Neumann KH 150 Monitor Review

[teashea]

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it can go pretty high in frequency flat It is a complete bass not only a sub
It can be seen and used as a high quality lowest way of a 3 ways
I do not understand why using only a 10" and not a 12"
JBL's famous studio monitors used to sport 12" units for instance
a 12" can reach up to 400-500Hz without particular issue while providing a little extra undistorted SPL in the lower Hz
the car audio sector is quite more extreme speaking of bass speakers
I do not know why

A ten inch is better controlled.

 

[teashea]

They do, actually. High passing a 2-way and adding a sub reduces midrange IMD, same way a 3-way does.

The distortion is already inaudible.

 

[LTig]

The distortion is already inaudible.

That depends on the SPL. Play loud enough and IMD will become audible without the sub but not with sub.

 

[gino1961]

A ten inch is better controlled.

That can be true of course
Problem is that usually drivers are not off the shelf but custom made
It is almost impossible to get their TS parameters or distortion figures
I guess it must be a first class driver for sure
I love low Qts woofers after having had a disastrous experience with a high Qts one
Even changing power amps had no real effect

 

[luxmag]

This is a review, listening tests and measurements of the Neumann KH150 DSP 2-way studio monitor (active speaker). It is on loan from the company and costs US $1,750 (each).
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The design language is not changed of course. The main woofer is 6.5 inches now powered by 120 watt dedicated amplifier. While it is about 3X larger than the KH 80 DSP, it is still light and quite manageable. Here is the back panel with all the expected connections/controls:
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As bad luck would have it, I yet again managed to test a Neumann speaker during colder weather here (around 56 degrees F). I kept the speaker indoor prior to testing with Klippel NFS speaker measurement system. Reference axis was on the outside top of the woofer.

Neumann KH 150 Speaker Measurements
As usual, we start with our "spin graph" of the anechoic frequency response:
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I never stop being shocked when I run the computational phase of the Klippel NFS out and pops up a frequency response that is ruler flat! It is as if I am measuring a piece of electronics. There is tiniest bit of shelving down below 200 Hz and a bit of droop at the top end, neither of which Neumann sees in their measurements.

EDIT: received an overlay of Neumman measurements and mine:
View attachment 249899
This is incredibly good match! This gives me confidence in my measurements and theirs.

What is uniquely impressive here is the bass extension to incredible 39 Hz for such a small speaker! Very nice.

There is a change in directivity due to Tweeter waveguide which could have probably only been avoided if the crossover point was lower in frequency.

Early window reflections show the classic issue we see in 2-way speakers with vertical directivity not being as good:
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You can help that as noted with absorption or high distance (from ceiling). Or let it be as vertical dispersion is not as important as horizontal. Predicted-far field response is still quite good:
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Near-field measurements of the port and drivers shows extremely good control of internal resonances:
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Most impressive bit is the very low distortion from such a compact speaker:

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Once again, at 86 dBSPL we are talking THD numbers that are in domain of electronics! See how the response essentially hugs the 0 dB axis. Even at 96 dBSPL, speaker is cruising above 100 Hz. Very remarkable.

Horizontal dispersion is a bit narrower at 50 degrees (as opposed to typical 60 degrees in my other tests):
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Vertical dispersion as noted has the classic hole but otherwise, straightens out nicely:

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CSD waterfall shows very nice control of resonances (as we could tell from spin data):
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Finally, here is the step response for fans of that:

View attachment 248939

Neumann KH150 Monitor Listening Tests
As usual, I pulled up my female vocals to test for tonality. I was immediate hit with a warm signature that I am not used to hearing with small speakers/monitors. This persisted across many tracks which I contribute to nice bass extension. That led me into thinking subbass response would be good as well. That was not the case. Much of it is filtered due to sharp drop off in response. So for that, you still need a sub or a much larger monitor.

Listening across a range of tracks was a delight. In my near-field listening, the KH 150 could get as loud as I wanted. Bass response (above sub-pass) was substantial and quite clean (unless pushed hard). Detail was excellent as were the dynamics. My reference test track Io sono metà from the album Musica Nuda was superb:

The detail in strings and the warmth from subtle bass response was to die for.

Conclusions
Even though I expect excellence from Neumann I was still pleasantly surprised by the bass extension, very low distortion and manageable weight and size of the KH 150. The price is up there to be sure but so is the performance. For that cost you get a speaker that will surprise you in how full range it plays yet it is not a giant box on sides of your desk.

