Noob here | How do I connect 4 Kemper Kone speakers ?

  • Hello Kemper team,


    I’ve purchased 4 kemper Kones and want to set this up using a an old 4x12 cab I purchased for $100.

    I’ve stripped the old Randall speakers out and ready to connect the wiring to the new Kones.


    1- Can I use the old wires that I bought with the cab? they look fine.


    2- I see in the manual I would need to connect in series if I’m not mistaken? What is the best way, mono or stereo?

    3- Anything else I’m missing?


    Thanks!

  • The KEMPER Kone comes with a piece of paper illustrating the cabling in configurations of two and four. These wiring schemes are also included in the Main Manual chapter dedicated to KEMPER Kone.

  • Thank you everyone!


    Last thing, is there any other settings in the Power Rack that I need to set once I plug into the 4x12?

    Also, since I now have 4, 200 watt speakers, when I turn up the volume, will the volume turn up louder quicker and louder than the 1x12 Kemper kab?


    FYI, I have set it up in mono as per the manual and followed the diagram! I bought a used 4x12 Randal cab for $100 and used the frame to build it and I just tested it through my Mesa head first (Sounded terrible which I believe is expected since this should be used only with Kemper) . BUT the sound works and everything is good.


    My Kemper is at our jam space so I’m looking forward to using it tomorrow and hopefully the sound will be excellent when I’m using the Kemper and not Mesa.

    Thanks!

  • Volume is dictated by the amount of energy coming from the amplifier, speakers don't generate any energy no matter what their power rating. If you've wired the Kones in series/parallel you'll have 4 ohms, which is the same as having 1 kone, so the volume response will be no different, but now with higher power handling capability. The main difference will be the "4x12" sound in a large cab as opposed to the "1x12" sound, it will be a more noticeable improvement with higher gain at higher volumes. Having more speakers just means the energy is being dissipated across all 4 speakers (equally if all speakers are the same ohm rating).

    Imprints on, monitor cab off. If you can hear a change as you select different imprints then you're good ?

    I'd suggest leave the power amp boost off, this will leave more headroom and better dynamics, particularly for clean sounds

  • because the power rack is 600 watts so I’m not sure how I can’t go louder than 200 watts if the head is 600.


    I understand the explanation of the speakers at 4 ohms and that the volume is just spread out equally like the 1x12.


    But why have a 600 watt power amp if I can’t use it passed 200 watts?


    Not saying I would need too go higher but just want to understand.

  • Right so when I push the volume to the max using the Rack using the 1x12 kab, it went to 200watts max.


    How would I get it to push to 300 or 400 watts with the 4x12 new set up?


    Or are you saying it can't go more than 200 watts because each speaker is 200 watts max? Sorry, just a little confusing!

  • You now have a cab with a power rating of 800 watts, so there's no realistic risk of blowing your speakers. Having said that, there's probably no realistic chance of blowing a single 200 watt speaker either.

    Imagine a 100 watt Mesa going in to a 200 watt cab at full tilt. There's no reason to believe you would damage your speakers in that scenario. Even though the Kemper's rated at 600w, there's no way your getting louder than that 100w Mesa on 10, comparing solid state power to tube amp power is definitely not apples and apples.


    For anyone with better technical knowledge than me, feel free to poke holes in my logic.


    P.S. Please don't anyone try to test which is louder at 10, you'll end up needing hearing aids :)||

  • So I used the amp set up for the first time and everything was fine until later during our jam my volume started to cut out and crackling. I turned it down completely and back up again and then it was fine for a few songs, then same issue happened.


    I tookd the screen off to check if one of speakers weee blown and everything looks normal:


    Is it possible that this can happen if either one of the wires I connected came off the speaker because of the vibrations?


    This issue should not happen no matter how loud I turn up the amp since the cab is supposed to handle all the volume from the Kemper power amp

  • Sounds like a bad connection, either speaker lead or cabinet wiring/socket. Don't fire it up again until you're confident all wiring is 100%, otherwise you risk damaging the power amp

  • Is it possible that because of the vibrations the wiring can be coming off it’s connector and resulting in sound loss?


    I didn’t solder them to the connecting points however I did make sure they are secure enough.


    I’ll definitely be checking this tomorrow and as for the way I connected the wiring. It’s correct as I had someone with experience double check my work so not to sure what else it could be.

    Derik