Neumann KH 310A Review (Powered Monitor)

[TheKoC]

I contacted Neumann last week regarding my KH310A, and despite replying to my Questions I received the following news without asking for it:



So, 9/11 it is ...


A) Why is the Input Gain knob not set to 0dB?
B) I use mine at 94dB SPL aswell, but they come set to 100dB by default. Im curios what benefit it makes to lower SPL for testing?

That's nice of them to be already upselling to their new product Let's see what the final prices are

 

[Certifiedbeatz]

Looking for my first pair of professional studio monitors and was eyeing KH301's i produce majority of hip-hop and R&B if the announcements is September 11th when will the retail release be in your opinions?

 

[dfuller]

Looking for my first pair of professional studio monitors and was eyeing KH301's i produce majority of hip-hop and R&B if the announcements is September 11th when will the retail release be in your opinions?

I'm not sure these are necessarily the right choice for that genre if you intend on working with any meaningful volume.

 

[Certifiedbeatz]

I'm not sure these are necessarily the right choice for that genre if you intend on working with any meaningful volume.

Yes im definitely looking decent volume and low end but also translate into the mix. I have budget adam audios monitor and my room is small but acoustic treated, these are some that im trying to listen to or just buy to test but at those prices im not looking to shell out 10s of thousands of dollars to pick one and return..

HEDD Type 20 MK2
Genelec 8341
KSD Studio Monitors: A200mk2
Fluid Professional Image 2
Barefoot Footprint 01 gen 2

 

[markstein]

Yes im definitely looking decent volume and low end but also translate into the mix. I have budget adam audios monitor and my room is small but acoustic treated, these are some that im trying to listen to or just buy to test but at those prices im not looking to shell out 10s of thousands of dollars to pick one and return..

HEDD Type 20 MK2
Genelec 8361
KSD Studio Monitors: A200mk2
Fluid Professional Image 2
Barefoot Footprint 01 gen 2

Maybe look at Genelec S360 as well?

 

[Certifiedbeatz]

Maybe look at Genelec S360 as well?

That out of my price range to spend that close to 10k no thanks but thank you

 

[markstein]

That out of my price range to spend that close to 10k no thanks but thank you

Well, you mentioned the 8361 which is more expensive - at least in Europe...

 

[Certifiedbeatz]

Well, you mentioned the 8361 which is more expensive - at least Europe...

Your right I just edit the post mean to say 8341.. i do need low end and want them to be my primary monitors for both production and mixing..

 

[b73i57dc3f]

i do need low end

You most likely want a sub, then. Even a single KH 750 would outperform the speakers you listed. Some of them don't even extend much below ~40 Hz, and those that do have not a lot of headroom there. Well, except perhaps the KSD A200, since I couldn't find anything about them.
And of course the KH 310 II, since it hasn't been released yet. If you're not in a hurry, waiting until 11 September and the announcement is probably a good idea. In any case, we'll know a lot more by then.

Genelec S360

While they're off the table, just for the record: they can indeed play very loud, but the trade-off is that they don't extend very deep (38 Hz @ -6 dB according to spinorama.org). If that is needed, Genelec recommends two of their 7380A (15") subs to match the output capability of a S360 stereo pair.

 

[pma]

By inserting a preamp between an output and an input we amplify the noise of that output and add preamp's own noise. Even if we are not talking about an active preamp, but a passive attenuator, it still can introduce distortion and artifacts. Well-engineered DACs that have low output impedance and high SINAD do not benefit from adding another active stage after their output

You cannot say this is as a general truth. If the preamp has lower intrinsic output noise than the DAC (with volume control), then the complete system will benefit from preamp lower output noise and the overall system will have better S/N. DAC must be set to maximum volume, of course, to get its best S/N. Make an audio level diagram to see it.
So, the good preamp will improve audio chain S/N in case that mediocre DAC is used. John Siau probably meant the same thing.