Playing mp3 audio into kemper & out through Kones in cab

    Hi everyone,


    Bit of a strange one here. Was playing mp3 audio from my PC straight into aux input of KPA Powerhead for ages & playing along to it either through Kones in 2x12 cab or headphones.


    So...


    PC to KPA via Y shaped cable from PC mic output into KPA aux/alternative input.

    Guitar in as normal.

    KPA to Kones Cab via Power Amp.


    Recently, KPA audio been going wierd only when PC is playing audio. Loses sound tone every few secs. Amp perfectly fine if PC disconnected.


    KPA support suspect a DC phase issue & advise to play PC via my Focusrite.


    The thing is... I can't work out how to do that. I use SPDIF out to the Focusrite then USB into PC when I record via Reaper, but that means no sound back to the KPA from PC. If I do USB from PC to Focusrite then audio cable into KPA aux I get PC sound from can... But get the wierd tone drop out again!


    All online stuff seems only to mention studio monitors, which I do not have & have been using the Kones to avoid.


    Any ideas?

    I'm just guessing, but maybe your line level from PC soundcard is too high.


    When my interface is on, I have the option to listen to PC playback thru my desktop speakers or thru the studio monitors connected to the interface.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    How would that explain it being fine then not fine though? All wierd. PC to KPA sound was incredible... Until it wasn't.


    Tone through headphones unaffected, so whatever the KPA hates is related to translation of signal out through Power Amp.


    Your reply also just mentions monitors? Is it that unusual to route PC sound through KPA to cab?

    I think you and one other person on these forums mentioned doing this. The Kemper is a Profiling amp but it is also an exceptional recording tool. That's why my Kemper goes into an interface and out thru my monitors while using my PC as a DAW to record/play.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    So you'd recommend just getting rid of the issue by dropping some good money on a pair of monitor speakers & then routing PC and KPA into the Focusrite then out into speakers?


    Only reason I bought the Kones was to play along to PC through same cab I play guitar through. Was that a poor idea?

    The Kones give you a tube amp sound so no waste there (I have a Kabinet myself) but without studio monitors and a DAW program, I would feel like I am only using half a Kemper. ;)

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Quote from 1Towneley

    Very fair comment & appreciated ?


    Obvious question... Any recommendations for speakers? I'm firmly an amateur in case you didn't guess...

    I could recommend many but the prices go from $150.00 a pair to over $1000.00 each. Google & research. There are so many. I've always liked the Yamahas but have Tannoy. If you don't want to use an external mixer and still have "comfort" FX for vocalists but record dry, the Steinberg UR series have a monitor mixer that I need. The new MOTU stuff sounds great but without external mixer, had too many compromises for monitoring. I demand to be able to record something "wet", record it dry and play it back at the same volume as when I pressed record without touching my mix sliders on the DAW.

    What I'm looking for is to be able to play along to rock & metal tracks at some good volume. I'm lucky to live in a stone house so can play along to Metallica etc at volumes where a good set of speakers with some "ooomph" will be needed.


    Will monitor speakers fit that bill?

    I made a post the other day about how hard raw distorted guitar is on monitor style speakers. So whatever you do make sure you get a little headroom in the power rating. If you like to play at 50 W (watts), consider at least 100 W rated speakers for example.


    Having a good set of Studio Monitors is actually a requirement if you ever plan to record music. Your mixes will be trash if you do not have good flat speakers.

    I went for the option of having a decent set of studio monitors but with something that can give me Dance Party oomph and boom during playback so I opted for JBL's with a separate JBL Subwoofer. I can switch off the oomph (crossover) for mixing and then switch on the oomph to rattle the windows and walls for casual listening playback.


    JBL, PreSonus, KRK, Adam Audio, Behringer, Mackie all make subwoofers to go with their studio monitor sets. JBL, PreSonus, Adam Audio, and Yamaha are the most rated at Sweetwater.


    Just know that a FRFR studio monitor will not sound like a loudspeaker that is used for listening to music thru a stereo which is what most people are used too. It took my ears a while to adjust and appreciate a flat response speaker. But when I crank them for music playback and turn on the sub it is just Heaven!

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Like 1
    Quote from 1Towneley

    Not Spdif then?

    SPDIF is convenient but there is little to no difference in sound quality. Sometimes I use SPDIF but mostly I use the XLR Main Outs to my Focusrite interface.


    As others have said already, a decent pair of studio monitors would be a big improvement and for recording a necessity as the Kones are designed for that purpose. However, if you only want it for volume and jamming to tracks you might be OK/better with a pair of powered PA cabinets/regular FRFR speakers. This will allow you to connect them to the Focusrite and get massive volume with a relatively flat tonal balance it won’t be anywhere near as good audio quality wise as studio monitors but will give you much more volume per £ spent than studio monitors.

    Great cheers. I am erring on decent set of powered speakers connected to Focusrite. Have been monitoring mixes using headphones (good ones) so far & that was OK for my needs. But they get fatiguing after a while so speakers were a need anyway.


    Still ahead scratcher why all of a sudden KPA aux input/power amp hates PC audio. One to shrug shoulders & forget about maybe... At least KPS isn't screwed up.

    I am having trouble following your situation but want to point something out:


    In Windows Sound settings (or USB interface driver) you can select whether an incoming sound is played back thru your speakers (Listen to this device). So it sounds like the guitar signal is going from the Kemper to PC, back out the PC and back into the Kemper. So then you are mixing a delayed guitar signal with the live signal.


    If the guitar sound was making it all the way thru Windows, the delay would be pretty long. Like a slap back echo.


    If the guitar sound only gets to the Focusrite then comes right back out, the delay will be very small. Many pro level interfaces allow for this realtime monitoring. This would maybe cause weird phase issues. So maybe some setting got changed in the Focusrite driver that lets you monitor inputs.