So Flat, It's Boring | Neumann KH310 Studio Monitor Review

Today we review a classic speaker - the successor to the Klein & Hummel O300.

#studio #speakers #production

[GrumpyEyeAudio]

What people in the comments don't understand, and I'm not sure if the original poster understands this.. the beryllium tweeter will not distort as a "normal" fabric tweeter will. And it feels like it's more revealing, but the issue with the beryllium (idk how you spell that) is that you can push them indefinitely without them distorting. Which basically means that your mixes may not translate well to other systems because they might be top heavy. I had listened to the "normal" fabric tweeters my whole life, and when I switched to the focal 11be, my first two mixes sounded amazing.. until I played them on any other system. Then it felt like my ears were bleeding from the amount of high end in those mixes. So I realized that I had to tame them every time, and I kept my quested vh2108 just to check the highs on them. So the kh310's tweeter is not dull, nor boring, nor is it hissy - it's simply a different design, and it will give you a good representation on what your high end will sound like on most of the systems.

[CinematicLaboratory]

In my humble opinion, the tweeters are perfect and honest. I can compare them to the 803 D3 Diamond from B&W and I can only say the Neumann's got it 'right'. However, there's nothing more unpredictable than personal taste. My personal taste is 'cut back the high end' to avoid listening fatigue. For me, modern music is just too 'sharp' compared to the silky 80's which also gives the mids more space. Compared to high-end audio, Neumann offers a bargain (if you fancy good old UK sound balance).

[InXLsisDeo]

The issue is most likely not the tweeters, it's the hardware you have before the monitors. Something in your electronic chain is distorting the highs, and it's not the Neumanns.

[themastroiannis]

thanks for your honest review. have had mine for a year and half. it took me a month to get used to them but now i simply can't go back to the focal solo 6 i used for 4 years. the neumanns are keepers!
from audio science review:
"Neuman KH 310A Near-field Speaker Listening Tests
I know many of you think that looking at the measurements biases you in listening tests. But I must say, the very first impression of what hits my face and ears is often a surprise. I figured the KH 310A would sound good but not this good! I always start with female vocals to see if their brilliance is reproduced without harshness. The KH 310A blew me away with how it managed this careful trick! I could not believe the level of clarity, balance, yet detailed sound with zero harshness or lispiness. 
At the risk of stating the obvious, I am going to strongly recommend the Neumann KH 310A Active Monitor.  I live for days like this when a company cares to give us the best sound reproduction we can get."

[vtkz]

I listened (not producing) Music with the 310 nearly 2 yrs, after them a few months the 120 and now Unity Audio Super Rock. When i look back and try to remember, yes they are great - good amplifiers, great details and an very smooth sound. You can listen with them for hours. But i prefer my Unitys and wouldnt go back to the 310s. Theyre a little bit too boring for my taste. When i compare them, theyre not as revealing with Depth & Placement of Music. We talk about higher priced monitors so the steps are pretty small, but for my taste, the AMT deliver more details and clarity than the Neumann Tweeter. Overall theyre all awesome speakers. I would def go back to them when they had their MA-1 build into the speaker so you dont need the sub. I hope they bring out someday a new 310 MK2 at least with some new internal technologies like their Room correction

[ashneel]

What's also important is to follow Neumanns guidelines on them. If on desk they also recommend dialling down to mids. If in doubt always do dsp via ma1

[MrNicknayme]

If they are like the littlebrother, the 120’ies, then they have one very good thing going for them, that can easily be overlooked:
We were having insane long hours doing a lot of computer game localizations, 14-16 hours a day, and with the Genelecs or the Focal Twins our ears got soooo tired, and I even had a bit of ringing. With the 120’ies there were no problems.
Once you have gotten used to their sonics, you don’t need the extra treble.

[almur]

funny I'm saying the same thing about NDH30. so flat it's boring but wait! it's so interesting to hear what mixing and mastering engineers actually wanted us to hear

[fabianmillerofficial]

Been hoping for this video after all the updates on your Opals. Too bad you did not get them back the way they were originally. Thanks so much for this!

[TimDolbear]

Wow, I am sorry you dislike these. I have been on KH120s and 310 for 12 years, Your review of the top end is a surprise, since no other review anywhere ever said anything bad about them... Did you swap out cables or converters, something else has to be causing your issue...

[ikondance]

I'm with you on your apriciation of the event opals. I'd like to see what you make of the Neumann KH-150 monitors if possible?

[max]

I would LOVE to see you review the D&D 8c Studio <3

[CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

Maybe you should find another line of work if you think studio monitors with a flat frequency response are a bad thing.

[manugentoodrums]

Was also checking out this monitors Mate, in my bucket list.

[XChristianNoirX]

I was gonna say to get the grill for this.. But you're most likely switching back to opals! I have the non berrylium version. I got the original but it had a lot of issues that the new version did not. I didn't compare them side-by-side but am happy with them.

[marijandesin]

Ermin put the computer in a separate room and drag the cables through the hole.
No more noise

[rensback]

Not changing my K&H O300 thanks. They sound quite better than the Neumann O310s, even though mine do not feature the fancy digital settings of the Neumanns. Just take care of your room acoustics and finish up with Sonarworks analysis and a good pair of graphic EQs.

[terrillmel]

I just spent an evening with the predecessors to the speakers. I recently purchased a used pair and just had time to set them up. I much preferred them in the vertical position. I tried listening to them on their sides at different distances and I felt the frequencies were smearing between the highs mids and lows and spatially it was confusing. However, when I set them up vertically it was extremely clear and balanced and detailed and I could see making decisions with these would be very easy. I will be using them this way

[nomad]

They are very aesthetically pleasing in my honest opinion. They look like they can do some serious damage.

[cheopz_official]

Everybody who says the 310s are not good and such things should learn how to mix a track. They are phenomenal good and brutally honest. If your production sounds shit on them, your production sounds simply like shit. Fact!