Neumann KH80 DSP Specifications and Review

Last updated: August 21, 2026

The Neumann KH80 DSP ranks #7 out of 50 total Medium Size Powered Bookshelf Speakers for sound quality. See Top Recommended Speakers By Attribute for all the top speaker suggestions.

Brand: Neumann

Prices on this page were last checked August 21, 2026 at 5:30 AM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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Neumann KH80 DSP - ranked #7 of 50 Medium Size Powered Bookshelf Speakers · Editor's rating 4.5/5
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#7 Neumann KH80 DSP: $598.98 Amazon eBay

Pros: Compact 2-way nearfield monitor - a 1” tweeter in an elliptical waveguide over a 4” mid-woofer, crossed over around 1.8kHz with steep 48dB/octave slopes. Exceptionally linear on-axis response, within about ±1.5dB, with essentially nothing worth equalizing beyond a minor, likely port-related wrinkle around 800Hz. Vertical dispersion is unusually wide and consistent for a monitor this size, holding together to roughly ±40° versus the ±20° or so typical of similarly compact designs - a benefit of the steep crossover slopes and waveguide minimizing comb filtering, so listening height and seating posture matter less than on most small monitors. Back-panel switches (freestanding, small/medium/large desk) tailor the low-mid response to compensate for desk-boundary reflections. Distortion in the midrange doesn’t change when high-passed to a subwoofer at 80Hz, showing the drivers already have a clean distortion profile on their own. Maintains good composure and linearity up to about 96dB SPL down to roughly 80Hz before an active protection circuit engages; tested with dense multitone program material rather than a sine sweep, output around 96dB costs only about 1dB in the midrange, putting realistic maximum SPL near 95dB.

Cons: High price for its size, at roughly $1,000/pair. The horizontal pattern stays wide and essentially constant out to about ±30° before beaming and narrowing further out (then flattening again near 2kHz) - a wide, controlled pattern in absolute terms, but one that reflects more high-frequency energy off nearby sidewalls than a narrower design would. At greater listening distances or in more reflective rooms (tested around 6 feet away at 75-80dB), that shows up as a top end that reads a bit hot despite the speaker measuring essentially flat on-axis - a byproduct of its directivity rather than its tonal balance, and mostly moot for genuine nearfield desktop use inside about a meter. The estimated in-room response shows a shallow dip around 1-2kHz and a treble trend running 2-3dB above the midrange in that same far-field estimate. Multitone distortion for a single speaker climbs into the 3-5% range at 96dB SPL, though that’s only really relevant well above typical nearfield listening levels. Bass rolls off below its F3 of 57Hz (F10 48Hz), so the 4” mid-woofer still needs a subwoofer for real low-end content. The companion app for EQ/setup is iPad-only, with no Android or Bluetooth option despite being control-only, and the in-room calibration microphone is a separate purchase in most cases. In a separate comparison test, the smoother-measuring KH80 actually sounded smaller and less present than the cheaper JBL 305P MKII, which had more perceived bass and clarity despite measuring worse on paper.

How it compares: Just above it: Genelec 8020D - $501 more, 40W less output power. Just below it: Kali LP-UNF - $250 cheaper.

AppYes (MA 1 alignment)
Bass Extension (-10dB)51Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner)
Bass Extension (-3dB)57Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner)
BluetoothNo
DSPYes
Dimensions13.6"H x 10.8"W x 9.6"D (345.4 x 274.3 x 243.8 mm)
Drivers4.1" woofer, 1" fabric dome tweeter
EQYes (via DSP)
Frequency Response57 Hz - 25 kHz (+-3 dB) (Manufacturer specified)
InputsXLR
Max SPL110.7dB @ 1m
Output Power140W (90W woofer + 50W tweeter)
Sensitivity91.9dB (measured at 0.3V/1m, Erin's Audio Corner)
Weight9 lbs / 4.1 kg each
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