Pre-purchase ponderings about the Kemper Rack. (Powered probably)

I can help you with FRFR it means full range flat response so it ranges from 30hz all the way up to 16khz and is flat no peaks or dips at certain frequencies
The other 2 I don't no about as I use an unpowered version

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I can try with 2 and 3.
Ad 2) I find that the power amp of Kemper is excellent! I did not think I would play non-tube amp, but the sound and feel is top. I use it so as you describe, as a regular amp head. We play in different locations with different backline concept. Powerhead works excellent in all of them:
- Kemper Powerhead + guitar cab (w/o miking the cab)
- Kemper Powerhead + guitar cab for stage monitoring, direct to FOH
- Kemper Powerhead direct to FOH, stage monitor from FOH

very flexible and always top

Ad 3) For my playing style (sort of hardrock/metal/punk) I can live with the difference between the cab-sound and direct-to-foh sound. I use Marshall and Diezel profiles. Difference is here for sure, but at the same level as you would have with normal amp head. The cabs that are provided by the venue has usually V30 or G75 in it. You can fast tweak a monitor EQ to reduce some treble, presence etc. That is max what I do, because I find the greater difference comes from my position to the cab. With my own cab, I find a small EQ correction to match the FOH and guitar cab sound.

I like really Powerhead + guitar cab, because it fits my needs fully.
I know too, that fender profile will not sound exact as a fender when I use closed cab with V30 speaker.

Well...I have the Powered rack version. I absolutely love it! The power amp is top notch in the unit and is super loud! At this point, I'm running mine into a custom mesa 2x12 rectifier cabinet. It sounds perfect with this. The Mesa V30 speakers have slightly less high end as it is rolled off of them a bit. That being said, in my studio, I simply switch the power amp off when not in use through the output button. Great convenience and easy to do.

You have to let your ears decide what you like. I love hearing a guitar speaker as that is what I am used to. It is important to understand that the cab will ultimately colour your sound in the end. Some of the models will not have as much distinction as they would through the full range setup.

I haven't ventured into FRFR as of yet. I don't care to at this point, either. This works for me and I get all of the tone I need playing live or in the studio. I recently sold my Torpedo Live (which is a fantastic product!) and my Marshall JVM410HJS......the one profile done by Tony M on the Rig-Exchanges is dead on as I compared it before I sold my amp.

That being said, I am super happy with this new Powered Rack unit. I had the Toaster unit when they first came out but sold it after a year due to it lacking many features. Now....everything that I wanted and more is in the latest offering. The powered rack version was the piece that tipped the scales to buying for me.

I chose the non-powered Kemper, as I occasionally use piezo acoustic and guitar synth sounds, and FRFR is definitely the way to go with those tones. I felt with the price difference between powered and not, I could get more value out of buying powered speakers than the amp. I find the powered FRFRs to be most convenient, mine only weighs 28 lbs.
But if you're thinking of showing up and plugging into a cab, the power head would make sense.

The goal of a FRFR speaker is to be transparent, whereas guitar speakers greatly color the sound and sound very different from each other. Think of FRFR as a studio monitor. Ever play a CD through your guitar cab? Doesn't quite sound soo good. To me, there are definitely advantages to using a FRFR. Instead of just having the one guitar cabinet you're using, you have all the speakers and cabs recorded in the Kemper. Vox thru a G12H sounds different than thru a Blue, etc.

Not sure why you would connect this to a cab to record at your studio. You want the Kemper plugged directly in, and just use a cab or monitors to hear yourself.

Ciao freak, welcome here

Some more thoughts:

While FRFR means what Raoul wrote, don't even for a moment think that all the so called FRFR cabs are linear and transparent! Actually, each model/brand has got its own sound signature.

Also, a Powerer Profiler doesn't mean you have to use a guitar cab: there are excellent passive FRFR cabs around.
OTOH, once you decide you'll use an active FRFR cab, the power amp in the Profiler becomes redundant. It's still a more versatile option tho, since it may be used with passive cabs (included guitar cabs as well).

What's the difference between a linear cab and a guitar one?
With the latter, you're stuck with the cab's sonic signature, which is - generally speaking - very relevant.
The theoretical advantage of a linear cab is that you will hear the profile (including the profiled cab) as it has been taken. When it comes to practice tho, any amp/cab will sound its way. But differences (with respect to the absolute linearity) are less than with a guitar cab, so FRFR is the way to go if you want all the profiles to sound as they have been made (just like when recording direct with the KPA and listening back to them with a very good system).
Not that you can't like a guitar cab's sound, but it will be protagonist in all your profiles (you can easily imagine that a Jazz Chorus' profile won't sound very realistic used with a real Marshall 4x12"...), specially because you'll switch the Profiler's cab emulation off most of the times.

Summing up, if you have a certain sound in mind and find a guitar cab that satisfies you, and don't care about extreme sound versatility, the Power Profiler is a very good option. It's also versatile because it will allow you to use passive FRFR cabs (such as the excellent AA CLR). Active FRFR cabs are more numerous on the market tho.

