Genelec 8361A Review (Powered Monitor)

[AdamQ]

Going through this thread...
Man, "all you people" and both your 8351's and 61's lol...

Fug it, I think I'll just go 8361a's instead of the 8351b sub combo.
$2k saved now can grow into subs a few years later, if I ever need them... Now the hardest choice: do I pick Black or White color ?

White is I think better for home set ups although that depends on the room decor obviously.

As an owner of 8351a (yes I know there is a big improvement with 8351b) plus 7370 sub, I feel the 8361’s are a better combination. Ultimately of course if budget wasn’t an issue we’d perhaps be talking 8361b + w371a woofers but then we’re getting into silly territory.

 

[AdamQ]

I had 8351a and 7370 sub, sold them and bought 8361- wanted a system without sub.

I did exactly the same and agree 8361 better. Though I was able to move the 8351a+7370 into the tv room and they’re perfect for that.

 

[AdamQ]

Sadly I'm not sure Genelec does the wooden crate thing regularly. Those boxes say 8351 on them but the 8351 comes in a cardboard box normally, as far as I know. Perhaps they only use the crates locally or as a limited special thing on releases.

I got my 7370 sub in a crate like that but mildly dissapointingly the 8361’s came in cardboard

 

[AdamQ]

That's the plan although how well I can make such a comparison remains to be seen.

I would love it if we could convince Genelec to have you test the 83xx in combo with the W371a woofers - I haven’t heard them but I believe that set up takes things several levels up again.

 

[AdamQ]

What about one hand under the bottom face plate and the other hand in the port on the back?

Yes that works you just have to be careful not to stick a finger into the bass driver when doing so but it does work.

 

[Qbd]

On the CEA2034 graph the level is extremely high (>105 dB), it wasn’t actually measured at that level was it? In the 106 dB distortion measurement it seems like the speaker isn’t even capable of that level at the highest frequencies.

Edit: Nevermind, I didn’t notice the «actual level 86 dSPL [sic]» in the plot notes!

 

[Frgirard]

Better than nothing at all anyway.

Also, for example, electronic music? What is representation of musical reproduction there?

The silence is a marvelous sound.

Electronic music : in mono, stereo, multichanel.... but with speakers and room unable to reproduce the bass, it's not an issue. As said Mickael, it stays

it was before the great sound destruction called the loudness war

For the mono; the stereo is a enough.

 

[Holmz]

He he, Well that was that union. A lot of Germans involved in it.

Finland is a small country, 5.5 million inhabitants. It is probably just a coincidence that Gelenec comes from Finland. I could guess that there are those on Genelec with some connection to Nokia. .... Google ... Guessed right
(it was seriously a guess did not know about that)

Aki Mäkivirta - Genelec.com

Aki Mäkivirta came to Genelec in 1995 from the Nokia Research Centre. He had gotten to know Ari Varla in a joint venture between the companies, within which they designed a speaker with digital signal processing. Before that, active monitors were based on analogue filtering and signal...

www.genelec.com

There, my view of Gelenec was strengthened even more. I'm now starting to understand why they make such good speakers.

Their education system is also good… which probably helps in general.
Are you to the left of Finland then? Or to the right, or below and across the water?

 

[Holmz]

No. Moved thousands of miles. Moves states, moved countries. Not practical to ship 200lbs speakers around with me. From apartments to townhouses to large houses and back. And yes bass response correction can be useful- I’ve
been there done that (Before ASR was founded): Here’s one of my speakers from 6 years ago with Dirac in 20x30x12’ room.

Statements II - A musical evolution! - HTGuide Forum

A full description and plans are now available on Curt's website! (http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statement_II_1.html) My musical reference! Statements II – An evolution for the music lover! The Statements II are the result of the Finalists project which focused on achieving the best midrange...

www.htguide.com

But room correction is not a golden bullet. You cannot separate acoustics from rooms and speakers are no different. One of the sad things about the loss of retail is that you don’t get advice about your room anymore.

Is this a good speaker for you? Well yes maybe that depends on your needs and expectations.

If all your speakers have all been under 1 cu ft then yes; very impressive. If you have a medium sized room eg. 35m^2 floor space then yes.

But if you’re used to speakers bigger than a fridge like Dynaudio Evidence or KEF Muon, and all your friends have studios or dozens of guitars or synthesisers, well then maybe not so much. Bob Katz has the M5P I’m confident they run circles around this little 8361…

“Room correction” is excellent for poor acoustic environments eg. Motor vehicles; cramped space or speakers with way too much bass. But in good spaces improvements are subtle.

I’ve done the whole multi sub thing too (2x 15”, 4x 10”) but I haven't had a Stereo Integrity 24” sub yet; so of course I think what I have is good.

People new to the hobby need to listen to Erin Harrdson’s “there is no perfect speaker” YouTube video.

I’ve friends who have both Porsches and Ferraris…and there’s is no perfect car… for a person who drives Toyota’s and Mazda’s (me) … of course I thought there was one car to rule them all..

Have fun and it’s about the journey not destination…

Agree and got it.

