Genelec 8341A SAM™ Studio Monitor Review

[ferrellms]

I have a pair of 8340 and still scratch my head when somebody says they are not loud enough...

My 8040s do crunch and flash red on just a couple of electronica recordings (Orbital) with super loud and deep bass. Let's face it, those woofers are pretty small. Active xover at 80hz to a subwoofer fixed it.

 

[onion]

I have some a pair of these on loan. Without using the GLM software, how does one control the volume? I'm connected Mac - Babyface pro - optical out - converter - AESEBU to the monitors.

When playing and even turning the volume way down on the Mac and DSP program I use (BACCH), it plays at constant v high volume (too high). Any ideas what's causing this?

I'll try setting it up with the GLM software tomorrow. I wonder if using the analogue XLR outputs of the BFP rather than going by optical-converter-AESEBU may be the better bet.

 

[msmucr]

I have some a pair of these on loan. Without using the GLM software, how does one control the volume? I'm connected Mac - Babyface pro - optical out - converter - AESEBU to the monitors.

When playing and even turning the volume way down on the Mac and DSP program I use (BACCH), it plays at constant v high volume (too high). Any ideas what's causing this?

You need to assign digital output of your BF Pro to monitoring section at TotalMix software. It's pretty flexible and you can control volume of any physical output that way.
At right side of bottom row in TM you'll find monitoring section, there is the Assign button. There you can select digital output (AS 1/2) as your main out or main out 2, if you have another pair of speakers connected via analog XLR outs (in that case you can switch to it via Speaker B button). Respective fader of digital out then move to right side of bottom row and will be controlled by top panel knob of your BF Pro.

I'll try setting it up with the GLM software tomorrow. I wonder if using the analogue XLR outputs of the BFP rather than going by optical-converter-AESEBU may be the better bet.

I'm afraid, that's up to your test. Analog input adds another D/A and A/D conversion steps to the path. Digital input has ASRC (sample rate conversion) of any input to 96k, because that's fixed operating frequency of DSP in those speakers (for crossovers and filters).
I'd tend to use digital, when available, but YMMV of course.

Michal

 

[onion]

Thank you Michal

 

[¥€$]

My 8040s do crunch and flash red on just a couple of electronica recordings (Orbital) with super loud and deep bass. Let's face it, those woofers are pretty small. Active xover at 80hz to a subwoofer fixed it.

I don't doubt the bass of those records, but I suspect that you might be using an unhealthy volume setting. Is it a living room that they are in?

 

[ferrellms]

I don't doubt the bass of those records, but I suspect that you might be using an unhealthy volume setting. Is it a living room that they are in?

Actually, a bedroom. I have been happy with them, and as I said, they have crunched on only a few occasions. The sub has fixed the dynamic range and added a lot of extension to the bottom end. A worthwhile improvement. Define "unhealthy" volume level for EDM...

 

[q3cpma]

My 8040s do crunch and flash red on just a couple of electronica recordings (Orbital) with super loud and deep bass. Let's face it, those woofers are pretty small. Active xover at 80hz to a subwoofer fixed it.

Maybe the amp is the bottleneck, the 8340 has 150W of class D power instead of 90W of warm AB.

 

[¥€$]

Actually, a bedroom. I have been happy with them, and as I said, they have crunched on only a few occasions. The sub has fixed the dynamic range and added a lot of extension to the bottom end. A worthwhile improvement. Define "unhealthy" volume level for EDM...

So they are a few meters away at most then? I just have doubts about the speakers clipping with "reasonable" volume levels, yet I too know how easily the volume tends to increase in conjunction with the mood and listening fatigue. Compared to 8341's they have wimpy amplification, but they are very sensitive. Gain mismatch maybe?

 

[ferrellms]

So they are a few meters away at most then? I just have doubts about the speakers clipping with "reasonable" volume levels, yet I too know how easily the volume tends to increase in conjunction with the mood and listening fatigue. Compared to 8341's they have wimpy amplification, but they are very sensitive. Gain mismatch maybe?

The speakers are set up correctly and sound great. You seem surprised that 6 inch woofers cannot handle high levels of very low bass. I am not. Subwoofers fix the problem. End of story.

