Neumann KH 310A Review (Powered Monitor)

[dfuller]

What would one gain from choosing the KH420 - at twice the expense and weight - over this, beyond a few extra hertz on the bottom end?

Way more SPL. Without subs crossed fairly high, KH310s run out of headroom very fast (I'm talking ~86dB for a pair at ~1.5m with actual music content). And it's not just low end getting muddy, the mids get boxy because of the IMD produced by all of that driver excursion. They get boxy and flabby sounding if you push 'em with sub content without the bottom octave and change crossed over to a sub.

The 420s are way cleaner at the same level because of the ported alignment (which reduces excursion) and larger woofer.

Excuse my crappy photoshop skills. But you can see that at 96dB/1m the KH420 is substantially cleaner than the 310, up into the low mids (3-500hz).

 

[wisechoice]

Sorry if this is off-topic… I bought an old pair of K&H O 300s secondhand almost a year ago, and have been trying to diagnose distortion issues with both of them. One is worse than the other. Unfortunately, they sat in storage this whole time, before I could thoroughly test them out. It's too late now to return them, and Neumann doesn't have any parts.

The distortion is most audible in the right speaker when I play F#5 (740Hz) on the piano. Which happens to be the first note in the melody for Satie's Gymnopédie No 1.

Finally got around to measuring each driver today. The most glaring issue is third harmonic distortion right around 730Hz when I measure the right tweeter.

There is a crossover on these speakers at 650Hz. I don't know if there could be any relation or not.

If you look at the mid dome measurements for each speaker, you can see something interesting just above the crossover. On the left (the “good” one) the distortion dips there - on the right speaker (the “bad” one) it peaks there.

Anyone have an idea of what might be going on?

 

[YSC]

Sorry if this is off-topic… I bought an old pair of K&H O 300s secondhand almost a year ago, and have been trying to diagnose distortion issues with both of them. One is worse than the other. Unfortunately, they sat in storage this whole time, before I could thoroughly test them out. It's too late now to return them, and Neumann doesn't have any parts.

The distortion is most audible in the right speaker when I play F#5 (740Hz) on the piano. Which happens to be the first note in the melody for Satie's Gymnopédie No 1.

Finally got around to measuring each driver today. The most glaring issue is third harmonic distortion right around 730Hz when I measure the right tweeter.

There is a crossover on these speakers at 650Hz. I don't know if there could be any relation or not.

View attachment 287776View attachment 287777


If you look at the mid dome measurements for each speaker, you can see something interesting just above the crossover. On the left (the “good” one) the distortion dips there - on the right speaker (the “bad” one) it peaks there.

View attachment 287779View attachment 287780


Anyone have an idea of what might be going on?

BS guessing, if both tweeter and mid dome showed rising distortion there, could it be some kind of seal compromise?

 

[wisechoice]

BS guessing, if both tweeter and mid dome showed rising distortion there, could it be some kind of seal compromise?

Interesting suggestion. How could one check this?

 

[YSC]

Interesting suggestion. How could one check this?

no clue for a layman... what I think would be easy to do is to have a peak around the cabinet to see if there's any gap or holes appearing in the joints, and if yes, just seal it?

If it's from the driver cabinet interface I believe you would have to open it and shine a torch around to check for light leakage

 

[Infinit0]

So its already confirmed that the new KH310II Will come in less than a year. Probably they Will show It at the Next NAMM. Cannot wait...hype.

 

[Andreas007]

Don‘t be too excited, I can imagine they will cost around 5500 Euros/pair?
Besides that they will be surely fantastic!

 

[Pearljam5000]

Neuman is starting to cost like Genelec
If not more
With lower material cost (not aluminum )
and and would some would say GLM is better than MA1
Neumann used to be great value
But for me not so much anymore .

 

[Infinit0]

Neuman is starting to cost like Genelec
If not more
With lower material cost (not aluminum )
and and would some would say GLM is better than MA1
Neumann used to be great value
But for me not so much anymore .

Besides I agree Neumann increased their prices I dont agree with your statement.
For example 8330 costs same as Kh120II and neumann goes deeper.
Same happens with Kh150 compared to 8340(cheaper) and 8350(huge and more expensive). Also I consider for what It offers still the KH150 is a bargain at less than 2900 a pair.
Considering a 8341 is around 5300 I would say kh310 Will cost between 4500-5000 a pair
Anyway I dont see why neumann should be cheaper than genelecs. They are both top tier quality in studio monitoring.

 

[teashea]

Newmann monitors are an excellent value. Trolls notwithstanding.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Newmann monitors are an excellent value. Trolls notwithstanding.

Not everyone that thinks differently than you is a troll

 

[dfuller]

Honestly even at $5000 a pair the KH310 is a very good value. To get 3 way Genelecs with similarly good LFX and SPL capability you're looking at spending 2x as much for 8351s.

 

[FrantzM]

At times, I wonder if @Pearljam5000 is not pulling our collective leg with his Aluminum-made speakers statements..

Peace.

 

[teashea]

Not everyone that thinks differently than you is a troll

True - not everyone.

 

[tmtomh]

Neuman is starting to cost like Genelec
If not more
With lower material cost (not aluminum )
and and would some would say GLM is better than MA1
Neumann used to be great value
But for me not so much anymore .

All speakers are a great value if you never actually purchase any of them.

 

[boxerfan88]

In my view, to reallocate some cost from aluminium cabinet towards better driver & electronics resulting in better overall speaker performance makes a lot of sense.

Similarly a reasonable rise in price to fund better driver & electronics resulting in even better overall speaker performance makes a lot of sense too.

I suppose for folks who see more value in aluminium cabinetry may want to consider other brands…

 

[Ciobi69]

All speakers are a great value if you never actually purchase any of them.

200iq comment, joke aside, bot Neumann and genelec are very good speakers , actually I found the Neumann 420 1000 dollars less expensive than the genelec 8361, yes they are ''close in price '' I'd take the genelec, because are newer and better vertical directivity, if the Neumann would have costed less I'd take the Neumann

 

[Pearljam5000]

 

[SlothRock]

So will two KH310 II's + two KH750's be the ultimate grail of audio glory? Seems like it

 

[boxerfan88]

I believe so!

I currently run a pair of KH310 with a single Orisun DD12 sub, the combo sounds really really good.