Genelec 8030C Studio Monitor Review

[adg]

Here are pictures of my 8030Cs on the 8000-323B stands I received yesterday. I still have some desk optimization and cleanup to do. Because I'm using these stands on top of a riser, the speakers might actually be about two inches two tall. The stands can only I'd estimate the tweeters are about two inches higher than my ears.



Edit: Now that the 8030s are 11 inches off of my desk, does anyone think I can turn off the "Desktop 160Hz" attenuation dip switch? I'll do some new measurements with REW, but I won't be able to do that for a few days.

 

[mkawa]

I ordered the stands from bhphoto and their date keeps getting pushed out. They're now due in in May.

I just found that Thomann UK has the L stands in stock (PN: 8000-323B) for only $75 each. Shipping is $55 to the US, but they'll be here in four days and cost $205 total, less than the $250/pr they go for in the US. I placed the order, hope it works out.

good luck! my dealer was able to get me the k&ms for 60% off retail, so i went with those. genelec refuses to budge on the prices of these in the. US

 

[txbdan]

Yeh, it seems I found a loophole buying from Thomann. They shipped yesterday from Germany and are arriving tomorrow. Impressive! And for less than you can get them in the US. The 8030Cs, for example, are almost $200 less each than in the US. Maybe they control export of the speakers themselves to a greater degree than accessories. If I were in the market for Genelecs I'd surely give it a shot.

 

[Ilkless]

Yeh, it seems I found a loophole buying from Thomann. They shipped yesterday from Germany and are arriving tomorrow. Impressive! And for less than you can get them in the US. The 8030Cs, for example, are almost $200 less each than in the US. Maybe they control export of the speakers themselves to a greater degree than accessories. If I were in the market for Genelecs I'd surely give it a shot.

Did you use the European site, or their American site? Not sure if it makes a difference. I assumed it did because of the different domain.

 

[mkt]

Yeh, it seems I found a loophole buying from Thomann. They shipped yesterday from Germany and are arriving tomorrow. Impressive! And for less than you can get them in the US. The 8030Cs, for example, are almost $200 less each than in the US. Maybe they control export of the speakers themselves to a greater degree than accessories. If I were in the market for Genelecs I'd surely give it a shot.

I am in the US and have gotten Genelec accessories but not speakers from Thomann. I think that I didn’t manage to checkout with speakers. It is worth considering neighbors to the north too.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Doesn't Thomann add a hefty shipping charge for US orders whereas many US vendors include shipping in their advertised pricing?

 

[Sancus]

Doesn't Thomann add a hefty shipping charge for US orders whereas many US vendors include shipping in their advertised pricing?

The shipping charges tend to be about €50 euros per 30kg but the prices on Thomann are much lower at least for K&M products. eg Thomann B&H. Pro-tip: You pretty much always pay for shipping one way or another on any overseas made product

 

[adg]

When I bought my 8030C monitors two months ago, I asked the salesperson at a large authorized retailer if they could throw in the matching stands. The salesperson said yes.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

The shipping charges tend to be about €50 euros per 30kg but the prices on Thomann are much lower at least for K&M products. eg Thomann B&H. Pro-tip: You pretty much always pay for shipping one way or another on any overseas made product

Right, I always look at bottom line cost -- item + shipping + tax. I know bottom line cost from US vendors that don't add shipping charges or tax to advertised price. I can't calculate bottom line Thomann cost without knowing exactly how much they charge for shipping to the US.

 

[lizhuoyin]

Right, I always look at bottom line cost -- item + shipping + tax. I know bottom line cost from US vendors that don't add shipping charges or tax to advertised price. I can't calculate bottom line Thomann cost without knowing exactly how much they charge for shipping to the US.

Check out online stores in Canada. Much cheaper than in US.

 

[sweetchaos]

Check out online stores in Canada. Much cheaper than in US.

If you're talking about purchasing Genelecs in Canada, then sadly, it's no longer competitive enough to justify Americans purchasing from Canada.
On March 1, 2021, Genelec increased pricing across their entire lineup for the Canadian market.
Price went up by about 20% (and possibly higher with Genelec ones).

