Genelec 8030C Studio Monitor Review

[TurtlePaul]

this is what i get when i measured my 8030c with umik1. is my room just really bad or something?

I am guessing the front of your speakers is almost exactly 3 ft from the front wall. If you could pull your speakers out further from the wall the dip will be reduced in magnitude and at a lower frequency. If you sit closer to your speakers the dip will be of a lower magnitude. Is the speaker also sitting on a shelf?

 

[spartaman64]

I am guessing the front of your speakers is almost exactly 3 ft from the front wall. If you could pull your speakers out further from the wall the dip will be reduced in magnitude and at a lower frequency. If you sit closer to your speakers the dip will be of a lower magnitude. Is the speaker also sitting on a shelf?

actually they are pretty much in the middle of my room lol with clear space all around

 

[Dannyws]

Offtopic, or maybe not, but after correction with soundID, Wow, just WOW...
8030c with presonus sub8..

 

[Pancreas]

Hello question. I know 8030c only has one XLR input and no TRS

If I buy 2 XLR to TRS 1/4 cables, so I can connect Genelec 8030c to the back of my Scarlett Solo, as the solo only has one XLR input but 2 TRS inputs, would this keep the connection balanced?

Amazon has several cables like this that claim to be balanced

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083R48YRS/

There is also the option of getting a dual female XRL to one male XLR supposedly balanced, that way I can connect to my Scarlett solo. I'd rather connect from the back to keep it looking clean

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DHH3LQS/

I supposed it should work and be balanced?

Eventually, I may get a better interface, but not yet, as I have other things I need

 

[YSC]

Hello question. I know 8030c only has one XLR input and no TRS

If I buy 2 XLR to TRS 1/4 cables, so I can connect Genelec 8030c to the back of my Scarlett Solo, as the solo only has one XLR input but 2 TRS inputs, would this keep the connection balanced?

Amazon has several cables like this that claim to be balanced

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083R48YRS/

There is also the option of getting a dual female XRL to one male XLR supposedly balanced, that way I can connect to my Scarlett solo. I'd rather connect from the back to keep it looking clean

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DHH3LQS/

I supposed it should work and be balanced?

Eventually, I may get a better interface, but not yet, as I have other things I need

I think the tra balanced to xlr balanced cable can keep it all the way balanced

 

[LTig]

Hello question. I know 8030c only has one XLR input and no TRS

If I buy 2 XLR to TRS 1/4 cables, so I can connect Genelec 8030c to the back of my Scarlett Solo, as the solo only has one XLR input but 2 TRS inputs, would this keep the connection balanced?

Amazon has several cables like this that claim to be balanced

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083R48YRS/

This one will keep the connection balanced.

 

[Jens]

I have recorded sound from one KEF LS50 meta, and one Genelec 8030c. That is mono sound from just one speaker of each kind. Both have the port totally blocked. Nothing else has been adjusted. Both speakers are placed at the same location. Microphone is placed 80 cm from speakers' center, and the Genelec center is 4cm down from the center of the tweeter. The environment is complicated and hard to describe, but it is the same for each recording. The KEF is driven by an equal or better amp than the one in the Genelec.

Microphone system: B&K 4133 on 2669 to 5935 then to digital recorder.

The sound level at the microphone was 90 dB peaks

I played Jennifer Warnes singing: BIRD ON A WIRE.

I believe that the recorded files will reveal possible differences even if they are MP3’s


How do I post the sound files? (About 3.5 MB each).

 

[Alexium]

I have recorded sound from one KEF LS50 meta, and one Genelec 8030c. That is mono sound from just one speaker of each kind. Both have the port totally blocked. Nothing else has been adjusted. Both speakers are placed at the same location. Microphone is placed 80 cm from speakers' center, and the Genelec center is 4cm down from the center of the tweeter. The environment is complicated and hard to describe, but it is the same for each recording. The KEF is driven by an equal or better amp than the one in the Genelec.

Microphone system: B&K 4133 on 2669 to 5935 then to digital recorder.

The sound level at the microphone was 90 dB peaks

I played Jennifer Warnes singing: BIRD ON A WIRE.

