Is it worth buying a Kone to replace a EVL12M ?

  • Hello,


    I built a Thiele cabinet and bought a EVL12M. I use it with the Kemper Stage and it is very good. I use the imprints and it is good, but I wonder if it could be better with the Kemper Kone.


    Does anybody know ?


    Thanks.

  • The EV12L is one speaker but a good one in that cab. The imprints give the impression of a range different speakers installed in that cab. If that diversity sounds appealing you could give it a try. Many of us seem to be pretty happy with the Kone from all reports.


    The other thing is that the Kone also functions as a quasi flat response monitor so you can play backing tracks through it as well as hearing full studio profiles through it with the cabs baked in. The Thiele cab has a particular frequency response - that response will be applied to everything coming out of the cab. There is some scope to tweak the response using the parameters that are there to adjust the Kone's response. If you think everything is too bassy, you could get if off the floor.

  • The EV12L is one speaker but a good one in that cab. The imprints give the impression of a range different speakers installed in that cab. If that diversity sounds appealing you could give it a try. Many of us seem to be pretty happy with the Kone from all reports.


    The other thing is that the Kone also functions as a quasi flat response monitor so you can play backing tracks through it as well as hearing full studio profiles through it with the cabs baked in. The Thiele cab has a particular frequency response - that response will be applied to everything coming out of the cab. There is some scope to tweak the response using the parameters that are there to adjust the Kone's response. If you think everything is too bassy, you could get if off the floor.

    Thank you for your answer.


    I use the EVM12L the same way than the Kone : for backing tracks and with imprints for the Kemper. The EVM12L is pretty flat, I wonder if I would hear a big difference with the Kone, used in the same way.

  • The Kone, just as a driver, driven by just any old poweramp is far from flat. It is only able to render a more or less flat response by the application of some carefully tailored Eq. This Equalisation is performed by the DSP of the Kemper which assumes, in Kone mode, that is compensating for the skewed response of the Kone which is a known quantity.


    If you apply Kone mode processing to any other driver, you will not get the intended result BUT you might like it/find it useful anyway.

  • Your speaker can be very good but it always delivers the same range of frequencies and the same way.

    I mean if you take a Jensen, you gonna say that the clean sound is very good so it has no incidence on the final sound, it's neutral.

    If you put a Marshall simulation, the sound gonna be harsh and won't sound like a greenback. Cause it doesn't have the same behaviour as the crunchy one...

    The Kone and Kone's parameters/Imprints on the Stage have been worked on to deliver the closer sound of each non-miced speaker.


    One more thing ; What amplifier do you use ? If you want the best result a class D is recommended ! ;)

  • The Kone, just as a driver, driven by just any old poweramp is far from flat. It is only able to render a more or less flat response by the application of some carefully tailored Eq. This Equalisation is performed by the DSP of the Kemper which assumes, in Kone mode, that is compensating for the skewed response of the Kone which is a known quantity.


    If you apply Kone mode processing to any other driver, you will not get the intended result BUT you might like it/find it useful anyway.

    I have both and I prefer the Kone. The EV is and always was too bright for me (I took it out of my MkII Boogie 40 odd years ago)


    The other benefit, not mentioned above, is the weight! The difference is considerable and your back will thank you for it!

  • Thank you all for your answers.


    I know what you'are saying, I know well how to use the Kone. I have a Behringer A800 poweramp (class D), very neutral.


    I was not clear enough : I just wanted to know if anybody would have tried both Kone and EVM12L.

  • I have a pair of Mesa Theile cabs with EVM12L as well as Kemper Kabinet with a Kone. Unfortunately , I haven’t tried both speakers in the same cabinet so can’t give you a direct apples to apples comparison.


    My observations are :


    I used the EVM12L with both Rectifier and Mark Series Mesas for 25 years. Although I used to have a 1971 Marshall 412 with Pre-Rola Greenbacks I never liked it and always used the EVM12L so I know it pretty well and love it as a speaker.


    Side but sid (albeit in very different cabinets) the Kone EVM12L imprint definitely has the flavour of the real thing but the original was still better to my ears. I have a feeling that a large part of that was the Theile cabinet though.


    Power rating is pretty similar but if I was really slamming it I would trust the EV to take the punishment better than almost anything else. However, it is virtually to get a stage volume loud enough to worry about that anymore (which is a good thing in my book) so power handling is a non issue.


    the weight (or rather lack of it) is a massive benefit from the Kabinet. If you use it in a Theile cabinet the weight will be closer but the Kone will still be significantly lighter than an EVM12L. To be fair a fully grown Rhino is probably lighter than the EV.


    The EV isn’t even close to a flat speaker so running imprints with it doesn’t sound anything like using the Kone.


    If you want the flexibility of running different speaker imprints tue Kone is a no brainer. However, if you like the EVM12L, don’t need to change speakers from rig to rig and don’t mind the weight I would stick with the real thing. For me I like the the different speaker options and LOVE the lack of weight so I use the Kabinet for a stage monitor at rehearsals or gigs (still going straight to FOH and getting most monitor via IEM). For home use I don’t even plug the Kabinet in and just use my studio monitors all the time.


    Hope that helps a little.

  • Thank you very much, it is the review that I was looking for.


    I thought the EVM12L was flat, because its primary use was in FOH. And I use my Thiele cab to listen music in my computer ...


    Maybe the Kone would be better for me.