Neumann KH 150 Monitor Review

[Pritaudio]

My March Audio Sointuva AWG (4100 usd per pair) has even more linear Sound Power than the Neumann KH150 (3500 usd per pair), reaches deeper bass and with outstanding dynamics (Purifi woofer).

View attachment 433711

Yea the drivers are pretty damn good.
I use the KH150 in my home theatre with an Low Cut and Subs and i'm amazed about the SPL stability.
Watched Dune yesterday, and also the opening show of the Let it Roll festival (wich i visited last year for the 3rd time - Genre: Drum&Bass).
With an 60-70Hz cutoff (not 100% sure what i set up) i got 106 dB at a listening distance of 3m, which is crazy in my opinion for the size and also that theyre not realy made for this kind of application. And theyre still able to perform pretty acourate so you dont loose resolution.
So when this is not a good sign for the driver quality, i dont know… And i think the Tweeter dies before the Low-Mid Driver SPL wise.

What is the partnering speakers and room size.
Also 3m is at listening point, but wide dispersion is required for home theatre with multiple seating.

 

[Pritaudio]

I have both Ascend Acoustics LXs and the KH 150s. I've never compared them side-by-side but have listened to hundreds of hours of both. My "seat of the pants" impression would be that they are quite similar. I'm sure differences would begin to manifest in a direct, level matched comparison but I suspect the "better" speaker would depend largely on use case. The more controlled directivity of the Neumanns likely makes them better for nearfield/desktop use. I wouldn't be surprised if I preferred the LXs in a more farfield application. Of course, the Ascends require you to bring your own amplification, equalization/room correction, etc.

No mention of the amps you use in your user signature?

 

[mj30250]

No mention of the amps you use in your user signature?

I don't put a lot of energy into amps - as long as they are clean, noise-free, and offer sufficient headroom without messing with the frequency response, I'm good. In the LX setup specifically I am using an Emotiva BasX A3.

 

[Unfit4it]

Im currently trying to decide if I should sell my 120A/750 combo and replace it with these (150's) or get a second kh750 to even out the bass response in my small-ish, semi-treated room. Even with MA1 and room treatment Im a bit dissatisfied with how narrow the sweet spot is, as well as how, about 70% of the time, I am able to locate the sub in the room during use.

Do you think I should get another kh750 and see if it improves things or just sell it and get the 150's instead? Anyone been in a similar situation that can chime in?

There's one/two other options I've been eyeing besides the 150's, those are the Genelec 8331's and the 8341's with their GLM alignment kit. The Genelecs should widen the sweet spot by a decent margin, as well as, hopefully, deter me from wanting a sub due to being a coaxxial 3-way design.

Thoughts?

 

[tifune]

deter me from wanting a sub due to being a coaxxial 3-way design.

Can you elaborate on this point? Those are great monitors, l currently own 8331/8341/KH120 and owned 150s, but none of them make me feel like I don't need a sub except maybe the 8341 at extremely close (1ft) listening distance.

 

[Unfit4it]

Can you elaborate on this point? Those are great monitors, l currently own 8331/8341/KH120 and owned 150s, but none of them make me feel like I don't need a sub except maybe the 8341 at extremely close (1ft) listening distance.

Im hoping a larger, preferably 3 way design speaker will produce enough low end in my room where I won't be missing/needing a sub again. Don't get me wrong, its nice hearing those lowest lows from time to time, but having to sort out the proper placement for a sub in an already less than ideal environment is a headache that I'd prefer to avoid.

The speakers sit about 3.5-4 feet away from my ears. Are you saying I'd still want a sub at that distance with something like 8341's?

Another thing with the 120's is that they seem to sound a little on the 'darker' side, missing that sparkle in the top end, which makes them come across as a little less detailed than I'd want them to be. From what I've read, most Genelecs are the opposite of that, to the point where some users find them a bit too bright for their taste (though these were most likely cases where GLM was not utilized to correct for untreated room deficiencies, is my guess).

 

[levimax]

Im hoping a larger, preferably 3 way design speaker will produce enough low end in my room where I won't be missing/needing a sub again. Don't get me wrong, its nice hearing those lowest lows from time to time, but having to sort out the proper placement for a sub in an already less than ideal environment is a headache that I'd prefer to avoid.

The speakers sit about 3.5-4 feet away from my ears. Are you saying I'd still want a sub at that distance with something like 8341's?

