studio monitors for use with kemper

  • hey guys/gals,
    here's my situation. i have a pretty regular gig with a great club date
    band that uses in-ear monitors when we play live. i've been using my
    kemper with this band for a while now and have been tweaking all of my
    live patches while using headphones! (a big no-no, i know). they are
    AKG K240 DF's so they are studio headphones and are VERY flat and
    uncolored EQ-wise. i live in a small apartment and would like to get a
    pair of high quality studio monitors for patch tweaking and general home
    enjoyment. i was originally thinking about getting an RCF HD-12A FRFR
    since these are the exact speakers that this band uses while playing
    live, but there's NO WAY i will ever be able to crank them up at gig
    level in my apartment. (so please no recommedations on FRFR speakers).



    i'm looking for some small studio monitors that will accurately
    reproduce at a bedroom volume what my guitar tones will sound like
    through a full PA system at gig levels. i saw that the neumann KH120A's
    were very highly regarded as well as the equator D5's. does anyone
    have any experience with these or other great sounding monitors? thanks
    in advance!



    jack

  • Would the Opals be too big for you, Jack?


    They're roughly a foot and a half high, a foot wide and maybe 14" deep.


    I highly recommend them for an honest, detailed, never-lacking-in-bottom-end sound. If you ever move into a larger space, you'll still be able to crumble the house with these puppies. There's a 5-stage level pot on the monitor itself, and I've never even ventured to # 2, having left them on "1" since day dot. I cannot imagine how loud they'd be able to go, but I can tell you that you'd even be able to take them (maybe just one, rack-mounted) on the road (serious overkill sound-accuracy and punch-wise), with tonnes of headroom to spare. These things are over-engineered at every level. All parts designed and built-for-purpose by Rode. 720w peak for the woofers alone. Just ridiculous.


    I only mention them 'cause price-wise it looks like you're not too concerned about low-budget offerings. That said, I honestly believe they're the best bang (literally!)-for-buck monitors out there, and have been for some years. Also, considering the performance they're capable of, the footprint is tiny.


    Food for thought, maybe.

  • Only thing i can think of to match that (Nicky's) would be ..Iloud Micro monitors

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    Ash

    Have a beer and don't sneer. -CJ. Two non powered Kempers -Two mission stereo FRFR Cabs - Ditto X4 -TC electronic Mimiq.

  • The integrity of the bass really worries me.


    The DSP assistance IK refers to must, IMHO, involve a shedload of EQ compensation and boosting in the low and and elsewhere in order to force a flattish response from the physically-constrained (size-wise) enclosure. The bass-reflex port, by definition, muddies things up too. Not appropriate for serious mixing or sound evaluation, IMHO.


    Bottom line, IMHO every serious thumbs-up endorsement of those units must include the caveat, "... for it's / their size". "They sound great / fantastic... for their size".


    Still, an interesting find, Ash. Definitely could be handy for many where SPL's are required in small spaces. Nice one, mate.

  • thanks for the response! i'm guessing that you're talking about the event opal 8" monitors? i just did a little research and it looks like that they've been discontinued. i think they would be on the big side of things though. i'm looking for something a little smaller since these monitors will be sitting on a desk about 3 feet away from my head

  • Only thing i can think of to match that (Nicky's) would be ..Iloud Micro monitors

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    Ash

    thanks for the info ash! i've never heard of these. i just wonder how accurate they would be

  • thanks for the response! i'm guessing that you're talking about the event opal 8" monitors? i just did a little research and it looks like that they've been discontinued.

    Internet myth. There was a fella over at BeerGutz who seemed Hell-bent on cutting these things down, and IMHO, that fed scepticism, which in turn resulted in repeated claims from folks who knew nothing of them that they'd been discontinued.


    In fact, the tweeters are now constructed of a slightly-different alloy as a result of a break in supply from a factory in Japan due to the tsunami. Manufacturing was temporarily-suspended, but only until an appropriate alternative surfaced. If you inspect pre-tsunami photographs of the monitors and compare the tweeters' colour with post-tsunami units, you'll see that one set is more-silver-looking, and the other a slightly-bronzish colour. Also, the woofer's surround is now a slightly-different shape. Functionally and sound-spec-wise, there has been no change in performance since day dot.


    I could ring my guy at Rode and ask him directly what the stock / manufacturing situation is right now if you like (on Monday), but unless I'm mistaken, my guess is that you've stumbled across a ripple that resulted from the confusion that arose out of the tsunami incident.


    i'm looking for something a little smaller since these monitors will be sitting on a desk about 3 feet away from my head

    Mine are exactly 3 feet from my head, my ears lining up with the top of the woofer, which is approximately half-way up (the mid-point) of the monitors. Absolutely-perfect for me. The thing is, if you're running them on, say, the #1 setting I spoke of, you'll still get that superb full-range experience, even when only using a tiny bit of that already-narrowed volume range. Their sound doesn't change, even when pushed to ridiculous levels, 'cause of that over-engineered paradigm for each component that I spoke of. This over-speccing also results in ridiculously-clean transients 'cause of the way the drivers are matched with the amps. Headroom for miles and miles.


