Neumann KH 150 Monitor Review

[Pearljam5000]

I wonder how a top of the line "audiophile" speaker like Magico A1 or Focal Utopia Diablo would compare to KH150

 

[gino1961]

I wonder how a top of the line "audiophile" speaker like Magico A1 or Focal Utopia Diablo would compare to KH150

i am afraid we will never know I have never seen distortion measurements in almost any hifi speaker review
Pro magazines are another story
Actually here where a live in Italy there is a magazine that measures the distortion vs. frequency of the loudspeakers under test (usually at 90 and 100dB for bigger speakers)

it seems like people do not care about distortion these days Strange

 

[teashea]

In blind test, would you be able to tell the difference between KH150 and KH310?

An excellent question ------ No, I could not tell the difference.

 

[teashea]

i am afraid we will never know I have never seen distortion measurements in almost any hifi speaker review
Pro magazines are another story
Actually here where a live in Italy there is a magazine that measures the distortion vs. frequency of the loudspeakers under test (usually at 90 and 100dB for bigger speakers)

it seems like people do not care about distortion these days Strange

What a great issue. I think that most people who purchase this categories of speakers must not care very much about the issue.

 

[teashea]

You can't extrapolate a distortion measurement at one SPL to a higher one because distortion is nonlinear, it doesn't increase proportionally. When a speaker nears its limits, it skyrockets very quickly. So if 96dB is not the limit of the speaker, the distortion levels tell you very little about how loud it can actually play.

Fortunately in this case we have apples-to-apples S&R SPL tests for both speakers, and as you can see, the KH420 plays about 6-7dB louder than the 150 below 100hz, and above that the margin grows to as much as 14dB(!!!) at 400hz and 9dB at 1khz (midrange dome is stronk). This is a lot -- 6dB is the margin between the 8351B and 8361A for example.

So yes, the KH420 does play much louder at all SPLs than the KH150 even while also having more extension.

View attachment 256360

P.S. These two speakers are actually a good example of "be careful with distortion measurements" because the KH150 has almost no difference between its 10% and 3% THD capabilities, but the KH420 has quite a bit. So not only are they different capabilities, but the behaviour of their woofers as they near limits seem to be different as well.

Very good point. I think this is because of the DSP control of the KH150 and the advancements they made in the design/manufacture of the woofer.

 

[dvv87]

Choosing between this and the Adam A8H which are almost the same price in Europe. From the measurements of both, the KH150 seems slightly flatter but the A8H has a better bass extension given it's larger woofer and also has a mid range driver (three way speaker). Will you post a review on the Adam A8H ? Also does anyone think that Sonarworks Sound ID could work as good as the MA-1 on these ? Thank you for your awesome reviews!

 

[AnalogSteph]

I would expect the A8H to have the better level handling especially when it gets bass-heavy. The midwoofer in the KH150 is not at all a slouch but there's only so much a 6.5" 2-way can do against an 8" 3-way. (The tables may be turning at the point where a subwoofer is introduced, although ideally it would be playing to above 100 Hz for best effect, perhaps with two placed right under the KH150s or something. The A8H is more of an all-in-one package.)

Apart from that, the ADAM is a substantially wider-dispersion speaker, with -6 dB dropping from about +/-75° to around +/-60° horizontal between 3 and 10 kHz, while the Neumann likes to keep it tight at a fairly constant ca. +/-40°. So there is more freedom of movement with the ADAM but the Neumann would have diffuse sound intruding later in a poorly-treated room. The ADAM has some treble tilt to counteract the effect of its steadily narrowing dispersion (a typical ADAM thing) in-room, but can be flattened out if needed.

They're different but both good speakers. The ADAMs seem like a more sensible construction than Dynaudio's 3-way offerings, for example, and should be a good addition to the market.

 

[dvv87]

I would expect the A8H to have the better level handling especially when it gets bass-heavy. The midwoofer in the KH150 is not at all a slouch but there's only so much a 6.5" 2-way can do against an 8" 3-way. (The tables may be turning at the point where a subwoofer is introduced, although ideally it would be playing to above 100 Hz for best effect, perhaps with two placed right under the KH150s or something. The A8H is more of an all-in-one package.)

