Quality of tone - Yamaha DXR10 vs headphones

    Hey all. Yesterday my KPA Rack and DXR10 arrived and I am incredibly excited and anxious to start building my rigs and getting this gear gig-ready. I have a gig later today as a matter of fact, so I decided to spend some quality time with the gear this morning.


    So here is a very stupid question. :)


    There is a very noticeable difference between the tone in my headphones (Beyerdynamic DT770's) and the DXR10. The tone in the headphones is rich and full, well balanced, and just really three dimensional. The tone coming out of the monitor however, not so much. It's a little bland and sort of vanilla.


    I should probably mention a few things. I live in an apartment so I have to keep volumes low. The KPA master is at 1.2 and the monitor is at -20, I mean it's practically off. I have PureCab enabled (around 5.2) and Space as well (4.7). I bumped the treble and presence on the KPA monitor EQ to about 1.5 each. I turned off the DXR DSP but I have the HPF on to reduce thump and prevent my neighbors from harassing me.


    My question is, what can I do to ensure the incredible tone I am hearing in the headphones is reproduced through the DXR? Is the issue that I am probably not driving the DXR hard enough, or is that not a factor? Are there any additional steps I can take?

    Husband, Father, Pajama Enthusiast

    The Volume will definitely have a huge impact.
    But did you make sure that the cabinet-simulation for the Monitor-Out is activated?
    Go to Output-Menu and make sure the 'Monitor Cab Off'-Option ist UNchecked.

    Due to the non-linearity of our hearing (google Fletcher-Munson curve) you will not be able to evaluate the sound coming from the DXR10 unless you play at 85-90 dB.
    There's no way around tweaking at these levels.
    For the time being you only can jump in the water and listen to these 'bland' sounding profiles after you have cranked the DXR.
    My gut feeling is that you're in for a pleasant surprise.
    Make sure you haven't dialed in too much bass and treble in your appartment and leave the Output EQ flat.

    Thanks guys, that makes me feel a lot better. I suppose I should have know trying to dial in tones with the monitor practically off would not work. Thankfully these headphones are brilliant. I've got some killer tones dialed in right now and what I'm hearing in the cans is just ridiculously good. :)

    Husband, Father, Pajama Enthusiast

    Quote from Raoul23

    Cranking the DXR will defo make some profiles sound sweeter and profiles do need to be tweaked at gigging volume. When I first got my KPA and DXR it took me a few gigs to become totally happy with my sound as I was tweaking as we played. The DXR's get lots of love here and I'm sure you will love it also :)

    Yeah, I figured that might be the case.


    I am going out on a limb today and taking the KPA rig to its first gig without having an opportunity to tweak at gig or even rehearsal volumes. Probably not the smartest move, but it's an opportunity to hear the KPA in a real world setting and get some initial impressions.

    Husband, Father, Pajama Enthusiast

    Quote from mightypudge

    Yeah, I figured that might be the case.


    I am going out on a limb today and taking the KPA rig to its first gig without having an opportunity to tweak at gig or even rehearsal volumes. Probably not the smartest move, but it's an opportunity to hear the KPA in a real world setting and get some initial impressions.


    Make sure you have quick access to the output EQ on the output you're plugged into :)

    Quote from Michael_dk

    Make sure you have quick access to the output EQ on the output you're plugged into


    Exactly. Do NOT tweak the actual rig! If you played it at volume through your headphones (which I own the same), then you're perfectly prepared to send this to FoH. Just tweak your monitoring, if necessary. Try the DSP settings on the DXR first, especially Monitor and Off. Then with the best of these settings, adjust the Output EQ for the Monitor Out to your taste.

    OK, just got back from the gig. It was my first go and have mixed impressions so far. But mostly positive.


    On the plus side:

    • Setup was a breeze. Minimal cabling required. Once I get my expression pedal for wah effects and set up my wireless in the rack it'll get even easier.
    • This rig is dead quiet. Period. No noise, no hum, no issues. Spot on.
    • One my lead tones was so damn good I could barely contain myself. I have an extended solo in one song and I could not believe how nice this rig FELT to play.

    Areas of opportunity:

    • Some of my tones which sounded incredible in my headphones earlier to day sounded very nasal thought the DXR. Tried adjusting the monitor settings (DSP) and monitor output EQ (not my rig EQ) to no avail. (We did not get a soundcheck so that didn't help.) I was using one of the Friedman profiles from Pete Thurley which sounded fat as hell in my headphones, so hopefully whatever was coming out of FOH was fine. But I would like to be inspired by what I am hearing, so more work to be done there.
    • I need to work on the noise gate setting. I like to control dynamics with my volume control, not by switching from clean to dirty rigs. The noise gate was cutting off some notes during quiet passages. Should be an easy fix.

    One stupid question...on the KPA rack what are the two delay and two reverb controls at the top right of the unit? Are they like a "master" effects section separate from the delay and reverb settings in the rigs?

    Husband, Father, Pajama Enthusiast

    Had the same problems in the past.. (and still sometimes) Own two dxr 10, usually use only one with rehearsals and two with gigs.. (lazy... Only have to transport one). There's a huge difference between home playing with low volumes and loud playing in a band situation.. Its not only the volume issue but also the "blend in the mix" issue.. so I only play on gigs with rigs I tried with the band together.. Once you got that figured out its a amazing pice of gear and you will get that "solo feeling" you described mutch more!

    "We don't see things as they are,
    we see things as we are"


    So are you satisfied now with DXR10 at bedroom volumes?

    I have tweaked my ass off with the DXR-10 at bedroom volumes. I am very dissapointed. So yeah I should take it with me to bandpractice then to tweak at high volume...?
    For high gain settings its oke but as soon as I reduce gain to more pop-rock distortion I loose low end and its like the speaker is placed in a box. I have this the most with the Bert Meulendijk profiles. I dont understand...
    Conclusion up till now: high gain sounds killer. Normal gain sounds like a transistor amp. Very muddy lows and harsh highs especially with high E and B strings.

    Edited 2 times, last by Peerless ().

    Can you imagine how stiff the 10" speaker must be to take a maximum of 950W peak? If you run this kind of speaker at low bedroom levels, you pretty much don't get it to move at all. The DXR10 will start singing and screaming at higher levels. That's what it's made for. :)

    I would recommend to get some decent but uninexpensive near field monitors for your home setup. A used pair of Behringer 3031a will do the job nicely. If you tweak your rigs using this setup, the rigs will most likely translate well on your DXRs at gig volume. Add an audio interface later and you have a decent home studio.