• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Neumann KH 150 Monitor Review

Rate this studio monitor

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 3 0.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 43 8.4%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 463 91.0%

  • Total voters
    509

MCH

Major Contributor
Joined
Apr 10, 2021
Messages
2,581
Likes
2,197
The global Neumann offer, for me is really a dilemma:

KH420 = Such an extremly good perfect speaker.
No in-house DSP on board; such a shame (no white / nor aluminium (just a running gag));
In-house solution, none (KH750 doesn't suit).

Alternative A :
KH310 = Only horizontal use; not full range/nor DSP on board.
KH750 would help here, but their SPL would be a limiting factor as it seems below.

From the Neumann site:

KH 750 DSP/AES67 Maximum SPL at 1m (Red: 10% THD, Green: 3% THD, Blue: 1% THD)​

kh750_MaxSpl_510.gif


NEW Alternative B (Game changer?):
KH150 = again a "state of the art" Neumann speaker + with DSP on-board!
Available in white!!! (though no aluminium (still running gag))
Let me buy it, no wait, can I make it full-range with an in-house solution?
KH850 wouldn't work with DSP.
KH750; and we have the same SPL limitation as above again.

Note :
I am not desperate, I have a pair of 8361 now.
But I also have other rooms, family and friends that would love to see alternatives to Genelec ;-).
Just trying to hint Neumann towards a coherent system (toolbox).
They mention, in the video linked a few times already, that this is the first of a series. I think there might be great alternatives in the future
 

thewas

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
6,741
Likes
16,174
Looks familiar?
17 people liked this answer i gave to you on Sept. 17th. Did you ever read any of the answers you got?
Somehow I have the feeling we will be giving similar answers in 2024, so maybe we should start not to replying to such.
 

Pearljam5000

Master Contributor
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
5,125
Likes
5,355
AFAIK, you have an untreated 3x4m room, very little interest in getting a subwoofer and even less interest and no experience in room acoustics or doing measurements in your room.

Also, you want a cheap, but state of the art system. Your dream speakers are the Genelec 8361, but they are too expensive. You are looking into other Genelec options, but they are also expensive and have drawbacks, like the more limited bass capability of the smaller Ones.

Because of this, i think for you the KH150 + MA1 would be better than the KH310.

  • I expect it to be way easier for you to get the KH150 + MA1 sound "right" in your room because of better directivity and the automatic alignment.
  • If you are getting the KH310 without the KH750+MA1, it will be difficult in your room - i think i know what i´m talking about. I think you will probably be disappointed.
  • If you don´t believe it, try for yourself, like @thewas wrote.
  • The KH150 is "state of the art" in the sense that it is currently the best in class product without any reasonable compromises or important drawbacks (that i know of). You can tell everyone you have a system in your room close to what´s possible within reasonable borders. It surely is "good enough" for every realistic pro or non-pro use case in a small room.
  • You can make a good start for around 3,400 EUR (2 KH150+MA1 using bundle options), but you could easily add 1 or 2 KH750 later, if needed (i suspect so). So, for around 5,000 EUR you can get a fullrange system, that is very close to what´s possible in a small room. Most importantly, you may get out of your obsessive (sorry, but this is how it looks) loop of searching for "the" best speaker.
  • From there on, the most important limiting factor is the room itself. A lot can be achieved with treatments, though.
  • If you want it to be even better, you´d have to invest much more money: e.g. for a Genelec One (+GLM and Sub) system, a multisub system or something like Kii or D&D 8c. I don´t know any of those speakers, but i doubt any of this will be worth it in a small room like yours.
Looks familiar?
17 people liked this answer i gave to you on Sept. 17th. Did you ever read any of the answers you got?
Thank you very much for the comment ( as always) :)
I read all of the answers and yours especially.
I just like the philosophy of audio so i keep asking things :)
 

Digby

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
1,632
Likes
1,555
Can someone answer what the benefit is of DSP within a speaker. Does it become irrelevant if you are hooking up to a computer/other hardware with those capabilities or is there more to it?
 

Matias

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
5,029
Likes
10,796
Location
São Paulo, Brazil
Can someone answer what the benefit is of DSP within a speaker. Does it become irrelevant if you are hooking up to a computer/other hardware with those capabilities or is there more to it?
Other than obviously tweaking the onboard EQ for taste or room correction, like a computer would also do, they use the DSP to:
1. Implement crossover digitally (high slopes, linear phase).
2. Possibly implement SPL limiting to protect the drivers.
3. Factory fine tunes the speaker's response to a target (and between themselves for easier matching pairs).
 

SlothRock

Active Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2021
Messages
167
Likes
270
The global Neumann offer, for me is really a dilemma:

KH420 = Such an extremly good perfect speaker.
No in-house DSP on board; such a shame (no white / nor aluminium (just a running gag));
In-house solution, none (KH750 doesn't suit).

Alternative A :
KH310 = Only horizontal use; not full range/nor DSP on board.
KH750 would help here, but their SPL would be a limiting factor as it seems below.

