Kemper directly into semi-high-end home stereo

    Hi folks,


    so I just got my KPA and am very proud of it. I use it at home for now to get used to it and I hooked it up directly to my home stereo via S/PDIF. I have a medium to high-end home stereo system and am wondering: Are there any reasons this wouldn't work as a good companion for the Kemper? All I ever read the other guys using is a guitar cabinet or an active monitor but I haven't seen people use it with a stereo system. Is there a reason? Wouldn't a relatively neutral home stereo work well particularly with something like the KPA?


    I'd love to hear your thoughts! Here's a pic of what that looks like, please no comments about the wallpaper - I know it's awful and need to get it changed from the previous tenant ;)


    [Blocked Image: https://previews.dropbox.com/p/thumb/AAMAEk1ULo8vsM1WARIlC-HVuid_vZGlTG40uc7PfYD6XLHWWoXPHRagLmVXKvh9t4I3X1lLjTKgsz9r_qdIP21-IXa8GGl2DZY_kdhWx6upybQs4bnh_GAhHHduPpXtYYcnmPMselQ63wudrZ4qRE5HtFvM1gRiHrSrR2EnZziEqrJu0sJW_qpQFnizMzjkl35f1DCdBi_vVsvuUoB4rVsCLR2HbZBS9MyHOWrQ4C5Brg/p.jpeg?size=2048x1536&size_mode=3]


    Thanks for your input!
    Michael

    the signal from a guitar is extremely dynamic, with very fast transients in the attack - and a good amp Profile keeps the dynamics intact - as opposed to the mixed and mastered material which you would normally play through your stereo, which dynamic range was severely limited.


    meaning when you turn up your stereo loud enough and then produce a dynamic spike by hitting the strings hard, the level produced could cause the poweramp and speakers of your stereo to clip, which has the potential to harm your stereo.

    Quote from DonPetersen

    meaning when you turn up your stereo loud enough and then produce a dynamic spike by hitting the strings hard, the level produced could cause the poweramp and speakers of your stereo to clip, which has the potential to harm your stereo.

    Thanks for your answer, I understand that. I have to limit volume due to neighbours anyway, so I hope this will never become a problem. I would move to headphones for very loud volumes.
    As far as the quality of the sound goes, though, this should not be inferior to a linear monitor, right? I don't see why it would.

    Welcome Michael! Hey, if it sounds good to you then have at it. Just heed the warning and don't crank it which is sometimes hard to do after a couple beers..... Neighbors or not ^^

    Quote from michaelwendt

    but I haven't seen people use it with a stereo system. Is there a reason?

    Yes there is. You want your speakers to be flat sound wise and most home stereo speakers are anything but flat response full range (FRFR) speakers. Most home stereo speakers will enhance the bass response for example. The reasons why you dont want this is because when you use a "profile" that includes the speaker cab (and mic) it was made with you want that "profile" to sound correct thru your cabinet (FRFR), and you can not do this when also running the profiles sound thru "colored" sounding speakers. Next you want a class D power amp to power these FRFR speakers. You may ask, what about all those using a "guitar cabs" people use? Well, they have a power-amp running a "colored" (sound-wise) speaker/cab that they enjoy listening to, but every guitar cabinet made is "also" colored sound wise to a certain extent more or less, and not flat. So you have options versus using FRFR powered speakers, it just depends on what you wish to do. Hope that helps.

    If you use FRFR the benefit of a merged profile is that the cabinet is totally separated in the profile.


    For my edification only... ;) Kemper/Axe-FX III/ Quad Cortex user

    Like 1
    Quote from michaelwendt

    As far as the quality of the sound goes, though, this should not be inferior to a linear monitor, right? I don't see why it would.

    but hifi/stereo systems aren't designed to be uncolored or analytical, they're designed to sound pleasant.
    this often means added low frequencies, a slight scoop in the midrange and thereby seemingly stronger highs.


    in my experience you just can't beat well made studio monitors.