8030 went up by 13%, from CDN$700/ea to CDN$790/ea (only CDN$92/ea cheaper than US pricing equivalent)
8330 went up by 20%, from CDN$856/ea to CDN$1025/ea (only CDN$110/ea cheaper than US pricing equivalent)
8040 went up by 13%, from CDN$1100/ea to CDN$1250/ea (only CDN$230/ea cheaper than US pricing equivalent)
8351B went up by 17%, from CDN$4300/ea to CDN$5050/ea (actually CDN$5/ea more expensive than US pricing equivalent)

Plus, there's the issue of repairs...since where ever you purchased the Genelecs from, that's where you need to ship the item back for repairs.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Bottom line is what would the bottom line cost be to have 8030Cs shipped from a Canadian vendor to the US assuming Canadian vendors even ship to the US?

 

[Deleted member 12642]

So if I go to thomann right now, genelec 8030c comes out to $1090.86, that's with shipping.

Lol I literally just got them in from sweetwater for nearly $1500, whatever, at least they got here in a day.

Yeah these speakers are incredible. I've been on a bit of a monitor hunt lately. I used the KH80 for a few months but ultimately found them to be pretty in your face and fatiguing, dsp was kind of poorly implimented. Very sensitive to head movements and lacked body, pretty resonant plastic cabinet IMO, "small" sounding. Tried dynaudio bm5 mkiii next, was a mistake. They're pretty crappy and the KH80 spoiled me, anything less than those is going to leave me wanting.

Then the 8030c came in today, they are in short the perfect speaker for me. Amir was right, they reproduce everything perfectly. Music is such an absolute joy to listen to on these. The dispersion is just plain better than KH80, no phasing with head movements, just a solid image all around. They're not bright in the least bit, could ACTUALLY mix on these all day without fatigue unlike the BM5 which they claim is something they offer. Yeah that's a lie.

Don't have much else to say, just an incredible speaker that will serve me well. Really is a special feeling when you finally find that speaker that you know is just right, it's really an instant gut feeling. I don't see myself employing DSP on this setup, it sounds just right to me.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

So if I go to thomann right now, genelec 8030c comes out to $1090.86, that's with shipping.

Lol I literally just got them in from sweetwater for nearly $1500, whatever, at least they got here in a day. ...

Now that's what I call a solid bottom line from Thomann with shipping cost to US ~$53. The only difference I see from your numbers is with Sweetwater where a pair of 8030Cs show as $1,390, so closer to $1,400 than $1,500. So a savings of ~$300 by going through Thomann.

 

[Deleted member 12642]

Now that's what I call a solid bottom line from Thomann with shipping cost to US ~$53. The only difference I see from your numbers is with Sweetwater where a pair of 8030Cs show as $1,390, so closer to $1,400 than $1,500. So a savings of ~$300 by going through Thomann.

The taxman gonna gitcha tho 1494$

If you can get it in the U.S. from thomann for that price though, I'd consider that a steal for ~$1000. I kinda had to take the hit because I didn't have any monitors and stuff needed a' mixin.

I currently have them at 1.2meteres from the back wall. I recall seeing a guide from them that said this was an appropriate area. I also saw another one from genelec that said this area was bad? Not sure what go with, I'll just have to move them and measure.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

The taxman gonna gitcha tho 1494$ ...

Can you explain how the tax works for the US when ordering from Thomann in Germany?

 

[Deleted member 12642]

Can you explain how the tax works for the US when ordering from Thomann in Germany?

I was talkin about my u.s. price

 

[More Dynamics Please]

I was talkin about my u.s. price

Ah, I thought you were talking about an import duty on Thomann orders. Didn't think of tax on Sweetwater order.

 

[bbizzle]

Looks like Thomann won't ship Genelecs to the US anymore... Crazy!

 

[Deleted member 12642]

They seem to change that policy around every few months. They had that warning last year, then it was gone and you could order to the u.s., now its back.