Best Monitoring Choice for home use?

  • Hey all,


    Ive had my kemper for 2 days and really enjoying it. The issue ive had is i previously had an orange head and a 212 cabinet. I was going to keep the cabinet and run the kemper into it. Issue is ive noticed all profiles kind of sound very samey and not anywhere near as good as when i play through my studio headphones. Im going to assume this is to do with cab colouring and not being a flat response speaker?


    So my question is whats the best monitoring solution for me here? I actually sold a pair of Nuemann studio monitors to fund the kemper annoyingly, but i also dont like sitting at a desk playing so didnt really want ot use studio monitors. I hear the DXR10 is a good solution, however im in a flar so cant crank volume and heard that is somewhat necessary for the DXR10. So am i left back at studio monitors being the only option? If so are there a recommended pair as I dont want to invest as much as I did in the Nuemann ones, perhaps some Yamaha NS5's? or even a single studio monitor rather than stereo?


    Appreciate theres a lot of questions here, thanks for any guidance in getting the most out my setup!

  • Hi,


    I use cheap but excelent JBL305's studio monitors with a powered kemper , but I also have a Laney IRT X wedge with eq and options for 1x12/4x12 or Frfr settings . I do like playing through the JBL's better but especially since you mention playing on lower volumes at home (like I do) the IRT x is very good sounding. ( from what I read the DXR10 is liked by many profile users and there is not much talk about the cheaper option IRT X - might be worth looking into though especially if you can get a 2nd hand one)


    Cheers .

  • Yes, the DXR10 needs a bit of power to come alive but you certainly won't crank them cause they can get insanely loud.

    No idea how loud you actually want to play (at home). But if you've used a 2x12 cab at home, I guess you want to have at least "some" volume. :) This would be very well possible with the DXR10.

    On the other hand, if you consider the HS5 speakers, you plan to play a little less loud. Probably not "bedroom level" but let's call it "living room level". :D For this I would highly recommend a pair of HS8 speakers. The 5" woofers of the HS5 really lack some low end. The HS8 are much better in this regard and still very affordable for what they do.


    Hope that helps

    Martin

  • Maybe you can pick up some used krk rokit rp6 g3. No need for a subwoofer and I can highly recommend them. But if, have a look at the g3 model. Enough power for bedroom and livingroom level;)

  • Thanks guys, i actually used to have KRK's a long while ago but found them to not be too flat, also not a big fan of the yellow for a living room mainstay. Ive seen some used Laney IRT X for sale used but havent heard anywhere near as much good words about them as alternatives so was going to avoid them. The HS8 may be a good choice for me i guess, i was hoping for a more 'cab' type speaker to atleast keep some of the traditional feel

  • The HS8 may be a good choice for me i guess

    I always recommend the HS8s as a great "budget" option.

    i was hoping for a more 'cab' type speaker to atleast keep some of the traditional feel

    You have to weigh up what's more-important to you:

    1) Have your "traditional" cab feel.

    2) Get used to hearing your guitar/s through studio monitors that you can use for mixing as well.


    I'm recommending option 2 unless you need a cab for playing live, in which case you're probably going to end up buying both.

    i also dont like sitting at a desk playing so didnt really want ot use studio monitors

    You don't have to sit at the desk when using studio monitors. If your chair has wheels, just slide back a metre.


    Welcome to the forum, mate!

  • Cheers, im still wanting a more 'cab' style single speaker rather than studio monitors, i already mix and master on a pair of Audeze LCD-X and sold my last studio monitors as i never used them. So it would be good to have a single solution i could take for live use in the future too. And yeah the wheely chair is something i want to avoid as i spend the majority of my life in one, i prefer the sofa for guitar so dont want a desk near me

  • I was going to suggest the Yammy DXR series, but lightbox had already done so.


    This series, especially the DXR10, gets a lot of love around here. Like most Yamaha products, the range provides great bang for buck. There are those who swear by Mission and other "expensive" brands; it all depends on what you're prepared to spend I s'pose.


    From everything I've read here 'though, I'd say it'd be hard to go wrong with the DXR10.

  • I was going to suggest the Yammy DXR series, but lightbox had already done so.


    This series, especially the DXR10, gets a lot of love around here. Like most Yamaha products, the range provides great bang for buck. There are those who swear by Mission and other "expensive" brands; it all depends on what you're prepared to spend I s'pose.


    From everything I've read here 'though, I'd say it'd be hard to go wrong with the DXR10.

    yeah the dxr10 was my main prospect when starting the thread, i was just concerned it may not get loud enough in an apartment to sound good, i operating at like 1% volume to keep it at a speaking level roughly when playing loud at home

  • I have jbl studio monitors, a dxr 10 and a small open back 1 x 12” cab with a Celestion.

    The Celestion is by far my favourite. But it depends on what style/ sound you’re after.

    Most of the time I use Akg phones.

    Fender tweeds are my favourite amp, just so you know what sound I like.

  • I am very new to this although I have been playing tube amps for over 30 years. One thing I think I know for sure at this point, is throw your headphones in the garbage. Even if they cost $300. Maybe they are useful for some things like very low volume playing but for the most part they just do not do any justice to recording, to the profiler, to practice playing, and they just kill the tone.

    But I have over 300 purchased profiles and now they sound beautiful. Especially my latest addition. Friedman BE100. What a great amplifier. I will share on Dropbox if interested.

  • I have only had mine two months, and I can tell you that I went through the same thing but it goes away very quickly. You will learn to tweak, and it is very simple. Enjoy the journey. Even the humble beginning.

  • I am very new to this although I have been playing tube amps for over 30 years. One thing I think I know for sure at this point, is throw your headphones in the garbage. Even if they cost $300. Maybe they are useful for some things like very low volume playing but for the most part they just do not do any justice to recording, to the profiler, to practice playing, and they just kill the tone.

    But I have over 300 purchased profiles and now they sound beautiful. Especially my latest addition. Friedman BE100. What a great amplifier. I will share on Dropbox if interested.

    My headphones are $1700 so i think ill avoid the trash ha, theres not a speaker in the world ive heard that are better than my Audeze, im just looking for a monitoring option for when i dont want to be bound to headphones

  • Have you definitely got the Cab off on the Kemper when you're just using your 2x12? If not that could be responsible for what you're hearing. I love mine through one, but you're right that it does colour the sound the same for all profiles.


    FWIW - I also really like the sound through my Sennheiser HD280 headphones.

  • Have you definitely got the Cab off on the Kemper when you're just using your 2x12? If not that could be responsible for what you're hearing. I love mine through one, but you're right that it does colour the sound the same for all profiles.


    FWIW - I also really like the sound through my Sennheiser HD280 headphones.

    I have the same headphones, and they are great.