I am currently on the lookout for a sub for a small home studio. I have narrowed down my search but there’s a bit of a price difference with the two models that I am considering. I need to know whether the KH750 warrant the extra cash or not? Or has anyone tried both or either models and can offer an opinion Or help?? I have seen less reviews re. dynaudio’s, so I am interested to hearing from any fellow users. I will be using sub with NS10’s, as you know these are lacking in low end, so am looking for a sub that will compliment them well. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Once you get into speakers that cost more than $1K each. It's about the one that best fit's your ears, room, and budget.

Thanks elegentdrum for your response. Do you have any experience with either model?

Wins sealed box with biggest driver in it. The rest is not significant.

I have a KH750 which I love, but its biggest benefit is its DSP - which only works with other Neumann monitors. My room is treated and I used sonarworks in the past, but the sound really cleared up when I switched to the KH750. I can hear what is going on below 300 hz a lot better now. That said, I don't think the KH750 is necessarily worth the price if you arent going to be able to access the DSP. Its a perfectly great sub, but there are cheaper options if you arent going to use the DSP.

No. I just upgraded to Focal Twin6 Be. Best speakers I have owned. Was a Huge upgrade from HS80M. I do still use some Mangaplaner 1.7's for a very different perspective.

Thanks Abdalla both are sealed but Dynaudio 9S is a 9.5 inch whereas Neumann KH750 is the 10 inch but there’s probably A £500 price difference so not sure if 1/2 Inch warrants the additional spend, if there isn’t much difference in sound. That’s my main consideration, which will work best with NS10’s?!

Clbraddock: Thanks also for your response as I was not aware that should be a consideration re. DSP side of things only being useful when using with other Neumann nearfields etc..So huge thanks for pointing that out. Whilst it isn’t in my immediate plans to purchase further nearfields, this is not something I would rule out later down the line. But right now I am just looking for the right subwoofer which is a sealed box and compliments the NS10’s well and will not break the bank- ideally closer to the Dynaudio price point £799.00 (GBP) Finding it quite difficult to find sealed boxes within mid -highish price range. And certainly mid range seems to mostly all be ported, which kinda limits options somewhat.

Any other possible recommendations?!

Thanks

The size difference is negligible here, while DSP will make a big difference. I would not pay for it though as I would use a separate DSP anyway.

A better solution would be buying a cheap consumer sub where sealed box and 12" driver are present. And add DSP on the top. In UK, the best deal would be BK Electronics. Otherwise look for Adam subs, still a good value though those are ported.

You might also look at HEDD's newest 8" sub. It can be used sealed or ported. I dont know a ton about it other than that HEDD is generally praised here.

8" is not a good option for sub, it is more of a marketing thing, to make something smaller and cheaper available. In terms of performance it should be at least 10".

Thanks elgentdrum. I am aware of the Focals but never heard them in action! Glad your getting good results though.

Thanks abdalla I had looked at the Adams too but have been slightly put off by some review, but mainly because it is ported and in a small Space I am told that it would be bad news, so gonna stick with sealed if possible. Although, Dynaudio might be winning in terms of price and size, but still open to other recommendations. Appreciate all your advise. And I was wondering whether 8” might be a bit on the small side!

Clbraddock: That’s a bit spooky:-) because I came across the HEDD 8” sub only today!! I was watching some videos around it. Was intrigued by its offering of both the ported and closed option and price point is good too(well better let’s say then the KH750. But I wonder now if At 8” this is too small or not?! Thanks for recommendation though it’s thrown something else in the mix (excuse the pun)!!

Well I have an 8” Eve TS108 which I’m using in my small room with a pair of KH120’s. I definitely wouldn’t say that this sub is a “marketing thing”. I’m really impressed with this small sub. It uses a passive radiator design and sounds tight, clear and totally exceeded my expectations.

The Neumann does look quite interesting for the sealed box 10”, 15hz extra bass extension and DSP compatibility with my KH120’s. However, I really don’t like it needs an iPad to control it!? The Eve has its own dedicated hardware remote control that is extremely useful and gives you full control over every parameter on the TS108.

Thanks for your response dickiefunk and you raise a interesting point about 8” being sufficient For your needs! And I wonder the same for myself, as my space is very compact at 6ft x 12ft and i think this size might be adequate for me too.

Now I am not very familiar with Eve TS108 but it has come up a few times during my searches. When you say it has a Passive radiator is this the same as being a potted design?

Another thing you touched upon is the KH750 requiring an iPad to work. I do have an iPad but do you mean it’s required for initial set up or for use continuously? I would like to control it using my monitor controller. Is then not possible?! If anyone else can shed some light here too, it would be great to hear your thoughts.

you can downloaded on the neumann website the KH750 manual.

If that sub was 6" you would have been even more impressed. That positive impression is likely to be related to a common problem of how a distorted bass is perceived. It works like more noise - more bass. But actually, the reality is vice versa. Real, clean bass has less noise and to those not used to it appears less impressive.

8" with a passive radiator is a complete functional fail but before you get to know what real bass from right design is you would not notice that.

The iPad is needed for the initial setup and any adjustments you want to make, but not to just turn on/off and listen. But if you want to just bypass it, then you need the iPad.

On the positive side, the app and DSP give you really precise control over your room gain curve and other parameters.