It is my pleasure to recommend Neumann KH 150.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

I appreciate this review. Can you give me your recommendation for monitors that will not break the bank and don’t need a subwoofer ? I am using Yamaha HS7 with sub now

 

[Karmacoma]

I appreciate this review. Can you give me your recommendation for monitors that will not break the bank and don’t need a subwoofer ? I am using Yamaha HS7 with sub now

Hi, amir is the founder of this site and certainly doesn't have the time to answer all the requests. However you have here a community that could help you, just create a dedicated thread and you'll get a satisfying answer.
Loved your tone btw

 

[teashea]

I appreciate this review. Can you give me your recommendation for monitors that will not break the bank and don’t need a subwoofer ? I am using Yamaha HS7 with sub now

I used to have six pairs of HS monitors in my studio - all replaced with Neumann monitors. The HS's are very good for their price. Unfortunately there is no magic. For me personally, there is nothing that is cost effective between the HS's and Neumann's. You certainly will not find any such monitors that do not need a subwoofer for frequencies below 40 Hz. Quality costs ---- there is no way around it.

I don't know if it is possible, but if you can do it, I would suggest you consider saving up for a pair of Neumann's instead of spending money on something in-between. Best wishes.

 

[gino1961]

I appreciate this review. Can you give me your recommendation for monitors that will not break the bank and don’t need a subwoofer ? I am using Yamaha HS7 with sub now

If you are a little into DIY buy a just decent one and change the woofers with something serious same size
I can't find pics of the Neumann woofer but I am quite confident that it's really really serious

 

[dvv87]

I had the same issue with one of my KH150s. Crackling noise which was increasing exponentially until I was able to turn it off. After rebooting the speaker came back normal. But I got scared so I asked Sweetwater for a replacement which they did immediately. These kind of issues are DSP software related and not hardware related as rebooting fix the crackling noise.

I just experienced this issue today. It occurred as soon as I woke my speaker from standby mode. I restarted it, and so far, the problem hasn’t come back, but I’m quite concerned it might happen again. I already had to send the other speaker in for repair due to a different issue where it would mute itself after a few minutes, with the light turning red. These speakers have great sound quality, but they seem to have some hardware problems.

 

[Pritaudio]

Are Neumann good in fixing/replacing speakers which have this problem with dsp and power.
And can it be a safety risk.

 

[teashea]

What problem are you talking about? What kind of safety risk? Like blowing up or electrocuting someone? Please explain your questions in detail.

 

[dfuller]

Are Neumann good in fixing/replacing speakers which have this problem with dsp and power.
And can it be a safety risk.

It is not a safety risk, no. The issues are more functionality related - ie, it won't come out of standby or starts crackling for no reason.

 

[Pritaudio]

But does Neumann remedy it with any hardware change when sending in to repair.
Or do they just send out another for replacement.

Or is it purely software based. In which case what sort of response given after troubleshooting with them.
Ie. Promised fixes, running diagnostics with them directly.

 

[dfuller]

But does Neumann remedy it with any hardware change when sending in to repair.
Or do they just send out another for replacement.

Or is it purely software based. In which case what sort of response given after troubleshooting with them.
Ie. Promised fixes, running diagnostics with them directly.

That I do not know the answer to. My assumption is that they will swap any bad subassemblies if it's a hardware problem (they're not doing component level repair given the short timeframe they have for this kind of thing, but I'd bet the boards do get reworked), software issues they may reflash the firmware.

 

[Randyman...]

Has anyone purchased the KH-150's from MusicStore.com for import to the USA? I see quite a few have done so with the KH-120II, but their price can allow them to sneak under the $750 break-point.

See my thread HERE for any import fee data ASR users might be able to provide.

TLDR - Ordered (1) KH-150 from MusicStore.com to see what happens. Goal is to buy 3 for L-C-R before tariffs go up under Trump...

 

[teashea]

No warranty in the US.

 

[Pritaudio]

I m not sure if these are purifi level low distortion as someone mentioned.

 

[dfuller]

I m not sure if these are purifi level low distortion as someone mentioned.

They're pretty close. Maybe the IMD isn't as good...

 

[Randyman...]

No warranty in the US.

Referenced this thread where customer calls Sennheiser directly for confirmation, and reviewed Neumann's warranty page.

Specifically:

Warranty claims can be enforced in any country throughout the world in which the statutory rights of the country concerned are not in conflict with our warranty regulations.

Not seeing anything that would substantiate the claim of no warranty in US. What was your source?

I will obviously discover what's up with tariffs in a few weeks when my KH150 arrives - but do you have any input on the current tariff uncertainty?