Ideal Monitoring Solution for Home

    Hi. I just received my unpowered Kemper a few days ago, and I need some help trying to decide which home monitoring solution is ideal. My budget is around $1,000. I was initially sold on the idea of using studio monitors at home, so I borrowed some Dynaudio BM5 studio monitors from a friend for the weekend, which sounded good, but it didn't have the punch of a guitar cab with the 6.5" speakers. My question is: For home enjoyment, am I am better choosing the following:

    a) 8" studio monitors, such as Yamaha HS8 of Focal Alpha 80s (I'm concerned these won't have the "punch" I'm looking for)
    b) A single Atomic CLR or Xitone wedge (I'm concerned these will be generally too loud for home before I hit the sweet spot)
    c) A high end headphone, such as Grados, Sennheiser, or Audeze

    As for a bit more background, I primarily play edge of breakup and ambient tones, but also play some heavy tones occasionally. I play a fairly low volumes in general. I only play live once a month, and the place I play has a high end PA system, and has both powered and unpowered wedges there, so having a CLR/Xitone for tone consistency between home and live would be a 'nice to have", but not mandatory. I've spent too much time reading forums on this topic, and am still undecided. I'm not able to try before buying, due to my location.

    Any advice would be appreciated!

    Thanks.

    a.) would be the best. I you want to check a sound for recording.
    b.) would be the cheapest if you use CLR also as monitor also for life.
    You're right, if it is not loud enough you can not hear the correct sound and has do adjust the sound if yo have to play in a bigger hall.
    c.) your neighbour would prefer :D I personal do not like so I have no experience,

    Atomic CLR is at least double the price of the Yamaha HS8's, so b is not the cheapest solution but the most expensive.
    If stereo is important to you go with solution a.
    If you ever plan to play out choose b.
    I'd avoid solution c as the only solution.
    Remember there's always money-back, so you can check out the Yamahas without any risk.

    At home I either use a pair of cheapish Behringer B3031A studio monitors (compare well to Adam A7X that I regularly use in a studio), or one or two Dynacord AXM 12A wedges. These wedges are also used on stage (unless I use IEM) and sound good at all volumes. I borrowed a CLR wedge for testing prior to buying the AXMs and that also work well at varying volumes. It is however recommended that you dial in your rigs at gig-volume regardless of your choice of speakers.

    Thanks all for the quick and helpful replies! So for home enjoyment purposes only (not factoring in live playing, or recording), is there a general consensus if a single CLR or two 8" studio monitors is more enjoyable?

    From what I'm gathering, it sounds like the CLR is usable a home, but excels when turned up, and the 12" speaker can add some more punch? Studio monitors would have a sweet spot at a lower volume, and have the benefit of being stereo, but lack some of the punch of the CLR, correct? If you were going to demonstrate the tone of your Kemper to someone at home, which option would you pick to show off the Kemper?

    I'm guessing that both these options will "sound good", and the replies will really come down to user preference, but I would still appreciate the feedback from users who have used both studio monitors and a wedge for jamming at home.

    Quote from maverick4417

    If you were going to demonstrate the tone of your Kemper to someone at home, which option would you pick to show off the Kemper?

    It depends on the purpose of the demo. I would use my studio-monitors if I want to demo how the Kemper sits in a mix, but would choose the pair of Dynacord wedges if I want to demonstrate how it works as a replacement for a trad.amp on stage. The wedges throw a lot more punch.

    Quote from heldal

    It depends on the purpose of the demo. I would use my studio-monitors if I want to demo how the Kemper sits in a mix, but would choose the pair of Dynacord wedges if I want to demonstrate how it works as a replacement for a trad.amp on stage. The wedges throw a lot more punch.

    This.

    I would not agree about the need to crank a CLR up in order to reach its "hot spot": the CLR (and the same stands for any linear cab) doesn't change its sound function the playback volume. What changes with the volume is the ear's perception of sounds, but this is true for any sound source.
    Where did you read this information?

    BTW, I'd go with a single CLR (well,I did actually) :D