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Mic Setup for Neumann DSP Correction

JAH

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Hi All,

I fell down the rabbit hole thanks to the excellent information on this site and recently purchased a ADI-2 DAC, and a pair of Neumann KH-80 speakers with their MA-1 microphone for in room correction. It is an awesome setup out of the box but id like to improve it with room correction.

Unfortunately, if i understand the manual, it appears that i cant use the ADI-2 for the room correction as there is no analog input. and i can connect the mic directly to my mac for this purpose. Is this understanding correct?

And if it is correct, could anyone recommend an inexpensive "Audio Interface" (as its called in the manual) to allow me to do room correction?

- JAH
 

staticV3

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You should be able to do manual room correction using the 6-band PEQ built into your RME.
Edit: ah, I see the problem. You have an XLR microphone but no way to record it.
 

DVDdoug

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recently purchased a ADI-2 DAC
That's a DAC and you need an ADC, or more specifically an audio interface with a "pro" microphone input.

and i can connect the mic directly to my mac for this purpose.
No. XLR mics need a balanced connection and they are not interchangeable with "computer mics".

And you can't read the absolute SPL level because the digital level depends on mic sensitivity and preamp gain (unless you calibrate the setup with an SPL meter) but you CAN still measure the in-room frequency response/characteristics.

...A calibrated USB measurement mic is probably cheaper than an interface and the digital level is calibrated to the SPL level.
 

staticV3

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An interface for XLR mics is about $100 (Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen). There are some really cheap ones as well, like the UMC22 for $50.
Alternatively you can buy a USB measurement microphone like the UMIK-1 for $80. Or spend a bit more on an individually calibrated UMIK-1.
 
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HarmonicTHD

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I have the KH80 and KH750 with the MA1 measurement mic.

To use the Neumann room EQ software you can only use the MA1 mic as the software requires you to enter the mics serial number for calibration. (USB mics won’t work). The Neumann room EQ is far more advanced than the 6 PEQs of the adi as it uses more filters plus adjusts for timing / phase differences, which especially for sub integration does wonders without the hassle of eg using MSO.

The MA1 mic requires 48V phantom power and therefore an audio interface which can provide this.

Unless you want to trade in your nice adi2 for an adi2 pro fs, the cheapest solution are the Focusrite interface eg Solo. I use a Focusrite 4i4. They all have reliable drivers Asio and don’t give you trouble.

(BTW. We Neumann customers not only paid premium for an excellently engineered product but also for their also very good customer service. So if you feel you need their expert advice don’t hesitate to contact them too)
 
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dougi

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Yeah I use a Scarlet 2i2 gen 2 for all my room correction measurements and it rarely misses a beat.
 

DJBonoBobo

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Unless you want to trade in your nice adi2 for an adi2 pro fs, the cheapest solution are the Focusrite interface eg Solo.
AFAIK the Adi Pro doesn't have 48V, so it will not work. A Focusrite Solo seems to be the cheapest option.
 

HarmonicTHD

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Now I did my homework;-)

The RME

Fireface UCX II​

Has the 48V phantom power, but it’s not cheap.

Again thanks for catching my initial error.
 
OP
J

JAH

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THANKS everyone! All the feedback was tremendously educational and helpful.

I went with the Focusrite Solo and needed cords. Everything should be here tomorrow, just-in time for me to have some fun with it this weekend.
 

dazzler9000

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Hi all, I've just stumbled across this thread as I have the same connectivity issues as JAH. I have the Neumann k150s and RME ADI-2 DAC.

If I purchase the Focusrite Scarlett Solo to enable me to calibrate, what cables do I need to hook it all together? I'm new to this....

Looks like I'll need an XLR female to XLR female from the MA1 mic to Focusrite Scarlett Solo. What will I need to connect the sole to my RME ADI?

Thanks
 
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staticV3

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@dazzler9000 To use the MA1 room correction built into your KH150, follow this setup guide:
Screenshot_20240226-165236_Drive.png
No connection to your ADI-2 is required.
 

DJBonoBobo

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Hi all, I've just stumbled across this thread as I have the same connectivity issues as JAH. I have the Neumann k150s and RME ADI-2 DAC.

If I purchase the Focusrite Scarlett Solo to enable me to calibrate, what cables do I need to hook it all together? I'm new to this....

Looks like I'll need an XLR female to XLR female from the MA1 mic to Focusrite Scarlett Solo. What will I need to connect the sole to my RME ADI?

Thanks
You use the Solo temporarily instead of the ADI-2 DAC just for the calibration. Because the RME has XLR output sockets and the Solo has 6.3mm TRS jack sockets you'll need TRS->XLR adapters to connect the speakers to the Solo.

Like this:
1708965168846.png
 

dazzler9000

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Fantastic, thanks for the info, I really am clueless unless it's obvious :oops:. I'd assumed that the lack of dual XLR on the Solo meant I needed to connect to the RME.

So just to confirm, I plug the mic into the XLR input 2 and the KH150 plug into the TRS outputs via a XLR -> TRS cable.

I appreciate your help on this

1708965337779.png
 
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DJBonoBobo

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Fantastic, thanks for the info, I really am clueless unless it's obvious :oops:

So just to confirm, I plug the mic into the XLR input 2 and the KH150 plug into the TRS outputs via a XLR -> TRS cable.

I appreciate your help on this.

View attachment 352464
Yes. You have to activate the 48V button on the front and use the input 2 knob for input gain (i would start with a middle 12 o clock position and change it if the MA1 programm complains about it).
 

dazzler9000

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Yes. You have to activate the 48V button on the front and use the input 2 knob for input gain (i would start with a middle 12 o clock position and change it if the MA1 programm complains about it).
Thanks, I will get it ordered
 

dazzler9000

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Yes. You have to activate the 48V button on the front and use the input 2 knob for input gain (i would start with a middle 12 o clock position and change it if the MA1 programm complains about it).
Hi DJ, hoping you can help. I have everything set up and connected but I'm struggling to get past this page. I have48v switched on.

PXL_20240229_190733039.jpg

I've tried adjusting the volume knobs on both 1 and 2 but can't get it to work. The only way I can get the mic to show up in the software is to turn knob 1 to max?

PXL_20240229_190748818.MP.jpg


If I turn knob 1 down, I get the following error where the mic is not detected.

PXL_20240229_191026286.jpg


Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated.
 

dazzler9000

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I appreciate it's more advanced kit and I'm a newbie, but it's a bit of a faff to setup compared to any other system I've tinkered with.
 

DJBonoBobo

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Hi DJ, hoping you can help. I have everything set up and connected but I'm struggling to get past this page. I have48v switched on.

View attachment 353298
I've tried adjusting the volume knobs on both 1 and 2 but can't get it to work. The only way I can get the mic to show up in the software is to turn knob 1 to max?

View attachment 353300

If I turn knob 1 down, I get the following error where the mic is not detected.

View attachment 353307

Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated.
Maybe the wrong input is selected somewhere? I don't know how and where exactly and i am abroad, but i guess the software "thinks" Input1 is the mic, but you need to tell it that Input2 is the correct one.
 

DJBonoBobo

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Hi DJ, hoping you can help. I have everything set up and connected but I'm struggling to get past this page. I have48v switched on.

View attachment 353298
I've tried adjusting the volume knobs on both 1 and 2 but can't get it to work. The only way I can get the mic to show up in the software is to turn knob 1 to max?

View attachment 353300

If I turn knob 1 down, I get the following error where the mic is not detected.

View attachment 353307

Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated.

There should be a page like this somewhere, try selecting Input 2 as MA1 input channel:
1709240983095.png
 
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