Are 8331A overkill for surround speakers?

[Hmast]

Hi,

I'm looking for surround speakers for a 4.1 PC setup in a small room.
I currently have 2x 8351B as L&R front with a 7360A subwoofer (+GLM kit).

I was wondering if 8331As are overkill for surround (effect?) channels and if their coax unit will be a big benefit versus going for a pair of 8330s waaay cheaper.

I can save money longer to get 8331 or get 8330 whenever I want/need. But 1) bass doesn't seem to be a concern with surround channels and I can still route their bass to the sub ; 2) vertical dispersion shouldn't be a concern too as I sit on a chair ; 3) will a coax unit bring benefits in my case?

Of course the best choice for 100% cohesion would be to buy 2 additional 8351Bs but... 8000 EUR for 2 surround channels hurts my booty.

 

[LTig]

How far away are the surrounds from your listening position?

 

[Hmast]

They're 120cm away.

 

[Blumlein 88]

If they are that close, and the money isn't a problem, I don't see why it wouldn't work quite well.

 

[Sancus]

No, not overkill.

 

[Hmast]

What will be the benefits to you compared to a pair of 8330?

A bit more bass ok but what else? Is the near-perfect dispersion going to add a lot in term of immersion? Dispersion seems to be the only big difference between 8330 and 8331.

 

[LTig]

They're 120cm away.

You could go for 8340A, might be a better match to the 8351B WRT max SPL.

 

[pierre]

You could go for 8340A, might be a better match to the 8351B WRT max SPL.

my pair of 8340 do hiss (too much for my taste) so at 1m20 that would not be my first choice.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I am by no means a Genelec expert but if I were to go by their recommendations I would say that the 8331 are overkill for surround duties... YOU may get a few dB of headroom over 8330 and even then.. according to Genelec the 8330 are good for nearfield at less than 1 meter, IOW the drivers appear at one at >1 meter... I'd save the moeny for other stuff...

Peace

 

[Hmast]

my pair of 8340 do hiss (too much for my taste) so at 1m20 that would not be my first choice.

Do they hiss when using the digital AES input?

If you use them with analog signal, is your source balanced?

 

[bodhi]

Do they hiss when using the digital AES input?

If you use them with analog signal, is your source balanced?

I have 8350s no hiss audible at 80cm

 

[Hmast]

Ok let's go off-topic it's fine.

I have 8351B and some hiss can be heard.

On Genelec website, 8351B, 8350 and 8340 all have the same noise spec: <5db SPL. So they should all have the same amount of hiss which is very low by the way.

I think it rather depends on the source and the stuff you've connected to your electrical network. I had PSI speakers before, I had the same hiss. I also noticed that the hiss is modified when I connect LED lights.

So... I would not be worried too much about 8340s hissing. They will certainly hiss at the same level my 8351B do. And as I'm living in a city, there's always some room/city noise covering the hiss nearly completely despite the fact I'm sitting at 80cm of the 8351B. It has never really bothered me.

Also, I never tried the XLR/AES input. I guess a digital signal would prevent any hiss coming from the electrical network (Wifi router, led lights etc.).
Has anyone compared his hiss between the 2 inputs?

 

[Hmast]

To go back to the main topic, I'm starting to think a pair of 8340 could be a nice solution. They are great designed speakers, powerful enough if I ever go into a bigger room and the surrounds are further, and nearly half the price of 8331. I think it would be a reasnable choice, leaving my enough money to go for a second sub later, it may have a bigger impact on the sound than a coax unit for surrounds...

 

[tifune]

Hi

I am by no means a Genelec expert but if I were to go by their recommendations I would say that the 8331 are overkill for surround duties... YOU may get a few dB of headroom over 8330 and even then.. according to Genelec the 8330 are good for nearfield at less than 1 meter, IOW the drivers appear at one at >1 meter... I'd save the moeny for other stuff...

Peace

In addition to this chart, at the bottom of below link there are some suggested examples for these situations. Common to have Ones for LCR, 2 way for surround

Immersive Audio Hub - Genelec.com

Here you'll find a wealth of information to help you navigate the exciting world of immersive audio. Ready to get started?

www.genelec.com

 

[mkt]

The 8351s are already overkill (joke) so go for it! This installation seems to have all 8331s

HTWK Leipzig goes immersive with Genelec - Genelec.com

Major monitoring upgrade for top German university.

www.genelec.com

EDIT I am happy with 8330s as surrounds at about the same listening distance. And adding center would make more of a difference.

