Help! Amphion One15 or Neumann KH150?

[Goldior]

Hey all (I'm new here!)

I'm getting a speaker upgrade!
Selling my A77x to upgrade to the following options.
Seeking some of your thoughts on them, considering the prices I'm able to get them at.
I've to make a decision by 31 Aug.
Prices are in SGD (Singapore Dollars)

I've narrowed down till these two options.
1. Neumann KH150 DSP - SGD $4598 (and/or save the money to buy the KH750 DSP sub later for an upgrade down the road)
2. Amphion One15 + Amp700 - SGD $5880 (and/or buy a "cheaper" sub down the road to fill out the lows)

some other speakers I've considered
3. Adam A8H - SGD $4649 (Most people I've spoken to do not recommend them, haven't got a chance to listen to these either)
4. Amphion One18 + Amp 700 - SGD $7280 (ouch, its kinda out of the budget but open to learn more)
5. Focal Trio Be 6 - SGD $7000 (ouch, its kinda out of the budget but open to learn more)

I've heard great things about Amphions but hesitant to jump the gun on them.
I live in an urban environment and I've heard that EMI (Elecro Magnetic Interference) was an issue, Amphions having some potential QC issues, woofer "fart" at higher volumes, radiator cracking etc.
Kindly consider the price points of each that I'm able to get them at and let me know what's the better buy here?
I'm sure i would be happy with any of these but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Any insights and experiences with them would help!
I record and mix a wide range of music, from Metal, Rock, Pop, Acoustic and Jazz.

 

[Klonatans]

I have Neumann KH 150 and can give a unequivocal recommendation, they are very precise, neutral and distortion free monitors. For my (music listening only) purposes a sub isn't really needed, however if you're a producer/musician a KH750 would provide low frequency extension well beyond 36 Hz. Pair it with something like RME ADI-2 DAC FS and you're good.

 

[Grotti]

I own Amphion Argon 3s (quite similar to One 18). I got used to them but strongly recommend to listen to them first in your room. And they definitely need a subwoofer compared to the KH 150.

If I would be in the market at this very moment, the Neumanns would be a no brainer for me! But I wait for the new iteration of the KH 310 before pulling the trigger.

 

[lowkeyoperations]

I own Amphion One15s and prior to that had Neumann KH120 mki.

They are great and a significant improvement over the 120s. They made making compression settings so much more obvious and they are a lot clearer around the bass region.

I’ve never had any issues with the woofers, but I would say they aren’t designed to go really loud for long periods of time.

I wouldn’t use them for tracking, But for mixing in nearfield they are loud enough for me.

Not that you can use other amps to save some money, such as Hypex or other ast recommended amps.

Check out the “Amphion Beautiful” thread at Gearspace for more feedback from users there. https://gearspace.com/board/high-end/949764-amphion-beautiful.html

 

[Grotti]

I own Amphion One15s and prior to that had Neumann KH120 mki.

They are great and a significant improvement over the 120s. They made making compression settings so much more obvious and they are a lot clearer around the bass region.

I’ve never had any issues with the woofers, but I would say they aren’t designed to go really loud for long periods of time.

I wouldn’t use them for tracking, But for mixing in nearfield they are loud enough for me.

Not that you can use other amps to save some money, such as Hypex or other ast recommended amps.

Check out the “Amphion Beautiful” thread at Gearspace for more feedback from users there. https://gearspace.com/board/high-end/949764-amphion-beautiful.html

Sorry, but in my view this gearspace thread is not helpful. I read the first three postings and it is full of all the subjective buzzwords, of burning in loudspeakers and electronics, different sound of loudspeaker cables and amplifiers etc... Pure subjectivity all over the place: a thread for fan boys.

I own the Argon 3s and I am very much aware of their flaws. I know the KH 120 and KH 310 and I have no doubt, that from measurements alone the KH 150 runs circles around my speaker or any other compact Amphion speaker. Same goes for KH 120 II with KH750.