I believe that the recorded files will reveal possible differences even if they are MP3’s


How do I post the sound files? (About 3.5 MB each).

That's amazing, I very much want to listen! One idea is SoundCloud, another is any cloud storage (Google Drive, DropBox etc.).

Which of the two do you personally prefer?

 

[Jens]

Here are the sound files:

Bird on a Wire 90db 11-10-22 Genelec normalized.wav and 4 more files

5 files sent via WeTransfer, the simplest way to send your files around the world

we.tl

They are also in: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/genelec-8030c-vs-ls50-meta-wireless.25027/

 

[JVCaxv-4]

Hello question. I know 8030c only has one XLR input and no TRS

If I buy 2 XLR to TRS 1/4 cables, so I can connect Genelec 8030c to the back of my Scarlett Solo, as the solo only has one XLR input but 2 TRS inputs, would this keep the connection balanced?

Amazon has several cables like this that claim to be balanced

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083R48YRS/

There is also the option of getting a dual female XRL to one male XLR supposedly balanced, that way I can connect to my Scarlett solo. I'd rather connect from the back to keep it looking clean

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DHH3LQS/

I supposed it should work and be balanced?

Eventually, I may get a better interface, but not yet, as I have other things I need

do you have the scarlett solo 1st gen? you need 2 cables XLR male to RCA male, xlr to input genelec, rca to output scarlett! (scarlett output is in the backside)
do you have the scarlett solo 2nd gen? then the same with above.
do you have the scarlett solo 3d gen? you need 2 balanced cables XLR male to TRS Jack 1/4" male, xlr to input genelec, Jack to output scarlett! (scarlett output is in the backside)
the XLR socket in scarlett is input for microphone and not output!

 

[cinemakinoeye]

I formulated my question poorly, what I really meant to ask is if there is a way to bypass the internal amp, i. e. substitute it for an external one. Does this model have a passive crossover, or is it digital? Or, perhaps, active but analog?

That would defeat Genelec monitors' significant advantage over many "audiophile" speakers: the amplification, crossovers, drivers, and cabinets are all designed and optimized to work well together. I have listened to many speakers, amplification, and room combinations over the years, and I always come back to Genelec monitors for their accuracy (apologies for making a subjective assessment).

 

[LTig]

That would defeat Genelec monitors' significant advantage over many "audiophile" speakers: the amplification, crossovers, drivers, and cabinets are all designed and optimized to work well together. I have listened to many speakers, amplification, and room combinations over the years, and I always come back to Genelec monitors for their accuracy (apologies for making a subjective assessment).

The same is true for Neumann. The amps complement the drivers well and chosing an external amp with higher power may result in blown drivers if played too loud for too long.

 

[Trell]

The same is true for Neumann. The amps complement the drivers well and chosing an external amp with higher power may result in blown drivers if played too loud for too long.

The Neuman, like Genelec, are active monitors so the crossover is done before amplification, so external amplification without the monitors supporting it is not particularly feasible if possible at all.

 

[aslan7]

Do I understand correctly that the 8030, even though it is mainly designed for near field listening, will produce good sound if I am as much as eight feet away from it? I need good computer speakers but often sit at a short distance from them.

 

[LTig]

Do I understand correctly that the 8030, even though it is mainly designed for near field listening, will produce good sound if I am as much as eight feet away from it? I need good computer speakers but often sit at a short distance from them.

Yes. My wife uses the smaller 8020 in a 20 sqm room with about 3 m listening distance and room gain helps to give surprisingly decent bass, but of course not at loud SPLs.

 

[TurtlePaul]

Do I understand correctly that the 8030, even though it is mainly designed for near field listening, will produce good sound if I am as much as eight feet away from it? I need good computer speakers but often sit at a short distance from them.

Yes, the Genelec 8030c will produce good sound at any distance, you don't need to be nearfield.

The main limitation is that the focus is on sound quality rather than quantity. With 50 watts of power driving a 5" woofer there are limits on how loud bass can be driven before distortion kicks in. Genelec does a much better job than most 5" speakers as can be seen in Amir's 86 dB/1m distortion test, but you can see in the 96 dB/1m test that there are laws of physics they can't overcome. However, this may not matter if you aren't listening at or near "reference" levels of SPL.

