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Neumann KH420 Review (Studio Monitor)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 2 0.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 3 0.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 29 5.6%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 488 93.5%

  • Total voters
    522

paudio

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Just picked up a used pair of O410s today. Don't have TRS to XLR Male though so I wasn't able to play anything. Will rectify that tomorrow.

I'm really wondering about getting grills though. Looks like the official aluminum grills are going to cost $340 US each. Does anyone have experience with the aluminum Neumann grills? I could make some quite nice steel ones or order custom steel ones for less than one Neumann grill including shipping.

Nephew comes around and is only 2.5 years old. Wouldn't want to accidentally damage them.
 

Blockader

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Just picked up a used pair of O410s today. Don't have TRS to XLR Male though so I wasn't able to play anything. Will rectify that tomorrow.

I'm really wondering about getting grills though. Looks like the official aluminum grills are going to cost $340 US each. Does anyone have experience with the aluminum Neumann grills? I could make some quite nice steel ones or order custom steel ones for less than one Neumann grill including shipping.

Nephew comes around and is only 2.5 years old. Wouldn't want to accidentally damage them.
those grills not just grills. They are going to be a part of the tuning once you place them in front of the tweeters.
 

Sokel

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Just picked up a used pair of O410s today. Don't have TRS to XLR Male though so I wasn't able to play anything. Will rectify that tomorrow.

I'm really wondering about getting grills though. Looks like the official aluminum grills are going to cost $340 US each. Does anyone have experience with the aluminum Neumann grills? I could make some quite nice steel ones or order custom steel ones for less than one Neumann grill including shipping.

Nephew comes around and is only 2.5 years old. Wouldn't want to accidentally damage them.
I would say go for the originals.
They are measured,they have a perfect fit and you will only pay them once without trial and error.
 

paudio

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Good points. B&H sells them and the total will be 20% of what I got the O410s for. That is quite significant. Going to inquire with some dealers and see if anyone can do better.

I reckon for my usage anything reasonably acoustically transparent would be good enough. They aren't for monitoring but for enjoyment at this time.

Edit: I can buy a used KH805 for the same price as the grills.
 
Last edited:

LTig

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those grills not just grills. They are going to be a part of the tuning once you place them in front of the tweeters.
No, at least not regarding the grills for the O300D. Markus Wolff, chief developer, told me on the phone in 2004 that the influence of the grill on sound quality can be measured but it's to small to become audible.
 

LTig

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Just picked up a used pair of O410s today. Don't have TRS to XLR Male though so I wasn't able to play anything. Will rectify that tomorrow.

I'm really wondering about getting grills though. Looks like the official aluminum grills are going to cost $340 US each. Does anyone have experience with the aluminum Neumann grills?
I have the grills for the O300D. They have no audible influence on sound quality and are so sturdy you could beat them with a hammer and not destroy the drivers.
 

jae

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Hey Amir. Thanks so much for the detailed review. I was wondering, how does the KH 420 compare to ATC SCM 50/100 ASL Pro? Could you share your experience?
I am planning to buy a new set of monitors and am stuck with the call of either buying KH420s or allocating more budget to purchase SCM 50 ASL Pro. Is it really worth paying 2 times the amount? BTW I haven't been able to listen to KH420s as they are out of stock in India and will only arrive in late March.
IMO absolutely not, If you have enough budget to buy Neumann or Genelec that is what you should be buying, they are already the best for purpose. If you have more money to spend that you don't mind parting with you should consider any number of things long before you consider buying ATC:
  • Adding 2x KH 870 to the KH 420
  • W371A x2 + Genelec Ones
  • Genelec Mains
  • More subs
  • Allocating that budget to room treatments
  • Buying more speakers for multichannel
  • Doing any number of things to increase the ergonomics/comfort/usability of your listening or work area, or new useful equipment if you work in music production
 

paudio

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No, at least not regarding the grills for the O300D. Markus Wolff, chief developer, told me on the phone in 2004 that the influence of the grill on sound quality can be measured but it's to small to become audible.

I think they might have meant the non oem grills may affect the sound unlike the oem ones.

I have the grills for the O300D. They have no audible influence on sound quality and are so sturdy you could beat them with a hammer and not destroy the drivers.

At least they seem to be of high quality. I'll definitely check all my options before plopping down a thousand Canadian dollars though.
 

paudio

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Does anyone know if the 420 grills fit the 410? I'll ask Neumann as well.

Edit: Looks like the 410 and 420 both share the exactly the same enclosure dimensions of 330 x 645 x 444mm. I wonder if the grills are exactly actually also the same.
 
Last edited:

LTig

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Does anyone know if the 420 grills fit the 410? I'll ask Neumann as well.

Edit: Looks like the 410 and 420 both share the exactly the same enclosure dimensions of 330 x 645 x 444mm. I wonder if the grills are exactly actually also the same.
I think so, it's the same with O300D and KH310.
 

paudio

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Awesome. That's positive at least. I've talked to some Neumann dealers and they've said so far that they're discontinued and I'll have a hard time finding them. Should be able to get 420 ones still though.
 

paudio

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Awesome. That's positive at least. I've talked to some Neumann dealers and they've said so far that they're discontinued and I'll have a hard time finding them. Should be able to get 420 ones still though.
The plot thickens. B&H says O410 grills are backordered 6 months and the KH420 ones are a bit smaller and won't work.
 

teashea

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Just picked up a used pair of O410s today. Don't have TRS to XLR Male though so I wasn't able to play anything. Will rectify that tomorrow.

I'm really wondering about getting grills though. Looks like the official aluminum grills are going to cost $340 US each. Does anyone have experience with the aluminum Neumann grills? I could make some quite nice steel ones or order custom steel ones for less than one Neumann grill including shipping.

Nephew comes around and is only 2.5 years old. Wouldn't want to accidentally damage them.
Do it correctly and buy the Neumann grills. Don't cheap out when you have such excellent speakers.
 

paudio

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Has anyone got KH420 grills mounted on O410s? I've been unable to confirm with any vendor that they fit except for B&H who thinks they don't.

Nobody has been able to get back to me with a quote in North America on even the KH420 grills. Seems like distributors aren't getting back to the vendors. Neumann themselves haven't responded either.
 

LTig

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Has anyone got KH420 grills mounted on O410s? I've been unable to confirm with any vendor that they fit except for B&H who thinks they don't.

Nobody has been able to get back to me with a quote in North America on even the KH420 grills. Seems like distributors aren't getting back to the vendors. Neumann themselves haven't responded either.
Maybe @GuyLayfield can chime in?
 

Vintage57

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You might want to set up a search parameter on this site. It monitors Audio web sites including eBay world wide

 

paudio

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You might want to set up a search parameter on this site. It monitors Audio web sites including eBay world wide

Yeah. Hifishark is great!

I found some used for sale in Germany but even more spendy I think than through B&H.
 
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