Power kabinet vs. studio monitor

  • Hello. I'm interested in buying a powered kabinet for my kemper stage.

    Currently I'm running it to a pair of Yamaha HS-8 and a HS8S subwoofer.

    With this setup I can get good sounds, but I often have to scoop the mids of the profile and add a lot of bass. I play mostly high gain profiles.

    I recently noticed that I actually prefer the sound when only 1 of the speaker is active (left or right), since it's more "amp-like".

    I wonder how different the sound would be, between the powered kabinet and a studio monitor?

    I read that the kabinet FRFR mode is enforced using DSP. How good is it for listening to backing track?

    Also how does it compare to a full time FRFR, like a friedman ASC or laney LFR?

    Edited once, last by Strat999 (November 8, 2021 at 5:28 AM).

  • have you tried just running the KPA as Master Mono but leaving both speakers active?


    all FRFR and many active studio monitors use some form DSP the Kabinet isn’t unique in this respect. The difference is that its frequency range doesn’t extend as high as monitors as it doesn’t have a dedicated high frequency tweeter and a crossover but a second smaller cone to extend the range beyond a normal guitar cab.

  • The difference is that its frequency range doesn’t extend as high as monitors as it doesn’t have a dedicated high frequency tweeter and a crossover but a second smaller cone to extend the range beyond a normal guitar cab.

    I didn't see the frequency range on the Kone specs' page but seen on forums that it was 50Hz-10 000Hz.

    I'm estonished cause with acoustic sim it seems to go higher than that high limit ?! What is the "true" range ?

  • I don't know the exact specs but 10k sounds about right to me.

    I believe the Lone is a special modified version of this which would support the 50 - 10k theory.

    https://celestion.com/product/k12h-200tc/

    Remember that it may still be producing frequencies above this but they will be rolled off significantly relative to the quoted range. My hearing is so hammered after 40+ years playing with big valve amps that I can't hear anything above 11k anyway.

  • i remember that when i used the helix, i used to put a high/low cut in all my presets to get rid off unecessary frequencies. For electric amp i used to go between 8000 to 10500 Hz.

    But for acoustic sims (with Variax), i had to do the high cut at 15000/16000 Hz. If i went lower, acoustic sims loose details/harmonics and weren't so relevant....

  • I would not be using a sub-woofer to tweak your profiles or create mixes. They are only nice for casual listening pleasure of music, or to test playback for "club sounds" like this one...

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    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • I would not be using a sub-woofer to tweak your profiles or create mixes. They are only nice for casual listening pleasure of music, or to test playback for "club sounds" like this one...

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    Most studios will use subs for mixing. You need to know what is happening In the low end to identify any problem issues. While they may not be necessary for guitar they are for full mixes. However, most home studios practice rooms will have pretty serious issues in the bottom end that need treated. In many cases a sub can accentuate those and give a false impression of the mix.