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Genelec 8010A Powered Studio Monitor Review

infinitesymphony

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You might reasonably view the 8010As as a design exercise to see how much you can fit into a small package. Otherwise, you'll often see pros using 8030s in a travel situation (see Genelec 8030.LSE Broadcast Pak and Triple Play).

But these speakers are also marketed to the home theater / room ambience crowds as the G One and 4010A respectively. When you think about those situations, shooting for around 80 Hz before significant rolloff makes sense because they will usually be paired with a subwoofer. Who wants to invest an equal amount of money in full-range surrounds unless you're working in a mastering facility (or simply have a mega budget)? :)
 
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amirm

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Really enjoy the harvest updates, Amir. My subdivision was built on a hard clay ridge, so planting is a challenge. Do you consider yourself a prepper?
Not at all. But for the first time because of the Pandemic, I am starting to think we should be more prepared than we have been.
 
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amirm

amirm

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But these speakers are also marketed to the home theater / room ambience crowd as the G One. When you think about those situations, shooting for around 80 Hz before significant rolloff makes sense because they will usually be paired with a subwoofer.
I tried an 80 Hz crossover but it was not effective in keeping the speaker from cracking. I would caution against using them for any home theater application. The 25 watt amp is simply not enough for the dynamics/effects you get in movies.
 

teej

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Not at all. But for the first time because of the Pandemic, I am starting to think we should be more prepared than we have been.
I've been hearing that a lot recently. From my understanding preppers are super into canning, so you've already got that skill down.
 

ctrl

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Is there anything in the measurements that would have predicted this "warm" sound? The frequency response does not look too tilted, and many other speakers have that 100-200hz hump. What if you eq'd it to whatever is supposed to sound neutral, would that make it less warm?

Predicting the warm sound of a loudspeaker from measurements is difficult. Often small changes are enough and it does not sound warm anymore.

A few indicators are already present in the measurements. Basically you can say that if the range 2-5kHz, especially in the horizontal radiation, appears slightly restrained in the measurements, the sound should be rather pleasant.
But if it becomes too unbalanced overall, it can quickly sound harsh - making prediction difficult.

In the measurements one can see that the sound pressure radiation in the range 2-5kHz is rather restraining.
This is noticeable for example by a wide hump in the Sound Power DI, but also in a wide dip in the ER.
1603127125290.png


This becomes even clearer with amirm's help line in the ER diagram.

1603127085898.png


You can also look at the horizontal angular frequency responses. There you can also see that the range 2-5kHz, independent of the angle, is not dominant.
The representation of the angular frequency response, normalized to the axis frequency response, shows that with a linear axis frequency response, the sound pressure in the range 2-5kHz weakens slightly with increasing measurement angle. Therefore it doesn't sound harsh if this range is even slightly raised in the axis frequency response.
1603129162649.png


The crossover frequency at 3kHz further leads to cancellations in vertical direction around the crossover frequency, which also has a positive effect (regarding warm sound).
 

infinitesymphony

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I tried an 80 Hz crossover but it was not effective in keeping the speaker from cracking. I would caution against using them for any home theater application. The 25 watt amp is simply not enough for the dynamics/effects you get in movies.
Oh, I just meant as surrounds or for distributed applications (restaurant, break room) where higher SPL is not required. Probably wouldn't use them for LCR.
 
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amirm

amirm

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I've been hearing that a lot recently. From my understanding preppers are super into canning, so you've already got that skill down.
They are indeed. I saw one on youtube canning butter! And parboiled rice. Google now thinks I am like them and keeps suggesting all these canning videos!
 

EchoChamber

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Google now thinks I am like them and keeps suggesting all these canning videos!
It’s funny to see how predictable those algorithms are... We can see right through them...

They tend to promote more of the same instead of more educated suggestions to enhance your knowledge and promote diversity in content.
 

Tks

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We have little idea how distortion in speakers will correlate to listener impressions. No sense for that to affect scoring unless it's majorly problematic, which it did not seem to be to a trained listener. It's also a 3-inch woofer, there's only so much you can expect.

More importantly, from reviewing speakers and getting reader questions and feedback, it's become clear to me that people who buy small speakers buy them because:
1) it is what their budget allows, as small speakers are usually cheaper
2) they actually want small speakers for their particular space/aesthetics/whatever

So the argument of "just buy bigger speakers" is usually DoA. For some people, the difference between a 3" a 5" speaker is significant.

I often find myself in those two groups. I want good sound, but I don't want a pair of giant monitors on my desk. I also need speakers for my digital piano, and for that, the smaller the better. It's already unreasonable enough that I have three speaker setups(five, if you count smart speakers) in a small apartment shared with a partner (and three pets:))

Anyway, small speakers can be great. I enjoy the various multithousand dollar living room setups I've reviewed but frankly I often feel like enjoy listening at my desk with tiny speakers more, sometimes even without a sub. This might even just be be sure my desk is in a quieter part of my apartment. We have to work with the space we've got.

