Playing at home at low volumes: studio monitors or loudspeaker?

    Hi,
    I'm really new to the Kemper world (3 days), I plan to use it to play at home and do some recordings. At the moment I'm playing it through headphones (AKG K242HD) or a pair of pc speakers+subwoofer I had laying around at home (Altec Lansing), which is not awful but not great either.


    Before you suggest me to search the forum, I must say that I spent the last week searching this forum (and others) about loudspeakers and studio monitors ;)


    My first choice was to buy a single Alto TS110A (not interested in stereo right now, 10" should be enough), based on existing discussions here, but then I started questioning my choice: will it be too loud to play at home at low volumes? Should I pick a decent studio monitor instead? Before the Kemper I used to play a Marshall 1936 2x12" with a small 5W valve amp, and couldn't go past 3 on the volume.


    Problem with studio monitor is that I move around the room when playing, and I'm not sure how bad the sound degrades when moving off axis.
    A single Adams A5X is a bit above the Alto's price, Yamaha HS8 and Krk Vxt 4 are around the same budget.


    Is someone using a TS110A or similar to play at home? Is it too loud or does it suck when played at low volumes?
    Is it crazy to go for just one speaker/monitor?

    I'd not recommend studio monitors if you move a lot. They usually sound good in very specific narrow range. You need to be in front of them pretty much.
    Some sort of full range speaker should be fine even at low volume.

    I'm using an Alto TS112A as a wedge and its incredibly loud even on lower volumes for indoor use. It's great for live use but at home I prefer my studio monitors as I can get stereo effects and although the Alto is mighty fine live, the tone is better (as you'd expect) through a pair of decent studio monitors (I have Tannoy 601s).

    Quote from MisterB

    Well...if you plan to record you'll need a good pair of studio monitors anyways soon.
    Why not start with that?


    I use 2 Adam 5 and am really happy with it.

    I thought about that: a couple of Adam A5X (is that what you mean with Adam 5?) is out of budget at the moment, so it would be one A5X in mono as a start.
    The only couple I could find for around 300€ is M-Audio BX8 D2 or Yamaha HS5/HS7.

    Quote from Jaybee

    I'm using an Alto TS112A as a wedge and its incredibly loud even on lower volumes for indoor use. It's great for live use but at home I prefer my studio monitors as I can get stereo effects and although the Alto is mighty fine live, the tone is better (as you'd expect) through a pair of decent studio monitors (I have Tannoy 601s).

    That's exactly the kind of information I needed. I would end up playing with low volum on Kemper and minimum volume on the speaker, not much sense since I don't plan on taking the speaker out to play.

    Hello Flod,


    Welcome to the forum :)


    A studio monitor is also known as a 'near field monitor'..... Typically, these sound best when you're near them.


    Loudspeakers designed to go with a stereo are meant to project a bit further so aren't ideal if you're sat close.


    As you'll need near field monitors anyway, just buy one decent near field and then you're half way to mixing in the future. You'll have to accept that the sound will change depending on your room position but that (to an extent) will be the case with ANY amplification system because what you hear is a combination of the direct sound and the reflected sound....


    On this last point, pop over to the Sound on Sound forums and look at all the info on home-made sound treatment. Basically, 4 inch acoustic grade Rockwool plus some wood and cloth will cheer up ANY speakers you end up getting for very little money and ensure you can crank it a bit louder without the room taking off :)

    Quote from Gary_W

    As you'll need near field monitors anyway, just buy one decent near field and then you're half way to mixing in the future. You'll have to accept that the sound will change depending on your room position but that (to an extent) will be the case with ANY amplification system because what you hear is a combination of the direct sound and the reflected sound....


    Yeah, I guess I should stop moving around the room when playing :)


    Quote from Gary_W

    On this last point, pop over to the Sound on Sound forums and look at all the info on home-made sound treatment. Basically, 4 inch acoustic grade Rockwool plus some wood and cloth will cheer up ANY speakers you end up getting for very little money and ensure you can crank it a bit louder without the room taking off :)


    Well, that would be much more complicated. The place where I play is also the play where I work: about 8x4m, with 2 desks, countless computers, etc ;)


    Out of curiosity: is anyone using only one monitor with the kemper?


    BTW I've seen the price of the Tannoy 502A. Not many distributors in Italy apparently, but the price for a pair would be more or less in the initial budget.