Klein and Hummel O300D speakers

[bcnsound]

hi everyone

here's my own, personal review of the Klein and Hummel 0300D speakers, for those of you considering them...its hardly exhaustive, more of a personal report.

I've been meaning to write this for a while, I wanted to wait until my initial enthusiasm wore off and I had used my new speakers for 6 months or so.

my situation:

I'm a media composer and I also do some engineeering. I use logicpro 8 and an RME fireface.

I bought the K+H speakers after using Yamaha NS10s for about 10 years. I'm a writer / musician first, then an engineer, and I knew for a LONG time the NS10s needed to be replaced. But as I learned more and more about audio and my ability to discern details got stronger and stronger, my taste in speakers got more and more expensive! As one of the few parts of my studio that I could easily keep for 20 years, I figured its worth a proper investment.

after patiently reading LOADs, asking many people I respect...finally I got the K+H.

I couldn't do an exhaustive personal test as I live in Barcelona and there are not many places to go listen where its set up properly and so means much, but I did manage to persuade PMC and K+H's distributors to bring some speakers for me to try in my studio. I had worked on PMCs before and my old boss swore by them. So I tried the DB1SAs. I know these speakers are not really in the same league as the O300Ds, but I was considering getting a 5.1 pmc set up, or just spend my budget on a monster pair of stereo speakers. I went for the monster pair. (I also considered Focals and Adams, but couldn't get to hear any focals and any big Adams so ruled them out).

So I cannot say what the O300Ds compare like to X and Y and Z, but I can only outline my own experiences:

in sum : I am soooooooo totally impressed it is amazing. I work with a big grin on my face all day. Best purchase I ever made. I realise now just how important good monitors are. My clients who come here just freak out, and are always happy with the mixes they take home.

The bottom octave (they go fully down to 30 hz then tail off pretty sharpish) is incredibly tight, clear, well defined and easy to manage, once I got used to it (bass? NS10s?)... but NS10 bashing aside (they still have their uses I discovered) the most important measure for me is how amazing well the bass end translates everywhere...I had a fear that maybe I would work with this lovely fat bass end and when I switch to some little crappy PC speakers, boom boxes etc, it would be non existent / too much, but EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE happens. The bass is still tight and controlled, even even on shitty little speakers that have no bottom end. I can only imagine it's cos as I write and mix, I'm clearly able to hear the bottom end and it all gels nicely at the moment of creation and is somehow all in harmony, which means far less struggling while mixing and it brings out the best in any speaker.

however I do remember is that when I tried the PMC DB1SAs here, the stereo image was really amazing. it really stood out. I didn't have the K+Hs here to A-B compare at the time, but some how I don't remember it hitting me quite the same when I tried the K+H... but I'm not really complaining - it's a kind of vague comparison statement anyway - as what I DID notice with the K+H, is that reverbs sound REALLY 3D, deep, I can really imagine staring down some big hall. It's delicious and such a pleasure to work with. I appreciate this detail more and more as I work with them. My mixes take on a different dimension, and again, they translate so much better which is the main thing. So I'm perfectly happy with the stereo imaging of the K+H.

Another criticism I did read is that they don't go loud enough, but for me its more than enough. I'm not one to work at high volumes...my room is fairly small - 3m x 5m although I notice that I now sometimes work louder than I used to, depending on the musical style, maybe because the K+H just NEVER tire my ears out... I can work all day and I just don't get as ear-tired as I used to. In fact, I cant remember the last time I thought "gotta stop, my ears are tired".

I still have the NS10s set up, which at first were used as regular reference while I got used to the K+H, then just as the occasional check. I notice that when a mix is slightly over bright, it is more apparent on the NS10 and I compensate. But increasingly I don't even bother to turn the NS10s on, I'm that confident that the K+Hs are telling me the "truth" (whatever that is).

in the end, I can only say that I am one very, very satisfied customer.

so I hope somebody finds this useful. I certainly found other posts on these speakers very helpful so I'm back to repay the favour.

cheers

simon smith
www.bcnsound.com

[Hugh Robjohns]

Glad you like the O300s, Simon -- I still think they aera amongst the best around at that price.

