Which is "louder" Atomic CLR Active Wedge or Yamaha DXR10?

And by louder, I don't just mean db level. I mean, which can reach the higher volume, before the speaker starts flubbing out?

I've got the Yamaha DXR10 and it seems to be loud enough in terms of db levels, but when I get it to the loudness level that I prefer for stage volume (which is quite loud, especially for just a 4-piece band), the 10" speaker just doesn't seem to be able to handle the low frequencies all that well when I'm palm muting. I'm not drop-tuned or doing anything like that. Mostly standard 440 or 430 tunings.

I know I could EQ my monitor mix differently, but I'd prefer not to do that because I want to hear as close to what is coming out of the mains as possible. Plus, I like how the low end sounds in the Yamaha, minus the extra rumbling/flub from the speaker. I'm considering returning the Yamaha and buying the Atomic CLR wedge instead. My hunch is that it'd handle the palm muting a little better since it's got a 12" speaker as opposed to 10". However, when comparing the specs between the two monitors, it says the Yamaha is 700 watts bi-amped, and the Atomic is 500 watts bi-amped.

I know the CLR has received better reviews in terms of sound quality. So I'm not worried about that. But is it a safe assumption that the Atomic will handle the lower end frequencies a little better than the Yamaha, while still being able to produce the volume that I need on stage? Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone in my area who has a CLR, and they're not available in any stores around here. So, I can't compare them side by side. I've watched Ingolf's comparison videos (both of them), a couple time. And while those videos provided some great info, due to the compression of online videos, there's really no way of getting a feel for the two in terms of volume.

I may look into the DXR12. I guess another option to consider would be to buy a second DXR10 and run both of them, which would be MORE than enough combined volume, while allowing me to roll the volume per monitor down a bit, and reduce the flub. That's a similar setup to how I'm running my two 1x12 cabs now (one in front as a monitor, and one in back facing the crowd).

So many choices, so little dimes! haha

Quote from Ingolf

One idea: what happens @OhG if you turn up the DXR to 14 o'clock and then give yourself a loudness boost by turning up the Profiler more?
This must be easily 120 dB or more. Take care of your ears, man.

Mine only goes to eleven. Haha. Sorry, had to throw in the Spinal Tap reference. I'll try it tonight or tomorrow and take note of exactly where I have the volumes set on the DXR, the Kemper, as well as which profile I'm using so that will help provide a more accurate idea as to how loud I'm looking to go. I don't have a dB meter, but I can't imagine I'm close to 120 dB. That'd be insane and my singer would push me off the stage if I got to that volume. (c:

Quote from paults

Since you are used to having one cabinet behind you, and another toward the front of the stage, I think you would be happier with two cabinets instead of changing to a different single cabinet.

Running two cabinets creates a huge sound, without needing ear-damaging volume.

I'm leaning toward this route. I like the sound and feel that I'm getting from the Kemper and the DXR. I'm just concerned that I may damage the speaker when playing at my full volume with one DXR and palm muting. So maybe adding a second DXR is the way to go to give me a more familiar feel to what I've been used to. That would also provide more flexibility in terms of running stereo, or just bringing one DXR to smaller gigs.

Okay guys, so I finally had a chance this morning to do 2 very quick videos to demonstrate the speaker flub that I referenced in the beginning of this thread. The videos are below.

Here are my settings:

• RIG: Amp Factory AF9-BE SS Full4+ (this rig sounds awesome by the way)
• Master volume is unlinked and is set at -15dB (although for this issue, that is irrelevant). Both outputs (monitor and main) are set to Master Mono.
• I'm running from monitor out into the line 2 input of the DXR10. The monitor output is linked to the master volume and the monitor output is set to -11.8 and the main volume on the front of the Kemper is turned up to 5.1. The DXR volume is set at the "zero" setting on the back.
• On the back of the DXR, I'm using it in mono mode, with both D-Contour and HPF set to "off"
• At no time does the light on the back of the DXR indicate any clipping, and none of the lights on the Kemper ever hit red, although I have noticed that they all light up a brighter green when I hit the strings harder. But no red, so I'm assuming I'm not clipping anything in the Kemper.

The rig itself sounds great. And the volume is about where I'd need it for stage volume (I'd prefer a little more, but that issue would be solved with buying a 2nd DXR10 to place behind me. The rig does seem a bit noisy to me, but I can address that later. Right now, I'd like to know what to make of this speaker flub.

In this first video, it's just me raking the strings. No palm muting. I've got the strings muted with my fret hand and just raking across all of them. You'll hear that there is some extra speaker rumbling sounds in there.

In this second video, you'll hear the rumbling a lot more. I palm mute the low E string (standard 440 tuning) and it's not too bad. When I palm mute the A string and let that ring slightly, you'll hear it quite a bit.

I plan to take the Kemper to a gig tonight (not to use as my main rig) and hook it up through the PA. I'm assuming this rumbling will not come through the PA and is strictly a result of the DXR. But I also want to test the Kemper tonight to see if this AmpFactory BE-SS Full4+ rig sounds great through the PA when running direct to FOH. If it does, then I'll likely keep the Kemper (my return period end next week), and then hopefully be able to address this speaker issue. If it doesn't sound good, then the speaker issue is irrelevant because if it doesn't sound good through the front of house and sound very close to what it sounds like through the DXR10, then it defeats the purpose of me buying it to begin with.

Any help would be appreciated!

That's what I thought. But since I've never owned a Kemper or a DXR before, I didn't know if it was something in my settings causing this, or if I'm just pushing the DXR beyond its limits.

I bought it new at Guitar Center, and I'm still within my return period. I'm heading to a gig in a few minutes so I don't have time to try using it in a different position (great suggestion though). I'll give that a try tomorrow. But at this point, I think I may just return it and try another. I've also got the option of buying an Atomic CLR active wedge for around $720. I paid $600 for the DXR. So it may be worth it to just spend the extra $120.