm capabilities are activated in a life safety event.
• Performance - QSC is renowned for superb audio fidelity. Q-Sys is no exception, offering unsurpassed sound from concert stages and nightclubs to stadiums, airports, and malls.
• Security - protecting the system from unauthorized tampering reduces maintenance calls and downtime. Q-Sys guards access with a multi-level security scheme, customizable for every venue, that lets system administrators decide what functions are accessible to whom.
• Support - Q-Sys is backed with industry-leading 24/7technical support to help keep your mission-critical systems up and running, minimizing downtime and loss of revenue. The system is also designed for remote diagnostics, enabling QSC service and support personnel to help you from afar.
• Single-vendor responsibility - Buying a complete Q-Sys-based solution from QSC eliminates the common headaches of dealing with multiple vendors. With components that are designed from the ground up to work together as a single unit, there's no question about who takes responsibility for the overall system.

The value of QSC
Founded over four decades ago, QSC has long been known for high-quality professional audio products and unparalleled service. Our amplifiers define reliability; our concert loudspeakers represent the epitome of high performance, and our digital cinema processors thrill theater audiences worldwide with levels of sonic clarity unmatched in the industry. QSC also excels at delivering real value over the long term, where the true benefit of quality products is reflected in the total cost of ownership. We build that value into each individual product, and we extend the value proposition by designing solutions that work together seamlessly as efficient integrated systems. Q-Sys™, our advanced audio control solution for installed sound, is the center piece of this integrated strategy. Bringing together everything we've learned about quality, reliability, and ease-of-use, Q-Sys is the ultimate installed sound platform for both commercial and performance environments.

One roof, one goal
With a single brand that represents all aspects of installation audio, QSC is uniquely positioned to develop and support integrated solutions that fulfill our customers' needs. Our support reach is global, but our product development teams are centralized, working together toward common goals. Digital processing, routing, amplification, and loudspeakers are all designed and tested under the same roof. Q-Sys devices and Data Port amplifiers even share the same production line at our Costa Mesa headquarters in Southern California. This results in products that function flawlessly together, and provide the synergy that makes a QSC system far more than the sum of its parts. We also offer a field-proven record of reliability, and back every Q-Sys system with an industry-leading 24/7 customer service commitment.

The bottom line is that an investment in Q-Sys is an investment in your facility's future, assuring you the same quality, performance, reliability, and service that has made QSC the envy of the professional audio industry for over 40 years.