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8361A vs 80XX + 2 sub Dirac solution

DuncanDirkDick

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It may be a strange question but after selling my diy speakers I want to try the monitor route.

I have a treated room 3x4m (10x13ft) with 2.5m (8ft) listening distance. Sources are vinyl and digital. Listening volume 70-90 db. Library is really mixed. Lots of vocal, jazz, some rock, some rnb, soundtracks … Budget is about 10k, but I have no need to necessarily spend it all.

I was thinking about (a) buying genelec 8361A’s or (b) 8030-8050 + 2x Monolith 12 subs + minidsp shd for Dirac

What can I expect from the 10k 8361A solution vs the ~5k (b) approach? Which genelec would you recommend for b? I’m always open for alternatives and suggestions.

Cheers
 

theyellowspecial

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Probably depends on the music you're listening to. The 8361A's will probably sound better for lots of music, but having a flat response down to 20hz or below is amazing for the music that goes that low.
 
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DuncanDirkDick

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Do you think there will be a (huge) difference at low SPL (85db) at 2.5m listening distance?
 
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DuncanDirkDick

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Personally, I'd go for the 8361A. They should provide excellent bass for most music, and are SOTA in many ways, and you don't have to configure the bass/midbass crossover. You can always add subs later if needed.
Really? All I found after hours of research was kind of a consensus, that the 8361 won't sound to their full potential in smaller rooms. But there's not a lot out there. I have problems grasping the advantages of the coax driver with 2.5m listening distance
 

Tonygeno

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Really? All I found after hours of research was kind of a consensus, that the 8361 won't sound to their full potential in smaller rooms. But there's not a lot out there. I have problems grasping the advantages of the coax driver with 2.5m listening distance
Actually a coax driver shines in close distance listening as the distance between the tweeter and midrange is essentially zero.
 

richard12511

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Really? All I found after hours of research was kind of a consensus, that the 8361 won't sound to their full potential in smaller rooms. But there's not a lot out there. I have problems grasping the advantages of the coax driver with 2.5m listening distance

One of the great things about "The Ones" speakers is that they are a coax virtual point-source. The drivers fully integrate at a really close distance. The 8361 is probably about the best speaker there is in terms of the range of use cases and distances it supports. I would think it would work great for anything between 1m and 5m.
 

CMB

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It may be a strange question but after selling my diy speakers I want to try the monitor route.

I have a treated room 3x4m (10x13ft) with 2.5m (8ft) listening distance. Sources are vinyl and digital. Listening volume 70-90 db. Library is really mixed. Lots of vocal, jazz, some rock, some rnb, soundtracks … Budget is about 10k, but I have no need to necessarily spend it all.

I was thinking about (a) buying genelec 8361A’s or (b) 8030-8050 + 2x Monolith 12 subs + minidsp shd for Dirac

What can I expect from the 10k 8361A solution vs the ~5k (b) approach? Which genelec would you recommend for b? I’m always open for alternatives and suggestions.

Cheers
I just bought the 8361 one week ago.
My room is 4 x 8m and I sit around 3,5m away.
Normal living room without any specific treatment besides usual carpet and sofa etc.
Sometimes, I listen from more far away.
I feel that it better blends at further away.

I guess that an advantage of the coax is that when I move around or stand up/sit, the basic tonality does not change;
While in my previous set up (3 way floor stands) I could notice the shifting between tweeter and medium.

At a point during the week, I thought that I unexpectedly would miss some bass now and that I probably would need to add a sub (or two).
But after measuring, it appeared that the bass spectrum actually was not lacking anything compared to my previous set-up with sub (small).
Still experimenting with placement/inclination, GLM, ADI Dac (dynamic loudness) and it is getting better.
As my room is not at all treated, it might be more challenging to get the ideal settings.

I am not sure now if I really need the missing 10Hz from 30Hz downwards.
I am absolutely happy at this stage.

BTW : I tried in a very unprofessionally manner, to compare my subjective sentiment between GLM and Dirac.
To my astonishing, GLM, Dirac and REW had all slightly different measurements, probably because of the unorthodox dilettante way I measured and because of microphone placement. However, at the end I just sticked with GLM; also because of the ease of use (one sweep/stored to the speakers/Sound character profil/set).

Not having to place and bother about integrating subs is also so convenient (If you don't absolutely want/need anything below 30Hz).

I additionally often use the dynamic loudness function from the RME Adi DAC when listening quietly (70 dB) and take it out when I increase the volume to around 90dB or just to accommodate to different types of recordings/music.

Just one consideration, 3 x 4m is not that large of a room; but the speakers are larger as one would suspects.
They already look so huge in my room.
Placed against the wall at 5/10cm distance, you already "loose" 50cm from the wall.
 
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DuncanDirkDick

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Cheers for all the advice. Did a lot of testing today. My preference indexes for sub bass extension too much to justify buying the 8361A alone. I think I'm going for 7370A + 2x 8340A with GLM.
 
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