7.1.4 setup, Genelec vs KEF

[this is me]

How far apart are your Blades, it seems they are over 10 feet apart?
R6M for surround would work great!

The blades are 10ft apart from driver to driver.
I actually pull them more forward to create a 10ft equilateral triangle from listening position. How much of that actually matter, I don’t know but I like to follow the text books.

I have to think and work out the logic with the surrounds. Reference 1M would be nice especially I can customize the color to match the system. But for that price and purpose though, a R7M would be better and I don’t have to deal with the stand. I think I just talked myself into 2 pairs of R7M for surrounds.

 

[Ciobi69]

The blades are 10ft apart from driver to driver.
I actually pull them more forward to create a 10ft equilateral triangle from listening position. How much of that actually matter, I don’t know but I like to follow the text books.

I have to think and work out the logic with the surrounds. Reference 1M would be nice especially I can customize the color to match the system. But for that price and purpose though, a R7M would be better and I don’t have to deal with the stand. I think I just talked myself into 2 pairs of R7M for surrounds.

They are fine but excessive imho r1m are actually very good and dont compress at 102db

 

[Descartes]

They are fine but excessive imho r1m are actually very good and dont compress at 102db

?

 

[prerich]

Hello,

next year I will be able to create my own home cinema/ music listening room in the basement, room is big (enough) and symmetrical. Around 27m2 / 290 square feet.

I really want to spend much time in this room, 50% of the use will be simply to listen to music. Its kind of unrelaxing to look on black walls and the white screen typically for a cinema room with projector so I decided to use a big OLED TV and create more of an relaxing area. Don't get me wrong, best audio/video quality is the goal here and the room will be acoustically planed/treated.

After calculating a little bit I found two possible high end setups for this room:

Genelec 8361A Front + Center
Genelec 8341A Rear
Genelec 8331A Atmos

or

KEF Blade One (or Two) Meta Front
KEF Reference 4 Meta Center
KEF R3 Meta Rear
KEF LS50 Meta Atmos

The KEF Setup is a bit more expensive, if you use amps like the TP RA3 this would also be possible.

I really don't know which setup is better on the paper, I know the Genelec Ones, they sound impressive. But I think, specially in Stereo, the KEF Blade can outperform the 8361A a little bit, the Uni-Q Driver offers a little bit lower distortion and the bass drivers are bigger which should also help. (for Stereo) The Blade has even a little bit better directivity plot the the Genelec. But I really dont know how well the Blade/Reference will mix with the R3, perhaps there will be a noticeable difference in sound between front and rear.

The Genelec Setup will have one big benefit, because all of the speakers are part of the One series, there will be nearly no sound difference between the channels. Not sure if the KEF HF/MF driver is the same in the Blade and the R3. And the 8331A for the ceiling should easily outperform the KEF LS50. (R3 is to big for the ceiling, room is only 2,2m/7,22ft high)

So what do you think, which setup is superior? Of course, I will listen to all of those speakers before buying. It will be impossible to hear all speakers as a surround setup so I need to decide with stereo speaker pairs.

Thanks!

Greetings from Germany,
Jan

All other things being equal - I'd go for the Kef's all day! The Blades are a thing of beauty!

 

[Ciobi69]

Budget wise if you ho with the kef you will spend more they are both good product the kef and the genelec, its up to you, i got kef blade 2 myself. Very good speakers but you pay the design and the brand, the genelec 8361 are more than fine and you have to pair them with a subwoofer the kef and the genelec

 

[montyliam]

I'm using the Genelec 8350's for LCR and 8030c for surrounds in a simple 5.1 setup (Eminence NSW6021-6 subwoofer with QSC PL380). Basic layout compared to some of the HT arrangements seen, but absolutely stunning quality. I plan on moving the 8350's to surrounds, the 8030c to atmos and using the 1237a's as LCR when I move into a dedicated space. I can strongly recommend Genelec, the quality is there, although on the expensive side. KEF Blades are also an awesome option, but the centre channel is an issue (currently no blade center unless you somehow get a third).

 

[Pearljam5000]

I'm using the Genelec 8350's for LCR and 8030c for surrounds in a simple 5.1 setup (Eminence NSW6021-6 subwoofer with QSC PL380). Basic layout compared to some of the HT arrangements seen, but absolutely stunning quality. I plan on moving the 8350's to surrounds, the 8030c to atmos and using the 1237a's as LCR when I move into a dedicated space. I can strongly recommend Genelec, the quality is there, although on the expensive side. KEF Blades are also an awesome option, but the centre channel is an issue (currently no blade center unless you somehow get a third).

Why 1237 and not 8361?

 

[montyliam]

Why 1237 and not 8361?

When the time comes, it will be between the 1237a and 8361a, although I plan on doing a baffle wall, making the 1237a the logical option.

 

[Descartes]

All other things being equal - I'd go for the Kef's all day! The Blades are a thing of beauty!

I agree 100%