Poweramp for Kemper and Kabinet.

  • I went a different route with the power amp. I tried a Duncan 170 but as I also play a lot of jazz "chord melody", the 100% always on fan was too loud for my ears so it was either opt for the 700 which has a temperature controlled fan or find something else. I ended up with a Henriksen Forte head and couldn't be happier. This is the best tone I've had since buying the Kemper in 2012. I'm using a Tone Junkie Pro Reverb ( I own a early 70 SF Pro Reverb) profile with the Forte head into a Kemper Kone with the EV12 imprint. I couldn't be happier with the setup.

  • Has anybody here tried the Hotone Loudster? It does not provide that amount of power as the other solutions presented (70W, I think) but at about 140 Euros it seems to be the cheapest class D solution that isn't necessarily bad.

    Better have it and not need it, than need it and not have it! - Michael Angelo Batio

  • I went a different route with the power amp. I tried a Duncan 170 but as I also play a lot of jazz "chord melody", the 100% always on fan was too loud for my ears so it was either opt for the 700 which has a temperature controlled fan or find something else. I ended up with a Henriksen Forte head and couldn't be happier. This is the best tone I've had since buying the Kemper in 2012. I'm using a Tone Junkie Pro Reverb ( I own a early 70 SF Pro Reverb) profile with the Forte head into a Kemper Kone with the EV12 imprint. I couldn't be happier with the setup.

    Interesting setup - they claim loads of clean headroom for that thing.

    So do you bypass the Forte preamp sections? From what I gather, you could do this if the KPA go into the FX loop return of the Forte Head.

  • Has anybody here tried the Hotone Loudster? It does not provide that amount of power as the other solutions presented (70W, I think) but at about 140 Euros it seems to be the cheapest class D solution that isn't necessarily bad.

    check out the TCBAM 200. Quite a few of us on here are using that with great results, i got mine for around £100

  • check out the TCBAM 200. Quite a few of us on here are using that with great results, i got mine for around £100

    Interesting. I haven't considered this, yet, because it says it is a dedicated bass amp. Maybe an AB comparison with the Loudster will bring more light. I'll think about it and if I order both for comparison I'll come back to share.

    Better have it and not need it, than need it and not have it! - Michael Angelo Batio

    Edited once, last by Alienator ().

  • Interesting. I haven't considered this, yet, because it says it is a dedicated bass amp. Maybe an AB comparison with the Loudster will bring more light. I'll think about it and if I order both for comparison I'll come back to share.

    C Kemper himself was the one who mentioned it on here (thats why i considered it). There is a recent clip on here somewhere a poster compares his BAM200 with a fryette ps2 which is much more epensive, and some preferred the BAM200 over it anyway. A tube poweramp can add too much colour to a sound

  • Interesting setup - they claim loads of clean headroom for that thing.

    So do you bypass the Forte preamp sections? From what I gather, you could do this if the KPA go into the FX loop return of the Forte Head.

    I've tried both but I actually prefer direct in vs the FX loop, I just dial the tube saturation to minimal. It is a very flat amp. The benefit to going direct in is that it has a 5 band EQ so if something needs a bit of tweaking, I don't have to mess with the Kemper. As I mentioned I use this amp without the Kemper and it sound great for a SS amp. The video below is the Forte combo with pedals in the front end. I'm not Scott Lerner.

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  • FYI: The Power Station's depth and presence knobs should be turned all the way to the left if you want it flat. By putting them an noon, you are effectively making the tone scooped.

    With my tone knobs in the 5ish range through a PS-1 I seem to get the flattest response by having them at noon with both switches set to FLAT. Turning the knobs higher scoops it one way while turning them lower scoops them the other. Am I hallucinating?

    The older I get, the better I was.

  • Hi,


    I'm considering putting 4 Kones in a 4x12 stereo (L - two left speakers, R- two right speakers) and connect a stage to it via a poweramp..

