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Genelec 8010A Powered Studio Monitor Review

Buzz Roll

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Hey Amir - Thanks for this review of the 8010As! I was wondering if you'd ever test these, so it was great to see that you did - IME they deserve the positive review. I use them for editing - they're perfect on a desktop, hotel rooms, edit suites, on set... They're versatile, road worthy and I can always depend on their sound when I'm delivering mixes.
 

Blake Klondike

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Had these with the matching sub for many years. Currently in use with the kids playstation and for watching films. Fantastic servants and very versatile in use and placement.

How did you like the sub? I have considered getting one for use with the 8020b but a new sub from Genelec costs more than I paid for the speakers!
 

digititus

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How did you like the sub? I have considered getting one for use with the 8020b but a new sub from Genelec costs more than I paid for the speakers!
I have the 7050B sub for the my 8020's in the bedroom. I like them very much! ;)
A small correction. It is the 6010A and 5040A I have (not the 8010a reviewed here) in the kids system. Even smaller.
 

¥€$

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I'm really sorry but this is actually "on topic" :):

330523.png
View attachment 88566 LAUTSTÄRKE

"Äänenvoimakkuus" and "Lautstärke" are specific words that refer to the volume of sound, while the simple "volume" is a context dependent latin derivative. Therefore those finnish and german words are superior :)

Please don't make casually sexist comments like this. It's not based in fact, it's not inclusive and it doesn't add anything to the conversation.

It absolutely is based in fact, judging from the amount of family men having a preference for white hardware when they ask for suggestions for living room hi-fi. Supposedly it has much to do with the high prevalence of white furnishings in scandinavian houses, especially those of IKEA, and the eternal struggle to keep living rooms a uniform white colour.
 

xykreinov

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Please don't make casually sexist comments like this. It's not based in fact, it's not inclusive and it doesn't add anything to the conversation.
....what's derogatory about a post related to girls liking cute things, exactly? Is the act of pointing out any sex-specific trait sexist now, regardless of negative, positive, or even neutral connotation?
I mean, I don't want to ruin a thread for a killer speaker with societal crap, but this is just too strange to not illicit a response from me...
 

Sancus

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....what's derogatory about a post related to girls liking cute things, exactly? Is the act of pointing out any sex-specific trait sexist now, regardless of negative, positive, or even neutral connotation?
I mean, I don't want to ruin a thread for a killer speaker with societal crap, but this is just too strange to not illicit a response from me...

The issue is that it's untrue. There's no such thing as gendered aesthetic preference, it's completely made up. Everyone has their own aesthetic preference and they do not vary uniformly based on gender. You'll find myriad opinions on whether a speaker looks good or bad on this forum alone, let alone if you ask the average person of either gender.

It absolutely is based in fact, judging from the amount of family men having a preference for white hardware when they ask for suggestions for living room hi-fi. Supposedly it has much to do with the high prevalence of white furnishings in scandinavian houses, especially those of IKEA, and the eternal struggle to keep living rooms a uniform white colour.

The most common finishes are white and black simply because they're neutral colors so they go with everything. And people(such as myself) get tired of black since all electronics come in black as a default, so it's nice to have another option. I personally avoid black if possible, it looks generic IMO.

Furniture-grade wood is even better, but adds cost, weight, and is rarely done well as it's very time consuming and finicky to mass produce.
 

xykreinov

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The issue is that it's untrue. There's no such thing as gendered aesthetic preference, it's completely made up.
Okay, first off, untrue /= sexist. The counterargument to what I said should be about why saying women like cute things implies that they are inferior, not about the veracity of women liking cute things.
Secondly, who makes up the notion of this natural occurrence? Wonder what boogeyman that will be...
Here's a quote from my lady friend reading this thread (with broken English due to voice-to-text):
"It’s not sexist to point out that women like cute things we have a nature to be the nurtures so we just automatically like cute things there’s nothing wrong with that pointing it out
I’m a woman I’m very strong I like sword fight films but I also have a stuffed bear and I like small little boxes and thinks it’s just a normal thing"

You'll find myriad opinions on whether a speaker looks good or bad on this forum alone, let alone if you ask the average person of either gender.
You say "let alone" as if the former is substantial reasoning. But rather, it's irrelevant, given there's no clear public census of user genders on this forum.
 