HTH!
In order to get to know more about the whole story, feel free to visit http://www.wikpa.org

Hey Freak4pc as long as the monitor cab off box is checked in the output menu you don't have to push the cab button. The poweramp has plenty of power for live gigs.

Also I use guitar cabs right now and I always look for profiles the were using the same speakers as I use. To me it don't have to be tweaked that much since the profile was EQed to the same speakers. Example if the profile is a Engl amp/ 4x12 cab with vintage 30s and a shure mic and you use a 4x12 cab with vintage speakers you most likely will only have to do small EQ tweaks. Good luck

I just ordered a Xitone FRFR 2x12 cab that I will review when it comes in.

Congrats on a great purchase!

For the power amp off feature, you simply click on the output button at the upper right. Then scroll through the pages to the last one and you will see power amp with a checkbox. You can click it off right there with the corresponding button over the display.

Neat eh?

Happy profiling!

Quote from Manchild

Hey Freak4pc as long as the monitor cab off box is checked in the output menu you don't have to push the cab button. The poweramp has plenty of power for live gigs.

Also I use guitar cabs right now and I always look for profiles the were using the same speakers as I use. To me it don't have to be tweaked that much since the profile was EQed to the same speakers. Example if the profile is a Engl amp/ 4x12 cab with vintage 30s and a shure mic and you use a 4x12 cab with vintage speakers you most likely will only have to do small EQ tweaks. Good luck

I just ordered a Xitone FRFR 2x12 cab that I will review when it comes in.

Manchild, please let us know how that new cab sounds! I'm very interested in one as well!

Quote from freak4pc

Most studio monitors would be considered FRFR (as long as the frequency response is flat), so when people speak of FRFR they usually refer to cabs?

You're right. FRFR is not a technical or standard term, it's been invented for guitar players to tell them that a modeller sounds better through a more linear cab (than a guitar cab), if the cab is modelled as well
Studio monitors fall into the FRFR cathegory but, like any real "FRFR" cab, no-one is completely transparent, "full" ranged or "flat" responsive.

Also, keep in mind that a flat response is just a part of a really linear system: band width, transient response, phase coherence... All these aspects matter a lot. IOW, judging an FRFR cab from the "30-20,000 Hz" publicitary claim is a waste of time... and often money.

When not applied to studio monitors, conventionally the term FRFR is used for PA-like (active or passive) cabs, such as yamaha DXR, Atomic Amps CLR and many others.

I'll tell you what i think, in general. Those who sell musician-addressed audio systems and don't public datasheets are basically saying "data are not outstanding, so we won't publish them because you might disregard the product on a direct comparison basis. But the price is good andyou might like the sound nevertheless".
This is specially true for guitar players: a newcomer might want to buy what on the paper seems superior

As i wrote, FRFR basically means nothing. It's like saying "hi-fi".
Every system supposed to play whole music programs, keyboards, vocals could be called FRFR. Basically you just leave out guitar cabs, many bass cabs, some acoustic guitar cabs...
The real matter is to be able to understand if and to what extent a cab/amp is really able to return a full range, flat, phase-alligned, impulsively reactive ect. response. They all respond (and sound) differently.
Data sheet usually mean very few, there's practically few to no standard in the measurements and each maker try to make their products shine. You need to be very knowledgeable to foresee the (overall) sound quality of a system from the way it's been built and from datasheet. Also, I want to underline that "I like it" is very subjective when it comes to a transparent response, usually people like things that sound hyped in the freqs they like more (specially when directly comparing devices)

Like in the hi-fi realm, you have tor rely on (technical) reviews, make some experience, try and listen. Luckily, guitar applications are less critical (fidelity-wise) than broad audio applications, and the most important thing is that you produce a sound you and the audience like.
Again, the point is that the more a system is "FRFR", the more faithfully the profile will be played back. But many users don't care at all, they use a guitar cab in fact

A very good cab, which can be used for studio monitoring and stage PA as well and sounds much better than its cost is the AA CLR (both passive and active). This is probably the best thing you can buy for the money today.
Many people here are happy with the yamaha DXR, which are sonically inferior but cost a good bit less.

Freak4pc, your first impressions of the Kemper? Is it a Keeper?

freak4pc... another option for live use would be to take a profile of your head and cab. Then send the FOH the profiled version of your rig and you can turn off the cab in the monitor section that is going to your 4x12. I had thought about doing this as well but I purchased a yamaha dxr10 and it has pretty much stolen all my attention away from my 4x12.

Cab sim on the power amp is useful/needed in case you use an "FRFR" passive cab.
Anyway yes, you can do what you're asking about

As for digital connection, I've made no comparison in person but the real digital cables are sold as a different product than audio cables, and I've read in many places they perform differently.

HTH

You find this when you push and hold "output"-button.
then look at the left side up of the screen and scroll the pages,
when you see "Monitor Cab Off" disable it.

The cab section in amp module stays active.

So you have:
- FOH: sound with cab
- power amp: sound without cab
- monitor output: sound without cab