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Better speakers than my current genelec 8030c for nearfield

neg

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I am listening audio with some headphones, dan clark expanse most of time.

But sometimes this is inconvenient, so I have near-field speakers.

For now I have genelec 8030c. They sound good enough, but there is better options. For example I've listened to Dutch & Dutch 8c. DD are far away better for me with it pin-point location of all sound, better bass, better low-level sounds, more fun, also it supports rew, which support linux, etc. But there is pascal amp in the internals.
I heard that he is not very reliable and at least I do not want to risk it. Its formal parameters are also not the best, but I don't care. For this price tag I consider such risk is not very acceptable.
The question is what are the options to get the better sound. Obviously, for optimal results, I need a subwoofer,
or speakers that give good bass, such as dd. But I feel that dynamic range and low-level signals of my 8030c are
also not so good as in 8c at least and want something better in this sense.
My requirements:
- Near field
- I don't need extreme SPL, not a big fan of it also. If the speakers only play well at high volume, which is often the case, this is not my choice.
- No proprietary DSP things like genelec 83* or way to get reasonable alternative for it. I need support for linux because of it's my desktop.
- Subwoofer is ok, but two subwoofers 9k$ like genelecs are not ok))

Is the KEF R3 good option? Is it feels "fast" enough? I feel 8c fast and fun at for example, but many of another speakers are not, it feels boring for me.
Is the 8331 genelecs with this price a good option in my case? I will pay for dsp that I cannot use after all.
Do I enforced to pay (1-2)x 9k$ to get good subwoofer? :D

My preferable budget for speakers itself 2-5k$. The cost of amplifiers can not be taken into account in any way I can get it for 0$ sort of.
 

napfkuchen

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I'm happy with a pair of 8331 genelecs and a single 7350 subwoofer, listening distance is about 1,2-1,4m. Without a subwoofer it might lack some bass depending on speaker placement (cancellations, SBIR issues). However, this all depends on personal needs / preferences. Others here were not satisfied with 8361 at 2-3m distance ...
Once all the room correction settings have been dialed in you can save them to the speakers and use the analog/digital input with whatever source you need. So probably just use a windows computer to set everything up and then switch sources.
 

dshreter

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I think you just need a subwoofer. Unless you spend big bucks or get big speakers, you will still need a sub regardless, so I would start there. You very well may find it provided everything the 8030c is missing
 

Peluvius

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The sub is definitely worth considering. DSP made a decent improvement in my situation (I also have the 8030c's). I found Dirac significantly improved bass response and soundstage. I listened to the 8331s before I bought the 8030c's and didn't think the improvement was worth the money however you could get the Genelec GLM DSP with their newer digital models which I would have considered if I had known about it when I bought the 8030cs.
 

alex-z

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Subwoofers are not a hard requirement, but they make any system better.

1. Less distortion from the speakers, because the lowest 2 octaves are handled by the sub.

2. More outright bass extension.

3. Less compromise of bass quality due to room modes. In most rooms, moving up to 2 subs is highly beneficial as well.

With a $5K budget I would do a miniDSP Flex (with balanced IO, measurement mic, and Dirac license) for $844, a pair of SVS SB-2000 for $950, KEF R3 for $1500, and your choice of amp. Personally, I would go Hypex NC252MP.





I assume as a Linux user you don't mind a bit of tweaking, you should be able to get sound quality on par or exceeding the D&D 8C with this setup. Just need to do some measurements to find the best subwoofer locations, then time align + add high-pass to the speakers.
 

voodooless

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The problem is that he can’t use the MiniDSP software on Linux.

I also doubt the R3 will be a big improvement over the 8030C.

I’d start with a sub, an UMIK and a multichannel interface, then run CamilaDSP and make it sound good using REW or other free tools.

You can just run any of the DSP monitors without using the DSP tuning… your Linux system can do that as well.
 

test1223

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Me Geithain RL 934 K depending on your budget and which size of the speaker fits you can downgrade and buy a smaller Me Geithain near field model. IMO there are only very few nearfield speakers which come close. But the Me Geithain aren't cheap. You get a very good pseudo coax and a cardiod bass and get a full range speaker so that a subwoofer isn't needed.