Another thing with the 120's is that they seem to sound a little on the 'darker' side, missing that sparkle in the top end, which makes them come across as a little less detailed than I'd want them to be. From what I've read, most Genelecs are the opposite of that, to the point where some users find them a bit too bright for their taste (though these were most likely cases where GLM was not utilized to correct for untreated room deficiencies, is my guess).

How about KH420's ?

 

[witwald]

Im hoping a larger, preferably 3 way design speaker will produce enough low end in my room where I won't be missing/needing a sub again. Don't get me wrong, its nice hearing those lowest lows from time to time, but having to sort out the proper placement for a sub in an already less than ideal environment is a headache that I'd prefer to avoid.

If a pair of larger 3-way loudspeakers are going to be used, wouldn't that reduce your maneuvering options as far as room placement goes, from a low-frequency response perspective? In any case, the KH 750 subwoofer is going to go way lower in frequency than most larger 3-way systems, as it is only about −1dB at 20Hz, and its specifications say it is −3dB at 18Hz.

It might be worth mapping out the pressure distribution in your room to see where the pressure nulls are for the different room modes, and then organizing your listening position accordingly.

Another thing with the 120's is that they seem to sound a little on the 'darker' side, missing that sparkle in the top end, which makes them come across as a little less detailed than I'd want them to be.

Is that with the Treble Acoustical Control set to produce a positive boost in the treble? It could be worth trying this if you haven't already.

 

[Unfit4it]

How about KH420's ?

I'd love to but way too large for my space, to be honest.

 

[Unfit4it]

If a pair of larger 3-way loudspeakers are going to be used, wouldn't that reduce your maneuvering options as far as room placement goes, from a low-frequency response perspective? In any case, the KH 750 subwoofer is going to go way lower in frequency than most larger 3-way systems, as it is only about −1dB at 20Hz, and its specifications say it is −3dB at 18Hz.

View attachment 434654
It might be worth mapping out the pressure distribution in your room to see where the pressure nulls are for the different room modes, and then organizing your listening position accordingly.

Is that with the Treble Acoustical Control set to produce a positive boost in the treble? It could be worth trying this if you haven't already.

I honestly don't think I will be missing out much by not hearing below ~35hz. Im not much of a bass-head, though I do prefer a tight, articulate low end with no bloat. Also I don't expect any of the larger/3-way speakers Im considering to dig that low anyway, hence placement shouldn't be an issue to the extent that it is now with the sub.

The Treble Control feature you mention, is that buried in the MA-1 settings somewhere?

 

[witwald]

The Treble Control feature you mention, is that buried in the MA-1 settings somewhere?

According to the KH120 II/KH150 User Instructions, the switches are on the back panel. Below is an excerpt from those instructions.

 

[Unfit4it]

According to the KH120 II/KH150 User Instructions, the switches are on the back panel. Below is an excerpt from those instructions.
View attachment 434674

Oh yes, the switches on the back of the KH120. Just set them to +1 setting and the results are still quite underwhelming.

 

[unpluggged]

Even with MA1 and room treatment Im a bit dissatisfied with how narrow the sweet spot is, as well as how, about 70% of the time, I am able to locate the sub in the room during use.

This is not my experience despite my room and the speaker placement in it are nowhere near optimal. The sweet spot of the Neumann speakers (with or without the MA 1 or the sub) is much wider than that of some other monitors I had used.

What is your listening distance and how the speakers are placed and angled at your LP?

 

[boxerfan88]

Im currently trying to decide if I should sell my 120A/750 combo and replace it with these (150's) or get a second kh750 to even out the bass response in my small-ish, semi-treated room. Even with MA1 and room treatment Im a bit dissatisfied with how narrow the sweet spot is, as well as how, about 70% of the time, I am able to locate the sub in the room during use.

Do you think I should get another kh750 and see if it improves things or just sell it and get the 150's instead? Anyone been in a similar situation that can chime in?

There's one/two other options I've been eyeing besides the 150's, those are the Genelec 8331's and the 8341's with their GLM alignment kit. The Genelecs should widen the sweet spot by a decent margin, as well as, hopefully, deter me from wanting a sub due to being a coaxxial 3-way design.

Thoughts?

Reads like quite a bit of dissatisfaction with Neumann kit. Might be time to explore other brands like Genelec, Kii, D&D, ATC or others.

 

[witwald]

I'd love to but [KH 420s] way too large for my space, to be honest.

