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Genelec 8351B Teardown (2nd Disassembled)

Jason K

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Second time, I disassembled my 8351B again.

This time, I opened the speaker driver side and took a picture in more detail.

I wanted to disassemble the tweeter, but it was glued so I couldn't remove it.

The woofer looks like paper and the center is filled with solid foam.

The mid-tweeter driver is not directly screwed into the enclosure, but is pressed by the rear panel.

The notes on the amp module are curious.
This is 8351B, why is the amplifier module marked as 8341A? It seems to be a compatible part.

Then, I hope you enjoy it.
 
OP
Jason K

Jason K

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Can you tell what the chip amps (I suppose?) are, on the right of the board?


I didn't look at it carefully because I don’t know the details of the amplifier chipset.
 

q3cpma

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Well, me neither, but you can always search vendor datasheets to get an idea.

By the way, thank you for the effort, always like a good look inside.

EDIT: strange that the paper woofers seem to have to broken fibres in the middle/outside part.
 
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Sancus

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The notes on the amp module are curious.
This is 8351B, why is the amplifier module marked as 8341A? It seems to be a compatible part.

Then, I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks, fun to see. 8341a/8351b have same wattage in specs so it stands to reason they would use the same amplifier module. 8361a also shares midrange/treble amplifier, only bass is different.
 

Descartes

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Second time, I disassembled my 8351B again.

This time, I opened the speaker driver side and took a picture in more detail.

I wanted to disassemble the tweeter, but it was glued so I couldn't remove it.

The woofer looks like paper and the center is filled with solid foam.

The mid-tweeter driver is not directly screwed into the enclosure, but is pressed by the rear panel.

The notes on the amp module are curious.
This is 8351B, why is the amplifier module marked as 8341A? It seems to be a compatible part.

Then, I hope you enjoy it.

Whoa thank you for doing that, I would be very concerned that it would damage the speaker!
 

Beershaun

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Kinda underwhelming for the money....
Also interesting that it measures so well with a seemingly simple cabinet design. They must really know what they are doing.
 

Descartes

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Kinda underwhelming for the money....

Yes crazy how much they charge, but somehow they have to recoup the cost of their CNC machines and aluminum! It is the same with other speakers manufacturers and they use MDF!
 

Sancus

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Also interesting that it measures so well with a seemingly simple cabinet design. They must really know what they are doing.

Casting aluminum like that, at that size is not a cheap or simple endeavour, and the entire front of the speaker is a wave guide. I can't think of any HiFi speakers with comparably advanced designs, except for things many times more expensive.
 

q3cpma

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Kinda underwhelming for the money....
As said in the first thread, you should count the completely custom drivers made either by them (I think) or by OEMs in very small quantities. And the R&D made in Finland for the complete speaker and software (firmware and GLM).
Personally, I think that Genelec's speakers are very good value, everything considered. Their subs, on the other hand...
Yes cabinets look well braced and engineered but cast not CNC.
What's the resulting difference?
Amp board looks a little...idk? That choke! Who wound that?
I don't know, WIMA and Rubycon caps makes me say "no obvious corner cutting".
 

Rntlee

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As said in the first thread, you should count the completely custom drivers made either by them (I think) or by OEMs in very small quantities. And the R&D made in Finland for the complete speaker and software (firmware and GLM).
Personally, I think that Genelec's speakers are very good value, everything considered. Their subs, on the other hand...

What's the resulting difference?

I don't know, WIMA and Rubycon caps makes me say "no obvious corner cutting".

Yes, I’m sure a smaller manufacturer has to recoup r&d costs etc. Quick google search indicates 165 employees and sales of ~$38.5m.
Compare that to Harman ( 30,000 employees and $8.8b revenue ). I think it’s great a smaller company like this can produce such highly regarded products. And we all have to eat, I guess.
 

q3cpma

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Ron Texas

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Casting aluminum like that, at that size is not a cheap or simple endeavour, and the entire front of the speaker is a wave guide. I can't think of any HiFi speakers with comparably advanced designs, except for things many times more expensive.
When you consider labor costs in Finland diecasting might be less expensive than nailing MDF together. The big expense is making the molds. After that the enclosure pops right out with all the holes in the right places.
 

Matias

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So Infineon chip amps? Nice.
 

Slayer

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Why paper :facepalm:
It's so much less durable
Not sure about them being less durable. Will they last 50 yrs, probably not. Then again who keeps speakers for that long anyway.
Personally i prefer cones that are made from a combination of paper, wool and felt. They seem to have the best clarity and tone, but that's just my personal preference. For some reason people seem to have a misconception they are simple and cheap. However the process required to make good paper cones can and usually is more detailed and expensive vs their competitors.

Gene from Audioholics has done some articles on this subject and seems to agree with my paper cone assessment. Here is one of his articles.
Identifying Legitimately High Fidelity Loudspeakers: Speaker Diaphragm Material | Audioholics

Here is one from mother of tone. Mother of Tone - About Speaker Drivers (mother-of-tone.com)

Hoemtheatrehifi as some interesting takes on speaker cone materials. Speaker Cone Material: Best Performance? - HomeTheaterHifi.com
 
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