So at one of my venues I work at they run qsc k153 for mains into a dbx speaker processor rack followed by an dl32 box. the house mixer is an x32 and on the dbx processor the inputs have to be input padded to gain full volume. on my sq5 into an ar2412 box I have to have the pad off to gain full volume.
are you using a processor?
based on the output specs in comparison for these particular mixers they are off by 1db in the plus range, the x32 +4dbu / +22dbu max and sq5 +4dbu / +21dbu.
what other mixer are you using in comparison that makes you feel this drop is happening?
I’m curious about this myself as what I have experiencing in this small capacity.
I have yet to test it in the larger venue I mix at that has a larger array system and pro2 mixer.