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Neumann KH420 Review (Studio Monitor)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 2 0.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 3 0.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 29 5.6%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 488 93.5%

  • Total voters
    522

Waxx

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Objectivly one of the better i've ever seen, and knowing the precestors, subjectivly also a great speaker. Even from the Klein & Hummel days (the brand that was bought by Neumann and renamed) these were among my favorite studio monitors, and also fit for home listening because all was done right. I'm glad Neumann did not spoil the knowledge that that Klein & Hummel company had and keep the tradition...

I don't like the looks altough, but that i have with most modern speakers. That bland black plastic like look will never be my preference... But at the end it does not matter much off course. (just nitpicking).
 

abdo123

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Thanks for the review!
What was your subjective impression/feelings compared to the Genelec 8361A?
I know it's been a few months - too bad a direct comparison of the two wasn't possible. So I don't mean a precise comparison (that's better done via measurements anyway), but rather your feeling on how the two differ?
Well the 8361A has twice the surface area so it’s definitely less limited in bass output.
 

FeddyLost

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for the same price as two KH420 you could buy two Neumann KH310 with two active subs from the same brand
Exactly.
And for small room and not THX SPLs they will be as good as KH420s, but with flexibility regarding bass/room issues.
 

abdo123

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So the speaker is around a 1000$ cheaper than the 8361A but the 8361A has rougly double the surface area with regards to sub-bass output.

So yeah it’s kind of in a weirdly competitive spot right now.

Flawless objective performance though, i would personally seal the ports to prevent excessive excursion. Not a fan of ported (full range) speakers.
 

abdo123

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A little off topic , but for the same price as two KH420 you could buy two Neumann KH310 with two active subs from the same brand. The main difference seems to be that KH310 have an 8 inch driver instead of the KH410:s 10 inch.
View attachment 203714
With the gear necessary for bass management it ends up being more or less the same.
 

MCH

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Thanks for the review!
While reading your results, I had to scroll up to verify the price three times.
By the time I got to the bottom of the review, I realized that the savings from not needing a sub or an amp probably cuts the price substantially.
I am wondering what kind of internal amplification they utilize.
What's up with the stand below the speaker?
Looks quite bit larger than a bookshelf though!
Edit (add):

Amplification

HF Amplifier: Class-AB Rated at 130 W / 140 W Peak
MF Amplifier: Class-AB Rated at 130 W / 140 W Peak
LF Amplifier: Class-AB Rated at 295 W / 330 W Peak

Power Consumption

60 W (Standby)
800 W (Maximum)

Dimensions (W x H x D)

13 x 25.4 x 17.5" / 330 x 645 x 444 mm

Weight

77.2 lb / 35.0 kg

60 W standby consumption... each?

will it look very stupid if i ever get these to go and switch off the power strip every night before going to bed like a grandpa?:D
 

changer

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FeddyLost

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There is naturally more to a speaker than it’s spin and bandwidth extension.
For sure.
But as an owner of 3-ways recently added 2 subs i'm voting for 2.2 if there's no obvious restrictions for such solution.

Regarding "imaging size" i'd say it's definitely tied to (mid)bass drivers' size and dispersion - without phase correction - which is crucial.
I've had an option of comparison PSI A25 and A14: they are almost equally good if you cut their FR to same extension and don't need more SPL than lesser ones can provide.
 

Pearljam5000

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I guess you can't use the KH420 like this ;)
Screenshot_20201031-151055 (1).jpg
 

MZKM

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Hello All,

Why is it that the amplifiers on these powered speakers get a pass?

If these amplifiers were separate we would be wondering if they were under powered or if the SINAD were to high.

As it is, the speakers are great and the amplifiers do not get a sweep or a plot posted.

Seems like we should start testing speakers with a good enough integrated amplifier and stop giving the amplifier even a mention.

Thanks DT
Whatever distortion the amps have would influence the THD plot. Whatever wattage the amps have would influence max SPL/compression. Whatever self-noise the amps have would be commented on by Amir.
 

tktran303

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Thanks for a great review.
106dB/1m @0.5% THD is the new normal.

This is an 8 year old speaker that cost $10K a pair.

I consider this an evergreen speaker- a speaker for lifetime.

Let me see what I can do…
 
Last edited:

3125b

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This isn’t exactly a new model, I don’t think.
It was released in 2015 I think.

A little history of Neumann as we know it today:
Neumann was founded in 1928 making microphones and other recording equipment. The struggling company was bought by Sennheiser in 1991, who decided to restructure it from the ground up. The original Neumann never made studio monitors.
Those were made by Klein + Hummel who had been building active studio monitors since the 70s, another company Sennheiser bought in 2005 and incorporated into Neumann in 2010.
That‘s the reason you won‘t find any old Neumann studio monitors on the used market, and also why old Klein + Hummel models look so familiar. The predecessor to this KH 420 is the O410 that was released in 2007 or so.
 

Tangband

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With the gear necessary for bass management it ends up being more or less the same.
Yes, but with the cheaper KH310 with 2 KH750 dsp- subwoofers theres gonna be two advantages:

1. Two KH310+ 2 KH750 dsp becomes a 4 way loudspeaker , meaning less frequencies for each driver to play. The result will be less IMD distortion with complex music , if the quality of the amplifiers and drivers are of the same high quality. A good 4 way loudspeaker has less compromises in the crossover regions than a good three way , if done right.:)

2. The Neumann subs have room-correction and thats a big advantage below 80 Hz , to compensate for the walls in the listening room. The KH420 dont have this.

3. The KH310 + 2 KH750 dsp might because of this have a better sound than two KH420.
One has to compare the sound quality carefully and with real music.
 
Last edited:

tuga

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@amirm "directivity a bit narrow" is a subjective call.

Bass reflex tuning looks a bit too underdamped, can you post the individual responses?
 

Tangband

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Why choosing that option, rated at 6.2/7.6, instead of Genelc 8030C rated at 6.31/7.50 ?

The result in those measurements dont count the advantage of many drivers and crossover regions - if done right.*

*Meaning a 3-way loudspeaker will always play real music better than a two way loudspeaker if the quality of drivers and amplifiers are the same and everything is done in the right way regarding directivity and crossovers
 
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