So basically if you own a non-powered Kemper and thought you could upgrade, you can't

    Quote from lightbox

    Let someone try to come across as harsh as you are:


    Sell your KPA, get a competitors product, so you find some peace ... and we as well. ;)
    As was said before: Most of the users are VERY happy with this amazing product. But they are not as vocal as those who try to make it look like a desaster ready for Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room on CNN.


    Just my few cents,
    Martin



    I am VERY happy with the KPA, with Kemper, and the value of what the KPA delivers versus what I paid.


    I'll add my harshness as well:


    Excuse me but you guys are a bunch of whiners....get over it. Buy a Camplifier or sell your KPA...or just move along....


    CK chooses to speak about possible future upgrades and delivers on some, not others. That's life. He now says that was a mistake because of the whining idiots, who are ruining this open dialog the rest of us enjoy. GROW UP!


    Blast me if you like but I'm just saying what we all know is true.


    bd

    I personally like the way CK developed the KPA with added hardware features. This way I know I won't be having to buy a KPA II anytime soon. and the KPA is still a fantastic unit right now... and its just beginning to grow out of its infancy. Well done CK and Company.
    I think CK did a pretty good thing to help rectify the situation.

    The Kemper Profiling Amp is the best musical invention since the Electric Guitar and the Marshall Amp .

    Edited once, last by Laker ().

    You guys (those who are whining about this ) are making me sad..you are NEVER satisfied...When you bought the KPA there was no amp inside..does that kept you from loving it ? No...
    It's not like there are no alternative to this..I'm the one who showed the Matrix proto and it may or may not happen too..but still you got tons of options and full range is where it's at. No guitar cab will give you the full potential of the KPA..just get active cabinets and you get the best ,the easiest to carry/manage solution ..but for God's sake stop complaining about things not critical !

    No biggie for me. A little disappointed, true, but really nothing that will make me curl into fetal position in a corner of the room. Governments, local and international regulations in business is a maze of suprises and weird sh*t.


    I cannot be angry at Kemper to have aimed high with good intentions only to be let down by these laws and regulations after the fact. I am sure they didn't even think to be let down by the authorities and feel pretty bad to be the ones having to announce this to their early adopters.


    Honestly, Kemper didn't even have to offer a rebate but some will complain how low the rebate is.
    Some would still have complained even if Kemper would have just asked for the difference in price between the old and new kemper and asked customers to pay for shipping. Some feel entitled to everything and start bashing if they don't get it. There is really no way that Kemper would be able to make amends to people with this mentality. Even having everything exchanged and upgraded for free, they would still feel bitter and bad mouth the company...


    Anyway, I wanted to say that I willingly bought a piece of gear with a hole in the back, unused buttons and future options with the hope that some of those absent features might eventually become reality.


    The most important feature of all is already there, years ahead of the competition, and is what made us buy the KPA in the first place.


    The rest, to me, is just bonus. I have had the KPA for just a little more than 3 months now and the amount of new features in such a short timespan is pretty amazing. In fact, I have not enough time to absorb the new stuff as fast as I would like to.


    One last thing about the value of our "old" KPAs going down because of new versions are coming out... I think this is bullocks. As time goes by, it gets down, that's a fact as with everything in retail. Just look at how fast any smartphone becomes obsolete about every 8 months if not faster. You cannot ask for a company to stop its own growth and perenety because the customers who already bought one of its product will become upset... This is non-sense.


    Programmed obsolescence (like smartphones) is really evil but in the case of Kemper I don't feel that it is the case at all looking at the new features still coming for their old customers for free and also looking at the history of the Virus synth line of products.

    I can see folks being disappointed. There has been an offer of money off on a powered unit and it is an attempt to make accommodation. It might be less than some want, but it is an offer to assist.


    One can still choose to be disappointed or try to work something to their satisfaction. A different amp perhaps.


    If there is an issue with passing standards, it is not a pleasant deal for Kemper either.


