Profiler Player unusable on Windows without ASIO4ALL?

Hello! I just purchased a Profile Player after a lot of deliberation on how to move forward with my guitar setup and I think it's pretty cool but so far I haven't really figured out how it is going to work in my setup without having to use ASIO4ALL.

Currently I have a Windows 11 PC (12900k + 4080 + 32GB RAM), and I have a couple of midi controllers (ableton push 3 and an arturia keylab essentials) and an audio interface (scarlett 2i2). From the interface I have it going into a mackie and into my monitors. I've been using amp sims and recording my guitar and bass through my interface into various DAWs, and recording amps directly when I have the opportunity to use them in the right conditions. Everything has been great with all of the DAWs I've used, I use ASIO that was installed with my focusrite in the same way I always have and everything is fine.

I was worried about the player not having SPDIF outs but I was assured by staff at the store that I could use the profiler as an input into my daw and have my audio output through, I just figured that it could somehow make use of the same drivers as my other audio devices but it seems like that isn't possible.

Is my only solution for latency free recording and playing using ASIO4ALL or just going XLR out into my focusrite? It seems people think that the latter solution is less than ideal? I'm really trying to love this product but it seems like I literally cannot use the USB audio on windows without ASIO4ALL currently and that feels like it can't possibly be right. Is going XLR-> the focusrite going to give me everything the kemper has to offer? should i take it back and maybe get a helix? Again I love kemper and I've wanted one for years, I'm just worried it's not what I want, which is something to be at my desk and allow me to get sick tones through my studio monitors in my acoustically treated room.

I hope this doesn't come off as too whiny, I really do think these things are cool, I just think if I'm right and it needs ASIO4ALL for USB audio that the current player is rather limited especially when half of the community seems to think that the digital conversion is bad. It's even potentially not usable for windows users who don't want to go finding deprecated and unstable drivers.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond, in the meantime I'll just put headphones on and drool at the sounds.

Quote from deadman42

Yes. Absolutely no difference in the features you can listen to.

Well unfortunately IU just bought an XLR cable and listening through direct monitoring on my focusrite sounds absolute horrible, when I sent the signal straight into my mackie -> speakers everything sounds phenomenal. Unfortunately I can't record in that way or play with backing tracks or basically anything I would want the kemper to do

Do you have any advice? I have no idea what could be wrong.

Even with an ASIO driver I wouldn't be able to do different ASIO inputs and outputs though unfortnatuely so I think I'd still have this problem. I'm honestly not sure how to use this right now. Right now I have the kemper outputting to my mackie and into my monitors and that sounds great, I also have it going through XLR into the interface and it's clipping on every setting and generally sounds very muddy and clippy.

Okay, I'm using an older gen 2i2, and apparently any XLR input activates the mic preamp and it might be why my XLR -> XLR is causing instant clipping. I've never noticed before since I've never used anything but mics into the XLR input. I'll have to do more research. I'll run to the store and grab an XLR to 1/4 and see if it's really just not at line level because of a weird pre-amp thing in the focusrite

Quote from musicmad

Edit: Instant clipping. Even if you turn your mic gain down to the minimum?

Yeah, it's fromthe focusrite. I'm running XLR from the kemper into XLR on the front of the focusrite, but the 2i2 automatically applies a mic pre to any XLR input causing the instant clipping and horrible sound. I'm currently en route to getting an XLR -> 1/4" and making sure that it is, in fact, the automatic mic preamp.

Looking more into it I think i'll be staying away from focusrite products for guitar related things, I'm not sure you can even turn off the new auto-gain feature in their 4i4 and that seems like its an issue when chasing tone.

"One ground-lifted XLR connects you directly to the FOH mixing desk at studio level, without the need for DI boxes."

From the product page itself. Unless I'm confused it seems like going from XLR->XLR at line level with no mic pre is one of the designed use-cases which I was honestly a little worried about.

If the XLR to 1/4' works I'll just ditch the focusrite. Does anyone have any suggestions? I know a bunch of people here use 2x4s and 4i4s and it seems like guitar players really like the motu stuff.

