• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

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

jhaider

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
2,823
Likes
4,521
It's a studio monitor as advertised on official site. Compare it with HDI series, for example.


Please post a link to a pro audio vender (Sweetwater, Full Compass, Markertek, etc.) listing JBL 4349 for sale.

By contrast, Here is a an example of a consumer audio vender offering them:

Basically you just proved the point that “studio monitor” vs “hifi” is an artificial marketing distinction (though sometimes a cabinet finish distinction) not an audio function or performance distinction. Also as in this case sometimes the phrase “studio monitor” is used as a meaningless marketing hook for a speaker sold through hifi channels. :)
 

srkbear

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 16, 2021
Messages
1,029
Likes
1,445
Location
Dallas, TX
Usually for compatibility, expected reliability, pack of studio features like filtered output (almost never seen this in hi-fi subs) and low production volume (typical hi-fi subs are much more often than studio subs).

It heavily depends on exact subwoofer that you will use and use case...
Pro subwoofer "as is" not always better than "hi-fi" for same price.



Exactly. But can be used at home as any speaker including PA...
I knew a guy with pair of 420s+810s for heavy metal in 150+ cu.m. room.
He said that it's the best compromise between hi-fi quality and live concert experience for "still sane price".
Yes but doesn’t it seem like the “studio grade” surcharges you refer to above would be foolish for someone in the consumer market to absorb? Admittedly it’s an outstanding piece but surely there are comparable alternatives that are priced for consumer segments?
 

Keened

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 2, 2021
Messages
329
Likes
219
Really the only notable distinction is the word 'monitor' which indicates some minimal tolerance level relative to an 'ideal' speaker. A great deal of historical HiFi was noted for their distinct coloration. Whether that coloration was a good or bad thing obviously depended on the context, but for so long people held that the magic was in the materials and could not be found elsewhere.

Yes but doesn’t it seem like the “studio grade” surcharges you refer to above would be foolish for someone in the consumer market to absorb? Admittedly it’s an outstanding piece but surely there are comparable alternatives that are priced for consumer segments?
More than that, I suspect a lot of the pricing here is because of how the music industry grew around 'record label accounting' where pricing things very high created an exclusivity that only labels, who took the majority of the profits from multiple artists, could afford. Anyone who bought your stuff who wasn't a record label was just icing on the cake, but the money would primarily be coming from people who didn't pay it out of their end of the profits.

This is a decade old design that doesn't use exotic materials, this should be $6K/pair at this point and be at very least the minimum threshold for all 'HiFi' speakers at that price point or higher.
 
OP
amirm

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,376
Likes
234,548
Location
Seattle Area
How would you compare to the Dutch & Dutch 8C? The 8C Studio is actually very slightly cheaper.
I have not heard them so no data.
 

srkbear

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 16, 2021
Messages
1,029
Likes
1,445
Location
Dallas, TX
Really the only notable distinction is the word 'monitor' which indicates some minimal tolerance level relative to an 'ideal' speaker. A great deal of historical HiFi was noted for their distinct coloration. Whether that coloration was a good or bad thing obviously depended on the context, but for so long people held that the magic was in the materials and could not be found elsewhere.


More than that, I suspect a lot of the pricing here is because of how the music industry grew around 'record label accounting' where pricing things very high created an exclusivity that only labels, who took the majority of the profits from multiple artists, could afford. Anyone who bought your stuff who wasn't a record label was just icing on the cake, but the money would primarily be coming from people who didn't pay it out of their end of the profits.

This is a decade old design that doesn't use exotic materials, this should be $6K/pair at this point and be at very least the minimum threshold for all 'HiFi' speakers at that price point or higher.
Now that you’ve said this first, I didn’t have solid facts to prove it but I was wondering if this wasn’t priced based on corporate/industry standards myself. Which is why I would pause to consider consumer segment alternatives before I spent over 10 grand on a pair of these (although with their frequency response one might be able to forgo the costs of a sub in some listening spaces).
 

MediumRare

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
Messages
1,949
Likes
2,275
Location
Chicago
I have not heard them so no data.
That’s too bad. Would you be willing to read Erin’s spinorama review and share your top line opinion as to how they might compare?

 

dfuller

Major Contributor
Joined
Apr 26, 2020
Messages
3,340
Likes
5,063
How close KH310 +subs would sound compared to KH420?
Close, but a bit different. KH420 has smoother directivity behavior than the KH310 (at least when used as vertical - the tweeter+midrange rotates 90 degrees if you want to use them on their sides).
 