    It wasn't a factor to me at any point. A powered unit just doesn't interest me.

    since things are getting a bit out of hand, i'd like to remind you what this thread was originally about:


    the fact that you CAN NOT upgrade a non-powered kemper profiling amplifier to a powerhead.


    this is a fact, no matter how you look at it. the 300€ rebate may represent an option for many. i also see CKs point about "what if the unit hadn't a hole in the back in the first place". if this was the case, then nobody would have expected to be able to upgrade to a build-in poweramp like it was announced from the early beginning.


    the rest of this thread is mostly personal opinions on the matter. mine is, that kemper did not handle the "upgrade" situation properly, and that's what i wanted to express in this thread. the fact that kemper does not show interest in selling the poweramp for the users to install it at their own risk, is also a letdown. a lot of users here are handy with electronics and would be easily capable of doing this upgrade with no or very little support needed from kemper.


    as for now, i'm considering two options: 1) trying the camplifier. 2) building my own poweramp

    Quote from Laker

    I personally like the way CK developed the KPA with added hardware features. This way I know I won't be having to buy a KPA II anytime soon. and the KPA is still a fantastic unit right now... and its just beginning to grow out of its infancy. Well done CK and Company.
    I think CK did a pretty good thing to help rectify the situation.


    Totally agree!

    I am sorry, but I don't feel sympathetic at all towards guys like Against-it and EmpireNine.
    Statements like "just another rip-off" are insulting to Christoph and annoying to read for the reasonable adult forum member PLUS: simply not true.


    Someone who claims, he "bought the KPA mainly because of the possibility to add a power amp later" is nothing more, but an awful storyteller; and really not that smart.


    CK was honest and told us his plans, his intentions. The PA was never more than an option. Well sometimes plans simply don't work out. In business and in private life. Deal with it reasonably and stop bitching!


    The offered discount is fair.
    The whole situation calls for a: "Would have been nice, TY for the offer".


    just my 2 € (no sales tax included)
    H

    90% of the game is half-mental.

    Quote from lightbox

    Let someone try to come across as harsh as you are:


    Sell your KPA, get a competitors product, so you find some peace ... and we as well. ;)
    As was said before: Most of the users are VERY happy with this amazing product. But they are not as vocal as those who try to make it look like a desaster ready for Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room on CNN.


    Just my few cents,
    Martin

    Agreed. I rarely post and am very much a happy user along for the ride. I also enjoy the updates/surprises and welcome an open dialogue even if I get let down every once in awhile.



    It's a legal issue and a major warranty issue. For one if something goes wrong they do have to fix it, at least for the power amp. Legally most companies HAVE to have a warranty and that is tricky for self installs. After filing all the paperwork, shipping, overhead, labor, etc. he is also not wrong that selling it and receiving a discount is far easier for everyone involved.


    Secondly, I have a feeling that the numbers are much lower than units sold currently who are capable and/or want to install it themselves. Under such a plan it is plausible that it wouldn't be profitable and if something goes wrong, even if you don't demand reparations, it makes them look bad and it is NOT their fault.


    From beginning to end if I were in CK's shoes I would have done nothing different though including the early assertions.

    Quote from StealthAMD

    The most important feature of all is already there, years ahead of the competition, and is what made us buy the KPA in the first place.

    :thumbup:


    Quote

    just get active cabinets and you get the best ,the easiest to carry/manage solution .

    That is an interesting point! Would anybody think of buying a synthesizer with a built in poweramp? Electronically it does not make much sense to include the amp into the KPA. In a tubeamp it does, ok. But in digital/solid state equipment it is much more important to perfectly match the poweramp to the speaker. This speaks for active fullrange speakers. Which IMHO is the best solution. It is also lighter. If you carry your KPA along as cabin luggage it is just tightly within the weight regulations of the airlines. Why then add a poweramp to it? The powered Profiler is mostly a concession to old, strange traditions in the guitar world.