Apart from that, the ADAM is a substantially wider-dispersion speaker, with -6 dB dropping from about +/-75° to around +/-60° horizontal between 3 and 10 kHz, while the Neumann likes to keep it tight at a fairly constant ca. +/-40°. So there is more freedom of movement with the ADAM but the Neumann would have diffuse sound intruding later in a poorly-treated room. The ADAM has some treble tilt to counteract the effect of its steadily narrowing dispersion (a typical ADAM thing) in-room, but can be flattened out if needed.

They're different but both good speakers. The ADAMs seem like a more sensible construction than Dynaudio's 3-way offerings, for example, and should be a good addition to the market.

It's really a hard decision, on one side I love a three way, the KH310s and their sound are my dream speakers but above my budget so the A8H is what is closest to them design wise. However I feel the KH150s can go more closer to the KH310 sound than the A8H because of the identical tweeter and technology. Also I give attention to the build quality, if I am spending that much money on monitors I expect them to last me at least a decade and call me narrow minded but the 'Made in China' label on the A8H gives me anxiety. Guess I'll wait patiently for more reviews on the A8H cause there are none at the moment. I wish I can audition them both side by side but there are no stores in my small country that sell Neumann speakers.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

It's really a hard decision, on one side I love a three way, the KH310s and their sound are my dream speakers but above my budget so the A8H is what is closest to them design wise. However I feel the KH150s can go more closer to the KH310 sound than the A8H because of the identical tweeter and technology. Also I give attention to the build quality, if I am spending that much money on monitors I expect them to last me at least a decade and call me narrow minded but the 'Made in China' label on the A8H gives me anxiety. Guess I'll wait patiently for more reviews on the A8H cause there are none at the moment. I wish I can audition them both side by side but there are no stores in my small country that sell Neumann speakers.

Vintage King is a 10 minute walk from my place, but IDK which makes and models they're actually carrying in their showroom.

 

[DevinCortno]

It's really a hard decision, on one side I love a three way, the KH310s and their sound are my dream speakers but above my budget so the A8H is what is closest to them design wise. However I feel the KH150s can go more closer to the KH310 sound than the A8H because of the identical tweeter and technology. Also I give attention to the build quality, if I am spending that much money on monitors I expect them to last me at least a decade and call me narrow minded but the 'Made in China' label on the A8H gives me anxiety. Guess I'll wait patiently for more reviews on the A8H cause there are none at the moment. I wish I can audition them both side by side but there are no stores in my small country that sell Neumann speakers.

I actually just got a set of KH310s for a great deal... because one of them is broken, so I have to ship it off for service. KH150s sound the same to me.. I think you'd have to crank the speakers up to ridiculous volumes to notice any big difference. I think the 150s actually image a little bit better than the 310s.. I got more of the very strong stereo field, almost point source kind of sound from them where the 310 is a bit more diffuse, not as defined of a phantom center. That's a matter of personal preference though. Maybe at high volumes, I find snare drum transients are popping a bit better and clearer on the 310 than what I recall of 150. That's probably the 3 way advantage at work but it's quite a small difference... not really worth an extra 50% per speaker considering what you lose going from 150 to 310.

If I hadn't gotten one KH 310 basically for free, I don't think I would have picked them over KH150. KH150 is cheaper, digital input & room correction built in, still capable of more output than I'll ever really use, tons of bass, and a much smaller cabinet. The 310s on my desk with a 32" monitor, everything is squashed together and looks very crowded. A little claustrophobic.

 

[Ra1zel]

The midrange dome in KH420 is hard to beat, very sensitive driver with good power handling and waveguided on top of that, you can just play very loud without even realizing because it stays super clean and unstressed, all of it translates to impressively dynamic midrange experience.

However of we are talking about KH310 I would take KH150 over it due to DSP benefits.