Not surprised you find the bass end travels well -- that's one of the advantages of mixing on a speaker which has an accurate time domain response -- if it sounds right then it is right, and that's not always something you can say of reflex (ported) speakers.

The stereo imaging thing is, in part, because of the physical format of the speaker. The baffle is much wider than that of the DB1, and that affects the way the stereo imaging works and sounds. Narrower baffles will always be better in that respect -- but as you say, the O300 is certainly no slouch, even so.

Thanks for posting your review. I'm sure others will find it very illuminating.

hugh

[. . . Delete This User . . .]

i find positioning on the O300 is critical... get it right and the stereo image is superb... get it even ever so slightly wrong and the image is merely "good"

i still lust after a pair of my own....

that said... i now have AE22's + their associated Subs...

and i too am suffering from "grinning like a chesire cat fatigue"

[bcnsound]

aha

that's interesting. What would you suggest as a tactic to find that sweet spot?

I played around a bit with the positioning at first to get something that worked, but once I found something I thought was good I decided not to move things around so I could get used to it. now I'm a few months in I'd be able to appreciate the difference if I move them.

Ive never heard the AE22s, but also read about them during my research...

thanks!

simon

[Hugh Robjohns]

Tweeters need to be on the inside edges. Experiment with the toe-in -- I found they worked best if aimed slightly behind the listening position. But imaging is very dependent on early reflections from side walls, ceilings, console/desk and any monitor screens -- makes sure anything between the speakers is set well back behind the line joining them and use broadband absorbers to control the eaerly reflections.

hugh

[bcnsound]

thanks

will try all of this.

like many though for me it's always a problem trying to match sensible computer screen ergonomics (ie causes of neck and back pain) with keeping the area between the speakers free from objects. A while ago I raised my screens and it made a huge difference to my working day.

also, the K+H monitors are named Left and Right by the manufacturer and this means the tweeters are on the outside. Do you suggest I try swapping them round? I guess its a matter of whatever works?

cheers

simon

[Hugh Robjohns]

I found they imaged better with the tweeters on the inside... but try both ways.

hugh

[Reiknir]

Not surprised you find the bass end travels well -- that's one of the advantages of mixing on a speaker which has an accurate time domain response -- if it sounds right then it is right, and that's not always something you can say of reflex (ported) speakers.

How do they manage to get that time response right and still offer extended frequency response?

It used to drive me nuts sin the 80's when you finally found reasonably "cheap" speakers with a good time alignment like the Spica, that they all cheated by having a 14kHz filter in the crossover. Even with the fostex cass recorder I was using at the time I could hear that something was missing

[Hugh Robjohns]

How do they manage to get that time response right and still offer extended frequency response?

I think we may be talking cross purposes here.

The aspect of the time domain response I'm talking about is at the low end. With a ported cabinet there is a tendency for low frequency signals to be smeared in time, extending an impulse into a resonant decay, purely through the action of the port.

A sealed cabinet design doesn't suffer from that problem.

I suspect what you are talking about is the time alignment through a crossover, coupling the woofer/midrange driver to the tweeter. That's a completely separate issue.

hugh

[Reiknir]

A sealed cabinet design doesn't suffer from that problem.

True, but manages to act as a filter and amplifier instead

Anyhow, I suffer from enormous amounts of envy toward anyone that can afford that speaker, or any K+H products for that matter, superb designs all round

[Glenn Bucci]

I have never heard these monitors except in a noisy AES show. Would love to own a pair. I only have Tannoy Precision 8's. However after mixing on them, the music sounds just the way I want it to when I put the final product on many different systems. I will say that have proper acoustic treatment makes a huge difference and perhaps why my mixes sound good on many sources. If you have not done so yet, get some good bass traps and some good acoustic panels to the left and right of you....just a little in front of you. It really helps you hear the music as it will reduce reflections going to your ears.

[Nathan Eldred]

I will say that have proper acoustic treatment makes a huge difference and perhaps why my mixes sound good on many sources. If you have not done so yet, get some good bass traps and some good acoustic panels to the left and right of you....just a little in front of you. It really helps you hear the music as it will reduce reflections going to your ears.

Good advice from Glenn. Also some hi and mid frequency abosorbtion above the listening area helps a lot IME. I've been using my 0300D's for going on 6 years now for mixing and mastering, I love them.