Lastly, it's worth noting that these are small enough you might have them at less than 1m. I use my desk speakers at about 0.6m, where larger speakers might need more room to integrate or might just not fit from that close. I'd pretty much never hit the SPLs tested here other than some peaks.


So here's the problem. If their budget is an issue, most people buying 3-inch woofer speakers aren't in the market for something like a $700 dollar pair. Also aesthetics, I agree, many smaller speakers are usually lifestyle branded, but Genelecs, yeah I'm not sure what aesthetic they could possibly fill for this category of speaker (unless you're going for the whole, speakers you might see in the corners of a small bar or something). You could like how it looks, but I've never seen a room or setup that melds with their rounded/utilitarian nature all that well (at least in an attention grabbing way). I guess for the predisposed (people who know of Genelec) the look is psychologically synonymous with quality. But for the uninitiated, I doubt it exudes "look at what a $700 3-inch super speaker looks like".

The major problem with these are the cost essentially. And their performance doesn't seem like something exceptional in their price bracket (thought for the size, sure). For casual desktop setup people would want, getting something like a Vanatoo Zero for half the cost makes more sense to me.

These speakers aren't bad per se, they just don't seem like a soccer panther for the price and performance sans-sub setup. But then again, people in the speaker market that buy multi-thousand dollar speakers, I doubt care in the slightest for a small speaker setup for less than a thousand. So I guess the target market is still the same as those buying their full-sized speakers.
 
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amirm

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It’s funny to see how predictable those algorithms are... We can see right through them...
Yeh.... I am ready for it to start declaring me a woman and start showing me makeup ads! :)
 

andreasmaaan

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Predicting the warm sound of a loudspeaker from measurements is difficult. Often small changes are enough and it does not sound warm anymore.

A few indicators are already present in the measurements. Basically you can say that if the range 2-5kHz, especially in the horizontal radiation, appears slightly restrained in the measurements, the sound should be rather pleasant.
But if it becomes too unbalanced overall, it can quickly sound harsh - making prediction difficult.

Interesting perspective. I at least partly agree, but am curious as to how you arrived at it?
 
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amirm

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These speakers aren't bad per se, they just don't seem like a soccer panther for the price and performance sans-sub setup.
They don't need a sub for typical desktop use. They have a very satisfying balanced sound with just enough bass. This is unlike many small speakers that sound tinny without a sub, and boomy with one.
 
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I tried an 80 Hz crossover but it was not effective in keeping the speaker from cracking. I would caution against using them for any home theater application. The 25 watt amp is simply not enough for the dynamics/effects you get in movies.
I was considering the 4010s for Atmos height speakers and the 4020s for rear surround speakers?
 

xykreinov

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Now I wonder how does iLoud MTM compare.
I'm more curious about how the iLoud Micro Monitors compare. A single woofer design more akin to the 8010A, but at less than half the price.
Apparently, the Micro Monitors can do deeper bass than the 8010A, at the cost of lowered SPL.
 
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xykreinov

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Hey, well there you go. With the iLoud, you get about 15dB less SPL for about 40Hz deeper bass. Decent tradeoff, if you ask me.
All around, the tonality is considerably worse than the 8010A. But, it's still darn attractive coming from a speaker that's less than half the price.
The Micro Monitors are definitely going to be my next speakers. Big upgrade over my Klipsch R-41MP in every objective way, and a good deal more compact too, as a bonus.
 

bt3

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We had a "large" yard in Bay Area by their standards (one third of an acre) when we lived there but could not grow a lot. I actually converted our front yard when we lived there to vegetable garden! Our dirt there was also hard clay and there were a lot of issues with bugs and disease. Here we don't have the sunshine but boy, is the garden disease and pest free. And of course land is very available. We probably have an acre dedicated to this garden. This year we planted by far more than any other year.

You just might like this fellows website: https://www.lloydkahn.com/
He gardens. He keeps chickens. He's a jack of many trades. His significant other is very adept at her skills too.
 

LTig

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532 € for a pair at the moment:
https://www.thomann.de/fr/genelec_8010_ap.htm?sid=b8befe72e0f5020054f7d34737ecbe3d

Is it me or there is a sale on Genelec at Thomann at the moment? 8020, 8030... also cheaper
Genelecs are cheaper in good old Europe. In 2006 I payed €550 for a pair of 8020a (and they are closer to €800 for the 8020d nowadays). The 8010 didn't exist at that time. I use them for holidays and on the desktop. My wife temporarily uses a second pair of 8020a in her 20 sqm room and they sound astonishingly full (she hates bass) so it's possible she just keeps them.
 

andreasmaaan

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With the iLoud, you get about 15dB less SPL for about 40Hz deeper bass.

I don't understand how you worked out that they give 15dB lower SPL? Max SPL doesn't seem a whole lot different from these Genelecs as far as I can tell (from the limited data we have). And the iLouds seem to have about 25Hz lower bass extension, not 40Hz.
 
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