New user - couple of questions

    Hi folks,


    I'm getting my first KPA today, I have been reading the user guides and this forum but still had a few questions that I'm hoping you can help with.


    I reckon 90% of the time I will be using headphones along with the aux inputs to play along with a backing track, I found an old pair of Sennheiser HD595's lying around that I've hardly used, not sure how flat they are in terms of sound reproduction but they will do to start with.


    However, when I get the house to myself I would like to get out of the headphones and use some kind of speaker. This is where I get a bit lost, I'm very new to all the different types of speakers and so not sure exactly what I need.


    I only need bedroom levels of volume and would prefer a physically small solution if possible, but I still want it to sound good.


    After researching on here it seems I have the following options:


    1) Get a powered FRFR speaker. These all seem pretty big and loud to me, probably too much for bedroom playing.


    2) Get a 25W Camplifier and a small passive speaker. Not looked into this much yet.


    3) Get some powered studio monitors, the Yamaha HS5/7/8 seem to be well thought of but I need to see some up close to get an idea of how large they are.


    OK, really dumb question time, do I need a stereo pair since I thought I read that the KPA sends out a mono signal.
    I thought a stereo pair would be needed to make any backing track sound decent though.


    Also, do I need any other equipment between the KPA and the speakers, or do I just plug the KPA directly into 2 studio monitors?


    I'm not entirely clear on the difference between the Main Output and the Monitor Out, which one would I use with the various options above?


    I also have a Yamaha THR10, I wasn't sure if I could use that as a small speaker by feeding the KPA into the THR10's aux input, or will that sound awful?


    Anyone else have any small bedroom setups that they can recommend?


    Next question is the aux inputs. I have the Y-cable to go from my iPad into the aux-input/fx-return on the back of the KPA which should work according to some posts on here. This seems to mean that I can't use the FX loop at the same time as the aux input though, since the FX return is already being used. Is there any other way to get an aux input into the KPA whilst retaining the use of the FX loop?


    Thanks for any advice!


    Cheers,


    Charlie

    I bought a Tech 21 Power Engine per recommendation of Michael Britt and find it works well as an entry level monitor for both gigging and home use. Got mine used for $200.


    Edit: I have an unpowered Kemper Toaster unit.

    Id try headphone out, convert to 1/8" then plug both the Kemper out and your Iphone into a Y cable, send that to your monitor. This will free up the aux in which I found to be noisy for mp3s anyways.

    Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to have a look at the Yamaha HS series next week.


    In the meantime I will be trying out the aux input into my THR10.


    I also saw some posts about the Marshal Woburn and Hanwell speakers, which look ideal for bedroom practise.

    For bedroom playing you cannot go wrong with Yamahas HS. They don't cost too much. KPA sounds great through them. I have HS7s and I am happy with them. Don't forget that studio monitors are directional = you will get perfect response only in defined angle aka. sweet-spot. For playing KPA I don;t see any problem with this, it might be critical for recording/mixing. And with such studio monitors, you can make basic mixing and recording, which is great plus.
    +1 to Ingolf, don't buy smaller than 7", the bass response will be limited.