 

[Pearljam5000]

The midrange dome in KH420 is hard to beat, very sensitive driver with good power handling and waveguided on top of that, you can just play very loud without even realizing because it stays super clean and unstressed, all of it translates to impressively dynamic midrange experience.

However of we are talking about KH310 I would take KH150 over it due to DSP benefits.

It's the same mid dome driver on both KH420 and KH310

 

[dvv87]

I actually just got a set of KH310s for a great deal... because one of them is broken, so I have to ship it off for service. KH150s sound the same to me.. I think you'd have to crank the speakers up to ridiculous volumes to notice any big difference. I think the 150s actually image a little bit better than the 310s.. I got more of the very strong stereo field, almost point source kind of sound from them where the 310 is a bit more diffuse, not as defined of a phantom center. That's a matter of personal preference though. Maybe at high volumes, I find snare drum transients are popping a bit better and clearer on the 310 than what I recall of 150. That's probably the 3 way advantage at work but it's quite a small difference... not really worth an extra 50% per speaker considering what you lose going from 150 to 310.

If I hadn't gotten one KH 310 basically for free, I don't think I would have picked them over KH150. KH150 is cheaper, digital input & room correction built in, still capable of more output than I'll ever really use, tons of bass, and a much smaller cabinet. The 310s on my desk with a 32" monitor, everything is squashed together and looks very crowded. A little claustrophobic.

Yeah and you are not the only one saying this that they sound close to the KH310. Even from their measurement data they look spectacularly similar. I remember I had the opportunity the audition the KH 120 alongside the KH310 and even the 120s sounded close to the KH310 in the mids/highs. I think I might just pull the trigger on the KH 150. I will wait a little bit for more reviews. Thanks for your response.

 

[teashea]

Yeah and you are not the only one saying this that they sound close to the KH310. Even from their measurement data they look spectacularly similar. I remember I had the opportunity the audition the KH 120 alongside the KH310 and even the 120s sounded close to the KH310 in the mids/highs. I think I might just pull the trigger on the KH 150. I will wait a little bit for more reviews. Thanks for your response.

Having purchased a pair of KH150's to add to my 310's and 120's/750, I think you will be happy if you do get a pair. They are quite remarkable.

 

[gino1961]

The midrange dome in KH420 is hard to beat, very sensitive driver with good power handling and waveguided on top of that, you can just play very loud without even realizing because it stays super clean and unstressed, all of it translates to impressively dynamic midrange experience. ...

i would like to notice that this is perfectly in line with the distortion graph mentioned before
You will never see this kind of graphs for audiophile speakers (but only just for drivers in their datasheets) I wonder why ... if it is so telling of the performance ?

 

[Pearljam5000]

Having purchased a pair of KH150's to add to my 310's and 120's/750, I think you will be happy if you do get a pair. They are quite remarkable.

120+KH750 vs KH150
Which is better?

 

[Ra1zel]

It's the same mid dome driver on both KH420 and KH310

It is but the way it radiates sound is very different and the relatively big waveguide boost efficiency down lower in frequency slightly. Anyway I meant that as package KH310 is not worth it over KH150 imo.

 

[Rahan]

120+KH750 vs KH150
Which is better?

I've heard the kh750 DSP. It's really clean subwoofer. It will add so much to the kh120!!! I guess the answer to your question will depends on the music style. But once you've experienced a good (very good) sub you can't forget it no matter how good your speakers are.

 

[dshreter]

120+KH750 vs KH150
Which is better?

Not better or worse, they're just different. KH150 will have greater SPL handling, so if you tried to play KH120 at those levels it obviously won't sound good going into protection.

But KH750 is -3db at 18Hz while KH150 is -3db at 39Hz. You're missing low frequency information with KH150 only.

So if KH120 could handle your SPL requirements, I would suggest that KH120 + KH750 sounds better.

If KH120 can't handle your SPL requirements, then there isn't really anything to compare.

 

[teashea]

It is but the way it radiates sound is very different and the relatively big waveguide boost efficiency down lower in frequency slightly. Anyway I meant that as package KH310 is not worth it over KH150 imo.

That is a very interesting competion. I have not quite decided myself.