 

[Karmacoma]

For the kh 150, measurements and review are already on the site, debate over performance are here as well; I simply think the creator of this thread, who is obviously well aware of all that is looking for something else.
@Goldior, I very rarely get a ''wow' effect from speakers and when I do, I get it from features I tend to regret later (super wide dispersion or mediums/highs voicing for instance).
The kh 150 gave me that wow effect, but this time for all the good reasons. I got them brand new for 2500€ (lucky i guess ) but when i listen to them it feels like a bargain. I don't think anyone could regret such great speakers, they're a bit expensive so you just need a bit to push you to invest, well here it is:

BUY THEM NOW THEY'RE AS GOOD AS IT GETS IN 2023.

And in the end, if you don't like them (you will, though) you can send them back to the seller and stop relying on speaker measurements ever again .

I have no idea how all the other speakers, measure, but it's very unlikely they outperform the kh 150's on a majority of measurements, simply cos most of kh 150's measurements are already so close to perfect, i mean FR, distorsion, phase linearity etc.. this is top of the game here, a no brainer at this price point.

 

[lowkeyoperations]

Sorry, but in my view this gearspace thread is not helpful. I read the first three postings and it is full of all the subjective buzzwords, of burning in loudspeakers and electronics, different sound of loudspeaker cables and amplifiers etc... Pure subjectivity all over the place: a thread for fan boys.

I own the Argon 3s and I am very much aware of their flaws. I know the KH 120 and KH 310 and I have no doubt, that from measurements alone the KH 150 runs circles around my speaker or any other compact Amphion speaker. Same goes for KH 120 II with KH750.

Sure, GS is a website mainly frequented by people who mix, so often their descriptions are about what they hear or what they have achieved on a pair of speakers. ASR is more about comparing measurements. I think it’s good to get both perspectives.

For example when I had the One15s and KH120s side by side in my studio I found that I preferred listening to music on the KH120s. But I was able to hear different compressor settings and eq changes more clearly on the One15s and in the end my mixes were better according to others.

I still kept the KH120s in my lounge room for years where I think they are great value for money. I’m sure the 150s are even better.

If you want to hear from people using the One Series for mixing (as opposed to listening for pleasure) as per the OP’s use case then GS is great place to go.

There’s also a few good threads on GS from KH150 users too. Check ‘em out.

Good luck with the upgrade!

 

[dan_remaincalm]

just to add in here... i have some amphion one15s, and i have them sounding (and measuring) absolutely brilliant - but it took two 12" subwoofers, dirac live, PLUS a minidsp flex running some hand-tuned EQ to get them there (in an already heavily treated room).

i have not heard the KH120s but i have no doubt they would be less effort to get "right".

i bought the one15s based in part on the gearspace thread and was surprised at how weird the default sound is on them. there's practically no usable sub (and pushing too much sub to them causes them to blow out), and there's a weird rise in the mid treble. with everything corrected it's great though but honestly i wouldn't put myself through it again.

(edit: the one place they do well, with the amp100 amplifier anyway, is essentially zero self-noise - with no input and the minidsp flex, they are absolutely dead quiet. much better performance here than any other active speaker i've tested, including a couple of sets of high-end genelecs)

 

[Pearljam5000]

Definitely KH150

 

[lowkeyoperations]

just to add in here... i have some amphion one15s, and i have them sounding (and measuring) absolutely brilliant - but it took two 12" subwoofers, dirac live, PLUS a minidsp flex running some hand-tuned EQ to get them there (in an already heavily treated room).

i have not heard the KH120s but i have no doubt they would be less effort to get "right".

i bought the one15s based in part on the gearspace thread and was surprised at how weird the default sound is on them. there's practically no usable sub (and pushing too much sub to them causes them to blow out), and there's a weird rise in the mid treble. with everything corrected it's great though but honestly i wouldn't put myself through it again.

(edit: the one place they do well, with the amp100 amplifier anyway, is essentially zero self-noise - with no input and the minidsp flex, they are absolutely dead quiet. much better performance here than any other active speaker i've tested, including a couple of sets of high-end genelecs)

Yep. I’ve got one sub and Dirac live running with my One15s too. I don’t think anyone would be expecting 5” woofers to push out much in the way of subs.

 

[Goldior]

I'd like to thank everyone that has joined in this quest of mine.

I got the KH150 and i can't stress how incredible it sounds. the amount of bass these speakers push through and the clarity is insane