Genelec 8010a vs 8020d as PC speakers?

[thetrystero]

I have a pair of ageing bose companion ii (the first gen) which i'd like to replace as pc speakers. Are the 8020d significantly better than the 8010a? I only managed to test the 8020d against the 8030c in the shop. I understand the 8030c seems to be favored in at least one other thread here. Although I couldn't detect enough of a difference to justify the bump in size. Desk real estate being a premium, I was wondering what I'd lose from the 8020d if I went for the 8010a instead?

I did consider adding a sub down the road, perhaps the svs sb1000 or maybe even the kali ws-6.2, or the soon to be released iloud sub. But if I can get away with not having one at all, that would be ideal, what with the troubles of pairing, room correction etc.

 

[staticV3]

Compared to the 8020D, with the 8010A you will lose 10dB of bass extension (roll-off at 80Hz vs 70), as well as headroom (ability to play loud).

If you don't want to lose bass extension, but want the lower price and size of the 8010A, then consider the Adam D3V instead.

Miraculously, the Adam plays even deeper bass than the 8020D (roll-off at 55Hz), though it can't keep up with the latter's headroom.

 

[Mort]

And the 8030c produces another 10hz lower again plus some SPL. It's widely regarded as the best sonic bang for the size buck in that line. There is a lot of musical content in those ranges. Every 10hz is important.

I own all three. I consider the 8010a a travel speaker. It's amazing for it's size but is difficult to blend with a sub.

The 8020d is a nice bedroom size. It might be the worst of both worlds though.

For a desktop with music that has bass of any kind, I would much prefer the 8030c of you can swing it.

 

[The French]

I was in the same situation as you couple of years back.
As 8010 or 8020 both need a sub, I took a pair of the cheapest, and smallest, 8010.

Very small, and pretty nice with their metal stands.
I went for the smallest "sub" I could find, a Fostex PM-sub mini 2.
It is slick, and enough for me.
I'm pretty happy with the sound, SPL has never been an issue for me, as I'm sitted 50cm away from the speakers.
But the bass region is obviously very limited.

I was about to upgrade for a pair of 8030C early this year, but they are way too big for tiny my desk.
Note that on my desk, I mostly listen to music with a headphones pair.

I've never really looked as other brands, as I like the Genelec 80xx look.

 

[Ellebob]

Price not a consideration. Without a sub the Adam D3V or Kali LP-UNF or possibly IN-UNF of or works for your situation. The 8010/8020 just don't go deep enough.

With a sub Genelec G1 or G2 with one of their F series subs. I find the subs blend well.

 

[DHzHolden]

Are the 8020d better than the 8010a? I only managed to test the 8020d against the 8030c in the shop. I understand the 8030c seems to be favored in at least one other thread here. Although I couldn't detect enough of a difference to justify the bump in size. Desk real estate being a premium, I was wondering what I'd lose from the 8020d if I went for the 8010a instead?

I did consider adding a sub down the road, perhaps the svs sb1000 or maybe even the kali ws-6.2, or the soon to be released iloud sub. But if I can get away with not having one at all, that would be ideal, what with the troubles of pairing, room correction etc.

I compared the G-One (8010) with the G-Two (8020) and bought the G-Two, because it had more audible bass. But eventually, I had to add a subwoofer, and now my little desktop system is wonderful. I will quote myself from another thread about small Genelecs:

I built my desktop system around a pair of Genelec G-Twos, the unbalanced version of the 8020. The G-Twos sit on nice B&M stands 10" above the desktop. Then I added an RSL Speedwoofer MkII, using its internal crossover. I didn't feel I was getting the best sound I could get, so I bought a miniDSP UMIK-1 and spent some time with REW. But finally I bought a miniDSP 2x4HD crossover, and then converted it to a DDRC-24, which adds Dirac room correction software, and used the UMIK to balance the system. It sounds great, I love to listen to it.

Good luck with your quest.

 

[GD Fan]

Back during Covid Summer of 2020 I overhauled my desktop setup with, among other things, a pair of 8320s. To this day I wish I'd gotten the 8030s instead for precisely the reasons that Mort articulated above.

So if your space can accommodate them at all I'd also vote for the 8030s. I didn't think my desktop could fit them but once the 8320s arrived it became clear I'd misjudged.

 

[LTig]

I have the 8020a on my desk. Alone they sound fine but somewhat lean. Adding a sub (Neumann KH750) was a game changer to a real full range system (19 Hz to 20 kHz) with a lot of fun.

 

[GD Fan]

I have the 8020a on my desk. Alone they sound fine but somewhat lean. Adding a sub (Neumann KH750) was a game changer to a real full range system (19 Hz to 20 kHz) with a lot of fun.

I'm curious how you picked that particular subwoofer? It looks as expensive or more than some of the Genelec subs.

 

[LTig]

I'm curious how you picked that particular subwoofer? It looks as expensive or more than some of the Genelec subs.

Size (limited space) and features (builtin xover, speaker protected by grille, goes down to 20 Hz minimum).

 

[Jiraya369]

I have a pair of ageing bose companion ii (the first gen) which i'd like to replace as pc speakers. Are the 8020d significantly better than the 8010a? I only managed to test the 8020d against the 8030c in the shop. I understand the 8030c seems to be favored in at least one other thread here. Although I couldn't detect enough of a difference to justify the bump in size. Desk real estate being a premium, I was wondering what I'd lose from the 8020d if I went for the 8010a instead?

I did consider adding a sub down the road, perhaps the svs sb1000 or maybe even the kali ws-6.2, or the soon to be released iloud sub. But if I can get away with not having one at all, that would be ideal, what with the troubles of pairing, room correction etc.

if desk estate is at such a premium the kanto ora comes to mind, tiniest little things... audioholics's great brian larsen has a superb review on it.

