Tannoy 402 speakers or Marshall Woburn

The Tannoys are meant to be studio monitors, while the Marshall is a "good" sounding speaker. If you plan to record/mix at all, proper monitors are pretty important. As it happens, I have them, and they're pretty good speakers for listening on as well.

If recording isn't a need for you, the Marshall is definitely more convenient and multi-purpose with all the Bluetooth and stuff it's got. The reviews I've seen said it sounds pretty good.

Your Kemper will sound way much better on studio monitors than the bluetooth hi fi Marshall thing , besides the Marshall has 5,25 inch speakers , not enough to get some low end out of the Kemper ....

Since you seem to be asking about powered options, I'm assuming you also have an unpowered Kemper. I would agree with going for studio monitors. You're going to get a great sound out of them, and, if you ever do any recording, as @Lokasenna mentioned, they're going to get you the right sound right out of the gate. You won't have to go back and tweak sounds to make them work on a track.

I will say though, 19cm isn't going to give you a lot of room for a speaker that you could gig with (I dunno if that's a priority to you or not). I've used my old KRK Rokit 5's at gigs before when I was tight on space, and they work fine as long as I'm also coming through the stage wedges, but they have a hard time keeping up with volume levels of a full band.

The 402's are actually 212mm (21.2cm) deep, meaning you'll have overhang. And, the other consideration, is you still need to plug a cable into the back - both a power line and an audio cable. Monoprice has some basic TRS cables with right-angle ends that would keep down on space consumption, but you'll have to factor in at least another few cm for the power cable. You can probably purchase a right angle cable for this purpose as well to keep space consumption at a minimum.

If you can swing a few cm in addition to that, I'd actually recommend at least the 502's. They're 238mm (23.8cm) deep. You'll have a lot better experience - moving from a 3/4" to a 1" tweeter will make your highs more powerful, and you're moving up an inch on the woofer as well, providing more bass response and tighter mids. Plus, the amp is more powerful, allowing you to really crank it when you want to

As a recommendation for your space, you could also get a piece of wood to place in your windowsill that's 26cm long (or so) to support whatever speaker you want, reducing the possibility of it tipping over (though not completely preventing it). If you own the space, you could also screw it directly to the sill. Velcro or mounting tape would also make it more solid, though both are a pain to remove at a later time (if you're renting).

Hi there,

I have a pair of Tannoy 501a up for sale. They are as new. If you're interested, feel free to pm me.

Greetings
Alex

Check out my thread linked below. Also with a youtube demo and lots of other relevant info.

Comparison of one box stereo amplifiers

The problem with guitar is to have a respectable sounding rig, you need one of those "big black boxes." If you're sitting behind a desk 100% of the time and you can wire up some studio monitors, a Kemper, Line 6, Fractal, whatever, direct into an audio interface, takes up minimal space and sounds great. But, using it outside of that scenario requires some sort of speaker. And, to reproduce guitar sounds the way we like to hear it and how we all have become accustomed to hearing it, it takes up some space.

My biggest recommendation for the Kemper would normally be something along the lines of the Friedman ASM-12, Yamaha DXR/DSR, Xitone 1x12 powered wedge, Matrix active FR12, Atomic CLR, etc. However, being new to guitar, I understand that investing in such equipment does take up a good deal of space and it doesn't come cheap, and the seed for growing trees that leaf money hasn't been created yet.

I would say that you should really think about what you want to do with your future in music before purchasing anything. You mentioned gigging wasn't a requirement, and that's all fine and good, but one of the best ways to improve your playing is to play with others. That doesn't mean that you need some massive 4x12 cab and a 1600w power amp to play with others, but you do need something that would keep up with other players, namely a drummer. If you don't think you'll ever do any real gigging, then studio monitors will be just fine, and, as an added benefit, if you have a set of them (I would buy two, not just one), you can mess around with some home recording and get great results.

However, for your case, I'd honestly look at the Yamaha DXR10 - you'll be loud enough to crank in a live situation, should the need ever arise, and it would sound great at home at lower volumes. The price point on it isn't too bad either, and you can use it to crank your wife's favorite tunes when you're not playing guitar (but you could do that with the monitors too). Buying something "for now" is fine if you want to go that route, but if you can pick something that will last you a longer time and make you happier in the long haul, then maybe you can convince your wife to give you a corner to set up in or something. The other options provided above are a little pricier, but come with their own benefits.

One other last option would potentially be the KPA Solutions kit - http://www.kpa-solutions.com/

I've not heard of anyone using it, so YMMV, and you'd need some woodworking tools or access to them, but you basically buy their kit and a Palmer speaker cabinet, and you make your own FRFR cabinet. It looks pretty nice too. It's passive, so you'd need some sort of power source, but you can achieve that with their Camplifier kit (if you have the unpowered toaster), and you wouldn't have to run power to a speaker any longer, but you would need a speaker cable (which is not a standard TS or TRS guitar/instrument cable). If you have the unpowered rack, the Electro-Harmonix 44 Magnum is small, compact, and does a great job from what I've heard, and can be had for cheaper (though not as powerful as the Camplifier kit).

Best of luck to you. I know there's a lot of options out there.

Well found this thread and rushed to answer that because I have opportunity to grab 2 of DXR10 for nice price. Always I was using studio monitors but found Kemper sound weak. But I used always monitors as stereo speakers for my computer (music, youtube) - I have no studio space, just corner apartment in room

I sold studio monitors I had and was targeting for another... maybe EVEs 205 which, because they were "best amongst" others, but I am afraid the honeymoon period would pass

Has someone experience with going from stereo studio monitors to one YAMAHA DXR10? Has anyone pair of DXR10 at home? Doesn't it crush the walls? With monitors I can lower volume and it's silent but sounds as poo, how about playing @ DXR10 at low volumes? I know I know - try it yourself. I may try soon, but not having Kemper right now and got hot deal - may not wait forever

Quote from skoczy

Well found this thread and rushed to answer that because I have opportunity to grab 2 of DXR10 for nice price. Always I was using studio monitors but found Kemper sound weak. But I used always monitors as stereo speakers for my computer (music, youtube) - I have no studio space, just corner apartment in room

I sold studio monitors I had and was targeting for another... maybe EVEs 205 which, because they were "best amongst" others, but I am afraid the honeymoon period would pass

Has someone experience with going from stereo studio monitors to one YAMAHA DXR10? Has anyone pair of DXR10 at home? Doesn't it crush the walls? With monitors I can lower volume and it's silent but sounds as poo, how about playing @ DXR10 at low volumes? I know I know - try it yourself. I may try soon, but not having Kemper right now and got hot deal - may not wait forever

I have 2 DXR 10's and they'll bring the house down if you want them to.
I would say though they are per se not comparable to studio monitors.
If you think the Yamaha HS-8 sounds anemic (I have a pair of its predecessors HS-80) you clearly need to try before you buy.

Quote from Ingolf

I have 2 DXR 10's and they'll bring the house down if you want them to.
I would say though they are per se not comparable to studio monitors.
If you think the Yamaha HS-8 sounds anemic (I have a pair of its predecessors HS-80) you clearly need to try before you buy.

Thanks Ingolf I do not want to bring the apartment down for sure.
I went all the way with monitors and found them sound anemic (including HS80M) although they can push loud SPL. Even Equators D5 or Yammies MSP5 which were my slat acquisition. Next week or so I may go with Kemper (when it comes back from doctor) to music store and probe more monitors including polish ASP KLASIK (never heard of this company before...) but I will also compare monitors with powered speakers - DXR10, ALTO maybe Berries.