I would only consider coaxial speakers in the near field all standard speakers are nowhere near as convincing in the near field.
 

bodhi

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The problem is that he can’t use the MiniDSP software on Linux.

He can get a used windows laptop for lunch money just for this purpose or run multiboot.

I also doubt the R3 will be a big improvement over the 8030C.

Discounting low frequency extension I doubt anything will be a big improvement at this point of diminishing returns.

So: used laptop, minidsp, UMIK-1 and couple decent subs. About 2,5k and it's about as good as it gets for stereo listening.
 
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neg

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He can get a used windows laptop for lunch money just for this purpose or run multiboot.

Discounting low frequency extension I doubt anything will be a big improvement at this point of diminishing returns.

So: used laptop, minidsp, UMIK-1 and couple decent subs. About 2,5k and it's about as good as it gets for stereo listening.
As far as I do not have any DSP right now I do not understand some things. Setup something with windows/mac laptop and use later with saving "dsp profile". But it seems that with genelecs I need GLM always on, it's not seem acceptable.
 

bodhi

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As far as I do not have any DSP right now I do not understand some things. Setup something with windows/mac laptop and use later with saving "dsp profile". But it seems that with genelecs I need GLM always on, it's not seem acceptable.
You can save the settings to speakers and put the glm box away.
 
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neg

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I think you just need a subwoofer. Unless you spend big bucks or get big speakers, you will still need a sub regardless, so I would start there. You very well may find it provided everything the 8030c is missing
I'm not sure what I've missing but dd 8c sounded far more dynamic and detailed. For example I run on it Inade - Disconnected States on it. It sounded more "fresh" with better treble or something and overall listening experience is more pleasurable. Also I liked how precise spatial response is. Moreover I just can run any music on it and it sounds great. For me genelecs sounded nice and relaxed but not very detailed in comparison.
 

Pearljam5000

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I'm not sure what I've missing but dd 8c sounded far more dynamic and detailed. For example I run on it Inade - Disconnected States on it. It sounded more "fresh" with better treble or something and overall listening experience is more pleasurable. Also I liked how precise spatial response is. Moreover I just can run any music on it and it sounds great. For me genelecs sounded nice and relaxed but not very detailed in comparison.
Did you compare also to 8351 ?
 

test1223

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The difference in DI is the main difference of the two speaker.


Bass extension also improves everything else. The DD mid-bass which has a similar directivity as the high frequencies improves the clarity of the mid range and bass.
 

test1223

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What is DI?
Directivity Index. The way a speaker beams the sound.
Typical small speakers provide a very wide beam of sound in the bass to mids. This is typically not a good thing.
 

DJBonoBobo

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neg

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Directivity Index. The way a speaker beams the sound.
Typical small speakers provide a very wide beam of sound in the bass to mids. This is typically not a good thing.
Is the stable width of beam per frequency is the good thing? Also it seems that beam should not be too wide. Is this why I hear a good spatial distribution of objects moving back and forth over me in DD? As far as I understand DD is much better in this domain than kef r3 meta for example. Correct me if I'm wrong
 

test1223

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Is the stable width of beam per frequency is the good thing? Also it seems that beam should not be too wide. Is this why I hear a good spatial distribution of objects moving back and forth over me in DD? As far as I understand DD is much better in this domain than kef r3 meta for example. Correct me if I'm wrong
A more constant DI or a DI which provides some beaming in the lower mids and bass is in almost any rooms a good thing. The image should become more precise with a more narrow beam. In general a more narrow beam is beneficial in the higher frequencies if you can't place the speakers well. But if you can place the speakers fare away from any first reflections a wider beam is overall better. It changes the direct sound to reflected sound ratio and the listening distance is one important side condition and you can't optimize all aspects like exactness and envelopment at the same time. With more direct sound it gets more detailed like a good headphone. You should avoid early reflections but later reflections are in general beneficial for envelopement and don't destroy other good aspects of a speaker. Envelopement is very hard do get with any nearfield set up and a wider high frequency beam or very good room acoustics are needed for this.

The placement and room acoustics should decide which speaker fits best for your scenario.

The DD is way better in the mid to lower frequencies but it doesn't offer the very good coaxial driver of the Kef.
 
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