Pearljam5000

Master Contributor
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
5,127
Likes
5,356
What's that thing between the KH420 and the sub?
הורדה (19).jpeg
 

Garrincha

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Jan 11, 2022
Messages
659
Likes
816
These really must sound amazingly clean and good and, as discussed, the comparison to the Genelec 8361 is tough. I wonder if the Swiss made, roughly equally priced, PSI Audio A25-M are at the same level and the Adam Audio (German like Neumann) S5V for twice the price are even a step further.
 

Hugo9000

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Jul 21, 2018
Messages
574
Likes
1,749
Location
U.S.A. | Слава Україні
What's that thing between the KH420 and the sub?
View attachment 203926
There is a mounting plate (LH 41), a "rocker" piece that allows angle adjustment and locking (LH 36), and the mount to hold it to the subwoofer (LH 37). You can find them on their website, under "Monitor Accessories." There is also an extension pole that can be added if you need greater height for the monitor (LH 38 with its extension pole, instead of using LH 37).

See this illustration:

product_detail_x2_desktop_KH-420-on-a-KH-870-subwoofer-3_Neumann_M.png


 

Somafunk

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 1, 2021
Messages
1,311
Likes
3,028
Location
Scotland

AudioJester

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
915
Likes
1,215
Locally, the KH420 versus 8361 debate is easy - KH420 is AU$4k cheaper and easier to source.
Way cheaper than D&D8c or KiiThree.
Yet to see a convincing argument that any is significantly sonically better than the others?
Aesthetics, colour, company/dealer choice, configurability etc. all become personal choices. i mean if you think the kh420 is ugly and happy to spend more on a KiiThree - its great that choice is there.
 

8bits

Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2021
Messages
41
Likes
43
Locally, the KH420 versus 8361 debate is easy - KH420 is AU$4k cheaper and easier to source.
Way cheaper than D&D8c or KiiThree.
Yet to see a convincing argument that any is significantly sonically better than the others?
Aesthetics, colour, company/dealer choice, configurability etc. all become personal choices. i mean if you think the kh420 is ugly and happy to spend more on a KiiThree - its great that choice is there.
I guess the 8361 and KiiThree have built in DSP and the KH420 doesn't? Might close that $4K gap a little
 

Sancus

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Messages
2,923
Likes
7,616
Location
Canada
Way cheaper than D&D8c or KiiThree.
Yet to see a convincing argument that any is significantly sonically better than the others?
The 8C and Kii3 both have controlled low frequency directivity, which is a significant feature for domestic uses where thick enough room treatment or ideal positioning to handle SBIR is less practical.

Basically they will interact with the room less between 100-500hz. The Genelec 8361A has slightly better LF directivity than the KH420(emphasis on slightly... it's not a cardioid design but the dual woofers help a bit).

They all have various DSP/room correction features that the KH420 does not as well, if that matters to you, but I wouldn't say those impact audio quality *directly*(you can use Dirac or REW separately with the KH420).

KH420
index.php

8361A
index.php

8C
Dutch%20%26%20Dutch%208c%20Horizontal%20Contour%20Plot%20%28normalized%29.png

Kii3
Kii%20THREE%20Horizontal%20Contour%20Plot%20%28Normalized%29.png
 

kevinh

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2019
Messages
337
Likes
273
Genelec 8361 provide better HD distortion performance at 106 dB since the important frequency band is from 1kHz to 2kHz. The capability to hear hd distortion is way better in this band than in all other frequency bands. I think both speakers are near the hd threshold of hearing anyway.

Intermodulation distortion wasn't measured here so there is no indication which speaker did a better performance. Since a midrange speakers at about 500Hz does hardly move at all, the IMD of both speakers are probably also very low.

There is also one advantage of the genelec ones which isn't mentioned so often: the perfect surface of the front baffle which didn't cause any diffraction. If you have any standard speaker you got secondary sound sources by the chassis and waveguides of the other drivers. It is very hard to avoid these effects. Very big waveguide speakers like the jbl m2 are able to push the diffraction out of the important frequency bands. But yes everything is a compromise.



Earl Geddes has felt that edge diffraction is very detrimental to the sound of a speaker. He had studied the issue and wrote a paper on the topic for the AES IIRC.
 
Top Bottom