Kone 'directivity' question

  • Based on the name, I would have thought that increased (clockwise) setting of the Kone directivity setting narrowed the dispersion pattern. But, in working with it on stage last evening I had the distinct impression that increased setting broadened the pattern. Can someone from Kemper comment on which rotational sense (CW or CCW) results in more high-end when off-axis with the speaker?

  • From the manual:

    Quote

     Directivity

    The KEMPER Kone features a larger high-frequency dispersion than many traditional guitar speakers. This means that a real guitar speaker will sound duller than the KEMPER Kone when you position your ears away from the middle axis of the speaker. To compensate for this, you might like to adjust the color of the KEMPER Kone towards a “creamier” sound by lowering the Directivity parameter. A nice side-effect is that the on-axis sound will also lose some of the harshness associated with traditional guitar speakers. At Directivity set to maximum, the on-axis sound is identical to the original.

    ✓The Speaker Imprint and Directivity parameters are only available in Speaker Imprint mode, when Monitor Cab Off is active. Sweetening is only available in full-range mode and shares a soft knob with Directivity.

    So CW = more high end and CCW = less.

  • Thanks, Alan. After re-reading that paragraph (which I've seen already and couldn't make sense of) several times I agree with your interpretation. But it strikes me that the manual is not as clear as it might be. In English engineering terms "increased directivity" means "less spread" or less high-end in the off-axis response. I do not read or speak German, but perhaps this was one of those things that loses something in translation.

  • Nah, its the same contradiction in the German manual.

    "The KEMPER Kone features a larger high-frequency dispersion than many traditional guitar speakers. This means that a real guitar speaker will sound duller than the KEMPER Kone when you position your ears away from the middle axis of the speaker." so to compensate this you have to lower directivity. "At Directivity set to maximum, the on-axis sound is identical to the original"

    Hmmmm.... except that the Kone features a larger high dispersion..... :/


    I have a headache now.


    (there are several parts in the manual that f*ck with my brain in the same way)

  • There's no translation issue here, as directivity and "Richtwirkung" work in the same way. So yeah, I'm equally confused if increasing that parameter broadens the dispersion.


    Regarding the "Monitor Cab Off".... It makes perfect sense to me, as there's a little checkmark next to it. So it is: "Yes, turn it off". ;) Though working in the IT bubble, I might be way too used to logic that no sane, normal being would ever consider intuitive. ;D

    Stage user