    I plan to get a used Marshall (1960a probably) or Carvin cab, that already wired stereo I believe, 8 ohm on each side, which fits 4 ohm per speaker.


    Which affordable preamp would you recommend? As I see the most recommended poweramps on this thread (all the latest class D ones) are not stereo. Would like it to the most flat/transparent of course.


    Also, Is it a good idea to have stereo in one 4x12 cab? or will I encounter issues with this setup?


    Thanks!

  • Some cabs are wired with series/parallel/stereo switches from the factory. Stereo in a 4x12 is definitely a thing. Roland JC series are stereo in one cab (2x12 for JC120, 4x10 in the JC 160 - both have solid state stereo 2x60 watt power amps). You can retro-fit a jackplate that gives these options:

    Jack Plate plug and play stereo mono setup

    Stereo Icepower class D amps are available. SD PowerStage 700 does this pretty well in a compact package. It has tone controls, has no power brick (IEC connection) and a thermostatically controlled fan.

  • Some cabs are wired with series/parallel/stereo switches from the factory. Stereo in a 4x12 is definitely a thing. Roland JC series are stereo in on cab (2x12 for JC120, 4x10 in the JC 160). You can retro-fit a jackplate that gives these options:

    Jack Plate plug and play stereo mono setup

    Stereo Icepower class D amps are available. SD PowerStage 700 does this pretty well in a compact package. It has tone controls, has no power brick (IEC connection) and a thermostatically controlled fan.

    Thank you!

    I see that the Powerstage is quite expensive.. Anything more affordable (yet good)? :)

  • I think one of the problems is that everyone is looking for something different based on individual user needs... and there doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all solution presented thus far. It appears the basic requirements revolve around:


    100/115/120/230 V AC Power Supply

    Stereo/Mono

    50/100/200/400 Watts Class D Power

    4/8/16 ohm Switchable

    Pure Flat/FRFR EQ Curve

    Rack Mount/Unpowered Unit Retrofit/Pedal

    Low Price/High Quality/Technical Support


    Most of us can tick off the ones we want from the list but I don't think there is anything available that does it all. I'd imagine that Kemper is trying to decide what would be acceptable to most (if they haven't done so already) and incorporating that into a powered Kab.


    My Power Station is working well for me in the meantime with the Power Amp section of an Ethos Overdrive Amp and an EHX 44 Magnum in the batter's box.

    The older I get, the better I was.

  • Several alternatives are discussed in this thread - some rack units are used for this - eg a Palmer got a good rap in this thread as did the Matrix amps (800, 1000) also which are around second hand.

    https://www.palmer-germany.com…amplifiers/5188/macht-402

    https://usa.matrixamplification.com/gt-800-fx.html


    Pricing would depend on where you are I guess. Mono options are quite a bit cheaper - you could buy two ;)

    Thank you! Palmer Macht 402 looks good. I'll research more in this direction.

  • Good points there by ShadowJumper - not all amps will support 4 Ohm loads. Amps which distort the signal significantly are not a good match for the extended range of the Kone - even though they may be fine with a conventional cab.

  • All right, the Hotone Loudster has arrived and so far I am happy and can clearly recommend it. It is powerful, soundwise neutral and really not expensive! Right now I am satisfied and I don't see a need to compare it to something like the bam200 but maybe in the future (after a longer test under several conditions), who knows. But for now I will keep my small rig as it is: Stage-Loudster-Kone (and nothing more).

    Better have it and not need it, than need it and not have it! - Michael Angelo Batio

  • All right, the Hotone Loudster has arrived and so far I am happy and can clearly recommend it. It is powerful, soundwise neutral and really not expensive! Right now I am satisfied and I don't see a need to compare it to something like the bam200 but maybe in the future (after a longer test under several conditions), who knows. But for now I will keep my small rig as it is: Stage-Loudster-Kone (and nothing more).

    Looks a really good sensibly priced option and ideal for the stage.

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