Neumann KH80 DSP Monitor Measurements #3

[pozz]

I had my gain setting tweaked down to give myself more volume headroom on my DAC, as it was far too loud otherwise, so that also ruled that out.

I'm just sensitive to hiss, and I'm not the only one.

What was your listening distance?

 

[lc155]

What was your listening distance?

Motu M2 ran off of a PC.

 

[pozz]

Motu M2 ran off of a PC.

Thanks. But how far away were the speakers from your ears, if you were to guess?

 

[lc155]

Thanks. But how far away were the speakers from your ears, if you were to guess?

Desktop usage, so about 1M or so.

 

[pozz]

Desktop usage, so about 1M or so.

OK.

For 5dB(A) SPL at 1m, as spec'ed by Genelec, for this to reduce to 0dB(A) SPL you need to be listening at least 1.8m away.

Say you have a very low noise floor in your room, which isn't so unlikely at the kHz frequencies of hiss, there's a good chance to hear it if you're only a meter away.

The main "subjective" element here is if you have hearing damage or not.

 

[lc155]

OK.

For 5dB(A) SPL at 1m, as spec'ed by Genelec, for this to reduce to 0dB(A) SPL you need to be listening at least 1.8m away.

Say you have a very low noise floor in your room, which isn't so unlikely at the kHz frequencies of hiss, there's a good chance to hear it if you're only a meter away.

The main "subjective" element here is if you have hearing damage or not.

I have jaw issue induced tinnitus (only noticeable in quiet, so I'm more likely to be annoyed by persistent sounds in silence due to this, probably), but other than that I have undamaged young ears.

It kind of bothers me passives can be utterly silent but this is such a bothersome issue on a lot of actives.

 

[Matias]

I just love my KH 80 DSP, one of those purchases I am proud of and enjoy every day I use them.

 

[pozz]

It kind of bothers me passives can be utterly silent but this is such a bothersome issue on a lot of actives.

"Can be" is the key here. It depends on the amp and sensitivity of the speaker.

Thankfully all of the attention to actives these days means that speaker companies will likely deal will this issue more seriously.

 

[Matias]

ASR exposes them a lot, and now that Amir is also testing for hiss, should put extra awareness on the public and pressure on the manufacturers to get it right.

 

[lc155]

Yeah, that would be great.

I just love my KH 80 DSP, one of those purchases I am proud of and enjoy every day I use them.

Good to hear. While interested in the 120s, I am also considering the 80s considering that where I'd put them is now likely on the wall above my monitors. Again, though, annoying I couldn't even play with the DSP stuff.

 

[usern]

Did you guys have different gain settings on the back of the speaker?

When I had 8030C, I tried different input gain setting and it didn't help much if at all. KH80 are tolerably quiet at 94 dB and 100 dB output setting. I'm using 94 dB.

 

[lc155]

When I had 8030C, I tried different input gain setting and it didn't help much if at all. KH80 are tolerably quiet at 94 dB and 100 dB output setting. I'm using 94 dB.

Yep, matches what I experienced. What did you think of the two speakers, beyond the hiss con?

 

[usern]

Yep, matches what I experienced. What did you think of the two speakers, beyond the hiss con?

8030C was a bit sibilant and of course it has more bass due to larger drivers. I use KH 750 DSP sub (it's also acting as DAC) with my KH 80 and have no complaints.

 

[Gabe33]

We never got to see distortion measurements for these . I am interested in KH120s though

 

[sweetchaos]

If Amir measures KH80 again, the universe will implode.

We have measurements for KH120:

Neumann KH 120A - spinorama and misc measurements

Hello all, This will be a summary of (many :)) measurements I did with the Neumann KH 120A that I recently purchased. The pair were manufactured in 2013 and sport the older, IMO slightly industrial looking finish: A few notes on measurement methodology: The loudspeaker has been measured at...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Matias]

We never got to see distortion measurements for these . I am interested in KH120s though

Nope, only these as far as I know.

Neumann KH 80 DSP Monitor Review

Hmm. While it's certainly not a bad result, I hope they update their KH120 line with the DSP engine. And isn't tied to just iPad; no desktop, Android, or iPhone app.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[radix]

I have my KH80 on my desktop on vesa stands, so tweeter is at ear level. They are 30" from my head (0.76m). I hear no hiss. I use the AES BNC input on the sub, then balanced to the KH80. I have the gain set to 0 on the KH80, but the control is set for network, not local.

Marc

 

[usern]

Amir did distortion measurements also, but it's not referenced in this or the first thread OP. @amirm could you edit the first post to also reference the distortion measurements there?

Neumann KH 80 DSP Speaker Measurements: Take Two

A few weeks ago I reviewed the Neumann KH80 DSP powered monitor. The measurements while very good, did not match manufacturers published graph which showed dead flat on-axis response. Third-party measurements had shown the same so objection was raised that my measurements must be in error. I...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Sancus]

Neumann publishes max SPL(THD) and HD graphs that are fairly comprehensive on their site: KH80, KH120 (scroll down).

 

[m_g_s_g]

Sadly, no iPad to use with the DSP software, though. Load of balls that you have to do that.

I dedicated some time to create an Android app to control this speakers. It’s in a very preliminary state and I didn’t have a lot of spare time this last months, but if somebody wants to try it, drop me a PM (before I give up and abandon it).

(I’m not sure I’m allowed to post something like this here, just delete it if not)