 

[Hmast]

The 8351s are already overkill (joke) so go for it! This installation seems to have all 8331s

HTWK Leipzig goes immersive with Genelec - Genelec.com

Major monitoring upgrade for top German university.

www.genelec.com

EDIT I am happy with 8330s as surrounds at about the same listening distance. And adding center would make more of a difference.

I'm not sure adding a center would be interesting when having front speakers very close. Plus, a center speaker on a PC is quite hard to place as the monitor takes all the place. Where would you set the center speaker? On top of the monitor? Sound would be coming from above, not sure it would be natural.

I can understand a center speaker is interesting for homecinema, but a PC with speakers placed at 1 meter from you wouldn't quite benefit from a third one in-between. A phantom center speaker can do the job with great front speakers close to each other. When you're 2 meters away from them I can change my opnion. And when you're 2 meters away it is not so bad to have the speaker above or below the screen. When you're at 60cm of your monitor, if you place a speaker above, sound will definitely come from above, not from the film.

Back to the surround speakers... hesitating between 2x8340 and 2x8331 They are only surrounds... I guess 8340 can do the job.

 

[Sancus]

What will be the benefits to you compared to a pair of 8330?

A bit more bass ok but what else? Is the near-perfect dispersion going to add a lot in term of immersion? Dispersion seems to be the only big difference between 8330 and 8331.

If you're listening to multi-channel music with discrete sound in the surround channels(eg, instruments playing) then you want them to sound the same. The 2-way Genelecs sound a bit different from the coaxials.

If this is just about gaming and HT content, then I would say the 2-ways are fine.

The Genelec coaxials are fairly far into diminishing returns relative to their cost of course, so it also depends on your budget and what you would do with the savings instead. I mean it wouldn't be hard to argue that they're overkill in general compared to cheaper options...

 

[Hmast]

If you're listening to multi-channel music with discrete sound in the surround channels(eg, instruments playing) then you want them to sound the same. The 2-way Genelecs sound a bit different from the coaxials.

If this is just about gaming and HT content, then I would say the 2-ways are fine.

The Genelec coaxials are fairly far into diminishing returns relative to their cost of course, so it also depends on your budget and what you would do with the savings instead. I mean it wouldn't be hard to argue that they're overkill in general compared to cheaper options...

Honestly it's a lot more about movies and games than music. 98% of the music I listen to is in stereo.

There are several ways I can spend ~4000EUR:

1) 8340x2 + 1 additional sub (2 subs in total) >> I'm not sure a second sub in my current small room will improve a lot of things.
2) 8331x2 >> here we go with the surround mode while gaming, yet... they're coaxial but not using the same coax units than my front speakers. So... I still feel like I'm half way of the project. Also 8331 may not handle the SPL.
3) 8340x4 >> why not going with 2 side and 2 back channels? I've never tried 7.1, I guess immersion would be great and my room is dedicated unlike my living room. However, I have never heard a 2-way Genelec SAM speaker and while I loooove the 8351 sound, I'm not sure what the 8340 will sound like. I had their competitor before: PSI A17 and I loved them so much. But, let's keep in mind they're not the main speakers so... even if there's a little difference, + GLM's calibration, can their sound signature be a real problem? What I need above all is well-designed speakers I can manage with GLM.

 

[bodhi]

The Ones are not that much better in my opinion. They are great when the price does not matter that much and you just want the best and be done with it.

 

[Sancus]

1) 8340x2 + 1 additional sub (2 subs in total) >> I'm not sure a second sub in my current small room will improve a lot of things.
2) 8331x2 >> here we go with the surround mode while gaming, yet... they're coaxial but not using the same coax units than my front speakers. So... I still feel like I'm half way of the project. Also 8331 may not handle the SPL.
3) 8340x4 >> why not going with 2 side and 2 back channels? I've never tried 7.1, I guess immersion would be great and my room is dedicated unlike my living room. However, I have never heard a 2-way Genelec SAM speaker and while I loooove the 8351 sound, I'm not sure what the 8340 will sound like. I had their competitor before: PSI A17 and I loved them so much. But, let's keep in mind they're not the main speakers so... even if there's a little difference, + GLM's calibration, can their sound signature be a real problem? What I need above all is well-designed speakers I can manage with GLM.

I would actually do 5.1.2 before I did 7.1 because I think heights add more benefit than rears. That said, I don't really know how annoying the Atmos source situation is on PC. Some games(like Cyberpunk 2077) definitely do support it. But you really need an external hardware decoder like a basic AVR. For pure-software decoding, there's nothing that really works consistently but there are some complicated software workarounds and exceptions.