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Genelec 8330+7350 or Neumann KH 120 II+KH750 for casual music enjoyment

Which set would you recommend?

  • Genelec 8330 + 7350

    Votes: 10 35.7%
  • Neumann KH 80 + KH 750

    Votes: 1 3.6%
  • Neumann KH 120 II + KH 750

    Votes: 17 60.7%

  • Total voters
    28
Read what Neumann says ---- It is critical
I agree with Teashea in this case. Neumann writes in the manual to ensure a similar difference between L and R with +/- 0.5cm precision ("Arrange the front left and right loudspeakers and the listening position to form an equilateral triangle. The distance between the loudspeakers the listening position should be the same to within approximately ±0.5 cm. " Source: https://ma1.neumann.com/manual). This should be impossible without a stand.
Also, Markus Wolff (Neumann´s lead engineer for studio monitors) himself wrote in an e-mail to me: "Es ist in der Tat sehr wichtig, bei der ersten Messung sehr genau auf insbesondere den korrekten Abstand von rechtem zu linkem Lautsprecher zu achten. Bei den weiteren Messungen ist das nicht mehr so kritisch."
Translation via DeepL: "It is indeed very important to pay close attention to the correct distance from the right to the left speaker during the first measurement. This is not as critical for the subsequent measurements."

No, no they are not. Less important? Sure. Irrelevant? Absolutely not.
We are talking about 70-80cm listening distance here in this thread. So, maybe not 100% irrelevant, but the calculated far field in-room-responses should not really apply here.
 
We are talking about 70-80cm listening distance here in this thread. So, maybe not 100% irrelevant, but the calculated far field in-room-responses should not really apply here.
they may trend flatter than the farfield domestic room PIR but it still should follow the same trend.
 
I finally decided to order both the Genelecs 8330 and the Neumann KH 120 II to test them with my own ears and I have to admit that after a short test, both are really great when it comes to music (with a slight preference for the Genelecs, in the case of the Neumanns I sometimes get the impression that the lower end "drowned out" the higher sounds). When it comes to the effects when watching movies, I would say that the Neumanns have the advantage here. With the caveat that I haven't calibrated them using GLM and MA1 yet.

However, either I'm doing something wrong or Genelecs 8330 generate such noise that even when watching movies on YouTube from a distance of about 80 cm I can hear their hiss (!) which is quite audible even from such distance. When I put my ear to both it is really clearly audible, while Neumanns generate practically zero hiss and absolutely crystal clear speech sound. When I read posts from people on the forum complaining that some speakers emit hiss I thought they were exaggerating (or that I was insensitive to it), but now I am really shocked. Both Genelecs and Neumanns I connected fully digital but I don't know if it matters and should I test the analog connection then instead?

I would like to kindly ask you for your opinion/advice and from people who own Genelecs to share their experience whether they do not have such a problem.

I got the Genelec 8340A in the summer and ran into audible hiss, even from 3+ feet away. And I did all sorts of adjustments and isolationing to see it wasn't my setup, also my old Dynaudio Air 6 did not have such noise in the same setup. And I had a not great electric situation at my previous apartment where the Dynaudios were noisy, so it's not like they're some amazing noise-suppressing monitor.

Anyway, sent tthem to Genelec and they told me any noise was within tolerance. They were nice and communicative, and the Genelecs sounded fantastic, but in the end the hiss was just so distracting so I had to return them. I did some research and saw others mention issues with hissy Genelecs, although plenty refuting that. Regardless, I haven't seen hiss mentioned with the Neumanns, so I'm going to give the KH150s a try in the very near future.
 
I have one more question - since we quite often watch movies together during lunch/dinner time (in the arrangement as on the picture below), ignoring my "feeling" for now, I would like to make sure that I understand correctly. So, according to the official information from Neumann and Genelec + information from the amirm's reviews, is it true that:

1) Genelec 8330 does better in such a scenario than Neumann KH 120 II?
2) Adding a sub will generally always at least slightly (?) reduce the feeling that the sound comes mainly from the speaker you are sitting closer to?
3) Genelec 8331 beats the above hands down (even without a sub?)?


Monitors & sub placement x2 (scenario).jpg
 

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2) Adding a sub will generally always at least slightly (?) reduce the feeling that the sound comes mainly from the speaker you are sitting closer to?
3) Genelec 8331 beats the above hands down (even without a sub?)?
2) after hardware calibration? - no
3) 8331 vs 8330+7350 - no
 
1 - not so clear. Both sound great, the 8330 has a brighter clearer timbre and the KH120ii will do better in bass and have a darker timbre.
2 - no
3 - probably not. I only have a 8341 as reference to judge but the 8341 is really not good in bass, much worse then one would expect. Likewise the 8331 will even more need a sub. The 8330 does better and the KH120ii even more in terms of Bass. On the other hand the part above the bass may sound clearer on the 8331 then on 8330 (which I can't tell from first hand experience).

In a not nearfield Szenario I would personally choose 8330 with sub as I like the brighter presentation a bit more but KH120ii with sub will also do great. Without sub the Neumann has the edge. And the smaller Genelec "the Ones" really need a sub in my opinion to play to their full potential
 
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