Genelec 8030c vs LS50 Meta/Wireless

[Nightyard]

Three as in LCR?

Yes.

 

[Reed]

Yes.

Great! Keep reporting what you find. I have 8030C for a small listening room and I’m thinking about doing a small home theater setup using 8030C or the Meta plus sub. An Anthem MRX540 would drive the setup.

 

[aerochrome2]

I have three 8030c coming on monday to replace my kef ls50 meta, potentially. So I'll let you guys know my thoughts once ive tried them. If these arent any good i may try the kali in8 v2 or stretch to trying the adam s2v

Would appreciate that! What didn't you like about the ls50 metas?

 

[YSC]

I have three 8030c coming on monday to replace my kef ls50 meta, potentially. So I'll let you guys know my thoughts once ive tried them. If these arent any good i may try the kali in8 v2 or stretch to trying the adam s2v

TBH in this level of performance and using as surrounds, I bet you will be better off not trying to switch them with all that money and effort, but doing some EQ and calibration in MLP to tame bass room modes would be better idea. of course, if you wanna ditch your LS50, I will be happy to take it away...

 

[MNMLSM]

@Nightyard we are waiting!

 

[Nightyard]

@Nightyard we are waiting!

Ill do some rew measurements and give my subjective opinion once i received the denon 4700 i ordered.

I will say that the 8030c definitely have it on the low end. Im wondering if i should return them and get the neumann kh310 (if i can find for ~£1200 each used) or adam s2v( bstock for 980quid each) instead. Of course at much higher cost, but i have sold my kef 3160rl 5.2 set so have ample cash.

 

[juliangst]

I planned to upgrade from my LS50 to the metas but then the Genelec 8030c came to my mind again.
Aesthetics wise, I really like the LS50's design but the raw genelec finish looks really instustrial and modern as well (especially with something like the raw solidsteel stands).

I will use them in near field but later in the living room as well.
I already own a sub, so bass extention isn't as important to me. The SPL capabilities of the LS50 are also way higher than I'd ever need in my setup.

Is it worth trading my current speaker amp+LS50 setup for a balanced DAC+ 8030c setup or should I just upgrade my LS50 to the meta?

Genelec 8030c in raw are 1180€ a pair and LS50 meta are around 1000€. I don't have a balanced DAC but Genelecs should work fine unbalanced.

 

[Danaxus]

I planned to upgrade from my LS50 to the metas but then the Genelec 8030c came to my mind again.

Before upgrading, check out this thread. Going to the metas might not be enough of an upgrade to warrant that amount of money. Personally if I had LS50's, I'd stick with them until I saved up enough to buy speakers 3x the price.

 

[juliangst]

Before upgrading, check out this thread. Going to the metas might not be enough of an upgrade to warrant that amount of money. Personally if I had LS50's, I'd stick with them until I saved up enough to buy speakers 3x the price.

well, I've read a few threads on this topic already and people here said that they are A LOT better. I could sell my old LS50 for around 450-500€ so it might be worth it.

The problem is that I can't think of any other more expensive passive speakers that wouldn't be too large for my desk. The LS50 just have the perfect size and I like the coaxial design.

 

[NiagaraPete]

I think more direct comparison would be Genelec 8331A vs LS50 Meta,
8341A vs Wireless II.

To me that is not a good comparison.

 

[YSC]

I planned to upgrade from my LS50 to the metas but then the Genelec 8030c came to my mind again.
Aesthetics wise, I really like the LS50's design but the raw genelec finish looks really instustrial and modern as well (especially with something like the raw solidsteel stands).

I will use them in near field but later in the living room as well.
I already own a sub, so bass extention isn't as important to me. The SPL capabilities of the LS50 are also way higher than I'd ever need in my setup.

Is it worth trading my current speaker amp+LS50 setup for a balanced DAC+ 8030c setup or should I just upgrade my LS50 to the meta?

Genelec 8030c in raw are 1180€ a pair and LS50 meta are around 1000€. I don't have a balanced DAC but Genelecs should work fine unbalanced.

8030 user here but in your case I would advise you just keep the money for something else, the ls50 with minor eq tweaking plus subs are already at or very near to as good as it get in nearfield desktop setup, the megabucks are more gear acquisition syndrome without much actual gain if at all, spending 1k+ on side grading don’t seems like a good idea for me

 

[Glen20]

I planned to upgrade from my LS50 to the metas but then the Genelec 8030c came to my mind again.
Aesthetics wise, I really like the LS50's design but the raw genelec finish looks really instustrial and modern as well (especially with something like the raw solidsteel stands).

I will use them in near field but later in the living room as well.
I already own a sub, so bass extention isn't as important to me. The SPL capabilities of the LS50 are also way higher than I'd ever need in my setup.

Is it worth trading my current speaker amp+LS50 setup for a balanced DAC+ 8030c setup or should I just upgrade my LS50 to the meta?

Genelec 8030c in raw are 1180€ a pair and LS50 meta are around 1000€. I don't have a balanced DAC but Genelecs should work fine unbalanced.

Im no expert . but from my impression from reading alot on asr is that the next bang for buck upgrade for you will be:
1.Measurement microphone +REW
2. acoustic treatment*
3. then minidsp +Dirac
To get the improvements in sound quality from above will cost you many times more in speaker upgrades.
*Acoustic treatment requires ALOT of wall coverage and material volume (especially basstraps) to make a significant difference and alot of work to make it aesthetically pleasing. (Divorce is way more expensive than your dream speakers .Trust Me. But in a office it may not cause WAF problems.