That said, I don't know if or how well it would work with NS10s, and there's no way I would've stumped up for the KH750 if I didn't already have the KH80s. I'd be following Dickiefunk's advice and demoing the highly regarded TS108 for half the price.

Thanks Marmageddon really helpful response. Okay well that’s good that It is not required beyond setup, as that was my fear. The other reason I am considering the kh750 is that it is with a view of eventually getting the KH80s as additional monitors, so I guess I am just trying to think more long term! Although, the purchase of nearfields won’t be just yet. The price point is high, but I would like to know how impressed are you with the sub? was it a good choice for you and are you happy sound wise? I just need to get something to represent low end, but kinda don’t want to have to buy twice either say in the next 12 months.

For the price of a kh750 you have two dynaudio 9s 9,5" or one 18s 2x9,5"

Thanks Deleted 51259b4. Happy to go for cheaper options of course, but provided they are good on not just price point but most importantly the sound point! I have been researching the Dynaudio 9S but not found that many reviews. Hence why I have come here to find actual user experiences. Have you used the Dynaudio 9S? Also only have space for maximum 10” sub so there bigger Sub wouldn’t be good in my compact space:-(

I don’t think that is 100% accurate. I’ve never once used an iPad with the KH750. You can just plug a signal into it and use the controls on the back and it will work just fine - you just won’t have any dsp control. I’ve never used the iPad app (I have the MA 1 room correction mic, so the dsp is done through an app on my Mac instead of through an iPad) . As far as I know the iPad let’s you adjust the individual freq bands etc and also allows remote control, but you can still control volume etc manually from the back of the sub - just wouldn’t be able to take advantage of any dsp.

Thanks for clearng that up Clbraddoc. I certainly feel better knowing that, so thank you. One other thing....Can you say use the MA mic and software to set up the sub only? And integrate the NS10’s accordingly I.e not using software or mic? If not that’s ok now that I know I can simply just plug and play!

Ah, yeah. Clbraddock’s right. I was responding based on the fact that you already have an iPad (and the app or MA1 really do help you get the best out of it) but you can use the back panel controls just fine.

It’s an either/or however. You can’t, say, set EQ via the app then adjust levels via the back panel. When you switch to back panel control (a switch on the back panel) it switches the KH750 to what appears to be a different signal path.

I’ll try to respond later to your question about how I find the KH750 when I have more time.

Thanks a lot for that Marmageddon. That’s great! It’s looking much more of a viable option then:-). I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the KH750 when you get the chance.

I don’t think so. It does full range sine sweeps during the setup. I think you would get weird results doing it without mains connected. It also asks which specific Neumann mains you are using, so that probably has an effect on it too. I wouldn’t mess with the MA1 if you aren’t using Neumann monitors. I think you’d get better results with something like sonarworks in that scenario.

Thanks for your response Clbraddock. Ok, in that I will omit the possibility of the p MA1 in that case should make the purchase of the KH750. I appreciate you clearing up much of the confusion for me, it makes all the difference!

I doubt my knowledge will be that useful, I’m sorry to say! I don’t mix, unlike most people on here, so I can’t comment on translation. I also don’t have a lot of experience of different subs, so I can’t talk comparatively about the KH 750. I’m just an audio system integrator who likes monitors for listening.

What I can say is that I find the KH 750 clean and detailed (excellent separation between different layers and instruments in the LF) and it integrates beautifully with the KH 80 tops. Switching it and out, you just get the deep LF extension and better mid/low-mid performance from the KH80 tops due to the 80Hz x-over.

I've found the DSP useful to make some light tweaks to suit my room (untreated but carpeted and well furnished) and taste, and the tailored room gain curve for the sub was a particular highlight. I never feel the need to bypass. I also spent a looong time on sub positioning.

I think it's a fabulous 2.1 system, but it's not a system for high SPL, and it's pricey (well, the KH 750 is pricey).

Having read a lot of comments on here from people far more knowledgeable than me, I think the better option would be to audition and choose your next monitors before spending that much on a sub. Tastes and rooms vary!

Marmageddon your response is more helpful then you think and I appreciate you coming back to me as promised.

In particular the details you mentioned here “ What I can say is that I find the KH 750 clean and detailed (excellent separation between different layers and instruments in the LF)”
This is exactly the type of information I am interested in hearing about. And especially hearing from fellow users is really helpful of course. So irrespective of whether you are a mix engineer or not, for me the fact that you have selected this sub In particular does give me some idea of your appreciation and understanding of what a good sub needs to do.

I take all your comments on board. However, for me the order Of purchase has to be sub first, so that I can extend lower frequencies of NS10’s, as these will be the speaker of choice for mixing. The Neumann nearfields will follow later down the line (well at least that is the plan)!! I currently also already have 2nd small nearfields -ilouds.

I would really like to hear also from any Dynaudio 9S users, it’s a sub that has been around for a while, but reviews are few on the ground!! It Maybe that I might need to demo both the KH750 and Dynaudio 9S but would prefer not to do that, but it’s looking like a possibility!

Thanks

Which cleanliness can one expect from a single 10" sub? Sub-bass is more felt than heard and that is what a small sub will fail to deliver regardless of DSP. Add a bad positioning (inevitable in most of small rooms) and the result will be worse than without a sub at all.