Quote from musicmad

I have been going into the preamps of my Apollo for years. No problem at all. Just make sure to turn down the micpre gain. Have you tried turning the gain way down?

That's the thing, the apollo is a purpose built thing designed specifically to maintain the purity of the signal even through conversion, but the focusrite things I am not very smart and I can't do things at line level so when an XLR is plugged in it automatically activates the mic pre. Isn't that annoying?


From the user manual:

Quote

The Scarlett 2i2 has no “Mic/line” switch – the Focusrite preamp stage is automatically configured
for a microphone when you plug an XLR into the input, and for a line or instrument when you connect
a jack plug.

I'm actually on my way home with an XLR to 1/4" cable and that should show me instantly if that is the culprit.

Quote from Kellerblues

Same here, running in to the Onyx preamps without any problem, as far as I keep the gain all the way down

I just got the XLR -> 1/4" and it's better without the activated preamp but it still sounds bad through my monitors coming from the focusrite. Like really really really bad. Headphone jack out to mackie into monitors, sounds great. If I use the direct monitor on the focusrite and do an A/B swap its night and day.

I'm not really sure what I could be doing wrong. I think I was just a bit misled as to what this would be as a part of my setup because unfortunately I think it's not going to do anything I want it to do. It just sounds horrible unless I am outputting directly to my monitors. Instrument setting, XLR, 1/4".

Man bringing this thing home yesterday I was so hyped. At this point I think people who are saying it sounds good through a focusrite just haven't heard what it sounds like direct to powered speakers or a cab! (just kidding ofc <3)

But I might be missing something fundamental.

Either way, even with the pre-amp bypassed everything still sounds bad and and overall volume when direct monitoring is also insanely low. It's probably user error but I don\'t really know what the problem could be.

When I route 1/4" from kemper -> Mackie -> Monitors using 1/4" it all sounds incredible.

When I route XLR -> Focusrite -> Mackie -> Monitors it sounds quiet muddy and horrible, and previously with just XLR it would just immediately clip. Now it doesn't clip but it sounds muffled and quiet and just like a worse knock off of the good sounds.

Quote from Kellerblues

Same here, running in to the Onyx preamps without any problem, as far as I keep the gain all the way down

How are you inputting into the onyx and how are you listening to what you are playing?

I'm figuring stuff out slowly. It's stuff that is in the manual but isn't really explained (and it might not need to be).

The headphone output had space enabled by default, making that output sound better. I enabled it for the main output and saw an improvement immediately (I'm able to go back and forth even in the middle of a note and listen using my mackie to switch between outputs on the kemper so i can compare side-by-side) It also seems to have some other effect similar to the air effect in some interfaces, it's probably just the space effect but the focusrite sounds closer to the kemper with air and space ON.

I also noticed that the main output has a pad on be default, which was also accounting for the struggle to get the same volume levels and quality from the other outputs. It's something that I think most people would just skip by like I did but it was why I was having such a difficult time getting the outputs to sound similar. Again, kinda niche issue.

Quote from Kellerblues

How is the signal set in the Output settings? Mains should be Master Stereo/Mono

For main output I can only selct Mono, so that is selectedc there, and master stereo is selected for the monitor out.

Oh also the player only gets a fraction of the FX? At the absolute bottom of the product description is this line:

"The Player offers a massive, well-curated selection of 136 different FX settings taken from the legendary KEMPER PROFILER FX arsenal that features over 444 FX presets in total."

No digital out/SPDIF, no ASIO driver, can only use 4 FX (including reverb) and missing 75% of the FX? Were my expectations unreasonable?


Edit: I think I should have not trusted the employee. He's actually a family friend and generally knows what he's talking about but it's clear he didn't know about any of the limits of the player compared to its older brothers.

Well after an hour of noodling I can safely say it's not going back, this thing is insane for being the size of a fuzzface.

I just need to fit it into the setup.

Quote from deadman42

That ruled out the Kemper soundwise. Good.

Yeah from the kemper to my powered monitors it's actually significantly purer than I was expecting. Very cool tool.