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.
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.