Solved. Are my ears shot... Or is an atomic clr not the best choice?,

  • Hi all,

    I use an Atomic CLR as a monitor for my unpowered toaster, but struggle to get a decent sound out of it at higher volumes. On low volumes and with earphones all is wel.

    Almost all profiles are thin and fizzy. The only thing that works is a high pass filter at somewhere under 4000H z in an EQ slot. ?(

    I have read a lot of tips and followed them all. , but it seems my ears can only be pleased when the highs are rolled off as far as under 4000 Hz.

    Anyone else using an EQ as drastic as i am? :/

  • So have you finetuned your sound on low volumes in the first place?


    If yes then they won't translate for sure - try Search with "munson" for discussions regarding Fletcher-Munson phenomenon.

  • Will sound silly, but, check your monitor cab on/off switch, what you describe is how an amp sound without a cab, extreme amount of highs, that of course you can filter, but normally the cabs do that for you in a more natural way.

    The answer is 42

  • So have you finetuned your sound on low volumes in the first place?


    If yes then they won't translate for sure - try Search with "munson" for discussions regarding Fletcher-Munson phenomenon.

    I did. I got : No items matched your search terms: “munson”.

  • Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys?. I have set the switch accordingly to my use. For now i use it as a back line monitor and have set the switch to bl. In tilted mode it is easily to woofy.

    I will check in output and see if i can adjust it there saving a slot.

    Anyone out there cutting the highs as much as i do? Curious. ??

  • Its also possible that the CLR doesn't sound good to you. Just because it's popular and expensive doesn't mean it's perfect for everyone. A lot of people love Mission Engineering active cabs, and when I tried one, I didn't like it one bit. Also had a bad experience with another high end FRFR, the Friedman ASM-12. I ended up with a Laney FR-112, and it's great. I would say that if you keep having to fight it for good sound, then try something else out.

  • I think I have found my problem ?

    In the output menu I somehow maneged to highlight 'kone imprint' and now it is off it sounds way beter. The imprint sucked my tone and made it sound much too bright?

    I have discarded the imprint and I am now again very pleased with my sounds.? Still use HPF and LPF but way less drastic.

    Thank you all for sharing your thoughts ????

  • OP: from the discussion it seems likely that your issue is that you make your sounds at low volume; also, check for the cab placement in the room, specially if there're a lot of reflecting surfaces (naked walls, windows, large desktop(s), ceiling, floor... this will increase "disturbs" at the reflecting frequencies.


    Its also possible that the CLR doesn't sound good to you. Just because it's popular and expensive doesn't mean it's perfect for everyone. A lot of people love Mission Engineering active cabs, and when I tried one, I didn't like it one bit. Also had a bad experience with another high end FRFR, the Friedman ASM-12. I ended up with a Laney FR-112, and it's great. I would say that if you keep having to fight it for good sound, then try something else out.


    I know where you're coming from, but a linear cab is not like a guitar cab and, when properly designed and built, its function is to translate what the device amount outputs into moving air without colouring the tone.

    In this respect, if the outcome is unpleasant it's the profile that needs to be tweaked (provided that the placement and the room aren't adding some issues).


    The CLR is very linear and transparent; certainly there are some other so called "FRFR" cabs

    out there that aren't so much.

    I realise that if someone doesn't like the sound then they don't, but if what a user is after is a cab that faithfully translates the profile's sound, then they don't want a guitar cabinet's personality and should be using the most linear cab they can afford.
    I doubt there's something more linear and transparent than a CLR out there for the money.


    :)

    Still chasing a worthy one :/

  • I think you missed my whole point. People like what they like, regardless of how "linear and transparent" it is on paper. I was just saying that if he's having to fight it so much, maybe look for something he doesn't have to fight. I didn't see anything in the original post about looking for the most linear and transparent cab. He just wanted to sound good, which is subjective to everyone.

  • Nothing wrong with my ears or the CLR. Just a dumb users error, selecting an imprint. I must have hit the button somewhere over time by accident. Now deselected it sounds fine?

    I make my sounds in our rehearsel space for live use. And have to cut the highs to please my ears. Very subjectieve. Anyway I am enjoying my Kemper again so all is good??

  • I think you missed my whole point. People like what they like, regardless of how "linear and transparent" it is on paper. I was just saying that if he's having to fight it so much, maybe look for something he doesn't have to fight. I didn't see anything in the original post about looking for the most linear and transparent cab. He just wanted to sound good, which is subjective to everyone.

    I hear you, I am just pointing out a different perspective, if you will.

    If I decide to not use a guitar cab it's because I want the most faithful sound to what my KPA outputs with full profiles. I see no reason for spending money in a linear solution that's... not linear, and colours my tone outside my control: this way, I'd have to deal with three variables: how the profile was made, how I tweak it and the cab's sonic signature.


    Also, if I tweak on a linear system I am most likely to have to do the least adjustments when I use different PAs in different venues.


    As for the OP, he asked whether the CLR has an intrinsic issue: playing harsh at high volume. The answer is definitely not, because it is (for my experience, many's reports and by design) the most linear and transparent solution your money can get. Basically, if you don't like what comes out of a CLR (properly set and placed in the room), you are not liking what's coming out of your Profiler.
    OTOH, if the quest is for a cab that alters the sound in a way that one likes, that's another story; but the OP was about perspective issues in a CLR.

    :)

    Still chasing a worthy one :/

  • Hi there! I am a newbie but I tried to find a good solution for me and I have to agree with joshriggs. I did not buy the KPA for linear reasons only. I bought it, because I wanted to have a good sounding and versatile solution. I had a Headrush and it sounded great even if it was a 8" version. What I realized was, that this is not a guitar sounding solution, it is more of a studio sounding solution. Since I did not wanted to loose much of the linear part of it, I choose to try The Laney LFR 112 as it is something in between a real cab and a studio monitor. It is a real difference and I did not expect that. Is it good? I cannot say as good is subjective. To me it is more a guitar sound I was used to have but with all the advantage of the KPA. With the Headrush I had a cleaner studio sound, this is certainly nice to have but to me, not nice to jam with. Studio Monitors are made for Studio use and all the stuff you want to achieve in a Studio. The Laney to me is the best solution for just playing at home or with the band.


    I had a Studiotone 20 for many years and I did know every characteristic of its sound. I bought the Profile from a Studio, removed the Orange cab in the profile and there it is, my lovely Studiotone20 I had but even better. More balanced if I could describe it in a simple way.


    Hope this helps others to make their decisions as it is IMHO more about what you want to do with the KPA then what speakers are best but simply not ignoring the linear part of the game at all.