From the Neumann site:

KH 750 DSP/AES67 Maximum SPL at 1m (Red: 10% THD, Green: 3% THD, Blue: 1% THD)​

kh750_MaxSpl_510.gif


NEW Alternative B (Game changer?):
KH150 = again a "state of the art" Neumann speaker + with DSP on-board!
Available in white!!! (though no aluminium (still running gag))
Let me buy it, no wait, can I make it full-range with an in-house solution?
KH850 wouldn't work with DSP.
KH750; and we have the same SPL limitation as above again.

Note :
I am not desperate, I have a pair of 8361 now.
But I also have other rooms, family and friends that would love to see alternatives to Genelec ;-).
Just trying to hint Neumann towards a coherent system (toolbox).
Never heard anything but bad about the 750. Looks like Neumann needs a new sub to fill in the gaps
 
  • Like
Reactions: CMB

MrSoul4470

Active Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2020
Messages
171
Likes
341
Location
Regensburg / Germany
The white looks great.
Until it turns yellow and you can never be 100% sure that won't happen. That's why I never get white stuff.
 

DJBonoBobo

Major Contributor
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Messages
1,360
Likes
2,851
Location
any germ

SlothRock

Active Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2021
Messages
167
Likes
270
Review in Sound&Recording: https://de-de.neumann.com/product_files/9395/download
Spoiler:
View attachment 249740

It is just small. But yes, i agree a DSP-version of the KH810 would be nice for bigger rooms or KH420 owners.

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:

image0 (4).jpeg
 
Last edited:

samysound

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2020
Messages
374
Likes
332
Location
USA
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.
 

enricoclaudio

Major Contributor
Audio Company
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
1,105
Likes
2,145
Location
Houston, TX - USA
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.
Personally, in a small to mid size living room, I would go with the Revels. I only use active monitors for near field listening: mixing, editing and desktop music listening.
 

samysound

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2020
Messages
374
Likes
332
Location
USA
Personally, in a small to mid size living room, I would go with the Revels. I only use active monitors for near field listening: mixing, editing and desktop music listening.
Thanks. Is that preference primarily due to the greater dispersion width of the revels?
 

CMB

Active Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2019
Messages
260
Likes
510
Thank you - sometimes it's hard to discern the use cases people are recommending/not recommending certain speakers for.
So true, especially for such different usages (pro, home, desks, livingroom, stereo, home cinema, etc...)
 

enricoclaudio

Major Contributor
Audio Company
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
1,105
Likes
2,145
Location
Houston, TX - USA
Thanks. Is that preference primarily due to the greater dispersion width of the revels?

That's one of the few factors. I would add finish, cabling (only one speaker cable to each speaker instead of signal and power cable) and unlimited amplifier options. On the other hand, active monitors are more convenient for desktop use as you have limited space in your desk to accommodate a bulky amp and power is mostly already available in your desk.
 
Last edited:

fuzzychaos

Active Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2020
Messages
127
Likes
193
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.
They are perfectly suitable for living room use. I am using them in my room at about 11' away and they sound awesome.
 

fuzzychaos

Active Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2020
Messages
127
Likes
193
Personally, in a small to mid size living room, I would go with the Revels. I only use active monitors for near field listening: mixing, editing and desktop music listening.
But, they are perfectly suitable for mid field use. Even in the studio, I listen to monitors a few feet away quite often. Neumann says up to 18' or so. Genelec makes the G series which are just their 80XX series with RCA hookup's.

Yes, the ability to switch amps (which matter little to sound, but more power can be good though these get very loud indeed) is a factor to some people. No, you can't play with speaker cable, but that does nothing to the sound, so, irrelevant to me

I can add a preamp later for more inputs if I choose.
 

enricoclaudio

Major Contributor
Audio Company
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
1,105
Likes
2,145
Location
Houston, TX - USA
But, they are perfectly suitable for mid field use. Even in the studio, I listen to monitors a few feet away quite often. Neumann says up to 18' or so. Genelec makes the G series which are just their 80XX series with RCA hookup's.

Yes, the ability to switch amps (which matter little to sound, but more power can be good though these get very loud indeed) is a factor to some people. No, you can't play with speaker cable, but that does nothing to the sound, so, irrelevant to me

I can add a preamp later for more inputs if I choose.

Like I said, "personally". Pretty sure many wives wouldn't approve an active monitor in their living room. Also, if you are running a receiver, passive speakers are way more convenient. Can you use an active monitor in a living room setup, of course you can but for many won't work.
 

fuzzychaos

Active Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2020
Messages
127
Likes
193
Like I said, "personally". Pretty sure many wives wouldn't approve an active monitor in their living room. Also, if you are running a receiver, passive speakers are way more convenient. Can you use an active monitor in a living room setup, of course you can but for many won't work.
Understood. The KH 150 may not be pretty, but they are fairy inconspicuous. My wife approves just fine, plus the glowing logo is cool, lol. I’m not running a receiver, just an RME DAC. Of course, not everyone will want active speakers in the living room, but more and more are using them and a lot of speaker makers are making active speakers.
 
Top Bottom