    Quote from michaelwendt

    Thanks for your answer, I understand that. I have to limit volume due to neighbours anyway, so I hope this will never become a problem. I would move to headphones for very loud volumes.As far as the quality of the sound goes, though, this should not be inferior to a linear monitor, right? I don't see why it would.

    You can google the datasheet of your hifi, read tests and look to graphics to get an idea how linear your system really is. Most of the hifi stereo systems and speakers colour the sound to "please" the consumers ear and are not suitable for analytical listening.


    BUT: There are a few systems that come with a rather neutral power amplifier and linear speakers. For example I had the possibility of a direct comparison of a few studio monitors (and headphones like SRH840) to old Yamaha Pianocraft speakers (NX-E series). I sold my Yamaha HS 5, my son is using the Presonus Eris studio monitors and I left my Yamaha HS 80M to my father, because I can work best with the "Hifi" speakers (plus subwoofer). Reading the data-sheets and the reviews of them confirm, that these speakers are exemplarly linear with a useful frequency range from 55 hz - 28.000 hz. I don't connect the Kemper directly, but I wanted to let you know: There are people using hifi gear :thumbup:


    And it's not because I could not afford other monitors - I buy guitars n' gear all the time. I buy profiles for fun and have spend more money on that, than "decent studio monitors" will cost. Sometimes I compare my recordings on the Presonus monitors or with headphones, but I work with my Pianocraft speakers.

    Quote from DonPetersen

    just be aware that these graphs pretty much always were made with quite a bit of smoothing.

    That is correct. Everything DonPeterson did mention in his posts is correctI I didn't want to delve deeper into the material, but just wanted to point out, that there are possible dips and peaks and you can get an idea about it.


    And give an additional view...


    The best studio monitors don't help if you do not pay attention to the circumstances, room placement, room treatement... Even the pro studios don't get completely "flat response" - closer than us, but not perfect (comb filters by floor and desk reflection does not stop in a pro studio).


    In my opinion it is much more important to work with monitors / speakers / interfaces... that corresponds with your personal taste. I mean when listening to your reference tracks and music you love, there should be a balance between possibility of analytic hearing and feeling good with it. Monitors that I know well and I feel fine with (with reference tracks) can lead to better results than monitors where I try to iron out a certain frequency all the time, cause it is not to my taste. Hope I could make clear what I want to say :rolleyes: Perfectly flat monitors (and totally flat room...) are not necessarly needed to get good results.

    I do this without any problems and it sounds great. I still have Kemper with Camplifier connected to the cabinet section of 2x12 Lionheart combo and whilst it sounds really great I wanted to see if I can use my old stereo HiFi speakers. I mostly wanted to do this to see if it's worthwhile considering getting studio monitors.


    It not only works great but now I have a stereo sound which adds another dimension and all profiles have much more distinctive character as I don't have to remove the cab portion of each profile. Try it, I think it's awesome. Oh and to my ears it maintains high and low frequencies better at lower volumes than the 2x12 cabinet. They both sounds great but I since I have both options available I use the stereo amp almost exclusively. But yes, completely agree, personal taste and all that...

    If the stereo is also used for movies (audio/visual) and you watch something with special effects, the dynamic range should not be an issue. Even with the high levels of compression used on movies. If you are using normal (not loud guitar...) listening levels like you would listening to music, there should be no problem.


    Medium to High-end audio is a subjective realm...

    Why not use the headphone output on the Kemper to plug into your hi-fi? Should avoid impedance issues and risk of attempting to use the line outs and provide you with a very good quality line signal.

    I link directly into a good quality hifi and the results are (to my ears) excellent. Whereas I can imagine that less expensive hifi's are designed to colour / enhance the sound output, higher end stuff is designed to be flat. I have tested my home rig with a frequency analyser and that is definitely the case. The only colouration comes from the room acoustics which is going to apply whatever amplification you put in it.
    The sensitivity of the speakers is the biggest issue here - hifi speakers tend to to be highly responsive (same as monitors) but tolerate high power transients poorly (as already suggested and acknowledged) but if you can keep the output low avoiding clipping spikes they will probably survive well and sound as good as any dedicated FRFR system within these limitations.
    Ultimately if it sounds good then do it.