I have 8030c and smsl su9n , alot of acoustic treatment from a recording studio plus various souces and microphone I am about to use. Saving up for subwoofer.

 

[juliangst]

Measurement microphone +REW

I’m already doing PEQ with FIR filters for phase correction

acoustic treatment*

Nearly impossible for me to do anything effective in my current desk setup.
No space whatsoever for bass traps, no walls for absorbers and diffusion isn’t really needed in such a setup.

I already have full lists with links to all needed tools and materials for bass traps, diffusers and absorbers (which will just be basotect panels);
So I’m ready if I move to a larger space.

then minidsp +Dirac

I’m using EQ Apo and with my Pi streamer I prefer CamillaDSP which is a lot more powerful than the minidsp. I might upgrade to Dirac Live in the future but the trial version didn’t do much better compared to my filters.

 

[Glen20]

I’m already doing PEQ with FIR filters for phase correction

Nearly impossible for me to do anything effective in my current desk setup.
No space whatsoever for bass traps, no walls for absorbers and diffusion isn’t really needed in such a setup.

I already have full lists with links to all needed tools and materials for bass traps, diffusers and absorbers (which will just be basotect panels);
So I’m ready if I move to a larger space.


I’m using EQ Apo and with my Pi streamer I prefer CamillaDSP which is a lot more powerful than the minidsp. I might upgrade to Dirac Live in the future but the trial version didn’t do much better compared to my filters.

Thanks for the tip. I will check out CamillaDSP

 

[juliangst]

I‘m still intrigued by the Meta but what would be a good alternatives? Finding good small actives is really easy with Genelec, Neumann and so on but I don’t know of any good small passive bookshelf speakers.
Kef R3, Buchardt S400, Focal Kanta and Kef Reference 1 are all too large for my current setup.

I don’t think that passive speakers are inherently worse than actives. Both can perform well if designed properly.
I also like the aesthetic of a well crafted amplifier.
Are there any passive bookshelfs that I‘m missing?

 

[Kachda]

I‘m still intrigued by the Meta but what would be a good alternatives? Finding good small actives is really easy with Genelec, Neumann and so on but I don’t know of any good small passive bookshelf speakers.
Kef R3, Buchardt S400, Focal Kanta and Kef Reference 1 are all too large for my current setup.

I don’t think that passive speakers are inherently worse than actives. Both can perform well if designed properly.
I also like the aesthetic of a well crafted amplifier.
Are there any passive bookshelfs that I‘m missing?

Dont forget revel m16 and 106

 

[juliangst]

Dont forget revel m16 and 106be

Revel generally hard to get here in Germany

 

[Alexium]

I, too, have settled on LS 50 Meta and 8030C as the two possible upgrades. And a backup option of Emotiva B1+. These seem to be the three best speakers under $1500 on the market in 2022. This thread is very interesting. Revels are great, too, but as remarked above - hard to get (expensive) in Europe.

One thing that's more of a downside for me than a plus is that Genelecs are active and have no high-level input. Whatever am I gonna do with my bunch of amps? My AVR doesn't even have a pre-out. But I know it's a plus for most users. That's 200-300 dollars saved on an amp, right there (if not more!).

 

[Marc v E]

I, too, have settled on LS 50 Meta and 8030C as the two possible upgrades. And a backup option of Emotiva B1+. These seem to be the three best speakers under $1500 on the market in 2022. This thread is very interesting. Revels are great, too, but as remarked above - hard to get (expensive) in Europe.

One thing that's more of a downside for me than a plus is that Genelecs are active and have no high-level input. Whatever am I gonna do with my bunch of amps? My AVR doesn't even have a pre-out. But I know it's a plus for most users. That's 200-300 dollars saved on an amp, right there (if not more!).

Btw, I have the Genelec 8030, but if I would buy now, I would probably buy an equivalent Genelec speaker with SAM (automatic room eq) in it. Iirc that is the 8330. You would need an extra module priced at 250 iirc, but that is a relative bargain and could be done at a later stage. Same for adding a Genelec woofer and integrating automatically with the speakers. Just my 2 cents...

 

[juliangst]

Btw, I have the Genelec 8030, but if I would buy now, I would probably buy an equivalent Genelec speaker with SAM (automatic room eq) in it. Iirc that is the 8330. You would need an extra module priced at 250 iirc, but that is a relative bargain and could be done at a later stage. Same for adding a Genelec woofer and integrating the automatically with the speakers. Just my 2 cents...

I don’t think it’s a bargain at all. Let’s compare (both with just software volume for simplicity).
SAM system:
8330 — 1500€ a pair
7350 sub — 1060€
GLM kit— 310€

Total: 2870€
+added cost if you don’t have an aes output

Comparable non-SAM system:
8030c — 1100€ a pair
SVS SB1000 Pro — 750€
Motu M4 with Behringer measurement Mic — 300€
Dirac Live — 350€

Total: 2500€

The non-SAM system is not only less expensive but lets you easily upgrade components without being bound to the Genelec ecosystem.
Dirac Live is as good as GLM (if not better) and upcoming DL Bass Control will make it even more powerful. The MOTU 4 channel interface allows for high and low pass filters between the speakers and sub (which eventually Dirac Bass Control will do automatically).