Neumann KH120 II decision/Connection questions

[nonnyno]

Hi All,

Not being at all familiar with Active speakers I decided I'd better check what I was doing before blowing a wad of cash> I heard some Sonus Faber Lumina 2's yesterday. they sounded very nice. The use case I guess is near field. Essentially they'll sit next to my monitor and I'll be sitting predominantly at arms length from the speakers/monitor or with my feet on the desk about 6 foot or so away. On reading on this site the Sonus Fabers seem to be (if not panned, certainly not received enthusiastically). I'm not mixing. I'm just enjoying music.

So I started thinking about what I could do by another route and arrived at the Neumann kh120 II's. How would they compare (I can't listen to them first)? The reviews seem very good. How do I connect them? Would they work well with my pc -> usb-> topping e50 -> trs - XLR -> Neumann KH120 II or do I need some other means of connection? How much of a difference would the ma-1 room correction setup make?

I use audirvana origin for my music app and foobar depending on mood and the music sits on a disk array.

The price appears to be much the same.

 

[Vincent Kars]

Apples and Oranges?
The Lumia is a passive speaker so you need and amp to drive them. As they are small so you can use them for near field.
The Neuman is a active speaker so one with the power amps (one for each driver) build-in. All you need is either
pc -> usb-> DAC -> analog balanced connection -> Neumann KH120 II
pc -> usb-to SPDIF> Neumann KH120 II
PC > virtual AES67 sound card > Network > Neumann KH120 II seems to be possible to (don't ask me how).
The Neumann KH120 II looks far more versatile to me but I never heard it nor the Lumina

 

[voodooless]

Some more info on the SF:

Sonus Faber Lumina II - Review & Measurements by Erin

Text data: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/sonus_faber_lumina_ii/ PS: A very coloured speaker line indeed, according to these measurements and ones from Stereophile. It confirms what I've personally heard in this Lumina family: just treble heavy, even off-axis.

www.audiosciencereview.com

They might be bright and have a small vertical sweetspot. Probably not ideal for nearfield listening.

 

[FrantzM]

Apples and Oranges?
The Lumia is a passive speaker so you need and amp to drive them. As they are small so you can use them for near field.
The Neuman is a active speaker so one with the power amps (one for each driver) build-in. All you need is either
pc -> usb-> DAC -> analog balanced connection -> Neumann KH120 II
pc -> usb-to SPDIF> Neumann KH120 II
PC > virtual AES67 sound card > Network > Neumann KH120 II seems to be possible to (don't ask me how).
The Neumann KH120 II looks far more versatile to me but I never heard it nor the Lumina

What @Vincent Kars said...

and..

My recommendation

Go for the KH120II. One of the better reviewed by @amirm. IME, a gem. Quoting @amirm:

It is my pleasure to recommend the Neumann KH120 II. You owe it to yourself to get a reference quality monitor like this and hear what your source material is supposed to sound like!

High praises , indeed ! Backed by (excellent) measurements

The SF Lumina II was reviewed by Erin HERE and IME poor performers... not a good speakers to quote him:

PS: A very coloured speaker line indeed, according to these measurements and ones from Stereophile. It confirms what I've personally heard in this Lumina family: just treble heavy, even off-axis.

This opinion also backed by the measurements ...

 

[Hemi-Demon]

Just use XLR cables into each monitor. The MA-1 does make a difference in the bass management, but the rest of the frequency response is pretty much perfect out of the box. If you listen to bass heavy music, I would get the subwoofer first (or two) and then get the MA-1 set when it goes on sale. The prices have unfortunately jumped significantly though.

 

[nonnyno]

Many thanks for your input everyone. That's very helpful. I was initially quite taken by the Lumina's They sounded very pleasant in the shop. They look quite nice as well but then I started to think ... hang on - this is about sound,. Nobody else has to see this its my study. ASR didn't let me down when it came to headphones. The science doesn't lie and having previously done a comparison between a Naim Uniti Atom and by e50 l50 Combo I wasn't that I'm pressed by the Naim (though it looks very nice) saved a bundle on cables too. Go for the engineering what's available? The Neumanns didn't look terrible. The price of the two combos is roughly the same.

 

[StormBreaker]

The KH120 IIs are great nearfield monitors. You're good to go with your E50 to TRS/XLR setup. If your room acoustics aren't ideal, the MA-1 can really help. Just plug it in and enjoy.

 

[nonnyno]

May change the e50 to a dx 5 II as currently I'm using the l50 for a headphone amp and lose the use of the connection to it using the trs connectors for the neumanns. That way I'd also be able to drive my headphones direct without needing the l50 and get a natty little screen as well.

 

[voodooless]

May change the e50 to a dx 5 II

In that case, just hook them up via SPDIF. SMSL PO100 PRO will do that for you.

 

[Fongus]

So I started thinking about what I could do by another route and arrived at the Neumann kh120 II's. How would they compare (I can't listen to them first)? The reviews seem very good. How do I connect them? Would they work well with my pc -> usb-> topping e50 -> trs - XLR -> Neumann KH120 II or do I need some other means of connection? How much of a difference would the ma-1 room correction setup make?