I was somewhat joking about the stiffy reduction as there were few negative, or questioning posts. Which is refreshingly different…

 

[MZKM]

On the CEA2034 graph the level is extremely high (>105 dB), it wasn’t actually measured at that level was it? In the 106 dB distortion measurement it seems like the speaker isn’t even capable of that level at the highest frequencies.
View attachment 165074
Edit: Nevermind, I didn’t notice the «actual level 86 dSPL [sic]» in the plot notes!

The Klippel doesn't read SPL levels for active speakers correctly, as it doesn’t know the gain of the internal amp (weird how they don’t have a self-correcting feature with SPL meter), so Amir would have to manually correct it.

So in short, it is measured at a reasonable level.

 

[DanielT]

Their education system is also good… which probably helps in general.
Are you to the left of Finland then? Or to the right, or below and across the water?

Yes, it probably helps.

I am from Sweden.

Do not miss this. Sad:

RIP- Jan-Peter van Amerongen of Hypex

Sadly I have to inform you the passing away of Jan-Peter, owner and founder of Hypex.

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Koo]

There is a store in Oulu, Finland with all of these. I'll make a trip there some day. I have listened to the 1236A SAM system in the picture in a concert avenue built by Genelec here https://www.glivelab.fi/tampere/info/ and they were by far the best speakers I've ever heard, it was the first time I've heard clear and punchy bass in a concert. Would be fun to see Amir's reaction to the 1236A system some day. There are some measurements provided by Genelec in the operating manual here https://www.genelec.fi/1236a

 

[Longshan]

This is my first post here. I currently have a pair of 8361s set up in my listening room for an in home demo. I have owned and heard many excellent speakers over the years. I have a different perspective from many members here in that I have a soft spot for bbc inspired speakers as well as quad es. I listen mostly to classical music. I agree that 8361s have a remarkable amount of clean, excellent, well integrated bass. astounding really for a speaker of their size. They can play much louder than I would ever care to listen. They certainly appear to have no distortion and to be exceptionally clear at all volumes. The detail presented is amazing. I really can hear things on recordings that I had missed before. I have no doubt that they are everything Amir says and that their designers wanted. Nevertheless, my experience is that the speakers are poorly suited for classical or other acoustic music. I think that strings sound harsh and piano brittle. Depsite the excellent measurements and clear virtues of the speaker, the e string on a violin is artificial sounding to me, harsh, unpleasant and cold. I find myself dreading the high notes. The beauty of live acoustical music is just not conveyed by these speakers In my room. The speakers are incredibly impressive, but do not companionable.

Now, all of this is without equalization. I have a GLS system arriving today, and it may improve things. I understand that I am posting a contrary view here. I do not doubt that these speakers are surely all they are intended to be for non-acoustic music, but they produce a sound, at least without eq, that is little like real acoustic instruments. I also understand that most here will take me to be an out of touch subjectivist ignoring the objective measurements. I do not intend to be anti-scientific or disrespectful in any way, but merely to report my short experience experience listening to the speakers. I hope that eq will fix the problems, for the many virturpes of the speakers are obvious, but I would not call them musical speakers, at least for classical music. Do others here who listen to classical music disagree?

I look forward to hearing how the GLS helps in your case. To be fair, in real life, notes on the E string of a violin can sound harsh.

 

[Longshan]

As a classical musician, I can say this: there are an incredible amount of poor recordings out there of otherwise world class performances.

Most, I'd say, also as a classical musician.

 

[DanielT]

The silence is a marvelous sound.

Electronic music : in mono, stereo, multichanel.... but with speakers and room unable to reproduce the bass, it's not an issue. As said Mickael, it stays

it was before the great sound destruction called the loudness war

For the mono; the stereo is a enough.

.... but Genelec 8361A, fat in a good way ..

I could not upload the official video so it will be this

 

[brandall10]

Damn! That's a ridiculously good price. I can't imagine anything in that price range that could realistically compete. Sounds like white van pricing to me.

I ultimately passed and got Buchardt A500s instead... while the actual price of the A500s was only about $2200 less, the Genelecs still needed other components for streaming - probably $1000-1500, realistically, for the level of convenience and fit/finish I was after - and it seemed to be a bit more of a hassle than I wanted to deal with (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/streamer-for-genelecs.18020/). Also got the impression I'd eventually want to get subs for the 8351b, so the thought of looking at D&D 8Cs began to cross my mind - and then it dawned on me that I just don't want to dump $10k into a system.

The A500s are surely a level beneath from an audio perspective, but still quite good and very compact w/ a great UX, and the amount of bass support from something of this form factor is wild.

 

[Longshan]

The mix may not be bad, the realism of Violin and Horns and other instruments may have been euphoricly altered or muted with some other speakers.
I mean in real life these things can sound a bit harsh and really get loud. The Genelecs may just convey this.

As a horn player, I can tell you that engineers love to alter the sound of horns to make them more 'epic.'

Also as a horn player, I am outraged and shocked that anyone would dare suggest we may sound harsh in real life.

 

[MeZoX]

they look gorgeous in white I will definitely buy them when i can afford them

this picture is for a user with white genelec ( different model) in a home pc setting , and they look absolutely stunning

 

[Music1969]

No comment from Genelec??

Unacceptable.

Spend your money elsewh.... no, probably best to spend it here.

 

[Spocko]

Nice active speakers... but damn, $10K for 2, good to see they perform.



JSmith

Looks like a shootout forming for the D&D 8C vs Kii3 vs 8361A!