Celestion F12-X200 vs. Celestion K12H-200TC vs. Kemper Kone

    Hi guys, sorry for a ll the dumb questions as of late but I am really on the fence and need some expert advice before making any impulse purchases.


    I have finally setup my Kemper Stage and paired it with a 100w Alesis power amp and a Marshall 2x12 cab with 30w's in there.
    It can get very loud which is a great thing and I have also tested this out with an older Marshall 400w power amp, now that is super loud.

    But here is where I start to get Gear Acquisition Syndrome and daydream about speakers for the cabinet, suppose my main concern is the comparison between the Celestion F12-X200 vs. Celestion K12H-200TC vs. the Kemper Kone (maybe there are other speakers I am not aware of but these seem to be the main 2 ones out there that I read about).

    1. If a cab has Kemper Kone's loaded does that mean you are only married to the Kemper amp (and a Marshall 100w or any other head will not sound the same?)

    2. If a cab has Celestion F12-X200's or Celestion K12H-200TC loaded will the cab will be more usable across all amps and not just Kemper (or since these are rated at such a high 200 wattage, will a Marshall 100w head sound to clean and punchy with no breakup like a 30w Greenback would deliver?).

    Please advice on pros and cons of each speaker?
    I like what I am getting from the 30w Celestion's but somehow feel I am missing the finer details of what a profiled amp has to offer and most high gain rigs are just starting to sound the same after listening to a 100 or so of them so far and most of them are sort of fizzy and not too attractive to the ear.


    My biggest hope is that by loading up new speakers the high gain profiles would just sound better... Am I wrong about this? lol

    Thank you yet again. :saint:

    Edited once, last by halipino ().

    Hmmm...

    All three speakers are built for modelling devices, with the Kone being exclusively Kemper for the Imprints.

    I don't think any of them would be a good choice for a regular guitar amp.

    That being said I'm a fan of the Kone. I bought a Kabinet and got another cabinet made to house a Kone.

    Zero regrets.

    Quote from dmatthews

    Hmmm...

    All three speakers are built for modelling devices, with the Kone being exclusively Kemper for the Imprints.

    I don't think any of them would be a good choice for a regular guitar amp.

    That being said I'm a fan of the Kone. I bought a Kabinet and got another cabinet made to house a Kone.

    Zero regrets.

    I see, so no matter what there is no looking back and the cab is dedicated for the Kemper and no longer good for a regular amp?
    Is the sound a quantum leap different than using 30w's?

    Quote from halipino

    I see, so no matter what there is no looking back and the cab is dedicated for the Kemper and no longer good for a regular amp?
    Is the sound a quantum leap different than using 30w's?

    Well that would be somewhat subjective I suppose.

    A good FRFR type of speaker will open up a world of tones that a regular guitar speaker just can't/won't do.

    FRFR will let you hear the speaker that the rig was profiled with, so much more versatile to be sure.

    The Kone goes a step further, letting you pick the speaker type of your choosing, or let you choose a speaker imprint of your choice per rig.

    And... the Kabinet gives you the amp in the room feel back that most FRFR speakers don't provide.

    Quote from dmatthews

    Well that would be somewhat subjective I suppose.

    A good FRFR type of speaker will open up a world of tones that a regular guitar speaker just can't/won't do.

    FRFR will let you hear the speaker that the rig was profiled with, so much more versatile to be sure.

    The Kone goes a step further, letting you pick the speaker type of your choosing, or let you choose a speaker imprint of your choice per rig.

    And... the cgives you the amp in the room feel back that most FRFR speakers don't provide.

    Thx, re: "the Kabinet gives you the amp in the room feel back that most FRFR speakers don't provide."

    Are you saying the Kabinet is more special somehow than say loading up Kones in my own 2x12 cab?

    Quote from halipino

    Thx, re: "the Kabinet gives you the amp in the room feel back that most FRFR speakers don't provide."

    Are you saying the Kabinet is more special somehow than say loading up Kones in my own 2x12 cab?

    no


    the Kone itself is the secret sauce rather than the cabinet it/they are loaded in. The intention is that the Kone with imprints should sound like the imprinted speaker (V30, Greenback etc) in the same cabinet. The cabinet plays a significant part in the overall tone. If you like a closed back 1x12 then the Kabinet could be a good choice. If you like, say, an open back 2x12 then the Kabinet wouldn’t be an ideal choice. In either case the imprints should make the Kone sound like the selected speaker(s) mounted in the same cabinet. You can fight physics.

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    no


    the Kone itself is the secret sauce rather than the cabinet it/they are loaded in. The intention is that the Kone with imprints should sound like the imprinted speaker (V30, Greenback etc) in the same cabinet. The cabinet plays a significant part in the overall tone. If you like a closed back 1x12 then the Kabinet could be a good choice. If you like, say, an open back 2x12 then the Kabinet wouldn’t be an ideal choice. In either case the imprints should make the Kone sound like the selected speaker(s) mounted in the same cabinet. You can fight physics.

    Understood. Ok, so the Kone is superior to the Celestion choices it sounds like? If it cleans up the fizzy sound of most high gain rigs I'd be happy.

    ^^^What Alan said.^^^

    Loading Kones into your 2x12 is exactly why they sell them as singles, pairs, or 4 together.

    The only caveat being that the 2x12 won't work well for a regular amp any more.

    Celestion has a new modeling speaker F12M-150. M is for Modeling and has a triple cone design. I think it's an upgrade to their K12. Any FRFR speaker is limited to modeling amps and *maybe* can be used on some clean solid state amps. Using one on a tube amp will be BLAH! I have the Kabinet with my Profiler and am totally satisfied with that.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Like 1
    Quote from BayouTexan

    Celestion has a new modeling speaker F12M-150. M is for Modeling and has a triple cone design. I think it's an upgrade to their K12. Any FRFR speaker is limited to modeling amps and *maybe* can be used on some clean solid state amps. Using one on a tube amp will be BLAH! I have the Kabinet with my Profiler and am totally satisfied with that.

    Power kab?