The "good old" KH310 do not have any of these issues. So, not always the newer model is the better choice.
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Neumann KH120 II Monitor Review
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Pearljam5000
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I was considering getting a pair
But now with all that I've read here in not so sure anymore
Understood.
Very good that this was a temporary issue only and the speakers are working fine now. Nevertheless, I would have been slightly frightened.
respice finem
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If it wasn't there for years and suddenly is, something might be deteriorating (says my inner pessimist)
Bamboszek
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Well, maybe just not so widely known as they are probably much less popular.
The Neumann logo backlight on one of my KH310s started behaving strangely after only a year or two of use.
One day it started to flicker. Gradually over time it completely turned off and only blinked occasionally.
It didn't bother me enough to send the entire speaker back to Neumann, but I would still expect something better from such company.
I'm surprised that's it's Neumann, but not entirely surprised that a studio monitor is having issues, particularly if the manufacturer cheaped-out on electronics/manufacturing.
Pearljam5000
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If it was a cheap monitor I wouldn't mind
Also it makes me nervous to try and get a pair
h2opt
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So, after I sent back the faulty monitor to thomann I have noticed that my second monitor is making the same noise, so both of them were faulty.
I called thomann and they will refund the second monitor also even tho it was past 30 days, all good with thomann.
I don't know what to get now. I really like how they sound. This monitors went up 20 euros on Thomann this week.
Very f'ed up..
I called thomann and they will refund the second monitor also even tho it was past 30 days, all good with thomann.
I don't know what to get now. I really like how they sound. This monitors went up 20 euros on Thomann this week.
Very f'ed up..
jean-benoit
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you may want to try the iloud precision line. they are comparable in sound quality and their room correction software is really good too.
i have the 120ii since a year and didnt had any problems yet…
Just so you know if the replacement exhibit the same issues after they will not replace them but send them back to neumann. This is what I'm experiencing right now and it's been more than a month with no contact from anyone. I send an email to thomann and they said they will forward the email to the right department. What ever that means. Not happy with this situation. I wouldn't buy Neumann again. Go genelec with their Sam system and have peace of mind with great support. I think they also give you 5 years warranty. Good luck
goofytwoshoes
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Yes, Genelec warranty is 5 years, and can easily be transferred to a new owner.
ernestcarl
Major Contributor
I would think this may be lesser the case for the original KH120? I got mine more than a decade ago -- one of the first ones probably to get a pair here. I've abused my KH120s a lot through the years and have on many occasions triggered the protection limiters with very loud movie or music playback and measurement testing. Well, hopefully my pair lasts at least another 15 to 20 years.
*To my ears having the speakers play "full-range" as much as possible is a tad bit less clean than high passing at 80Hz at loud listening levels -- yet, somehow, I prefer keeping what little sense of bass directionality and fullness is achieved with this much steeper phase-linearized HPF.
I believe the originals were fully analog. It wouldn't surprise me if the introduction of DSP has caused some issues.
h2opt
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I am getting a refund, money back... So I have the chose to buy anything else now.
I have to wait two more weeks until I get my money...
I am thinking to try Genelecs or buy again Neumann but from a different store because I get to many faulty prodocts from Thomann..
My last 5 purchases from Thomann had faulty items.. I am a little skeptical by now
Me too, 5 faulty products on your last 5 purchases, that's a very high failure rate.
You did the right thing getting your money back. I think its irrelevant if you buy from another supplier again there is still a chance you will face the same issue soon or later. Its up to you. What other products where faulty from thomann? Monitors?
I’ve been following the recent posts about the technical issues with the KH120 II, and I have to say – I was flagging these exact problems already last year.
My journey with these monitors has been a total disaster. I really wanted to keep them because I liked the sound, so I went through five different pairs from Thomann. I kept returning them because every single pair suffered from this crackling and obvious cabinet resonances at the low end. I even posted few videos about it. Eventually, I just gave up.
Six months later, I decided to give Neumann one last chance and bought another set from a local distributor in my country. I went through four more monitors there, and they all had the same issues.
I’m officially done with Neumann KH120 and cannot recommend this product to anyone. Based on what I've seen, it seems they are using low-quality capacitors. It’s disappointing to see such a drop in quality control from a brand like this. Save yourself the headache and look at other options.
My journey with these monitors has been a total disaster. I really wanted to keep them because I liked the sound, so I went through five different pairs from Thomann. I kept returning them because every single pair suffered from this crackling and obvious cabinet resonances at the low end. I even posted few videos about it. Eventually, I just gave up.
Six months later, I decided to give Neumann one last chance and bought another set from a local distributor in my country. I went through four more monitors there, and they all had the same issues.
I’m officially done with Neumann KH120 and cannot recommend this product to anyone. Based on what I've seen, it seems they are using low-quality capacitors. It’s disappointing to see such a drop in quality control from a brand like this. Save yourself the headache and look at other options.
danila
Member
How do cheap capacitors cause cabinet resonances?
He's not making much sense. He's just busy making Neumann's monitors more expensive for the rest of us by overloading their after sales division.
What kind of question is that?
Who said capacitors cause cabinet resonances?
If you got lucky with this product and have a working pair, I totally understand why you defend them. These are great monitors, the best sounding in this budget for some music genres.
The resonances are the result of squeezing so much low end out of such small cabinets. These monitors chuff and fart under 50Hz when playing genres like rap and electronic music. The small front ports are not sufficient enough, and the rear panel also produces resonances when playing the lower range of frequencies. It's not as obvious below the 80dB level.
About the budget capacitors, someone with a broken monitor disassembled it and provided pictures, so that's all I have to say.
I lost a lot of time. I had one pair for 6 months, which I then sold and bought them again—all of them with the same problems. 10 out of 14 speakers had louder or quieter crackling from the tweeter.
The biggest problem I see is that this product is targeted at professionals for mixing, and the tools I use for work must be reliable.
This one is not, and even if you get lucky and receive a replacement fast, they will probably develop the same problem, as pointed out by other users in this thread.
And what's the point of having the best-sounding speakers if you can't use them?
That's all I have to say about them. I would not recommend this product to anyone.
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