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Better speakers than 8030c?

3125b

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For that kind of a task I‘d recommend bigger speakers. What arrangement are you actually going to use them in, maybe a little paint sketch could help illustrate it.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the price of the amp, something like the Fosi ZA3 only costs around 100$. A decent chipamp like that will mean less noise than most active speakers as well, but that‘s not going to be an issue at those listening distances anyway.
If you end up getting bookshelf-sized speakers you would probably need a sub for satisfying LF output.
 

DMill

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8030s will most likely get the job done. At 3m they might struggle a little. I’d go 8040s or more if it were me.
 

HarmonicTHD

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Thread 'Neumann KH 150 Monitor Review'
https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/neumann-kh-150-monitor-review.39922/

I d say Neumann 150 as alternative, as the 8040 was already mentioned, but that is beyond your budget I guess plus I still think at that distance all the small speakers suggested here might struggle when being pushed. But that depends on your preferred max listening level.

The small Genelecs higher hiss at idle won’t play a role at that distance, that is only noticeable when you are at max 1m.
 
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RobL

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I’m guessing that
small apartment=lower listening levels
and no sub…
 

Digby

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IMO, and certainly at 3m, the Behringer B2031A. I don't think the little Genelecs (they are quite tiny) will perform as well over that distance, particularly sans sub. This is where things like preference scores can be misleading, because so much depends on the situation. I'd only want speakers that small, without help from a sub, if space absolutely prevented anything bigger.

You lose much of the bass with speakers that size and much of the music is down there. This isn't so much about volume, but frequencies and sense of scale.
 

voodooless

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IMO, and certainly at 3m, the Behringer B2031A
You mean these:


Maybe pass on them..

If you really want budget speakers and are in the EU, maybe try Swissonic A308. They are crazy good value. The smaller one is reviewed here:

 

Digby

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Maybe pass on them..
You can't show me broken examples of other speakers, amplifiers and so on? The passive B2030p Amir reviewed did very well for the price. B2031A is cheap compared to 8030C, one can buy from Amazon and return if needed.
 

voodooless

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You can't show me broken examples of other speakers, amplifiers and so on?
It’s not just the fact that they are broken, but also the fact that they were never repaired or replaced. Read the review and consecutive posts.
 

Digby

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It’s not just the fact that they are broken, but also the fact that they were never repaired or replaced. Read the review and consecutive posts.
sure, but what are we grading them on, support or performance? This is why I said buy from Amazon, then you can bypass these problems if need be.

I have heard the B2031A and my recommendation is based on a pair (that have been going strong for around 15 years) that sound, to me, better as standalone speakers than the 8030C, which I compared them to directly.

There does seem to be some general confusion as to what speakers do and which to pick. That one speaker has a better review or better preference score does not necessarily mean it is the "best" in some kind of ultimate sense. I think many people come here expecting the 8030C to be a cure all speaker, but it really isn't. This is based on the flawed idea that the ranking system is linear, in that any speaker graded with a higher score than another is the "better speaker", no questions asked or further details necessary.

Most people who have been here a while know differently, but this much is not immediately obvious to newcomers or casual users. I really think this could do with being elaborated on, maybe it even warrants a video by Amir - too many have a wrong impression of the grading system, AFAICS.

The 8030C, like any speaker, has its limits and used at a distance of 3m and without a subwoofer, I think those limits would be more apparent than the limits of some other (namely, larger) speakers.
 

voodooless

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sure, but what are we grading them on, support or performance?
“We” aren’t grading this thing at all. I’m just reflecting on the review showing me Behringers excellent support. I’m sure it’s a fine speaker for the money if you manage to get a working one. I still would not want to help the company out by buying one, even if buying through Amazon lowers my risk. But that’s just me and I think a potential buyer should be aware.
 

Zapper

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I dont own an amp so passives would be alot more expensive.
Amps are cheap
 

YSC

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Not sure for usa price, but back then Thomann shipping to HK cost like 900euro a pair for me. For 3m I think you’d better off with a sub of your choice to do the integration yourself, else bass heavy music will just make the limiter kicks in
 

bodhi

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I think the B2031A has been the only speaker that had the neighbors knock at my door when we tried how loud it could get (student apartment, beverages involved). There was something that bothered me in the sound, maybe the highs were a bit hot by default, but nothing serious.

Wouldn't never buy them now as middle-aged gentleman, but I actually recommended them as an easy option for a younger acquaintance who needed something for rather large room with partying as one of the frequent use cases and he needed it fast. Yeah, I guess you could put something like LS50 Wireless there but come on, what's the point? Just put these plastic beasts there, source directly from phone by a cable and dance the night away. Put the 8030s in same place and I'm pretty sure lack of SPL will outweigh any refinement in SQ you get from them.
 

Digby

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“We” aren’t grading this thing at all. I’m just reflecting on the review showing me Behringers excellent support. I’m sure it’s a fine speaker for the money if you manage to get a working one. I still would not want to help the company out by buying one, even if buying through Amazon lowers my risk. But that’s just me and I think a potential buyer should be aware.
Sarcasm...? Please be careful, we have Americans and Germans on this board, and while many are used to such things, others remain a little bewildered by it ;) (I have fallen foul of this once or twice myself).

In UK a pair of new Behringers are £360 from Amazon and a pair of 8030Cs are nearly £1100, so three times the cost. Do I think they are three times the speaker? Hmm, at least for hi-fi listening, no I do not. Are there reasons why you might want the Genelec over the Behringer (a professional studio and/or limited space) and be happy to pay the premium, sure.

I'm not sure why the complaints about Behringer support. Yes, they are bad at support, but most "cheap" brands are, this is part of why some pay for more expensive brands. I'm sure, for instance, that the Genelecs could be cheaper, but part of the cost is the extended/extensive warranty provided. These are two different approaches and while excellent support would be great, the Genelecs are three times as expensive.

Are you as critical of the cheap Chinese amplifiers that are lauded for their performance on ASR? They perform very well, but are built down to a cost, so typically support suffers and failure/fault rates are not as low as amplifiers costing 3 times the price are.

Two different approaches, each with validity, but for many £740 is no mean sum. If you want to compare Genelecs on reliability, it is only fair that we also compare them on cost.

A functioning pair of B2031A are superior sounding, for me, providing they work as they should :)
 
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YSC

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Or maybe the Adam T8V, if you can house them it’s a hack of bargain with great sound
 

Shadrach

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I own a pair of 8030Cs. I had the opportunity to try out a pair of 8340 APMs for a week.
I also had a pair of 7050C subs at the time.
Without subs and all DSP options set to off I didn't think the 8340 APMs added much if anything to my enjoyment; a little more volume which I don't really need at my 1.5m listening distance in a 4m x 3m room, a small increase in low frequency power but with regard to tone I prefered the 8030C.
Plug in the subs and I was hard pressed to hear any major differences. The subs wipe out the advantage of the lower frequency response in the 8340.
Once the 8030Cs are set up properly,without any DSP applied (good stands, proper positioning, getting them level, plenty of stuff in the room, thick carpets etc).
If one is prepared to apply a little DSP to iron out the worst of the room problems then I am hard pressed to see the advantage of the more expensive 8340 given one can buy the 7050C sub and the 8030C for close to the same amount of money unless the SAM options are important to you.
I don't think there is a better option at this price point. Some find they don't like what they percieve as the genelec sound (I have no idea what that sound is) so you may find a make you prefer the out of the box sound of but with DSP you can adjust the sound to ones own preference.
 
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