KPA connected to Audio interface opimization

  • I currently have the KPA hooked up to SPDIF to my VS-700 audio interface. While i can hear the output, I don't get a feeling of warmth from the sounds. I was wondering if there were certain settings on the KPA that should be used when hooking up to a audio interface. I am currently monitoring through direct monitor and out to my KRK v88s or my JBL LSR4300s... Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

  • Since the SPDIF will give you the closest possible choice to the internal binary data on the KPA i would say it has no sound. Could it just be that the solution you used before (since you are missing something now) just rolled off the high end frequencies a little more? If you get used to that sound it might appear to be a little warmer.

  • I have to agree with Techn0god - I am running SPDIF into my Apogee Ensemble - and I too feel it sounds mmm. somewhat sterile - so I am going to try an experiment and just come out of main outputs into my Apogee. When I played this in the store the tone was rich and creamy - and just awesome - using the stock patches, when I got home and connected via SPDIF I was un impressed - almiost to the point where I wanted to return it!!!! X( - can anyone from Kemper tell me if you loose the Cabinet Modeling algorithms when going thru SPDIF? - cause that is what it sounds like.

  • My belief is that the Kemper colorizes the output through the analog outputs. Thus, we like the analog better. I could be wrong...

  • I have to agree with Techn0god - I am running SPDIF into my Apogee Ensemble - and I too feel it sounds mmm. somewhat sterile - so I am going to try an experiment and just come out of main outputs into my Apogee. When I played this in the store the tone was rich and creamy - and just awesome - using the stock patches, when I got home and connected via SPDIF I was un impressed - almiost to the point where I wanted to return it!!!! X( - can anyone from Kemper tell me if you loose the Cabinet Modeling algorithms when going thru SPDIF? - cause that is what it sounds like.


    Well, that's how miked tube amps sound thru your monitor speakers.
    The audio interface will not colour the sound significantly.
    Possibly the speakers in the store had a different flavour, that you liked in a way..
    Play the Profiler along your favorite recording thru your monitor speakers. That will give you a different picture.

  • in all seriousness, i played with the spdif into my EMU 1212M soujnd card for nearly a month.. came to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the Kemper interfaceing with my spdif. i cannot fix the tone..and get clipping too easily at lower volume levels.


    i just plugged back into the Kempers XLR outs and now my tone is rich and powerful again using the SAME soundcards TRS inputs. Conclusion for me , SPDIF is not compatible. :)

  • I've only ever used mine with the XLR outs. Sounds lovely.
    Didn't even consider SPDIF.
    Now I want to try it and see if there is any difference..

  • When I played this in the store the tone was rich and creamy - and just awesome - using the stock patches, when I got home and connected via SPDIF I was un impressed - almiost to the point where I wanted to return it!!!!

    If that's the case, then the monitors in the store where significantly different/better.
    I have a similar effect: I played guitarnet70's rigs at his place and was blown away. So I put those on a USB stick and went home. At my place they sound great, but nowhere nearly do I get the same punch/warmth and realism, that I got at his place.
    The only difference in our setup is the quality of our active monitors: I have Alesis at my place, while he's using iKey Audio's (which I now know to be far superior to mine).


    can anyone from Kemper tell me if you loose the Cabinet Modeling algorithms when going thru SPDIF? - cause that is what it sounds like.

    Cabinet modelling does not get disabled when using SP/Dif. In fact, my SPDif signal sounds the same as the XLR outs (if there's any difference, they are negligibile to me - at least, I haven't noticed a difference so far).

  • SPDIF cables are not to be confused with normal RCA cables. - There is a differnce. although both will work but you wont get a true sound with RCA
    I use SPDIF and have the same sound as my main outs.

    Wait, what? How can this be, either the SPDIF locks or it doesnt..

  • Techn0god and others:


    I too connect my KPA via SPDIF when recording. It really is completely transparent. What you hear is what the KPA is putting out. For recording, you can't get a more exact tone on disc!


    But when you're listening through a better P.A. system, or a different set of active monitors, you're always going to get some amount of coloration from the sound system. Especially if one system is significantly better than another. Imagine playing a Bogner or other boutique amp head through a boutique 4x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion speakers, and then playing the same head through a 4x12" cabinet loaded with Eminence speakers. The amp will sound different—maybe you'll even hate it. But it's not that the amp sucks. In fact, it's not even that the Eminence speakers sucks—maybe that cabinet was sonically matched to a different amp head, and it sounds fantastic with that specific head.


    But I can definitely vouch that the SPDIF signal you hear is the unadulterated sound being produced by the KPA; the rest is the playback system.


    Orren

  • This is not a case of the Monitor speakers being that bad or something, I can A/B with the XLR/SPDIF on my Kemper and the SPDIF does not sound as good. Has a funny high end tinge thing going on, almost as if the sample rate isn't matched (it is). Every profile clips my SPDIF input without touching any levels, straight in. This has to be an incompatibility.

    I can record what I am talking about but its not nice to hear, just massive overloading of the input.


    I think I can record the high end digital noise thing I hear.. but I am not sure. Again, all this just vanishes when I use the XLR into the same sound cards balanced inputs.
    :cursing:

  • It does sound very odd. SPDIF is just digital IO, 0 is 0 and 1 is 1, (or 0% is 0% and 100% is 100%). There really shouldn't be any clipping going on, unless on the driver/control panel for your audio unit it's been set up to have additional gain (for example a non SPDIF option but I know that on the Pod HD control panel there's an option to boost he signal 18dB).


    Do you get clipping when in standalone mode? i.e. using hardware monitoring and not connected to the computer.


    Best if you do record and share and example of it, then at least Christoph will have something tangible to work with.

  • This is not a case of the Monitor speakers being that bad or something, I can A/B with the XLR/SPDIF on my Kemper and the SPDIF does not sound as good. Has a funny high end tinge thing going on, almost as if the sample rate isn't matched (it is). Every profile clips my SPDIF input without touching any levels, straight in. This has to be an incompatibility.

    I can record what I am talking about but its not nice to hear, just massive overloading of the input.


    I think I can record the high end digital noise thing I hear.. but I am not sure. Again, all this just vanishes when I use the XLR into the same sound cards balanced inputs.
    :cursing:


    Have you got you sound card set up to clock from the Kemper? So it should be in slave mode. Sounds like maybe you haven't. Just having the same sample rate is not much use if the clocks aren't synced.

  • Have you got you sound card set up to clock from the Kemper? So it should be in slave mode. Sounds like maybe you haven't. Just having the same sample rate is not much use if the clocks aren't synced.


    Yes absolutely, sound card is set to 44.1khz, slave mode, when I boot the Kemper I get a lock light turned on for SPDIF sync.
    I AM using hardware monitoring on the soundcard itself... I have plugged other devices into my soundcard before via SPDIF and never noticed problems with levels at all. I think it has to be something is incompatible. In fact I have never experienced clipping when doing my every day playing/mixing. Not like this at all!

  • What you hear might not be clipping but bad sync of your sound card.
    Post a clip on the forum if possible. Digital artefacts will easily detected by the ears of many forum members

  • well, now my issue has become less obvious, my subwoofer and crossover to my active monitor speakers died 2 days ago. It is possible that It was going bad all along..


    However, that does not matter, I can still make a few clips which I will do.