Neumann KH150

[BDE]

Interesting, hopefully it will be avilable in white color otherwise it is not suitable for any living room setup..
In general the larger center distance tweeter to woofer normally lead to some compromise, lets see!

At the end it is all a matter of the price..

 

[Matias]

I would have chosen a KH120DSP or even this KH150DSP when I bought my KH80DSP, but too late now, very unlikely I will sell mine and upgrade in the short term.

 

[somebodyelse]

Since ma1 has been updated, I look forward to being to disable the logo leds on launch day without an ipad.

For those that can code there are other ways too. It turns out the control protocol is partly documented and partly self-describing, but Neumann don't publish this for some reason. I didn't buy the KH80s because the iPad app was the only way known at the time to access the DSP. Had I known the protocol was documented I would have bought them.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...all-analog-neumann-monitors.6415/post-1094702

 

[Matias]

Yes, the iPad-only access is quite lame from them... Would be better general bluetooth and multi-OS app like SVS has.

 

[mightycicadalord]

For those that can code there are other ways too. It turns out the control protocol is partly documented and partly self-describing, but Neumann don't publish this for some reason. I didn't buy the KH80s because the iPad app was the only way known at the time to access the DSP. Had I known the protocol was documented I would have bought them.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...all-analog-neumann-monitors.6415/post-1094702

I was following that for awhile, but I sold my KH80 because it took Neumann wayyyy to long to get the pc app going, and when it came out it still sucked, took them quite literally a year and half to add the function to disable the LED's. I actually managed to get my MA-1 mic half off from sweetwater because the product listening was inaccurate on the KH80 in relation to it's control app. I don't know, I have little patience for products being released in half finished states.

 

[HiFidFan]

I am officially interested...
Very much so.

Indeed. . . Me too.

 

[somebodyelse]

I was following that for awhile, but I sold my KH80 because it took Neumann wayyyy to long to get the pc app going, and when it came out it still sucked, took them quite literally a year and half to add the function to disable the LED's. I actually managed to get my MA-1 mic half off from sweetwater because the product listening was inaccurate on the KH80 in relation to it's control app. I don't know, I have little patience for products being released in half finished states.

Lack of linux support is unfortunately pretty much normal, so having a documented interface saves a lot of reverse engineering. It also enables 3rd party use cases the manufacturer either didn't consider, or didn't think worthwhile implementing.

 

[SlothRock]

I just bought the KH120 a few short months ago so this makes me sad lol I think I may end up wanting to upgrade to the 7" woofers depending what we're looking at price-wise

 

[Pearljam5000]

What is the reason they went with a 7 inch and not an 8 inch except the KH310 ?

 

[MrSoul4470]

What makes 8" superior to you? I would expect the midrange to be worse with 8" in a 2 way speaker. Or is it all about bass depth, amount and SPL?

 

[thewas]

As I have answered to you in several other threads a 8" is usually a too big compromise for a 2-way from mid quality point of view and modern 6.5“ drivers are quite SPL capable. Also cabinet size rises significantly which is an issue for small consoles or desktop monitoring and if dimensions grow higher then why not getting a better 3-way monitor like the KH310 instead?

 

[Pearljam5000]

As I have answered to you in several other threads a 8" is usually a too big compromise for a 2-way from mid quality point of view and modern 6.5“ drivers are quite SPL capable. Also cabinet size rises significantly which is an issue for small consoles or desktop monitoring and if dimensions grow higher then why not getting a better 3-way monitor like the KH310 instead?

Yeah but
If that's the case why did Genelec make the 8050? That proves it's possible without too big of a compromise
And a cheaper 2-way alternative to KH310 makes more sense to me than a 7 inch which is too close to KH120 5.25

 

[Pearljam5000]

What makes 8" superior to you? I would expect the midrange to be worse with 8" in a 2 way speaker. Or is it all about bass depth, amount and SPL?

I would sacrifice a bit of midrange for everything you mentioned

 

[changer]

As I have answered to you in several other threads a 8" is usually a too big compromise for a 2-way from mid quality point of view …

Hey thewas, could you elaborate on this in technical terms?

Btw, I love to see it when people get more excited over a peculiar manufacturer’s release than another’s. This is tech passion.

 

[Sancus]

If that's the case why did Genelec make the 8050? That proves it's possible without too big of a compromise
And a cheaper 2-way alternative to KH310 makes more sense to me than a 7 inch which is too close to KH120 5.25

Wrong way of thinking about it IMO. Genelec's market strategy is different, they have a much larger lineup that covers more size categories both on the low and high end.

Clearly it *is* possible to make an 8" 2-way, but it's not ideal and it will be a less popular product than your 6.5", triply so if you already have an 8" 3-way...The 310 is basically the same price as the Genelec 8350 and only about $400(~30%) more than the 8050. Quite a bargain if you don't really need GLM.

If they made an 8" 2-way, they'd still have the same size gap! And size gaps are much more important than price gaps at these levels, IMO.

 

[voodooless]

And a cheaper 2-way alternative to KH310 makes more sense to me than a 7 inch which is too close to KH120 5.25

7” gives ~ 250 cm^2 area
5.2” gives ~ 140 cm^2 area

That is quite a big difference.

5mm excursion gives you almost 95 dB @50 Hz for 7”.
5mm excursion gives you 90 dB @50 Hz for 5.25”.

That’s a 5 dB advantage. Quite significant!

 

[fineMen]

Hey thewas, could you elaborate on this in technical terms?

The geometrically necessary baffle size for an 8" would allow for a three-way. The three-way, given the same amount of care in the design, is always better. A subwoofer cannot compensate for a too small box, as distortion, and most prominently ignored, the intermodulation explodes even higher in the frequency range - 200Hz?

Many Neumans or Genelecs are just used as monitors. They don't need to be loud and clean, as the only purpose is to observe the transmssion line, not to critically evaluate a recording regarding detailed sound properties.

 

[thewas]

Yeah but
If that's the case why did Genelec make the 8050? That proves it's possible without too big of a compromise

I had answered that here.

And a cheaper 2-way alternative to KH310 makes more sense to me than a 7 inch which is too close to KH120 5.25

Your view on this is too oversimplifying, am positive from SPL point of view the KH 150 will be closer to the closed KH 310. Also Neumann's purpose of the KH 150 will definitely not be offering a cheaper and compromised KH 310 for people that cannot afford it but offering a high end engineering product in the very popular compact 6-7" class, that's why they had till now only 4 monitors and not cheaper entry series like other brands.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I had answered that here.


Your view on this is too oversimplifying, am positive from SPL point of view the KH 150 will be closer to the closed KH 310. Also Neumann's purpose of the KH 150 will definitely not be offering a cheaper and compromised KH 310 for people that cannot afford it but offering a high end engineering product in the very popular compact 6-7" class, that's why they had till now only 4 monitors and not cheaper entry series like other brands.

Ok
Im just bummed that if they were 8 inch you could probably use than from 3m away (if you add a sub) and 7 inch is borderline on that SPL wise
Basically I want the ultimate 2-way to be used as "mains" that doesn't break the bank and its close to that.
Maybe the Genelec S360 is closer to that (10 inch woofer btw) but expensive

 

[thewas]

Hey thewas, could you elaborate on this in technical terms?

Simplified said the bigger the driver is the earlier break up modes and directivity rises which make crossing to a typical dome tweeter a problem.