getting the Headphone sounds right!!!

First of all, I'm assuming you updated to the latest firmware. I seem to recall at some point there were some fixes to the headphone out, but not postive on this.

I've been pretty happy with my Sennheiser HD598s. Still breaking them in. Some of the high-gain sounds (as well as clean sounds) sound like there is a cloth thrown over the speaker, but most sound great. Right now I am attributing the poorer rigs to a bad match between my pickups/guitar and the rig. Sometimes I can fix it (or at least make it sound better) with a cabinet swap or by adjusting the Presence or Definition of the Amp. Typically this is on my neck pickup but sometimes it applies to the bridge as well.

I haven't tried through FRFR yet so I'm not sure what I'm missing. I have heard it through the CD input of a small Marshall solid state amp and the headphones are miles ahead.

I have heard lots of great clean sounds through my headphones. Many included in the factory rigs. E.g., Vox, Matchless.

I've noticed some of the high-gain profiles are a bit gainy for my Burstbucker Pros so I had to reduce the Distortion Sense to below 0. I haven't tried headphones through an external mixer, which I'll be getting (just a small one) and I am curious how this will affect the tone. Your headphones are relatively low ohms like mine so not sure how much an external headphone amp will help/change the sound.

Downloaded some fantastic clean Fenders and clean to gainy Marshalls from okstrat (thank you Pete! ) at http://petesprofiles.weebly.com/. Some of the best I've heard (although I'm just starting down the rabbit hole).

And I'm assuming you've checked out Tills high-gain profiles. Lots to choose from in there (another Thx Tills! ).

Finally, I found some fantastic tone clones from hoohah ( Thx Ron! ) for high-gain amps. Definitely worth checking out.

Hey beardjenty,

using HPs is not trivial, because the sound they offer is not absolute or given once and for all.
This is similar to what happens to an amp: its sound can vary (an it usually does, a lot) depending

• on the guitar you connect it to;
• on the cab you couple it with.

As for the HPs, their sound (generally speaking) varies depending

• on the characteristics of the source (electric coupling);
• on the head of the person wearing them (mechanical coupling).

If I have time in the next future, I'll try and translate a technical article I'm writing for an Italian forum with a good amount of detail for choosing the "right" HPs for each one.
Meanwhile, trying different HPs can't hurt

i have tried quite a few different headphones with the Kemper but my favourites are Sennheiser hd202 which are pretty cheap but to me sound better than many which cost a hell of a lot more,they are a bit bass heavy but the Kemper sounds great with them.

Hi there,

I have put quite a bit of time into researching headphones for the KPA as it will be my primary reference.

My first set used with the KPA was a pair of sennheiser hd280 that I bought to track acoustic guitar. This set of phones is very similar to the set you have in Ohms, sensitivity, drivers and also they are circumaural closed back in design. They were also dissapointing. They are primarily designed not to leak to much sound wich is neccesary sometimes but is usually a compromise.

I have since bought a pair of AKG Q701. They cost more but the improvement is significant.

They are a full open back design so they do leak quite a bit, but the soudstage is very satisfying. They are very comfortable with a self adjusting headstrap, quite light on the head and not fatiguing at all.

Most importantly they also look super cool

BUT - they are quite difficult to drive and require quite a bit of oomph ( technical term ) from the the headphone out. The KPA can drive them at a suitable volume but you have to crank the headphone output ( accessed in a sub-menu somewhere) and the volume and the master. This is a sure sign the headphones are not been driven to their full potential, so we cant have that can we.

So on its way to me hopefully I have a class A headphone amp to see if we can improve matters more. I will report back in about a week on my findings. You wiil see if you do a search on this forum that some have found better performance using the headphone out on mixers been fed bt the Kpa master outs as well, I assume for the same reason.

Having said this of course it all costs money, but even if you don't want to spend $600 + for phones and amp, I'm sure with a little research you could find a good set of open back design cans that don't require an amplifier. I almost went the way of the Shure srh1440 that got really goog reviews from audiophile sites and they apparently can be driven by an ipod.

Quote from Delinquent

I have put quite a bit of time into researching headphones for the KPA as it will be my primary reference...

Thanks for all that info! I am using a AKG K-501 and the signal is always very weak and it tends to be brighter than it is later on the gigs. I am still trying to find the right headphones. Does anybody here use those SHURE SRH1440's that you mentioned? Marketing it as "Made for mastering and critical listening" sounds a bit like quite a big boast.

Anyway the specs say it is 37 Ω.Has anybody found some info about the specs of the KPA phones out?

Quote from fretboardminer

Has anybody found some info about the specs of the KPA phones out?

33 Ohms

The HP Out on the KPA is 33 ohm

Quote from viabcroce

The HP Out on the KPA is 33 ohm

Thanks for this info. You always have the answers.

I use a pair of Sennheiser HD650 headphones, and they are 300 ohms. I use a tube headphone amp between the Kemper and my headphones, and they sound great. I also adjust the reverb on the Kemper to get a more open, roomy sound.

If your headphones have an impedance that is much higher than the 33 ohms on the Kemper headphone out, look into a headphone amp.

I've also seen these studio monitor simulators from Focusrite on the internet:

Focusrite VRM

They are USB powered and act as an interface. You could use the spdif out on the Kemper into this and simulate various studio spaces. I've never used one myself.

Quote from fretboardminer

Thanks for all that info! I am using a AKG K-501 and the signal is always very weak and it tends to be brighter than it is later on the gigs. I am still trying to find the right headphones. Does anybody here use those SHURE SRH1440's that you mentioned? Marketing it as "Made for mastering and critical listening" sounds a bit like quite a big boast.

Anyway the specs say it is 37 Ω.Has anybody found some info about the specs of the KPA phones out?

I also have AKG K501s and dont like the sound at all with the Kemper,so i stick with my cheap sennheisers.

Quote from sorefingers

I also adjust the reverb on the Kemper to get a more open, roomy sound.

On the headphones I like the reverb setting that is called "ambience". It is really great for this open, "roomy sound". I am not shure if it is a different genuine type of reverb or just a preset of the same reverb algorithm - anyway it sounds good for practicing.

Quote from sorefingers

Focusrite VRM

They are USB powered and act as an interface. You could use the spdif out on the Kemper into this and simulate various studio spaces. I've never used one myself.

The Output impedance of the Focusrite VRM is < 10 Ω. The impedance of the AKG K 501 is 120 Ω. So this will probably not go together well? I think I better get a different pair of headphones first?

AKG 501's come from the same design as the current 701/2 series and require ample power to work properly, the KPA is not quite up to it.

Plugging your main outs into this http://www.matrixelectronics.n…mp-black-color-p-190.html i beleive may change your mind, i'll find out for sure soon when mine arrives.

And agreed you must use reverb, lock in a setting that appeals while trying different amps.

I use AKG K99 32 ohms they are cheap around 50 euros and they sound great only with Kemper

Quote from fretboardminer

The Output impedance of the Focusrite VRM is < 10 Ω. The impedance of the AKG K 501 is 120 Ω. So this will probably not go together well? I think I better get a different pair of headphones first?

No, having HPs' impedance higher than output impedance is good for linearity. I'd also say 10/120 is a very good match, generally speaking. You just might suffer from lack of SPL in case the HPs' sensitivity is low