    I did have my sights set on a set of BM5 and later BM6As for many years; they are very-good monitors, no doubt. The Opals, however, are in a different league.

  • Internet myth. There was a fella over at BeerGutz who seemed Hell-bent on cutting these things down, and IMHO, that fed scepticism, which in turn resulted in repeated claims from folks who knew nothing of them that they'd been discontinued.
    In fact, the tweeters are now constructed of a slightly-different alloy as a result of a break in supply from a factory in Japan due to the tsunami. Manufacturing was temporarily-suspended, but only until an appropriate alternative surfaced. If you inspect pre-tsunami photographs of the monitors and compare the tweeters' colour with post-tsunami units, you'll see that one set is more-silver-looking, and the other a slightly-bronzish colour. Also, the woofer's surround is now a slightly-different shape. Functionally and sound-spec-wise, there has been no change in performance since day dot.


    I could ring my guy at Rode and ask him directly what the stock / manufacturing situation is right now if you like (on Monday), but unless I'm mistaken, my guess is that you've stumbled across a ripple that resulted from the confusion that arose out of the tsunami incident.


    Mine are exactly 3 feet from my head, my ears lining up with the top of the woofer, which is approximately half-way up (the mid-point) of the monitors. Absolutely-perfect for me. The thing is, if you're running them on, say, the #1 setting I spoke of, you'll still get that superb full-range experience, even when only using a tiny bit of that already-narrowed volume range. Their sound doesn't change, even when pushed to ridiculous levels, 'cause of that over-engineered paradigm for each component that I spoke of. This over-speccing also results in ridiculously-clean transients 'cause of the way the drivers are matched with the amps. Headroom for miles and miles.
    I did have my sights set on a set of BM5 and later BM6As for many years; they are very-good monitors, no doubt. The Opals, however, are in a different league.

    thanks again for the info on the opal's. i didn't know anything about the gear slutz forum fiasco until now. i had checked sweetwater and a few other online retailers and they all say that they're no longer available:


    https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Opal


    http://www.musiciansfriend.com…y-750-watt-active-monitor



    https://www.amazon.com/Event-O…ve-Monitors/dp/B0020J23L8



    http://www.zzounds.com/item--EVEOPAL

  • Crumpets! I'd better ring Leigh on Monday. I'll get back to you; could just be a temporary pause.


    Many have bought them 2nd-hand and been super-satisfied, so perhaps bear this in mind. When something's over-engineered to this extent, it's in fact better-placed than just about anything else out there to be a viable used-purchase option.


    EDIT:


    From the Sound on Sound review


    I'm impressed: I can't remember when I last enjoyed working with new monitors as much as I did with these, and there was nothing about the sound that felt wrong or out of place. Inevitably, a high‑end speaker costs high‑end money, but even so, the Opals cost less than the monitors with which they stand comparison, and they should appeal to the more serious private studio owner as well as to professional studios — and possibly even to mastering engineers.


    If you have this much to spend on two‑way monitors, you have a huge choice, with many models costing rather less than the Opal. However, the build quality and 'designed for accuracy' performance of the Opal puts it up there with the PMCs and ATCs of this world.

  • I always forget Stereo ..Since my mission Cab is Stereo and i crap on about how good it is daily you think i would of......


    I say dont play the Kemper with out STEREO.
    Waste of a Kemper.


    Ash

    Have a beer and don't sneer. -CJ. Two non powered Kempers -Two mission stereo FRFR Cabs - Ditto X4 -TC electronic Mimiq.

  • Gee, looking around the 'net, it appears to have been discontinued.


    There's no mention of this on the Rode site 'though, so as I suggested, I'll ring them on Monday and get back to you. I'm so sorry if it turns out that they are indeed no more; hopefully you'll still consider a 2nd-hand purchase.


    I'm so proud of Rode's achievement with these things. Conceived from the ground up with all parts designed and manufactured in-house in Australia, the product is uber-professional in look, feel, mass, operation and performance.

  • Gee, looking around the 'net, it appears to have been discontinued.


    There's no mention of this on the Rode site 'though, so as I suggested, I'll ring them on Monday and get back to you. I'm so sorry if it turns out that they are indeed no more; hopefully you'll still consider a 2nd-hand purchase.


    I'm so proud of Rode's achievement with these things. Conceived from the ground up with all parts designed and manufactured in-house in Australia, the product is uber-professional in look, feel, mass, operation and performance.

    thanks again MM!

  • Hey, no worries man.


    I just emailed support, so with any luck I'll know what's up before Monday, although I've a feeling nobody will see the message before then anyway.


    My guy there will be able to tell me what the situation is as far as future "replacement" is concerned, should the model indeed be indefinitely-discontinued, so I'll ring him on Monday regardless, I think.

  • The opals have been in my thoughts to buy for my studio. I dont Think you can find better, but unfortunately i dont have the cash for it so i have a pair of event bas/bas and Another pair of Adam A7 now. Not bad monitors either