If you can afford a slightly bigger speaker, the adam d3v is unmatched.

 

[thetrystero]

I compared the G-One (8010) with the G-Two (8020) and bought the G-Two, because it had more audible bass. But eventually, I had to add a subwoofer, and now my little desktop system is wonderful. I will quote myself from another thread about small Genelecs:

I built my desktop system around a pair of Genelec G-Twos, the unbalanced version of the 8020. The G-Twos sit on nice B&M stands 10" above the desktop. Then I added an RSL Speedwoofer MkII, using its internal crossover. I didn't feel I was getting the best sound I could get, so I bought a miniDSP UMIK-1 and spent some time with REW. But finally I bought a miniDSP 2x4HD crossover, and then converted it to a DDRC-24, which adds Dirac room correction software, and used the UMIK to balance the system. It sounds great, I love to listen to it.

Good luck with your quest.

yes i did read your post in the other thread. however trying to avoid getting in to the woods with umik+minidsp.

I was in the same situation as you couple of years back.
As 8010 or 8020 both need a sub, I took a pair of the cheapest, and smallest, 8010.

Very small, and pretty nice with their metal stands.
I went for the smallest "sub" I could find, a Fostex PM-sub mini 2.
It is slick, and enough for me.
I'm pretty happy with the sound, SPL has never been an issue for me, as I'm sitted 50cm away from the speakers.
But the bass region is obviously very limited.

I was about to upgrade for a pair of 8030C early this year, but they are way too big for tiny my desk.
Note that on my desk, I mostly listen to music with a headphones pair.

I've never really looked as other brands, as I like the Genelec 80xx look.

i think i might go a similar route. i'm liking the 8020d size to low-end trade-off. seems ilke svs sb1000 pro is the most widely recommended ones to pair with the genelec but the kanto sub8 is half the price. the fostex are 40-150. which crossover point did you choose?

 

[thetrystero]

I compared the G-One (8010) with the G-Two (8020) and bought the G-Two, because it had more audible bass. But eventually, I had to add a subwoofer, and now my little desktop system is wonderful. I will quote myself from another thread about small Genelecs:

I built my desktop system around a pair of Genelec G-Twos, the unbalanced version of the 8020. The G-Twos sit on nice B&M stands 10" above the desktop. Then I added an RSL Speedwoofer MkII, using its internal crossover. I didn't feel I was getting the best sound I could get, so I bought a miniDSP UMIK-1 and spent some time with REW. But finally I bought a miniDSP 2x4HD crossover, and then converted it to a DDRC-24, which adds Dirac room correction software, and used the UMIK to balance the system. It sounds great, I love to listen to it.

Good luck with your quest.

i don't think i'm ready to go down the minidsp rabbit hole as of yet. i'm mainly looking at subs in the lower price ranges. the iloud sub with arc does look tempting though.

 

[thetrystero]

Price not a consideration. Without a sub the Adam D3V or Kali LP-UNF or possibly IN-UNF of or works for your situation. The 8010/8020 just don't go deep enough.

With a sub Genelec G1 or G2 with one of their F series subs. I find the subs blend well.

i did try out the d3v (along with the micro pro and mtm mkii) all really good but i feel i do want a bit more clarity and separation.

 

[thetrystero]

if desk estate is at such a premium the kanto ora comes to mind, tiniest little things... audioholics's great brian larsen has a superb review on it.

If you can afford a slightly bigger speaker, the adam d3v is unmatched.

i use kanto stands. didn't know they made good speakers too. will be something to add to my list to try out then.

 

[thetrystero]

Back during Covid Summer of 2020 I overhauled my desktop setup with, among other things, a pair of 8320s. To this day I wish I'd gotten the 8030s instead for precisely the reasons that Mort articulated above.

So if your space can accommodate them at all I'd also vote for the 8030s. I didn't think my desktop could fit them but once the 8320s arrived it became clear I'd misjudged.

the price difference actually isn't all that big. on paper i was already ready to forgo the 8020 based on price alone but when i got to the shop they looked twice as large!

 

[thetrystero]

if pairing with the subwoofer would it render the advantages of the 8020 redundant vs the 8010 then because we'll be crossing over at a frequency well above the threshold of either?

 

[The French]

if pairing with the subwoofer would it render the advantages of the 8020 redundant vs the 8010 then because we'll be crossing over at a frequency well above the threshold of either?

That's what I think.
Coupled with a sub, 8010 or 8020 will basically offer the same result (but a bigger SPL on the 8020)

 

[Miguelón]

if desk estate is at such a premium the kanto ora comes to mind, tiniest little things... audioholics's great brian larsen has a superb review on it.

If you can afford a slightly bigger speaker, the adam d3v is unmatched.

I've just red specs of the Adams, is amazing how flat and low can go...

They have also usb c audio input, making more clean digital to analogue path.

 

[Miguelón]

if pairing with the subwoofer would it render the advantages of the 8020 redundant vs the 8010 then because we'll be crossing over at a frequency well above the threshold of either?

You can read the Amir review about 8010: they suddenly jump into distortion if you try to use them out of the desktop.

8020 are quite versatile, paired with a sub (I have Kali WS 6.2) are not far from the 8030C with the same sub (crossover 80 Hz).

They can give you a good listening in a small room (not so small, my office is 5x 3 meters), or they can go aside the monitor in a busy desktop. Super easy to carry with one only hand.

Sometimes I prefer them to 8030C, I have the impression that the off axis response is less narrow, and have some “fun” character.

In my office, also 8030C should be cutoff at 80 Hz because a big room mode at 70 Hz, so it doesn’t worth. Better handle the mode with a small sub.

8010 is just for 0.5 to 1 m listening, or less.