 

[aslan7]

Yes, the Genelec 8030c will produce good sound at any distance, you don't need to be nearfield.

The main limitation is that the focus is on sound quality rather than quantity. With 50 watts of power driving a 5" woofer there are limits on how loud bass can be driven before distortion kicks in. Genelec does a much better job than most 5" speakers as can be seen in Amir's 86 dB/1m distortion test, but you can see in the 96 dB/1m test that there are laws of physics they can't overcome. However, this may not matter if you aren't listening at or near "reference" levels of SPL.

Thanks for both of your answers. I’m not blasting the music so should be fine. I don’t have room for something like the Revel passive speakers on stands and an amplifier. Also looking at some of the Focal active speakers.

 

[xaviescacs]

Do I understand correctly that the 8030, even though it is mainly designed for near field listening, will produce good sound if I am as much as eight feet away from it? I need good computer speakers but often sit at a short distance from them.

I use them in two modes, in desktop and midfield. In the desktop they are 130 cm apart and I'm about 100 cm to each one. In mid field 170 cm apart and I sit at about 220 from each. In the desktop mode the rule of a 30 degree angle of each with respect to the bisector given by the manual is broken because the angle is of about 40 degrees, not sure how important is this. In the mid field mode the angle is of about 23 degrees. Recommended listening distance is more than 70 cm, and critical distance is between 1.5 and 2 m depending on the room. My room is of about 5x3 meters, but very asymmetric with two round corners and all walls of a different size.

The thing is that in the desktop mode I don't enjoy the sound very much. I think it's not a matter of tonality or clarity. Perhaps in nearfield, despite desk reflections, the sound is more direct with less reflections, and that sounds too dry, or unrealistic, subjectively. In the mid-filed set up I enjoy them a lot actually. If I'm sitting at 1 meter and then start going back at about 1.5 meters I start to really enjoy the sound.

I bought them blindly trusting measurements and opinions and I couldn't be happier. However, only for desktop use, I'm not sure if I would pay that amount of money. I have the impression that in nearfield all monitors sound closer to each other than in a midfield situation where room reflections matter a lot and then directivity plays a central role.

I also have the Focal EVO 50, and in a subjective comparison between both, more or less level matched with pink noise, in midfield, gives as a clear winner the Genelec, sounding just better in every aspect, there is nothing a prefer about the Focals, but they are half the price.

Note that I'm not an expert on the subject, just conveying my thoughts.

 

[aslan7]

Thanks--this is all very useful. I'm not taken with near field listening and a bigger concern for me is to have decent sound in a roughly 250 square foot room that has a lot of asymmetrically placed furniture. Powered speakers are very small, convenient, can easily be moved around, and the best brands sound great. A big advantage is that the powered speakers hook up directly to the DAC so there is no need for an amplifier. My problem is that there is a truly bewildering array of very fine powered speakers (with which I have zero experience). I am happy to get something really good, but it doesn't have to be state of the art, thus the Focal EVO 65 looked like a solid option to the Genelec. The significant other is voicing displeasure at the tinny sound of the iMac speakers so I have to act.

 

[xaviescacs]

Thanks--this is all very useful. I'm not taken with near field listening and a bigger concern for me is to have decent sound in a roughly 250 square foot room that has a lot of asymmetrically placed furniture. Powered speakers are very small, convenient, can easily be moved around, and the best brands sound great. A big advantage is that the powered speakers hook up directly to the DAC so there is no need for an amplifier. My problem is that there is a truly bewildering array of very fine powered speakers (with which I have zero experience). I am happy to get something really good, but it doesn't have to be state of the art, thus the Focal EVO 65 looked like a solid option to the Genelec. The significant other is voicing displeasure at the tinny sound of the iMac speakers so I have to act.

My advice is, if you have the budget for the Genelecs and you can audition them, don't buy the cheaper Focals before hearing the Genelecs, just in case you find the 500 extra bucks are nothing compared to what you get.