Recording - November 2017 - 38

Neumann
KH 80 DSP
Active monitors with the Neumann name,
sized for any room
REVIEW BY MIKE METLAY

I

n 2005, Neumann parent company Sennheiser acquired
the German speaker manufacturer Klein+Hummel, and
Neumann has been releasing monitors under the Neumann
badge since 2010. The line includes 2-way and 3-way monitors, several subwoofers, and a range of mounting hardware;
most recently we reviewed the KH 310 A in January 2014.
That speaker cost about $4500 per pair, and delivered appropriately amazing sound on even the toughest source material.
Imagine our surprise when Neumann showed up at last
January's NAMM Show with a pair of small speakers intended
to sell for under a thousand dollars per pair, complete with
automatic room correction software called Neumann.Control.
As of press time, the projected ship date for the Neumann.
Control software is currently given as early 2018, but the
speakers themselves are available for purchase right now,
and they're well worth a listen even without the software. I've
just spent a truly delightful few weeks with the KH 80 DSP
desktop active monitors, and I'd like to tell you about them.

Small but mighty

The KH 80 DSP is a compact 2-way monitor with a wide
variety of suggested professional applications. While it's
considered ideal for use in small home studios, a lot of its
features are set up with remote recording, broadcast, and
video production in mind. Because it's compact yet highly
accurate, it suggests itself in places where larger speakers
might not fit conveniently and small speakers with poor
translatability would be detrimental to professional work.
In short, the KH 80 DSP is intended to be a truly pro-grade
speaker that fits into pretty much any tight space.
Its heritage is obvious at first glance; it's very much like
its larger siblings in appearance, from the wide elliptical
MMD waveguide and grille-covered drivers to the large dual
front ports and the illuminated/dimmable Neumann badge
(which lights up or flashes white, red, or "rosé" depending on
what it's doing). The diffraction-free cabinet is made from a
polycarbonate composite that provides rigidity with very low
weight. I mean very low; at only 7.5 lbs. each, these speakers
38

RECORDING November 2017

PRICE: $1099/pair
($998/pair street price)
MORE FROM: Neumann,
www.neumann.com

can be mounted anywhere (and have threaded mount points
for a variety of optional brackets and mounting accessories).

Going digital

The "DSP" in the name refers to the fact that the monitor does
everything in the digital domain; it has a recessed XLR/TRS jack
for analog input, but analog signals are immediately converted
to digital, processed with high-quality DSP, and then converted
back to analog before being sent to the dual Class D amplifiers
(70 W and 120 W) and drivers (a 1" alloy fabric dome
tweeter and a 4" composite sandwich bass cone woofer).
Internal processing includes a digital delay of up to 70 milliseconds for lip sync and time-of-flight delay adjustment (vital when working on video postproduction and for monitors at different distances),
acoustical controls adjustable for placement and presence of reflective surfaces as well as shelving and EQ functions for room correction, and an 8th-order crossover (48 dB/octave) set at 1.8 kHz.
Note that some of these functions are only accessible via the Neumann.Control software, which will also provide firmware updates,
connect speakers over a network for room analysis and correction
via standard Ethernet cables, with multiple speakers connected to a
conventional router/switch and assigned unique IP addresses.
Rear-panel controls that don't require the software cover
a few necessary functions. There's a switch to control Auto
Standby, a Low Mid Acoustical Control switch that lets you
select a dip of 0/1.5/3/4.5 dB to compensate for placement
above mixing consoles or tables, and a pair of Output Level
controls-a switch for a nominal level of 94, 100, 108, or
114 dB SPL and a trimmer that cuts level by up to 15 dB-
that let you set a consistent reference level, as explained in
the very clear downloadable user manual.
That's plenty to get you started in almost any application;
because my review setup allows the speakers to live well away
from walls and corners and my control surface, I determined that
the most accurate sound was with the Low Mid switch left flat.
I set up the KH 80 DSP in a conventional 48" triangle arrangement on IsoAcoustics Aperta isolation stands and got to work.
http://www.neumann.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - November 2017
