I am a late to the party Kemper user. I previously spurned it because of it's looks and thought that in a year or two there would be a gen 2 gen 3 etc that I would always be wanting and unsatisfied with my current unit. I thought I would wait until a few versions, then pick up a discounted older model. When it came out, I was thinking about it but bought an ENGL and an EVH instead thinking their value as a tube amp would stay relatively in tact..(My taste has changed & I find myself loving the looks now, like an old steampunk toaster or radio) I didn't like all the busy front panel buttons but now that I see the functionality it's simple and easy to get around on for the most part. I'm pretty sure I'll be selling all my gigging amps and just hanging on to my vintage collection. My tube amps still sound good but I just can't justify keeping them laying around, I'll never profile them, I'll let others do that for me.
I was prompted to write this after recently an interview with the owner/designer and was blown away by his thought process & methods. He indicated that modelers always had someone picking on them saying this or that isn't quite right so to get around that he built a device that if the sound isn't what you want it's on YOU not him. Brilliant. Same thing in a way with the Kones, instead of building cabs that someone would always want another color, size,port etc, he's just doing a speaker so again, you can have it your way. Genius, really.
Such a different and fresh way of thinking, it's really easy to like a company that focused on giving you a tool that can give you what you want instead of being driven by greed.
I have had some minor quibbles about some things about the unit here & there, but after seeing that the company isn't some huge greedy stock conglomeration, I forgive them for any shortcomings (like tap tempo & flashing lights etc.) and am grateful for this amazing tool that Kemper obviously made not just to make money but to serve the individual buyer. Instead of coming up with V1, V2 V3 hardware etc. devaluing older units (like Line 6,Fractal etc. etc. etc) He built KPA to stay current with software upgrades that have been successful and beneficial to Kemper because they don't have to do re figuration /design /testing/production of new hardware and can give users something new with constant updates and upgrades. Again, brilliant. After seeing that I love my KPA even more. Morally, Kemper changed the way to do business that benefits users and manufacturer not constantly coming out with "new and improved" models that you have to get to keep up with the Joneses. Smartest thing really is if it sounds bad, it's not the designer's fault, it's the user. I have seen many videos with tube snobs that had their favorite amp profiled and picked the Kemper over it in a blind test claiming it sounded better. Many many people with some great ears were "fooled" so you can't comment negatively on the quality of sound. The capability is there, it's up to you now. Sounds like "crap"? You're doing something wrong.
Although I had doubts if I was doing the right thing buying a "old" unit like this (Figuring as soon as I do V2 will come out as usually happens to me) I just treat it like an old Plexi. They sound great (sometimes) and no one complains about them being passé or wonder if they are still relevant in 2021. Good sound will always remain good sound and If the KPA can be so close to a Plexi that the owner of the amp can't tell the difference, The Kemper theoretically should be relevant forever. Fantastic.
