markwit229 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I have been playing through the POD X3 via a nice set of Bose noise-cancelling headphones for a long while now as I've lived in apartments for the last few years. That will no longer be an issue soon and I was hoping somebody could provide some advice on output alternatives (i.e., speakers, amps, etc.). I feel like this topic has been covered to death, except that I couldn't find any great posts or advice that seemed to answer my exact question. I'm also relatively new to the world of amplification so please excuse my lack of understanding. I play solely as a hobby, not in a band and not live. My typical day of playing would involve a lot of backing tracks at home. I play a couple Strats and a nice PRS. As far as music, I'm a huge David Gilmour fan, but I would be playing anything from Clapton to the Chili Peppers. I previously played a POD 2.0 through a low-end (literally bottom end) Marshall half stack. I was always really disappointed with the tone, especially compared to how great the POD sounded through a nice set of headphones. I knew a guy a while ago who played the original POD through a PA system and I was astonished at how great it sounded (he turned me onto the POD in the first place). So, basically, I am looking to replicate as much as possible how great the POD sounds through a pair of headphones. That probably isn't very descriptive, but I believe (just a guess) that the headphones are not processing the sound as much as other output alternatives would. I recall reading the instructions with the Marshall half stack on how best to set it up with the POD and I felt like I was hearing the POD tones very much modified when they were coming through the amp. Granted, the Marshall was a terrible, terrible piece of equipment. What would be my best option for "outputting" the POD's tones with as little modification as possible while retaining some power? In other words, taking the tones I would hear through a nice pair of headphones and producing those through some kind of speaker? Would a PA system be my best bet? If so, anything specific I should look for or avoid? I've read elsewhere that not all PA systems would be appropriate for this kind of thing. Any specific gear you could mention that would be a good example? Thanks in advance for any replies. As I said at the top, apologize if this is the 1000th time you've come across this question but it's an answer I've been looking for for a while. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazzy Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Which X3 do you have? I have the X3 Pro and run into a DT50 & DT25 Cab, Spider Jam, Vox Mini 3 Aux in, Jambox, Jet City Picocalve & JCA12S+. I think it sounds great through all of them as long as the amps that need to be, are set to a clean channel to start with. If I had 2 Vox Mini 3's I would run the 1/4" outs into them and have good stereo monitors. I also put together this little battery powered stereo cab: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triryche Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 How many batteries does that thing take!!?? Nearfield studio monitors will probably get you as close to headphones as you can get, but they have a small optimal listen location. A PA would be ok too. Also, if you are connecting to an amp, try the different "What are you connect to" options, otherwise woth a PA or monitors, use studio direct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazzy Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 How many batteries does that thing take!!?? Nearfield studio monitors will probably get you as close to headphones as you can get, but they have a small optimal listen location. A PA would be ok too. Also, if you are connecting to an amp, try the different "What are you connect to" options, otherwise woth a PA or monitors, use studio direct. Thanks for the tip on the Nearfields. I've made 2 power packs for it since I had the rechargeable batteries laying around. 1 uses 8 2000 Mah AA batteries and the other uses 8 10,000 Mah D batteries. It works for long hours at high levels on the D batteries The Amp is a Lepai car Amp. I place that thing right in front of me while I play and make settings. The cabinet was $18, the amp was $22 and well the batteries I already had so I bought some 5.5mm connectors with wire and battery holders another $20 or so. The Recharehable D batteries were bought a year ago for $54 and the rechargeable AA batteries were $35 for 16. The batteries get used all the time in other things and still work great. I run the headphones out into it with studio direct. Gives my ears a good break from the headphones. It's a closed back cab but still sounds great. I'm thinking about cutting it in half and making it modular so it can be put together or seperated. It also has 2 tweeters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alphasports Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I route mine thru a lowly Roland Cube 15x and it sounds awesome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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