Advice on setup for home use

  • Hey guys, I’m almost ready to pull the trigger on purchasing a Kemper and have been trying to figure out a good setup for home use. I don’t plan on doing any gigs or studio work, and generally speaking I’ll be playing 90% of the time through headphones or at low volume.


    • Based on my needs, would you recommend the powered or unpowered version?
    • Can I go from guitar -> Kemper -> headphones if I need to play quiet? Similarly can I just do guitar -> Kemper and have the Kemper provide the output on a lower volume?
    • If I do have to get a frfr setup or a cab does anyone have any good recommendations based on my relatively simple needs?


    Thank you!

  • The Kemper has a great headphone amp built into it, so you can definitely listen to headphones.


    guitar ->Kemper and have the Kemper provide the output on a lower volume?

    A Powered KPA can drive a passive speaker cabinet. A non-powered KPA can be used with a powered cabinet, or with a power amp and passive cabinet.


    The Headrush FR108 powered FRFR cabinet has been getting a lot of praise lately on this forum. It costs less than other quality options.

  • Unpowered. Really no sense in buying the powered version if you're not planning on driving a guitar cab.


    Not sure I understand your second question a 100%. The Kemper has a headphone output which works really well. The Kemper does not have a built in speaker (like a Yamaha THR). So you'll need an output device (studio monitors, hifi system). And yes, you can play at low volume in that case.

    The quality of the headhphones is really important! I had a first pair which I really did not like. I got a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770, which sounds great. But there are loads of posts about headphones in the forum. With a bit of searching you'll find plenty of references ;)


    I don't have any experience with FRFR's, but for strict home use I would advise studio monitors. It is my understanding that a frfr cab needs to be driven with quite some volume for it to sound good.


    Good studio monitors: search the forum as there are quite a lot of threads about this. I use a pair of Yamaha HS8 which sound good to my ears. I'm planning to switch to smaller Genelec monitors though (8020), but only because my wife is not a huge fan of 2 bulky monitors in our living room... Mariage is an ongoing negociation ;)

    Other recommendations based on forum posts (as I recall): Adam AX7, Neuman KH something


    Kemper also announced the "Kabinet", an frfr cab, which is scheduled to hit the market end of this year (don't count on that though). However, they said it would be passive, meaning that you'll need the powered Kemper or an external power amp to drive it. An active version might also be in the making but hasn't really been confirmed.


    In any case, the Kemper is a great solution for bedroom / living room guitarits.


    Hope that helps.

  • Awesome thank you both! So if I’m understanding correctly I can get the unpowered Kemper, go straight from my guitar to the Kemper, and use headphones from my Kemper and that would work fine for quiet use?


    And conversely if I want to play without headphones then I’d need a pair of studio monitors based on my needs?


    You guys have been super helpful!

  • Awesome thank you both! So if I’m understanding correctly I can get the unpowered Kemper, go straight from my guitar to the Kemper, and use headphones from my Kemper and that would work fine for quiet use?


    And conversely if I want to play without headphones then I’d need a pair of studio monitors based on my needs?


    You guys have been super helpful!

    Yes, the Kemper has a headphone output, which works extremely well.


    For loud playing you need any kind of output device. This device should be frfr. So this can be studio monitors, a pa oriented monitor (like the headrush 108) or even a hifi system.

  • I got a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770, which sounds great.


    I use a pair of Yamaha HS8 which sound good to my ears.

    Hi guizmobro,

    Could I ask you how do you compare sound from DT700 and HS8? I really like my DT770 and I'm looking for some monitors which will sound similar to Beyers. Definitely not the JBL 305 which I own now.