 

[q3cpma]

The speakers are set up correctly and sound great. You seem surprised that 6 inch woofers cannot handle high levels of very low bass. I am not. Subwoofers fix the problem. End of story.

In a ported speaker, unless the woofer plays under the port tuning frequency, it shouldn't be the element doing the handling of sub bass.

 

[onion]

Here's a dumb question from a novice - how are people angling the speaker down if it's resting on the iso-pad? Is there a way to adjust the vertical angle without using something to wedge the back of the speaker a little higher?

 

[ferrellms]

Here's a dumb question from a novice - how are people angling the speaker down if it's resting on the iso-pad? Is there a way to adjust the vertical angle without using something to wedge the back of the speaker a little higher?

You can slide the isopad back and forth to change the tilt up and down a bit.

 

[¥€$]

The speakers are set up correctly and sound great. You seem surprised that 6 inch woofers cannot handle high levels of very low bass. I am not. Subwoofers fix the problem. End of story.

They are small woofers I agree, but I don't think it matters what the woofers can't handle, the speakers shouldn't clip unless the signal level is too high for one reason or another. With low frequencies dominating the music it can be harder to tell if it is so, and the more dynamic the recording, the more likely the listener will raise the volume.

 

[onion]

What is the optimal listening distance for best spatial imaging? How does it relate to the direct/ reverb sound proportion? And is it materially different between the 8341a and 8351b, including with and without subs?

 

[o7_brother]

Sub placement is more complicated and depends on your room, but for the monitors themselves, Genelec recommends the equilateral triangle method: the distance between the speakers should be the same as the distance from each speaker to your head.

https://images.ctfassets.net/4zjnzn...d21a558a51e2aa2/placement-resonance.jpg?w=930

 

[Hephaestus]

What is the optimal listening distance for best spatial imaging? How does it relate to the direct/ reverb sound proportion? And is it materially different between the 8341a and 8351b, including with and without subs?

Direct sound dominance & SPL charts available here:
https://www.genelec.com/correct-monitors

Perceived ”soundstage” is related to delay between direct sound and reflections as well.
Linkwitz website has great information about that.

 

[onion]

Interesting. From the Linkwitz website, the optimal starting point may be below. I do believe this would require subs at the boundary for optimal frequency response.

 

[samysound]

Has anyone listened to or thought about the 8341 high passed to subwoofer(s) versus the 8351 full range? I am thinking for medium size room residential use if high passing the 8341 would help or if the midrange driver / tweeter is undersized for a this kind of application. Room size is 13x20 ft with 9ft height. Would I be better off with a revel passive like the f226Be?
Thanks in advance

 

[infinitesymphony]

Has anyone listened to or thought about the 8341 high passed to subwoofer(s) versus the 8351 full range? I am thinking for medium size room residential use if high passing the 8341 would help or if the midrange driver / tweeter is undersized for a this kind of application. Room size is 13x20 ft with 9ft height. Would I be better off with a revel passive like the f226Be?
Thanks in advance

Depends on your use case. If you're listening to bass-heavy music in the far-field at high SPL, you'll probably want a subwoofer, or you might move up to the new 8361A with long-term max SPL likely somewhere in the 104-110 dB range. The recently-discontinued 8260A would be another good choice as it reaches similar volume levels and goes a bit lower.

If you're listening to a variety of music at normal volumes, 8341A will be fine. This size is meant for near- to mid-field.

 

[samysound]

Depends on your use case. If you're listening to bass-heavy music in the far-field at high SPL, you'll probably want a subwoofer, or you might move up to the new 8361A with long-term max SPL likely somewhere in the 104-110 dB range. The recently-discontinued 8260A would be another good choice as it reaches similar volume levels and goes a bit lower.

If you're listening to a variety of music at normal volumes, 8341A will be fine. This size is meant for near- to mid-field.

Thanks and yeah I was thinking 8341 with subs. It looks like the dynamic SPL capability is pretty high for 8341 if you high pass which means the little coaxial mid/tweeter is up to the task. Just confirming I am not wrong in thinking that as the kef coax unit for example is quite a bit larger at more like 5”