Neumann KH120 II Monitor Review

[lordhumungous]

Sadly, in my 8x9ft DIY treated room I get a large dip at 80hz. I just can't do much about it. Don't have the wriggle room to trial different room configs etc.

Don't worry and enjoy the music !

 

[unpluggged]

not necessarily KH750 since it's very expensive

It's worth every penny.

but I have no idea how to connect sub

The manual of the KH 750 DSP is comprehensive and covers almost any case. Just look at it.

750 only has analogue inputs

Who says that? Have you looked at the product page and the specs at the Neumann's web site?
Of course it does have a digital input; that's how I use it myself.

 

[levimax]

Sadly, in my 8x9ft DIY treated room I get a large dip at 80hz. I just can't do much about it. Don't have the wriggle room to trial different room configs etc.

Try ERB or Psychoacoustic smoothing and then as mentioned above enjoy. Dips are not as audible as they can look and these smoothing types show you how they sound.

 

[NeverBetter]

Don't worry and enjoy the music !

Well yeah I always try to. But my speakers and room are for mixing. Not so much music listening if you know what I mean.

 

[NeverBetter]

Try ERB or Psychoacoustic smoothing and then as mentioned above enjoy. Dips are not as audible as they can look and these smoothing types show you how they sound.

Interesting. According to MA-1 I had about a 10db null right around 80hz. The rest of the response wasn't so bad. Using a bit of tweaking I made it into about a 5db dip. Just eyeballing it. Also interestingly I've read that things like nulls that appear nasty on paper, the human ear kind of accounts for. More or less. I wouldn't say accounts for comprehensively. I hadn't exactly heard of ERB or psychoacoustic smoothing. Thanks.

 

[LeonidKogan]

It's worth every penny.


The manual of the KH 750 DSP is comprehensive and covers almost any case. Just look at it.


Who says that? Have you looked at the product page and the specs at the Neumann's web site?
Of course it does have a digital input; that's how I use it myself.

Sorry, must have looked wrong on the photo, I didn't notice the BNC connectors. Thanks for your answer, it's clear to me now. Do you know any other subs with digital in and outs? Sadly KH750s never occur used in my area and the price is sadly quite steep for me... But on the other hand if I get rid of my dac I might be able to stretch.

If anyone is interested I will publish my comparison of Kali IN8 v2 vs KH120 II in a couple of days.

 

[lordhumungous]

Do you really need a subwoofer for these speakers in a small office with their frequency response down to 46hz? I’m just listening about 4 feet away . Bass sounds pretty damn good to me

 

[NeverBetter]

Do you really need a subwoofer for these speakers in a small office with their frequency response down to 46hz? I’m just listening about 4 feet away . Bass sounds pretty damn good to me

Might depend a bit on what your aim is with the speakers. If it's for listening to music, youtube, whatever for fun then a sub might be overkill. If you are intending to do detailed mixing work in the room that's a different story. Then depending on the size of the room and how it is treated there's schools of thought as to whether a sub is helpful or not.

 

[spamilton]

Do you really need a subwoofer for these speakers in a small office with their frequency response down to 46hz? I’m just listening about 4 feet away . Bass sounds pretty damn good to me

Hard to answer. I used a pair of 8030C with no sub for years. Now that I have a sub, when I turn it off, I definitely miss it

 

[LeonidKogan]

Do you really need a subwoofer for these speakers in a small office with their frequency response down to 46hz? I’m just listening about 4 feet away . Bass sounds pretty damn good to me

Sounds very good for a 5.25'', it's in fact a marvel of engineering what Neumann managed to achieve with such driver (it's just as deep as 8'' Kali, I'll post more maybe tomorrow or in 2 days, I've been busy), but the lowest notes within KH120's range are not as well defined and a little boomy. I don't listen to electronic music so it's not a huge issue but I definitely have a sub in mind.

 

[unpluggged]

but the lowest notes within KH120's range are not as well defined and a little boomy

Is this with room EQ?

 

[LeonidKogan]

Is this with room EQ?

With room eq, I mean it's pretty clear with jazz, funk etc., but when the orchestral culmination comes in it becomes quite dense down there. Here are my measurements after eq - they come down almost flat to 34Hz, pretty impressive. I'm not sure if that doesn't make sub redundant with genres of music I listen to (classical, jazz). Below that I think mostly electronica benefits from sub, unless you prove me wrong. I listen in 2m equilateral triangle, the room is about 18m².
My only complaint compared to Kali IN8 is that they don't sound as big, otherwise they are in another league.

 

[staticV3]

ere are my measurements after eq - they come down almost flat to 34Hz, pretty impressive.

Two tips for REW:

In RTA->Cogwheel->Appearance->disable both "Use bars on.." options.

In the All SPL window, when viewing your measurements, do Limits->Fit to data before you take screenshots.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Why such a big difference in price just for the color?

 

[kyuu]

View attachment 458543
Why such a big difference in price just for the color?

You'll have to ask the vendor (is that the official website?). On Sweetwater, at least, the two color ways are the same price.

 

[staticV3]

View attachment 458543
Why such a big difference in price just for the color?

 

[Oldson]

considering these monitors to replace my current desktop speakers (close to back wall), but it is a considerable stretch of my budget.

i notice you guys recommend purchasing the MA-1 along with the speakers, but this is a little too much for me at this moment.

so , if i just purchase a pair of the speakers alone for now am i still going to get good performance out of them?
i would plan to get the MA-1 further down the line.

 

[staticV3]

so , if i just purchase a pair of the speakers alone for now am i still going to get good performance out of them?

Absolutely.

 

[LeonidKogan]

After numerous tests I found out that my KH120 II's sound much cleaner via digital connection compared to my DAC.
I would like to buy a sub (or subs), but is there any way to utilize digital connection in monitors and use subs from other manufacturers than Neumann? I'd much prefer to get 2x SB1000 for less than 1x KH750. They don't have digital in though. Is there any miniDSP device that could output analog and digital simultaneously? Then I would connect subs with analog RCA and monitors with SPDIF high passed via minidsp - is that possible?

 

[respice finem]

Are you sure the comparison is at at exactly equal loudness? If not - the louder source is usually "better" - a simple but often forgotten catch.