    Only advantage: one power cabel less
    Disadvantages: heat accumulation, more weight, again this fuzz with don't confuse speaker cables and line/guitar cables, no hidden place where to put your strap-on ;)

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

    A 300€ discount on the KFC would probably mean selling it at loss, and wouldn't solve the fact that you'll still be sitting without a power amp.....

    "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" Serghei Rachmaninoff


    Quote from EmpireNine


    The non-powered version has lost its second-hand value (monetary and perceived) because it can no longer be upgraded - that's just how it works. I have experienced it first-hand where a touring guitarist doesn't want to buy it now for this very reason.


    It was never our intention to give your Profiler an added value over those that are sold today.
    The upgrade resp. the discount is addressed to those that would have bought a powered version at first place, but we new the availability would take months.
    It is a "Thank You" to those that did not wait to purchase it.


    This is why we will accept orders for a limited time only.

    Quote from ckemper

    It was never our intention to give your Profiler an added value over those that are sold today.
    The upgrade resp. the discount is addressed to those that would have bought a powered version at first place, but we new the availability would take months.
    It is a "Thank You" to those that did not wait to purchase it.


    This is why we will accept orders for a limited time only.


    Thanks again for the clarification. Again, to everyone, I'm not trying to be rude or cause arguments. I just couldn't find any decent clarification on why this is not possible, or why KPA-Solutions can do the Camplifier and Kemper can't.


    I do respect Christoph and the Kemper team, as what we currently have is pretty phenomenal regardless. The next time, I will just get the power amp version - no worries :)

    Quote from EmpireNine

    I love my Kemper, but there is a constant feeling of being deflated at buying it sometimes. I went for the non-powered version because I thought ok, I will buy the power amp later.


    We was told you can upgrade it down the line. A little while later - sorry, you have to send it off, but it costs a fortune. Finally, we are told we can't upgrade at all and offered the most impractical rebate ever. Yeah, sell it and get another one and we will give you some money off. What a kick in the teeth for the early adopters.


    Exactly how I feel. Glad that the Camplifier exists. When the time comes for me to add an amp, that's what I'll be getting.


    It's a good thing the unit sounds so amazing, or I'd be tempted to go a different route.

    No question, the unit sounds fabulous. No question, there are some great updates and features.


    Most of all....great people in this forum for lots of help and ideas!

    However, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who was a bit ticked off with this announcement as well. Very poor decision making from CK et al.


    I'm also not going to wait another year for a footboard as seems to be indicated. Still have no performance mode more than a year later. I'm not into a bandaid solution at this point so I figured I would cut my loss. I didn't want a Kemper and an amp. I wanted one solution that I could use with my 4x12 cab. I wasn't happy with the current FRFR out there and wasn't willing again to wait for another 12 weeks for the popular solution, CLR. Tried several poweramps through my cab and there was just something missing and I don't see the point of that if you aren't using the cab modelling that was attached to the profiles.


    Thankfully I was able to sell my Kemper for a good value and recoup my losses.


    I have since moved on to a solution that does in fact sound better to my ears and I'm completely happy with it as it gives me exactly what I was after.


    The biggest issue with the Kemper is that you are at the mercy of whoever profiles the amp/cab. You can switch cabs from other profiles but in the end, it tends to all end up sounding the same to me. Personally, I'd like to be able to switch different mics, positions, distance, etc. I realize this was not the intention of the Kemper unit. I should have went with my current solution I have instead.


    Lesson learned. Mistake made, I'll move on.

    Quote from Will_Chen


    Again, if you buy a product based on the hope new features/add ons will be added, you bought it for the wrong reasons and have set yourself up for disappointment.


    That would be a true statement if there hadn't been an official statement from the company right on their product page saying that an upgrade process to fit the power amp would be in place. I purchased a non-powered head based on that information. It was misleading, and no rebate on a new product is going to make it better. If I go to sell my unpowered head right now, it's going to be competing with a glut of other non-powered KPA's on eBay that otherwise wouldn't have been there if an upgrade path had existed, and my sale price will be reduced accordingly.


    Sorry, very bad business on Kemper's part.