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For $1500, buy 2 Genelec 8030C's, or 2 Genelec 8010A's + subwoofer?

JanesJr1

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Both the Genelec 8030C and 8010A speakers received admiring reviews here, with the caveat for both being bass extension/volume. Of course, the 8030C's do better than the 8010A's with bass. My use is mostly near-field listening (4-7 feet from speakers).

If I have $1500 to spend, should I buy 2 8030C's (with no sub)? or 2 8010A's plus the Genelec subwoofer that matches with them? (The budget is about the same either way.)

Are the mid's and high's on the 8030C's that much better than on the 8010A's, enough so for me to take the 8030's? (The reviews seemed to like both speakers for the mid's and highs.) Or is it simply a matter of preferring the low bass extension of the subwoofer and choosing 8010A's+sub? Can the 8010A's play a bit louder (as well as deeper into the bass) with a subwoofer in the mix?

I am not a basshead, though I do enjoy bass extension. However, I always strongly prefer a tightly-controlled and natural bass with good transient response that is well integrated with the overall frequency response, ahead of bass extension for its own sake. For the mid's and high's, the Genelec's seem to be good on room-matching and I can therefore probably Eq them to the frequency response I like, unless there are differences between the 8030C's and 801A's that are more fundamental related to resolution, tonality, room-matching, subwoofer-integration, or whatever.

But what are the underlying limitations of the speakers? What "walls" will I hit with either configuration? I have no experience with Genelecs or subwoofers.
 

Sancus

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Genelec subwoofers aren't worth the price IMO, I wouldn't suggest buying them unless your budget is very high and you're getting the SAM ones that self-configure the crossover.

Buy 8030Cs now and then get an SVS SB-1000 or whatever later if you feel like it.
 

txbdan

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8030Cs. You might like them just fine, but if not you can add a sub later and have a killer system. 8010As are nice, but they'll never be as loud and full as the 8030Cs.
 

Fenix84

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I picked up the 8030C recently and I am quite happy with the bass, was expecting worse. Saying that I'm also happy with the bass on the HD6XXs and I know many people complain about that.
 
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JanesJr1

JanesJr1

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I have the 8010A/7040A combo, but I'm also producing/mixing music in a very small room. I assume I am the target/intended customer for this setup; not someone who would buy these for home theater.

https://www.genelec.com/home-studio-songwriting/8010-7040-stereo-system

https://www.genelec.com/home-studio-songwriting

Interesting that you're using the 8010a's plus sub for home studio work! Other feedback has been that the 8010A's will still be SPL-weak, if not bass-shy, with the sub. Is that your experience as an owner of such a system?

I am not planning to use them for studio work; I just need them nearfield and I tend to like a dry, neutral tonality. They don't have to be real loud.
Smallish room for now, but maybe not always; would the 8010a's work for near-field in a larger room at moderate volume?
 
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HiFidFan

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JanesJr1

JanesJr1

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Thank you all for the feedback! I feel like I want the 8010A's to work, for reasons of budget and office space. But you're reminding me to be realistic about the inability of the sub to solve the problem of weak SPL.
 
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JanesJr1

JanesJr1

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I picked up the 8030C recently and I am quite happy with the bass, was expecting worse. Saying that I'm also happy with the bass on the HD6XXs and I know many people complain about that.

That seems to be the consensus here on the 8030c's. Don't give up volume for bass extension, because the 8030's are good enough with bass.

(I agree with you on the bass extension for the HDXX phones in the sense that I can live without the low end if everything else is ok. I just didn't like the kind-of-wooly upper bass and somewhat-squishy lower mid's on the HDXX's. Also, I was switching off with highly-resolving Ety ER4's, which made the HDXX highs sound veiled. I've mostly fixed my problems with the HDXX's using Eq APO, though it took me a lot of fiddling with bass to get it to sound well-controlled and I again sacrificed low-bass extension.)
 
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JanesJr1

JanesJr1

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Genelec subwoofers aren't worth the price IMO, I wouldn't suggest buying them unless your budget is very high and you're getting the SAM ones that self-configure the crossover.

Buy 8030Cs now and then get an SVS SB-1000 or whatever later if you feel like it.

I was wondering about the Genelec sub's, and now I know. It's a new thing for me and I didn't know if the house brand for the sub's would make it easier to marry the Genelec's to the subs. Thanks.
 

changer

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At work we have 8030a and I assume they are comparable to the type c speakers. If you feed them with sub bass program material (I listened to this recently released UK bass album on them https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdgpF4IWRQtOeiAfB-XZ0z50fKbHB8Fvt), they actually shine. With brighter releases they are very neutral sounding, but the bass is tight and very clear. I would not advice the smaller types unless you plan to use them as desktop/workplace speakers for specialized tasks and as a tool. For regular, pleasure-oriented listening, take the bigger speakers!
 

Josq

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I have 8020 for near-field listening combined with a SVS subwoofer. I don't have any need to upgrade to 8030 for bass extension or volume. (I don't feel any need to rattle the cupboards either). But 8010 is another step smaller, so maybe only a good solution for very nearfield listening (desktop speakers)
 
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JanesJr1

JanesJr1

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At work we have 8030a and I assume they are comparable to the type c speakers. If you feed them with sub bass program material (I listened to this recently released UK bass album on them https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdgpF4IWRQtOeiAfB-XZ0z50fKbHB8Fvt), they actually shine. With brighter releases they are very neutral sounding, but the bass is tight and very clear. I would not advice the smaller types unless you plan to use them as desktop/workplace speakers for specialized tasks and as a tool. For regular, pleasure-oriented listening, take the bigger speakers!

Thank you! Hands-on feedback is really helpful! Others agree with you.
 
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JanesJr1

JanesJr1

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I have 8020 for near-field listening combined with a SVS subwoofer. I don't have any need to upgrade to 8030 for bass extension or volume. (I don't feel any need to rattle the cupboards either). But 8010 is another step smaller, so maybe only a good solution for very nearfield listening (desktop speakers)

Initially I will use them desktop, and my budget is limited. That's why I was interested in smaller, less expensive speaker. Long term probably the same thing but not for sure. Maybe the 8020's are a good compromise and I could get a sub down the line. Thanks for sharing your hands-on experience!
 
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JanesJr1

JanesJr1

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8030C or 8020D + JBL 310 S

Someone else just also suggested that the 8020's might work. As to the sub, thank you for the reference, since it's new to me and there are no tests by Amir yet of subs (that I can find). Thank you.
 

daftcombo

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Someone else just also suggested that the 8020's might work. As to the sub, thank you for the reference, since it's new to me and there are no tests by Amir yet of subs (that I can find). Thank you.
The JBL 310 S seems one of the cheapest subs with high-pass and low-pass filters doing the job.
 

jSchultz

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Interesting that you're using the 8010a's plus sub for home studio work! Other feedback has been that the 8010A's will still be SPL-weak, if not bass-shy, with the sub. Is that your experience as an owner of such a system?

I am not planning to use them for studio work; I just need them nearfield and I tend to like a dry, neutral tonality. They don't have to be real loud.
Smallish room for now, but maybe not always; would the 8010a's work for near-field in a larger room at moderate volume?

I tend not to drive them past 80db when mixing or producing music, so I do not know that I could describe them as SPL weak. If high SPL and bass extension are your priorities with this setup, I'd look elsewhere - that was never the intended use case or scope for these.

For near field work in larger rooms, they'd work as well. These were definitely meant to be used within 1M listening distance.
 
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