Kemper into my 2i2 (Line) different from straight into speakers

    Hey guys,


    This is my first time posting. Right now, I have my Kemper go into my Scarlett 2i2 interface with the line option on. I have my "Main Output" set to "Master Mono" . When I am playing my Kemper through my 2i2 into Cubase and out into my Yamaha HS8's. I get a different and better sound when I plug my Kemper straight into the HS8s. I really like the sound of the Kemper when I plug them into the HS8s. Do you guys know how I should fix this? Is it my $150 interface, the sound card in my laptop, or am I using the wrong settings?


    Thanks a lot peoples

    You know the ''it sounds different when I plug my Kemper on this or that'' should be resume as ''it sounds different when I plug ANYTHING on this or that''


    Plug a CD player on X Y and Z you'll get a different sound too. Get my point?

    Yeah I get your point. I was hoping that, it was not the case. Damn, the Kemper just sounds so sick when I plug it straight into my speakers, but I guess that is where the creativity comes in.

    Call me old-fashioned, but I'd blame the additional A/D and D/A conversions that're necessary when going through the interface.


    The only ways to "get around" that are:


    1) Buy a higher-spec'd interface


    or


    2) Split the Kemper's signal with a high-quality mixer so you can send it to the interface as well as monitor it from the mixer. You'd send your main computer outs to this mixer too, of course, and then the main stereo out of the mixer to your monitors.


    Bear in mind that whilst you may narrow the gap between the two scenarios you described, the degree to which you'll approach equality will depend largely on how much you spend.


    Quote from ToneDeaf

    I would recommend the same, have the Kemper hooked up to the monitors and also to the Focusrite.

    Unless the OP inserts a mixer between the interface's main outputs and his monitors, this won't work 'cause I assume he'd want to hear the computer / DAW output in his monitors too.

    Hey mate, welcome to the community.


    Quote from EdricE


    I get a different and better sound when I plug my Kemper straight into the HS8s.


    Statements like these leave a lot of room to interpretation. So try to give us a glimpse of what this actually means.


    Let's say the 2i2 is a pretty garbage interface. Ok for the price tag this is an unfair statement but I was never happy with this unit.
    Especially because i struggled a lot with the Headphone amp on the 2i2 this this is totaly useless. Next thing is that the whole unit
    is bus powerd. So there is little room for the interface to amplify any signals which could lead to amplitude drops. But this isn't a
    very scientifically based statement.


    As you said you are using an entry level $150 interface with high end units. There is not much you can expect from that.


    I recently replaced my 2i2 with a Presonus 1824 interface. This made a difference but not as much on the Kemper > Interface > Monitor
    signal chain. On that point the 2i2 loses bot not by that big of a margin. The 2i2 is kinda ok in that regard.


    What i experienced is especially with Stereo setups the whole signal processing makes a huge difference.
    If you send stereo signal from the Kemper to the Interface and don't explicitly split the left/right channels the whole tone is messed up
    pretty bad. You lose so much when the interface summarize you stereo signal into Mono.


    And this a the biggest issue with the 2i2. You send two signals into the 2i2 and they get sum up internally and the mono signal will be
    send to both monitors. That is where you lose so much depth.
    Maye that is part of the reason the 2i2 is messing with your tone. Do you use one cable from the kemper to the 2i2 ? or two ?
    I always used two because i have stereo setup. To bad that the 2i2 is messing with that.


    Try to explain what exactly happens to your tone.

    Quote from Monkey_Man

    Unless the OP inserts a mixer between the interface's main outputs and his monitors, this won't work 'cause I assume he'd want to hear the computer / DAW output in his monitors too.

    Duh, I just realized that those Yamahas were the DAW speakers.


    So yes, Monkey_Man is right, the more you spend, the better the sounds will compare. You could get a mixer, a new interface or maybe even one extra Yamaha monitor speaker connected to the Kemper directly.