Powered Kabinet... with higher power

    How much do you need? Because a 400 watt kabinet is not much louder than the 200 watt version. Anything more than 100 watts and you really need a stackable PA System so you can get to 5,000 watts.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Right now, I play my Kemper Stage with two unpowered Kabinets through a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700.

    If I changed that 700w gear for two powered Kabinets, power would obviously decrease from 700 to 200, and unfortunately, I need power since my drummer plays too loud.

    I'll be glad you let me know if I'm wrong about it.

    Thanks! ;)

    In your current rig, the wattage should be limited by the speaker admissible watt. The Kones are given for 200 Watts at 4 Ohms. I guess you don't use your Powerstage 700 at its maximum level or it should damage your speakers....


    I assume that this new configuration should change nothing.....

    Quote from toni dd

    Right now, I play my Kemper Stage with two unpowered Kabinets through a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700.

    If I changed that 700w gear for two powered Kabinets, power would obviously decrease from 700 to 200, and unfortunately, I need power since my drummer plays too loud.

    I'll be glad you let me know if I'm wrong about it.

    Thanks! ;)

    No, assuming you are running the Powerstage 700 in stereo with one side driving each Kabinet, you would reduce your amp potential power output from 1400w to 400w. If you are only using one side of the Powestage 700 and connecting the Kabinets in series you are only getting 350w output at 8ohms.


    Your speaker’s total power handling would remain at 400w (200w per speaker) regardless of amp or stereo/mono.


    As power output and volume are not linearly related the difference in actual volume in going from 1400w to just 400w will be pretty minimal. I’m not great with the formula for this stuff but basically doubling the power gets you an extra 3db level. 1400w isn’t even 4 times the power of a 400w setup. You need to multiply power by 10 (4000w in your case) to double volume but at that level you would melt the speakers anyway. To put that another way, you would need to reduce power by a factor of 10 to half your perceived volume.


    Decibels v watts



    if you need more than 400w capacity you are playing too loud and will be deaf within the next year or two. Once gone you can’t get your hearing back (take that from someone with some hearing loss and constant tinnitus from standing next to a loud drummer, 5 piece horn section and a mere 100w of Mesa Dual Rectifier for too many years).

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    No, assuming you are running the Powerstage 700 in stereo with one side driving each Kabinet, you would reduce your amp potential power output (...)

    Yes, I'm running the Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700 in stereo into two unpowered Kabinets.


    Quote from Steve5478

    In your current rig, the wattage should be limited by the speaker admissible watt. The Kones are given for 200 Watts at 4 Ohms. I guess you don't use your Powerstage 700 at its maximum level or it should damage your speakers....

    I'm running the Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700 in stereo at medium level, could it damage the Kabinets?


    Thanks everyone.

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    if you need more than 400w capacity you are playing too loud and will be deaf within the next year or two. Once gone you can’t get your hearing back (take that from someone with some hearing loss and constant tinnitus from standing next to a loud drummer, 5 piece horn section and a mere 100w of Mesa Dual Rectifier for too many years).

    Thanks for the wise advise, I've been rehearsing and playing with earprotection since a couple of years ago.

    OK, if you are running the Powerstage 700 in stereo at a “medium level” then you aren’t using the full 1400w potential power. Running 2 x200w a little harder will probably be just as loud as your current rig based on the power v decibels equation.


    In answer to your question about could you damage your speakers, the answer is possibly. It all depends on how hard you run the PS700 and for how long any peaks above the speaker’s capacity last.


    The built in 600w amp is way to much for most things a guitarist will ever need. However, bass frequencies need a lot more power so the 600w capacity makes the KPA a viable bass amp too when used with suitable speakers. I am sure the 200w in the powered Kabinet will be enough for most things and using a pair would be mentally loud.

    Quote from toni dd

    Right now, I play my Kemper Stage with two unpowered Kabinets through a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700.

    If I changed that 700w gear for two powered Kabinets, power would obviously decrease from 700 to 200, and unfortunately, I need power since my drummer plays too loud.

    I'll be glad you let me know if I'm wrong about it.

    Thanks! ;)

    You are wrong about it :)


    I think there is definitely something wrong in your set up.


    I have the powerrack and run an unpowered Kabinet, which has a max of 200 watts. I play in a hair metal band and our drummer is very loud.


    I cannot get above 50 watts without it physically hurting, definately louder than ANY drummer no matter how hard they hit. I can easily keep up with 100W valve heads with 4 x12's.


    I can't believe you can even close to 200 watts let alone 400 or even 700 watts.


    Check you output volumes first.


    In addition, I assume you are only taking about on stage monitoring and you are not trying to use this for your FOH? I ALWAYS put guitars through the PA.

    On average, an acoustic drumkit can reach between 90dB to 130dB, on a sound meter at drummer’s ears levels. So, unless your cabinet is right next to the drummer at the height of his ears then you will always be loud enough. Unless the drummer is mic'd to FOH and you are not, or if the Sound Engineer has you turned down.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Like 1
    Quote from toni dd

    Yes, I'm running the Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700 in stereo into two unpowered Kabinets.


    I'm running the Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700 in stereo at medium level, could it damage the Kabinets?


    Thanks everyone.

    Please read the chapter KEMPER Kone in the Main Manual. It explains, what power amp wattage is and what it does and how to prevent damaging the chassis.

    I call it amateur!.. these guys are too stupid to let the PA do the work, got to crank that fender twin to 8 and blow everyone in the venue and the people on stage away because the guy needs to heard, all while he has ear plugs in and the sound man is like “ what the F!”… 😆 there is a steel guitar player in this town that does that, and I’m not naming names.

    Quote from steelguitar

    typical of amateur/ weekend warrior musicians . Real musicians that are professional/working for a living musicians aren’t going put up with that shit..These are the ones that sit at home wondering why they can’t stay working. Get a clue!..Rock Star!

    We played a gig at a venue as the main act so we sound checked, both using our Kempers...on stage volume was really comfortable...


    Support act sound checked.... guitarist ran 2 amps, JCM800 and a Fender something as a slave, both on and cranked right up... It was crazy loud, sound engineer was having kittens and the guitarist was just feeding back all the time and couldn't understand why....dufus!


    Seriously, in most cases its about matching the drummer but even very loud drummers do not justify crazy guitar volume. What I find even funnier is guitarists having crazy volume because they are on a small stage, on top of their amp and the sound blows through their legs and rips the face of the person standing at the front of the stage.


    TBH, I hate creeping volume more...for many years I was guilty of this....constantly turning up during a gig because the sound had dulled due to your ears getting ravaged. for some reason I never feel the need to do this since the KPA.


    Having such on stage volume I think is driven by:

    1) Macho-ism - Look how loud I am, louder makes me more of a rockstar

    2) Some obsession to be the loudest on stage so you can hear yourself above everything else. I don't get this as I like to hear my guitar in context. If its too loud, it puts me off, mainly because I can hear all my mistakes!

    3) Valve amps do sound better loud - can't deny this :)

    I use IE monitoring most of the time now. In 2022 those killed by loudness issues are so stone age (imho), no matter how much of a rocker you are. It is all about knowing what you do and how good you can contribute to a band sound as a guitarist. There are millions of courses and videos in our days. Behaving like you live in the 70s is not that cool.

    Better have it and not need it, than need it and not have it! - Michael Angelo Batio

    Like 4

    this thread was getting a bit out of hand. I removed three posts to calm things down.
    We will not tolerate attacks / aggression towards other members of this forum.
    The people involved (you know who you are) would benefit from reading other threads to see what kind of posts make up this forum.
    Be polite, be kind, please.