Datasheet

with a fourth-order crossover at 2kHz feeding a pair of 80W
Class-A/B amplifiers.
A pair of triangular ports vent from the bottom of the front
baffle to either side of the bass driver, which is a departure
from the previous O100 and O110 models, in which the ports
were at the top of the baffle.
The front baffle is quite a chunky aluminium section bolted
onto the rest of the cast-aluminium cabinet, and is heavily
contoured to pull the bass driver slightly forward (presumably
to aid in accurate driver time alignment). Conversely, the
tweeter is recessed within an elliptical ‘mathematically
modelled dispersion’ (MMD) waveguide, which helps to
control both the vertical and horizontal dispersion of high
frequencies. On the left-hand side between the two drivers
is an illuminated Neumann badge, which is gently backlit in
white when the speakers are powered, and flashes red if the
internal protection system is activated.
Facing down from a recessed shelf on the back panel
is an electronically balanced XLR line input, mains on/off
switch and an IEC power connector, along with a set of four
switches. These allow the front-panel badge lighting to be
turned off, if preferred, or set to normal or dim illumination
levels (I preferred the dim option!). One of the switches also
activates a ground-lift facility.
The middle portion of the rear panel accommodates a pair
of 8mm threaded holes to allow attachment to a wall bracket,
and, at the top (above some cooling fins) are four more
configuration switches and a rotary sensitivity control. The first
three switches allow the frequency response to be tailored
to suit the speaker placement and room acoustics. The low
end (below about 400Hz) can be attenuated by 2.5dB, 5dB
or 7.5dB, and the mid-range (between 60Hz and 1.5kHz)
by 1.5dB, 3dB or 4.5dB. The high end (above 5kHz) can be
attenuated by 1dB or 2dB, or boosted by 1dB. The manual
provides some suggestions for the appropriate settings for
a range of installation situations.
Neumann KH120A £1199
& KH810 £2682
p r o s
The KH120As have a surprisingly wide bandwidth for •
such a small speaker.
Excellent resolution with a very neutral, transparent and •
detailed sound.
Extremely robust, with superb build quality.•
Room-correction facilities well thought out and easy •
to implement.
Near-perfect integration with the partnering KH810 subwoofer.•
Configurable 7.1-speaker bass management built into •
the subwoofer.
Superbly informative and detailed manuals.•
c o n s
None at all at this price — it’s a genuine bargain!•
s u m m a r y
A remarkably powerful compact two-way monitor which
genuinely justifies the title of ‘reference monitor’ with its accurate,
neutral and detailed sound quality. This very capable active
nearfield monitor can be enhanced by the addition of
the matching KH810 subwoofer to make an impressive
full-range, multi-channel surround system.
137
www.soundonsound.com / April 2012