Recommend bedroom-volume active speakers

    I am a new proud owner of the Kemper PowerRack. I don't have any PA monitors/speakers right now and am looking for a good one. Basically I will spend 99% of time using the amp in my bedroom for playing and recording. I tried plugging my cheap headphones to the amp and it didn't sound good at all. I then tried plugging it into my home theater system. It sounded better but was still far from ideal. I would like to find a pair of speakers which sound great at bedroom volume. Your opinion is much appreciated. Thanks.

    You definitely want studio monitors with those requirements. They go perfect for recording and excellent listening for low to mid range levels of loudness or higher depending on which ones, but they will all sound good at your bedroom levels.


    The Kemper is not as picky with studio monitors as it is with PA speakers, so you are basically left with you get what you pay for with this type of speaker. There will be many different areas to search from but I would check a few opinions on here as well as what people are using in their home studios from other forums and youtube videos etc. Then you can factor in your budget with your lists.

    I use KRK VXT4 studio monitors at home.. I am pretty happy with them.. they are very small but sounds great! .. and I can play also at midnight not disturbing neighbours and having this Great sound.. :)

    Thanks guys for your quick response and suggestions!! I love this forum!


    The reason why I want active speakers is that the powered output from the amp is mono. I wanna enjoy the stereo effects at home so it has to go with active speakers being plugged to the main outs.


    I just googled some reviews on KRK VXT4 and it seem pretty good quality and its size is perfect for a bedroom!


    Other recommendations will also be welcome!

    To be honest, I wouldn't go for anything smaller than an 8" (20cm) woofer. 10" (25cm) would be even better to give your guitar sound some nice body. The smaller woofers simply can't produce that. Don't use a sub-woofer. At low (bedroom) volumes, very small speakers won't give you a satisfying sound and an added sub-woofer will just add lots of mud.


    And don't underestimate the potential of good headphones if you prefer to listen loud. With low bedroom level speakers it will never feel the same. :)


    Just my 2 cents,
    Martin

    Thank you all for your opinions!


    I actually own a Carvin Legacy II half stack. I am currently running my Kemper directly into the Legacy cabs and its sound absoluetly gorgeous, but only at a kinda high volume....!


    I completely agree that a larger woofer would give a nicer body to the guitar sound. The only concern is that the power (or volume) needs to drive the woofer to work magically is too high for bedroom use. I am quite surprised that many people here do get pretty good sound from even 4" woofers, like the KRK VXT4 that Hallan suggested. I will give it a try.


    I also tried the Adams ax7x few days ago and I agree they are pretty good too. It is currently under my consideration list.

    Unless you want to do critical mixing in a properly treated room as well I would not worry to much. How large is your room? And how loud can you go? A small space up against a wall? Eight inch probably overkill, Hallans suggestion of the Krk Vxt4 would probably suffice. Then again if you want to pump sub bass through it as well it may not. My budget tip for just guitar would be a pair of used krk rockits, but don't tell anyone I said it, a lot of opinions based on forum guru's whose needs are probably different to yours.

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    Here is a run down on studio monitors from a strictly recoding point of view.


    [Youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfD7RnC7P6Q[/Youtube]


    After a quick search, another liked one missing from that video is the Equator D5.


    You will generally start hearing people recommending a sub with woofers around the 5 inch or less range. So you may need to either buy a separate powered sub or opt for a larger speaker.


    Don't forget some foam pads to put under your speakers. You don't need super duper recording foam 3000. You can recycle pretty much anything for putting under the speakers or buy some pads from wholesalers like these guys if sound treating your room is also on your to-do list.


    http://www.thefoamfactory.com/acousticfoam/acousticfoam.html

    Just googled Equator D5. Very nice reviews everywhere!


    BTW, how do you guys connect a powered sub to the kemper amp?