# Anyone compare Neumann 80s and 120s?



## JohnG (Nov 26, 2018)

I have a nice speaker setup for my studio -- very happy. 

Separate from the studio, I am considering an upgrade for movie-watching too. Has anyone compared the Neumann KH 80s to the 120s?

I found a review on gearslutz but wondered if there were any vi folk who had compared them?

Thanks,

John


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Nov 26, 2018)

By movie-watching do you mean like a home theater? I've only heard the 120 at a shop and while I liked them, they maxed out way too quickly so that instantly ruled them out for me. If you want to listen at reasonable levels, I wouldn't recommend them. They could work well as surrounds.

If you want a compact monitor that can handle anything you throw at it (i.e. movies) then I'd recommend the JBL 705p. They're what I use as surrounds. I have been having issues with one of them and will probably need to have it replaced under warranty but the issue only happens when using it with the digital input. Not sure if it's an issue with mine or all of them but with analog ins they're fine. Unfortunately I need a speaker with digital in and DSP for delay and EQ. Pretty much no other speaker exists anywhere near the same price point. Really hoping it's just an issue with my speaker and not all of them.


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## JohnG (Nov 26, 2018)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> By movie-watching do you mean like a home theater?



I couldn't glorify what I do by calling it "home theatre." I mean a screen and two speakers for listening to Netflix, Amazon video, HBO and that kind of thing. 

Right now I'm using some JBL bookshelf speakers powered by an ancient Sony receiver.


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## JT (Nov 26, 2018)

John,

I have the KH80's, no experience with the 120's. In my small 10 x 10 room, they're fine for music and work well if I'm watching a movie. All of the dialog is clear. By comparison, I have a set of Sony wired speakers in my living room. I don't remember the model, but they were about $200.

The Sony's sound like commercial speakers (which they are) and the kh80's sound different, like monitors. When watching movies, I'll choose the Neumann's.
Sound effects and dialog from the 80's gives me something closer to the experience I'd get at a theater. Hope this helps a little.

JT


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Nov 26, 2018)

JohnG said:


> I couldn't glorify what I do by calling it "home theatre." I mean a screen and two speakers for listening to Netflix, Amazon video, HBO and that kind of thing.
> 
> Right now I'm using some JBL bookshelf speakers powered by an ancient Sony receiver.


In that case, it doesn't seem like you'd need that much power so the 120 should be fine. I don't know about the 80. The nice thing is that the logo on the front turns red when it's clipping so it's easy to tell and you won't blow them up.


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## JohnG (Nov 26, 2018)

The appeal of the 80 is that its electronics make it a different animal altogether than the 120. The 80 has built-in ability to use software to correct for the room, among other things. In this case, the room is not that bad but it would be great to get room correction via a free app that you can download to an iPad.


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## AR (Nov 26, 2018)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> By movie-watching do you mean like a home theater? I've only heard the 120 at a shop and while I liked them, they maxed out way too quickly so that instantly ruled them out for me. If you want to listen at reasonable levels, I wouldn't recommend them. They could work well as surrounds.
> 
> If you want a compact monitor that can handle anything you throw at it (i.e. movies) then I'd recommend the JBL 705p. They're what I use as surrounds. I have been having issues with one of them and will probably need to have it replaced under warranty but the issue only happens when using it with the digital input. Not sure if it's an issue with mine or all of them but with analog ins they're fine. Unfortunately I need a speaker with digital in and DSP for delay and EQ. Pretty much no other speaker exists anywhere near the same price point. Really hoping it's just an issue with my speaker and not all of them.


Don't know why yours max'd out so quickly. I'm driving mine here at K-20 scale (which is pretty f-ing loud especially on windows applications) and they barely flicker red. Neighbours across the street called me once, cause it was too loud, when I was scoring an action scene not that long ago. So, don't know. Maybe there was something wrong with your routing on your soundcard?
I got 2 Neumann 120 as L-R and a K+H O 200 (which is basically the model before Neumann took that brand over) as a center speaker. Though the 120 are extended by the Neumann subwoofer. I'm considering the KH 80s for surrounds as I have just KRKs at the moment for it.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Nov 26, 2018)

AR said:


> Don't know why yours max'd out so quickly. I'm driving mine here at K-20 scale (which is pretty f-ing loud especially on windows applications) and they barely flicker red. Neighbours across the street called me once, cause it was too loud, when I was scoring an action scene not that long ago. So, don't know. Maybe there was something wrong with your routing on your soundcard?
> I got 2 Neumann 120 as L-R and a K+H O 200 (which is basically the model before Neumann took that brand over) as a center speaker. Though the 120 are extended by the Neumann subwoofer. I'm considering the KH 80s for surrounds as I have just KRKs at the moment for it.


I was just testing them at the shop. It was because of too much low end in some of the tracks that I was testing them with but since I mainly do film music, they gotta handle it. Would be fine with a pair of subs but then you're opening a whole can of worms.


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## AR (Nov 26, 2018)

I don't get the fear here on vi-control about using a subwoofer. Using bass traps and placing the woofer in a dedicated place is the key.


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## LaurensGoedhart (Nov 27, 2018)

I have both! I'm using the 120 in quad and bought the 80 as center speaker. I don't do my own final surround mixing but want to monitor dialogue while working for a surround production, and of course want the music (which is mostly quad anyways) to have the same speakers. I would say they sound a lot like each other but find the mids in the 80 maybe even clearer than the 120s. And for such a small speaker it can go pretty low! My 120s are extended in the low end with a sub. Unfortunately not a Neumann KH sub, my budget didn't reach that far... but it's on my wish list. Still I'm very happy with my setup!


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Nov 27, 2018)

AR said:


> I don't get the fear here on vi-control about using a subwoofer. Using bass traps and placing the woofer in a dedicated place is the key.


The crossovers built into those subs sound awful and you can't time align the speakers with them. The only way I'd add a sub is either getting a custom crossover built by Exakte or using a DEQX and doing a linear phase crossover. I'd also never use a mono sub. Maybe if it was only doing <30Hz. There's no fear about using a subwoofer. It's just expensive to do it properly.


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## JohnG (Nov 27, 2018)

AR said:


> I don't get the fear here on vi-control about using a subwoofer.



I never detected that fear (?)

I use one. I don't know how you can work without one if you do game or film music. You have to know what's going on Real Low Down There.


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## AR (Nov 28, 2018)

JohnG said:


> I never detected that fear (?)
> 
> I use one. I don't know how you can work without one if you do game or film music. You have to know what's going on Real Low Down There.


That's right. I'm using one dedicated subwoofer for LFE and one as an bass extender, works pretty awesome with the Neumanns. I measured them AB (with and without bass extension) and I don't have any significant dB build ups. Cool side-thing with the Neumann sub: You can use a Sustain Pedal to switch on/off.


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## JohnG (Nov 28, 2018)

LaurensGoedhart said:


> I would say they sound a lot like each other but find the mids in the 80 maybe even clearer than the 120s. And for such a small speaker it can go pretty low!



I read similar comments in at least one review. I just wonder if the 80s are loud enough to use as main speakers for movie-watching. 

(unrelated to speaker choice) I don't know what is going on but, all of a sudden, I can't watch Netflix or Amazon on my studio Mac using Safari. Normally, if I really want to hear something accurately, that's what I do, but some Safari update seems to have nixed it.


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