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Neumann KH 310A Review (Powered Monitor)

test1223

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Will this speaker work fine using it from 3 - 3.5 meters? Speakers 2.5 meters apart.
Will connecting it to Denon 3700 preouts won't be an issue?
3 - 3.5m is a large listening distance. If you have a look at the recommendations of Genelec or ME Geithain you will see that only the biggest models are able to provide enough direct sound. Since you have a living room and not a studio the lower number of the recommended listening distance is more correct. The KH310 is a near field to mid field monitor even the KH410 is only a bigger mid field monitor (about 2m listening distance).

If you don't follow these recommendations, the ratio of direct sound to reflected sound will be on the reflected sound side. The sound will be less exact and more blurry with any speaker with a wider beam.

I know you have to make some compromises but the lack of enough direct sound is a very important part. A decent speaker which provides the right beam sounds much better than a speaker which is to small but excellent.
 

NeoZs99

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Will this speaker work fine using it from 3 - 3.5 meters? Speakers 2.5 meters apart.
Will connecting it to Denon 3700 preouts won't be an issue?
Ideally Neumann recommends the speakers and you to form equilateral points..so yeah this should certainly not be a problem
 

SDX-LV

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If you don't follow these recommendations, the ratio of direct sound to reflected sound will be on the reflected sound side. The sound will be less exact and more blurry with any speaker with a wider beam.

I know you have to make some compromises but the lack of enough direct sound is a very important part. A decent speaker which provides the right beam sounds much better than a speaker which is to small but excellent.

Good points about direct/reverberant sound. I have KH120 at similar 3-4m distance and the result is certainly not a sharp mixing studio sound :) But that was the compromise I had to accept because of the looks, size and price was a factor as well.

In term of output, with subwoofers, KH120 work just right - speakers hit the limiter in my quite live room at levels where it really gets unhealthy, so in practice I never hit the limiters even at 4m distance. In my case KH-310A would be loud-enough to damage hearing in no-time.
 

dfuller

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So, I had a thought: Why did Neumann choose to cross the midrange so high?

We know it can comfortably cross nearly 100hz lower in the KH420 (the driver is probably comfortable down to 500hz if not slightly lower, if I had to make a wild guess), and a lower crossover point probably would have mostly prevented the messiness between 700-1k. So why 650hz?
 

dfuller

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Due to distortion and max SPL reasons, the driver is not optimal for low(er) frequencies, which is also one of the reasons why it is so good above.
But that's the thing, we know it can cross more than 10% lower with no appreciable distortion increase.
 

dfuller

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thewas

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see: KH420 (Xover point of 570hz vs 650hz).
The KH420 has a much larger waveguide for the mid driver which probably helps the loading, on the other hand I strongly doubt those 80 Hz would change the spinorama significantly.
 

dfuller

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The KH420 has a much larger waveguide for the mid driver which probably helps the loading, on the other hand I strongly doubt those 80 Hz would change the spinorama significantly.
Sure, though I found some measurements of the bare Neumann mid driver - it's flat down to ~400hz sans waveguide loading. Distortion behavior is good too.


dedome.jpg



Further posts on that link guess Fs is ~400hz, so 500hz would probably fine with a 4th order crossover in a similar loading to now... Plus, less midrange IMD because less is on the woofer, which moves a lot.
 
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thewas

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Sure, though I found some measurements of the bare Neumann mid driver - it's flat down to ~400hz sans waveguide loading. Distortion behavior is good too.
Depends on the SPL, the experienced Neumann engineers surely had their reasons to compromise a bit the directivity if it is necessary to achieve the desired performance targets.

Further posts on that link guess Fs is ~400hz, so 500hz would probably fine with a 4th order crossover.
That would be also also quite on the borderline, we are talking about robust pro tools that should work for decades without problems or degradation of performance. Would be also interesting to see the spectral decay.
 

smcc

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Hi, some FIR filters I made to correct the phase/group delay of a KH310A...if anyone want to try them, attached in zip file...about 16ms latency...I used Neumann's anechoic measurements (which I extracted from the EASE files)...then made filters in FIR Designer...doesn't affect frequency response...96kHz...sound pretty good to me. (if anyone wants other sample rates let me know).
Screenshot 2022-08-25 at 02.22.25.png
Screenshot 2022-08-25 at 02.30.25.png
Screenshot 2022-08-25 at 02.30.36.png
 

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Frgirard

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I do that on my o300 wtih rephase. With serious listening, the difference is null.
 

smcc

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I do that on my o300 wtih rephase. With serious listening, the difference is null.
the KH750DSP does something similar, albeit not as low...from Neumann site:

FIR phase correctionFor connected analog loudspeakers: Linear phase (170 Hz ... 16 kHz; +/- 45°)

I'd be surprised if Neumann would add that feature if the difference was "null".

Now, IMO, it's not night and day, but there is a difference, it does sound better to my ears...particularly with acoustic recordings...I don't use it that often though because of the 16ms latency...
 

Lawmaker09

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Folks, newbie wannabe buyer of the KH310 (pair) and the KH750 sub... will be great to get some recommendations on dealers online or local to MA.
One member mentioned Thomann music in another thread as most economical, any concerns on excessive import duty, taxes or service costs in the future?
Appreciate your inputs.
 

EchoChamber

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Folks, newbie wannabe buyer of the KH310 (pair) and the KH750 sub... will be great to get some recommendations on dealers online or local to MA.
One member mentioned Thomann music in another thread as most economical, any concerns on excessive import duty, taxes or service costs in the future?
Appreciate your inputs.
I ordered 3 pairs of Genelec speakers in 2020-21. Much cheaper than buying them in the US. Distributor markups are excessive IMO. I think I only had to pay import taxes or fees once, it was fairly low, less than $100. The courier will contact you. Thomson is a good option if they agree to export the product you want, the don’t export Genelec to the US… :-(
 

JeyElDee

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Folks, newbie wannabe buyer of the KH310 (pair) and the KH750 sub... will be great to get some recommendations on dealers online or local to MA.
One member mentioned Thomann music in another thread as most economical, any concerns on excessive import duty, taxes or service costs in the future?
Appreciate your inputs.
They don't need a sub unless you want to play extremely loud.
 

DJBonoBobo

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