KEF LS50 meta/w vs Genelec 8340a?

[thewas]

It's best to understand GLM as a quick-and-dirty room correction. It's not trying to do anything fancy, it's just trying to put in a few simple PEQs to reduce the worst bass peaks. It's very minimalist.

I would like to add though that this minimalist approach works very well according to my experience and preference, I have been experimenting with DRC solutions a lot since more than 10 years now and used to apply detailed IIR und FIR corrections but have reverted back to minimal IIR PEQs mainly in the modal region.

 

[holbob]

To the OP - The listed price for the Genelec will be for a single speaker. For a stereo pair, the 8340 is double the price of the Meta.

 

[Tangband]

To the OP - The listed price for the Genelec will be for a single speaker. For a stereo pair, the 8340 is double the price of the Meta.

The 8330 is much cheaper, has GLM, and has as low distortion as the 8030c.

 

[holbob]

The 8330 is much cheaper, has GLM, and has as low distortion as the 8030c.

Yes I know. But the thread title mentions the 8340. If he goes for the 8330, then it will be approximately 30% more expensive than the Meta.

 

[Zaireeka]

Concerning what GLM does and doesn't do, this post on gearspace is very interesting imho :

Gearspace.com - View Single Post - Genelec 8351 - Anyone else using these?

Post 15002416 -Forum for professional and amateur recording engineers to share techniques and advice.

gearspace.com

 

[Tangband]

Yes I know. But the thread title mentions the 8340. If he goes for the 8330, then it will be approximately 30% more expensive than the Meta.

Yes, but a more fair comparison with the ls50 Meta in that pricerange is 8030c or 8330 , - 8340 is much more expensive .
With the 8330, no external dac, roomcorrection or amplifier is needed, so it is in reality probably cheaper than Meta.

A very interesting new speaker is the Kef ls60 . This is probably a much better, active loudspeaker where the uni-q driver is crossed correctly . Very expensive but might be worth saving for.

 

[thewas]

Yes, but a more fair comparison with the ls50 Meta in that pricerange is 8030c or 8330 , 8340 is much more expensive.
With the 8330, no external dac, roomcorrection or amplifier is needed, so it is in reality probably cheaper than Meta.

Depends of course on what electronics you pair it with and music source you use.
As my large Yamaha amp is broken I currently use a $150/130€ AIYIMA A08 for my desktop system which includes also a USB DAC and implement a free room correction from my PC. By the way I owned also a pair of Neumann KH120 and Genelec M040 but in the end sold them and kept my 2 pairs of LS50, so the best way for everyone is to compare and find which set of comprises is less detrimental for them as preferences and needs are always individual.

 

[Tangband]

Depends of course on what electronics you pair it with and music source you use.
As my large Yamaha amp is broken I currently use a $150/130€ AIYIMA A08 for my desktop system which includes also a USB DAC and implement a free room correction from my PC. By the way I owned also a pair of Neumann KH120 and Genelec M040 but in the end sold them and kept my 2 pairs of LS50, so best is for everyone to find what works best with them as preferences and needs are always individual.

Agree, this is a science and discussion forum and its very hard to describe real sonic differences in a way that fits everyone. The best option is probably having all the speakers in the listening room for a day and make real comparisons. . John Atkinsson at stereophile have had the Kef ls50 as his own reference speaker for many years, because they sound really good.

 

[srrxr71]

J

Yes, but a more fair comparison with the ls50 Meta in that pricerange is 8030c or 8330 , - 8340 is much more expensive .
With the 8330, no external dac, roomcorrection or amplifier is needed, so it is in reality probably cheaper than Meta.

A very interesting new speaker is the Kef ls60 . This is probably a much better, active loudspeaker where the uni-q driver is crossed correctly . Very expensive but might be worth saving for.

Just looked that up. KEF really does not want to discuss the design beyond blah blah slim blah blah pretty.

However going to some review site it’s nice to see it has a 10cm UniQ driver.

I had both the LSX and the LS50. Even though the LSX didn’t produce any bass to talk about it, it sounded much better to me than the LS50 which was trying to get bass out of the 5.25”. Which was neither here nor there. Optimized for neither great bass or great mids.

I’d like to audition them. But then there’s the issue that best position for bass is not the best position for imaging.

I suppose they are the best in class for those who need the WAF of them and they look incredible. They certainly market for the looks crowd as getting any technical information from their product page is a no go. Maybe it hidden under 8 pages of blah blah pretty blah blah. Throw us nerds a bone too.

Anyway having had to ship the LS50 back for repairs due to failing electronics makes me think twice about them. If something should happen it’s not like you can remove a module and ship it for repairs. You need to ship the whole thing. That will be $300+ Each with the proper insurance. If you don’t get the proper insurance UPS will destroy them leaving you holding the bag. Also last time they needed both to be shipped back. Not just the faulty side. I guess it was because the failure was on the non input side. They would have to check both of them.

I wonder if any of these factors have changed. If they have white glove warranty returns then ignore all of the above. The warranty service is top notch and they will even help you after the warranty is expired. Excellent company and excellent service. Just risky electronics and a real headache to use the warranty.