Of you're considering using the MA1, you'll need an audio interface with 48V phantom power for the measurement microphone, and yes, the MA1 makes a big enough difference especially with untreated rooms.

 

[nonnyno]

Ok well I bought the kh-120 ii and an ma-1 . The speakers sound lovely but ... they will not get an IP address. PC to switch. Ine ach case the ma-1 software says it can see them but it will not connect. It wont download any firmware. I have tried multiple different network cables of different specs and brands. I have tried 3 different routers and 3 different switches. I can see the devices on the router but I cannot get them to go beyond a static 0.0.0.0 address. Factory resets don't work nothing does. The same network flawlessly connects to everything else. I'm not an network expert but have been using ai to help me and checked every online source i could find. Nothing works. The problem is probably me but for the life of me i cant work out what the issue is. This is my second set of speakers.

 

[Resonance_98]

Ok well I bought the kh-120 ii and an ma-1 . The speakers sound lovely but ... they will not get an IP address. PC to switch. Ine ach case the ma-1 software says it can see them but it will not connect. It wont download any firmware. I have tried multiple different network cables of different specs and brands. I have tried 3 different routers and 3 different switches. I can see the devices on the router but I cannot get them to go beyond a static 0.0.0.0 address. Factory resets don't work nothing does. The same network flawlessly connects to everything else. I'm not an network expert but have been using ai to help me and checked every online source i could find. Nothing works. The problem is probably me but for the life of me i cant work out what the issue is. This is my second set of speakers.

Worth checking your PC network adapter has IPv6 enabled as it will need that.

 

[nonnyno]

Thank you. I checked. That was already enabled. It could see the speakers on ip6 but would simply not communicate with the.
I am seriously thinking of sending the speakers back and switching to genelec 8830a's with glm which should avoid much of the finicky nature of the kh 120-2's

 

[Fongus]

Ok well I bought the kh-120 ii and an ma-1 . The speakers sound lovely but ... they will not get an IP address. PC to switch. Ine ach case the ma-1 software says it can see them but it will not connect. It wont download any firmware. I have tried multiple different network cables of different specs and brands. I have tried 3 different routers and 3 different switches. I can see the devices on the router but I cannot get them to go beyond a static 0.0.0.0 address. Factory resets don't work nothing does. The same network flawlessly connects to everything else. I'm not an network expert but have been using ai to help me and checked every online source i could find. Nothing works. The problem is probably me but for the life of me i cant work out what the issue is. This is my second set of speakers.

I had a similar issue where the Neumanns weren't even detected at all by the MA1 software when connected to my desktop PC via network switch so I tried connecting the switch to a laptop instead and running the MA1 software there and it worked.

I'm guessing, there's some incompatibility with the onboard 2.5G LAN port of the desktop PC's motherboard.

 

[nonnyno]

I had a similar issue where the Neumanns weren't even detected at all by the MA1 software when connected to my desktop PC via network switch so I tried connecting the switch to a laptop instead and running the MA1 software there and it worked.

I'm guessing, there's some incompatibility with the onboard 2.5G LAN port of the desktop PC's motherboard.

Thanks you for the suggestion. I don't have a laptop so unfortunately I cant do that. I will see if they'll let me swap the speakers for genelec 8330a's with a glm kit. That plus a genelec subwoofer may actually give me a superior solution. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had such probs though. 20+ hours across two sets of these speakers wasting my time. Lovely sound terrible setup.

 

[honditar]

Made an account to say I'm dealing with the same thing except I initially got the Neumann KH120 MK2's, ran the firmware update and MA1 calibration fine and now that I got the KH750, MA1 software is not letting me make a new setup and refusing to connect. Insanely frustrating for how expensive the sub and MA1 are. Messaged neumann to see if they can resolve, but I doubt it. Crazy that the calibration worked fine, but once I add the sub it just refuses to connect despite factory reset/network mode etc.

 

[Cluj]

I was having trouble with the same error, but in my case, connecting it the way in the second image fixed it.I'm not sure why, but I hope I can help.

 

[honditar]

I finally got it connected and calibrated (combination of PC restart and maybe connecting the router ethernet to the switch seemed like both were necessary). Now after running a calibration it seems on bass heavy songs when the bass hits the back panel temporarily lights up red. Very annoying how finicky it is to set up this sub. Not listening at excessive volumes, like 70 db in the room. Audio interface and everything at same settings used for MA1 calibration

 

[nonnyno]

I tried those methods as well nothing worked I bought the Genelecs instead with glm. What a difference. Totally easy worked first time. Nice and clean superb sound. Literally took about 3 mins all in. I liked the Neumanns but they need to get their calibration process to be a lot more seamless.

 

[dtaylo1066]

For desktop, you can't go wrong with these. Also very good on stands for real audiophile listening. If you need analog input get a MiniDSP ADC. $499 now at Costco.