Kemper Power Kabinet (active) vs. Kemper Kabinet (passive) with separate power amplifier

    Hi,

    I want to get a Kemper Kabinet along with my Profiler Stage, but I'm wondering if I should rather get the active version, Kemper Power Kabinet, or the passive version, Kemper Kabinet, plus an external power amplifier.


    Regarding flexibility:

    It seems to me, that a setup including the passive version with an external (stereo) power amplifier is easier / cheaper to extend later...?

    For example I could buy a 2nd Kemper Kabinet (not so expensive) and just connect it to the same power amplifier to have stereo sound...

    Is that right?

    Regarding sound:

    Question: Is there a sound difference, you can really hear, between the "original" power amplifier inside the active Kemper Power Kabinet in comparison to an external one? (like the Palmer Macht 402 with the passive Kemper Kabinet?) Or does it sound nearly the same?

    Is there an external power amplifier you can recommend for the passive Kemper Kabinet?

    Or would you rather recommend buying the Kemper Power Kabinet?

    Thanks! :)

    Personally, I don't have either, but from my perspective, you are trading simplicity (power kabinet) with flexibility (kabinet). I would guess that the tone from wither would be very similar. The advantage of the Power Kabinet, is that it's a contained unit. Plug and play. The disadvantage, if the internal amp has a problem, you lose both the amp and the kabinet. The Passive Kabinet requires more work, dealing with a separate amp, kabinet, cables, ect. But, you get the flexibility that if your amp dies, you still have a working kabinet.

    I have two passive Kabinets.

    I've used Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700 which uses the same Icepower amp that Kemper uses in the powered head and rack.

    Also a Ritter Camplifier 290, and an ISP Stealth Power Pro.

    I "might" be tempted to say there was an extremely minor difference with the ISP as it is Class A/B.

    But I cannot tell the difference between the SD and the Camplifier at all. They are both Class D.

    They all work well.