Neumann KH 150 Monitor Review

[LTig]

How does a sub make the mids clearer?

Less IMD in the woofer which goes up to 650 Hz in my O300D.

 

[jean-benoit]

No, I don't agree. You said that it's a personal preference, better leave it at that.

My TV's internal speakers don't play much below <80hz, but I get more than enough "overall" sound for all the series and movies I watch. Should we agree that it's more than enough bass?

There's many many threads to continue this in, including this latest one:

The bottom octave

I would be interested in the thoughts of others regarding the significance of the bottom octave in music/speakers. It seems that in the real world, there is very little music produced that has any content below 40 Hz. My understanding from other forums is that none of the major labels...

www.audiosciencereview.com

i was talking about agreeing, that 36Hz is an incredible amount of bass for a small speaker like the KH 150, not what you like to hear.

 

[hege]

i was talking about agreeing, that 36Hz is an incredible amount of bass for a small speaker like the KH 150, not what you like to hear.

I agree it's good for small monitor, but it's not what you were continuing with the "overall" comment.

 

[LTig]

So many of the subwoofer systems of people I have heard are grossly out of balance, with the subwoofer far too pronounced. Phoney bass is certainly not what one wants in a studio setting.

That's very often not the fault of the sub but of its proper setup and integration.

 

[LTig]

I think you are hitting on a good point. The Neumann family sound. In my studio (TES Productions) I often use a tighknit Neumann signal chain - Neumann U87ai, Neumann v402 preamps, Neumann KH120's/750, Neumann KH310's (and soon KH150's. I even use Neumann NDH 20 and 30 headphones. Of course I have other brands of equipment, but sometimes it is interesting to have a Neumann chain. It seems to work.

I'm quite sure Neumann would disagree having a family sound. Their target is neutral sound as all measurements confirm.

 

[LTig]

Can you tell me some recordings in this regard? thanks

There is a thread here called Bass Tracks where you'll find recordings and their spectra.

 

[beagleman]

How much of that bass is below 39 Hz?

The major labels simply do not produce music with anything in the lowest octave. It is not commercially viable, since almost none of their listeners have a system to reproduce it.

The lowest octave is 20-40Hz.

I have many recordings with bass below 40Hz.
If you look at a spectragram, most recordings DO have content below 40hz.
In fact a lot of rock/pop stuff goes down easily to 32hz at times or there abouts

 

[teashea]

I'm quite sure Neumann would disagree having a family sound. Their target is neutral sound as all measurements confirm.

I think that their family sound of Neumann is neutral - as opposed to some other manufacturers of studio gear, where their goal is to add harmonic distortion of various types.

The main reason that I use Neumann equipment is that it is neutral and uncolored.

 

[teashea]

That's very often not the fault of the sub but of its proper setup and integration.

I agree completely. So many people do not want balanced sound. They actually want unbalanced sound.

 

[teashea]

Never heard anything but bad about the 750. Looks like Neumann needs a new sub to fill in the gaps

I find the 750 to be extremely capable, paired with 120's in my studio - nearfield system, which is what the 750 and 120's and 310's and 150's are primarily designed for. These are monitors - not hi fi system speakers.

 

[teashea]

Until it turns yellow and you can never be 100% sure that won't happen. That's why I never get white stuff.

Just need to take care of it and keep it out of the sun. I have multiple pairs of white speakers and they are quite white after several years. For example:

 

[teashea]

Thank you - sometimes it's hard to discern the use cases people are recommending/not recommending certain speakers for. I am your typical desktop music listener with my speakers on some stands and listening to music from my computer. It seems a lot of folks here are using these speakers to fill an entire living room or use them as a home theater for instance in which case a 750 wouldn't be enough. For my office, it feels like it'd suffice plenty.

Current setup:

View attachment 249759

So true. These are monitors designed for nearfield studio use.

 

[teashea]

So is a "pro" monitor like the Kh 150 suitable to compare to something like a state of art passive monitor (e.g. Revel M126Be, March Sointuva) for use in small to medium living room type installation. Likely with subwoofers in all cases.

Perhaps usable not what they are designed for. They are studio monitors.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Perhaps usable not what they are designed for. They are studio monitors.

Did you compare Neumann to Genelec?both are supposed to be neutral

 

[teashea]

Lots of good things about both of them but I prefer Neumann.

 

[teashea]

Anyone heard them side by side with KH120
Which were dark sounding to me...
Question is do all Neumann monitors have the same "house sound" as all Genelecs do
Or are they different

In my studio I have a pair of 120's/750 (and 310's) and am getting a pair of 150's next week. I will post my impressions.

Neumann monitors, preamps and even headphones have a family sound ----- neutral and uncolored. This is the essence of what one wants for studio equipment. I know that this forum is not oriented toward recording studios, but that is Neumann's target market.

 

[teashea]

I can say that KH 120 and KH 310 sound quite the same unless it gets really loud. Don't know about their other models.

I agree with that.

 

[tifune]

unlimited amplifier options.

I've seen this mentioned a few times, and I'm always a little confused because its also widely accepted that there's little to no audible difference for amps operating within spec of your specific power requirements. Outside of replacing just the amp rather than the entire monitor/speaker in the event of a failure, what are some other benefits of selecting your own amp? More power of course, but past the typical ~225@8 Hypex/Purifi/monoprice on say a ~88dB speaker , diminishing returns come in so hard you'll generally see a better value with a speaker upgrade. Just amp, not thinking of pre features like streaming, multiple inputs, etc

 

[teashea]

I agree with that. My main issue is I'm not sure where the heck I'd even put a sub with how my office is currently setup.

Here is the full office for reference:

View attachment 249993

Much too crowded to place a sub in any good spot as of right now . Likely will need to do something more like a KH310 when I have the funds or wait for a KH310 II w/ DSP

Is that a D28 or D18?

 

[enricoclaudio]

I've seen this mentioned a few times, and I'm always a little confused because its also widely accepted that there's little to no audible difference for amps operating within spec of your specific power requirements. Outside of replacing just the amp rather than the entire monitor/speaker in the event of a failure, what are some other benefits of selecting your own amp? More power of course, but past the typical ~225@8 Hypex/Purifi/monoprice on say a ~88dB speaker , diminishing returns come in so hard you'll generally see a better value with a speaker upgrade. Just amp, not thinking of pre features like streaming, multiple inputs, etc

You are quoting me out of context. Amplifier options is just "one" of a few factors I mentioned in my post. If unlimited amplifier options is not relevant for you, then that's totally OK but I'm pretty sure it's for many and for a few, even a deal breaker. For me, it's not a deciding factor. For others, finish (wife approval) and convenience are deciding factors and even deal breakers. Regarding the old "all amps sound the same" topic, I think between ASR and AVS Forum we may have more than 1000 of those threads and I'm not the one that's it's going to start a new one derailing the Neumann KH150 thread just for the sake of discussing an endless topic.