pavuol

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This discussion goes a little OT:) Maybe someone educated in this area of interest shall create a new thread and provide us with some real research data/conclusions
From a quick googling, I found this but I have not read it because I don't feel the need to defend myself I am too lazy :)
 

¥€$

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This discussion goes a little OT:) Maybe someone educated in this area of interest shall create a new thread and provide us with some real research data/conclusions

It's still good to air these things out in the open once in a while, you'll find that it clears the air. Cuteness and different shades of pink seem to have universal appeal, despite the association between cheapness/low quality and aesthetics that target the masses.
 

mcdn

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....what's derogatory about a post related to girls liking cute things, exactly? Is the act of pointing out any sex-specific trait sexist now, regardless of negative, positive, or even neutral connotation?
I mean, I don't want to ruin a thread for a killer speaker with societal crap, but this is just too strange to not illicit a response from me...

Since I started this OT conversation I'd better explain a bit more. The audio world has a long and unfortunate history of sexist commentary and journalism. The point I was making is about "casual" sexism, not the horribly offensive Ken Kessler "BWFH" misogyny. I should have been more clear about that, and apologies to @pavuol for any confusion.

The comment (#42) I was responding to had a picture of a very stylish Genelec setup with the text "Also, I can imagine its "higher" attractiveness for female users, isnt't this cute? :)". @pavuol didn't say anything offensive, but the same point could have been made without stereotyping women.

For example, "Also, I can imagine its "higher" attractiveness for people who value design, isnt't this cute? :)". In this version we don't reinforce a stereotype about women, and we don't exclude men who might also like the look of that setup.

Is this important? Yes, I think it is, because if you replace "women" with other groups it becomes obvious that the group is being used as a shorthand for a characteristic. That's the very definition of stereotyping, and stereotypes are usually not true, and definitely not universal.

We all do it without meaning to. I know I do it too. But if we all just stop and ask ourselves "could I not use a stereotype here?", then we will help build a more objective and inclusive community.
 

pavuol

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Since I started this OT conversation I'd better explain a bit more. The audio world has a long and unfortunate history of sexist commentary and journalism. The point I was making is about "casual" sexism, not the horribly offensive Ken Kessler "BWFH" misogyny. I should have been more clear about that, and apologies to @pavuol for any confusion.

The comment (#42) I was responding to had a picture of a very stylish Genelec setup with the text "Also, I can imagine its "higher" attractiveness for female users, isnt't this cute? :)". @pavuol didn't say anything offensive, but the same point could have been made without stereotyping women.

For example, "Also, I can imagine its "higher" attractiveness for people who value design, isnt't this cute? :)". In this version we don't reinforce a stereotype about women, and we don't exclude men who might also like the look of that setup.

Is this important? Yes, I think it is, because if you replace "women" with other groups it becomes obvious that the group is being used as a shorthand for a characteristic. That's the very definition of stereotyping, and stereotypes are usually not true, and definitely not universal.

We all do it without meaning to. I know I do it too. But if we all just stop and ask ourselves "could I not use a stereotype here?", then we will help build a more objective and inclusive community.
Thanks for further clarification, makes sense. I'll try to be more inclusive in future discussions.

As a coincidende, the newer review by Amir comes handy for some other example.
In the article I mentioned its author stated "how easy it is for people to convince their significant others that they need additional speakers."
Yet in the video the manufacturer's representative at 7:49 mentions "wife acceptance factor". Is it "too much" and he should better have sticked to former "gender neutral" terminology? (not to be confused, now I don't write it in argumenting manner, I'm just curious)
 

mcdn

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Thanks for further clarification, makes sense. I'll try to be more inclusive in future discussions.

As a coincidende, the newer review by Amir comes handy for some other example.
In the article I mentioned its author stated "how easy it is for people to convince their significant others that they need additional speakers."
Yet in the video the manufacturer's representative at 7:49 mentions "wife acceptance factor". Is it "too much" and he should better have sticked to former "gender neutral" terminology? (not to be confused, now I don't write it in argumenting manner, I'm just curious)

Thanks @pavuel for the constructive conversation, it gives me hope! Yes "wife acceptance factor" or "WAF" is a bit sexist, and I personally find it annoying. What if the person buying the hifi is the wife? I have some friends where the wife is the hifi nut for sure! So "significant other" or "spouse" is better in my opinion. And it costs nothing!
 

pavuol

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Thanks @pavuel for the constructive conversation, it gives me hope! Yes "wife acceptance factor" or "WAF" is a bit sexist, and I personally find it annoying. What if the person buying the hifi is the wife? I have some friends where the wife is the hifi nut for sure! So "significant other" or "spouse" is better in my opinion. And it costs nothing!
I have edited my comment #8 with a reference to yours to raise community awareness.
 

thefsb

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Genelec's only subwoofer < 1k$ is a 6.5" 50 W unit. Would that be a good choice with this? A KRK 8s or 10s has a bigger driver, higher speced amp power at half the $?
 

