Poweramp suggestions for the Kabinet

  • Hello!

    I am thinking of buying the Camplifier Studio to play with the Kemper Kabinet. Do you know how good it works with the Kabinet?

    Thanks!

    Very good I believe. I went the whole hog and bought the Camplifier 280.

    Simply a fantastic add on to the unpowered Kemper when played through a Kabinet or Kone.

    'You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead' - Stan Laurel

  • For reference I have tried Camplifier 290 stereo (older version), ISP Stealth Pro stereo, and Seymour Duncan SD700 stereo.

    Also for reference, and as you can see I want to run stereo Kabinets when it is convenient.


    The Camplifier is 2x90w @ 4ohm or bridged 180w @ 8ohm. It is clean and pristine class D power, and super handy being built into the back of an unpowered toaster.

    What I found is that in order to get gig volume I need to crank the Kemper output and pin the Camplifier volume knob to 10. Not a lot of headroom left.


    The ISP Stealth Pro is clean 75w @ 4ohm, and 140w bridged @ 8ohm. This is a class A/B power amp. To me it sounds as good as the Camplifier (some don't agree). To my ears it provides maybe 5% more volume, but still you need to crank the Kemper output.


    The Seymour Duncan SD700 is a powerhouse. 700w @ 4ohm per side. It uses the Icepower modules that Kemper uses in the powered toaster/rack. There is absolutely no problem with headroom here. Kemper at stock 12 o'clock/-12db and the SD700 at 12 o'clock gives me all I will ever need for my cover/rock band.


    I'm guessing that the Kone rated at 200w is not as efficient as regular 25/50w guitar speakers, which may account for needing to crank the Camplifier and ISP up so high. I'm not sure about that, it's just an observation.


    So... In the end I'm using the SD700 as my daily driver with the Camplifier as backup. If the SD700 failed at a gig/practice I'll put the Kabinets in series and run on the Camplifier bridged.


    Both the Camplifier and ISP are perfectly suitable for home use along with a band who's drummer isn't too loud. They both sound awesome. They're probably just fine for a player just using the Kabinet as monitor along with the mains going to FOH. I use my Kabinets as my sole source/backline. Everyone has a different scenario/use case.

    Also, the new Camplifier SHP and 280 would be perfect as well IMHO. Lots of power there.