What considerations make you say that? Is it the aesthetics of the listening environment? Or is it the performance of the loudspeaker?

The general dimensions of the KH 120, KH 150, and KH 420 are shown below, including their low-frequency cut-off points. The Genelec 8351B and 8361A are also included. It does look like the KH 420 would be an imposing looking loudspeaker in many listening spaces, as it is almost 8 times larger than the KH 120, and so it might take a bit of getting used to.

Model Name​	Height (mm)	Width (mm)	Depth (mm)	Volume (litres)	−3dB Cut-Off Point
Neumann KH 120 II	287	182	227	11.9	44 Hz
Neumann KH 150	345	225	273	21.2	39 Hz
Genelec 8351B	454	287	278	36.2	34 Hz
Genelec 8361A	593	357	347	73.5	36 Hz
Neumann KH 420	645	330	444	94.5	26 Hz

Compared to the KH 120, the KH 150 is approximately twice the enclosure volume, while the 8351B is about three times the enclosure volume. Would either the KH 150 or 8351B be of a suitable size that you would consider working with them?

It would be possible to mount all of these speakers on stands and point them at the listening position, to ensure that they are radiating on-axis towards the listener.

 

[tifune]

The speakers sit about 3.5-4 feet away from my ears. Are you saying I'd still want a sub at that distance with something like 8341's?

IMO, absolutely. But that's my listening tastes in terms of content and volume, maybe it doesn't apply to your situation. I recall one post on here saying any speaker smaller than 15" needs a sub, I think that's a little extreme but subs solve more problems than just volume in almost all rooms.

Another thing with the 120's is that they seem to sound a little on the 'darker' side, missing that sparkle in the top end, which makes them come across as a little less detailed than I'd want them to be.

This is probably the most commonly reported difference between Neumann and Genelec, one which I agree with and is why I no longer own 150/310s. I would probably sell my 80s and 120s, too, but the 120s aren't worth much anymore and one of my 80s literally went up in smoke.

Genelec support is better by far, if that matters to you. They actually talked me out of buying W371's after reviewing my GRADE report, explaining such an expensive purchase would have very little impact to my situation and I should focus my funds elsewhere (room treatment)

 

[unpluggged]

This is probably the most commonly reported difference between Neumann and Genelec, one which I agree with and is why I no longer own 150/310s.

This is not true. Out of the box my KH 120 came out as very treble-rich, even in a drywall room. Not to mention the EQ option.

Genelec support is better by far, if that matters to you. They actually talked me out of buying W371's

Sounds like this was not a support case, just a pre-sale consultation.

 

[holdingpants01]

Sounds like this was not a support case, just a pre-sale consultation.

The support is second to none actually, when I asked about the noise level in my W371A, as I use them in nearfield, even if they were within the spec, they made me custom amps with lower noise level and sent service people to install them in my studio, all free of charge of course.

 

[tifune]

Sounds like this was not a support case, just a pre-sale consultation.

That resulted in me spending $0 with Genelec? I guess you could be right, but doesn't seem like a winning strategy.

 

[Unfit4it]

What considerations make you say that? Is it the aesthetics of the listening environment? Or is it the performance of the loudspeaker?

The general dimensions of the KH 120, KH 150, and KH 420 are shown below, including their low-frequency cut-off points. The Genelec 8351B and 8361A are also included. It does look like the KH 420 would be an imposing looking loudspeaker in many listening spaces, as it is almost 8 times larger than the KH 120, and so it might take a bit of getting used to.

Model Name​	Height (mm)	Width (mm)	Depth (mm)	Volume (litres)	−3dB Cut-Off Point
Neumann KH 120 II	287	182	227	11.9	44 Hz
Neumann KH 150	345	225	273	21.2	39 Hz
Genelec 8351B	454	287	278	36.2	34 Hz
Genelec 8361A	593	357	347	73.5	36 Hz
Neumann KH 420	645	330	444	94.5	26 Hz

Compared to the KH 120, the KH 150 is approximately twice the enclosure volume, while the 8351B is about three times the enclosure volume. Would either the KH 150 or 8351B be of a suitable size that you would consider working with them?

It would be possible to mount all of these speakers on stands and point them at the listening position, to ensure that they are radiating on-axis towards the listener.

Just due to their physical size. I don't have much space left in the room that would allow me to position them properly on stands. Im actually considering the Genelec 8341's, which are slightly smaller than the 51's.