¥€$

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Since I started this OT conversation I'd better explain a bit more. The audio world has a long and unfortunate history of sexist commentary and journalism. The point I was making is about "casual" sexism, not the horribly offensive Ken Kessler "BWFH" misogyny. I should have been more clear about that, and apologies to @pavuol for any confusion.


Audio world and practically all male dominated hobbies have advertising that uses gender targeted empowerment to offer justification of purchase to the customer, at the expense of possible spouses, but then so do female dominated hobbies.

The comment (#42) I was responding to had a picture of a very stylish Genelec setup with the text "Also, I can imagine its "higher" attractiveness for female users, isnt't this cute? :)". @pavuol didn't say anything offensive, but the same point could have been made without stereotyping women.

For example, "Also, I can imagine its "higher" attractiveness for people who value design, isnt't this cute? :)". In this version we don't reinforce a stereotype about women, and we don't exclude men who might also like the look of that setup.

Is this important? Yes, I think it is, because if you replace "women" with other groups it becomes obvious that the group is being used as a shorthand for a characteristic. That's the very definition of stereotyping, and stereotypes are usually not true, and definitely not universal.

We all do it without meaning to. I know I do it too. But if we all just stop and ask ourselves "could I not use a stereotype here?", then we will help build a more objective and inclusive community.


Stereotypes rarely fit a single person, a stereotype is just another word for a fictional person who's devoid of all the deviations from the norm that constitute an individual, the most "average" person imaginable in his/her peer group. Sometimes a stereotype may not be flattering, sometimes it is, but that all is subjectively and culturally dependent. On the other hand no one wants to be labeled "average" or to become reduced into a stereotype even if the stereotype is portayed in a flattering way, so this is definitively something that advertisers should avoid altogether, just for their own sake alone. Becoming "average" was hot during Eisenhower's presidential period, not so much now when individuality is at an all-time high.

I think we may all agree that the feminine tendency to be nurturing may reflect on the average consumption habits of women, and there's nothing inherently offensive in that, as confirmed by xykreinov's lady friend.
 

User5910

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The 5% distortion at 100 Hz at just 86dB/1m sounds a bit high, but I guess in most cases these speakers would be sitting on a desk right in front of you so 86dB might be a reasonable level.
Due to their small size I believe these speakers aren't at their best even at 86 dB. It's telling that the Genelec manual specs harmonic distortion at 80 dB for these but higher for other models. Numbers from the manuals I have on hand:

8010a @ 80 dB 70-400 Hz <3% harmonic distortion
G One @ 85 dB 70-400 Hz <3% harmonic distortion *
8030c @ 85 dB 50-100 Hz <2% harmonic distortion
8040b @ 90 dB 50-100 Hz <2% harmonic distortion
8341 @ 90 dB 50-100 Hz <2% harmonic distortion
8050b @ 90 dB 50-100 Hz <2% harmonic distortion
8260a @ 90 dB 50-100 Hz <1% harmonic distortion

* Surprisingly the G One, very similar to the 8010 but with a 12W instead of a 25W bass amp, is rated at 85 dB.

I sit close and don't usually play my desktop speakers very loud so these would probably sound fantastic. I'd still go for a sub though.
 
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User5910

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True but who is mixing on these? Maybe you tubers or something, no way albums are mixed on these. In any case, why not just have a switch to turn the compressor on and off?
I mean this is $700 for very small speakers, I think such a feature is more than warranted.
A switch would be great for hifi listening. These remind me of the Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 (discontinued, brochure here) which are active speakers with 3" main drivers and 4x18W amplification for the pair. Listening to them it sounds like they dynamically limit bass so they don't fall off a sound-quality cliff at high playback levels. They produce satisfying bass at low listening levels.
 
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