Genelec 8050B Review (Studio Monitor)

[Sancus]

Hi Sancus,
Hope links are ok here...I found the 8351’s here: https://musiccitycanada.com/collect...1a-3-way-360w-active-studio-monitor-dark-gray
Do you think they’re worth $2000 a pair more than the 8351’s in a non-studio setting?

Ah I understand now, those are the 8351A, the older(discontinued) model. Personally I wouldn't buy those, the improvements in the 8351B are substantial. The lowest price I'm aware of for the 8351B is $4395/ea.

It's hard for me to answer whether that's worth it or not. Obviously since I own 3 of them I thought it was worth it, but it is certainly a lot of money, and I haven't personally A/B tested the 8350A vs the 8351B. I am sure the 8351B sound better, but I do suspect it's an incremental difference and a reasonable person could say it's not worth it. I think there is something to be said for buying "the best" Genelecs and then not thinking about whether you would like an upgrade for a long time, though

If you don't want to deal with external/other room correction like Dirac, GLM is a very big upgrade, so I would make sure to get it(both the 8350A and 8351B have it).

 

[Pearljam5000]

I'm considering moving to Canada with all these insanely low prices

 

[daftcombo]

I don't know that any Genelecs count as best bang for buck though lol, that's probably something like the JBL 306p.

Bang for the buck: no; worth every penny: yes.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Bang for the buck: no; worth every penny: yes.

The M030 and M040 were more bang for the buck but were discontinued for some reason.

 

[Tangband]

One note is however that the position of the dips/peaks depends on the angle of speakers, and also that the above EQ is based on the speakers being totally flat on-axis. So one need to adjust accordingly. In addition there are some other factors to consider in the "fill-in" of the dip peaking at 1,8 kHz for 30° angles. It will mainly be filled in using reflections. Heavy toe-in may or may not be a solution, depending on the speaker design.

Compensating the frequency response like this can sometimes make the illusion better, especially in puristic 2-channel recordings.
But the sound will be worse for multichannel-productions made in the studio, where the loudspeakers are a part of the music creation, often measuring flat , - then the sound will be better without the compensation at 1,85 kHz .

About 95% of all the recordings made are multichannel mixes mastered in the studio, even with classical music.

 

[Thomas_A]

Compensating the frequency response like this can sometimes make the illusion better, especially in puristic 2-channel recordings.
But the sound will be worse for multichannel-productions made in the studio, where the loudspeakers are a part of the music creation, often measuring flat , - then the sound will be better without the compensation at 1,85 kHz .

About 95% of all the recordings made are multichannel mixes mastered in the studio, even with classical music.

Hm. Most music I have are coded in stereo.

 

[Tangband]

Hm. Most music I have are coded in stereo.

...but they are mixed in a studio with flat measuring monitors , using eq where its needed.
So the approach you are suggesting only works with acoustical recordings with 2-channels and no mastering or mixing with eq= very rare.

 

[Thomas_A]

...but they are mixed in a studio with flat measuring monitors , using eq where its needed.
So the approach you are suggesting only works with acoustical recordings with 2-channels and no mastering or mixing with eq= very rare.

A bit off-topic. I know that they at least should be flat monitors for mixing. The dilemma is that speaker evaluations are made most often i mono (Harman, and also by Amir). The goal is to have a flat on-axis frequency response (otherwise there would be no need to use EQ for a flat response). As soon as you move these speaker into a stereo configuration, timbre will change. So the question remains: should be stereo speakers have some timbral corrections or not not so that the phantom center timbral response mimic the ideal speaker in mono?

 

[Spocko]

Hi, newbie here.
I have a question for those who have some Genelec experience. I can buy a pair of 8050b’s (used) for about CAD$3000 or about CAD$3700 new, a pair of 8350a’s (new) for CAD$5300 or a pair of 8351b’s (new) for CAD$7300. Are the 8350a’s the best band for the buck? Or am I better to splurge on the 8351’s? Or, for that matter, would the 8050b’s be stisfactory for a simple 2 channel setup? I haven’t heard any of them, but really want to simplify my setup with some active speakers and Genelec seems to be held in pretty high esteem here.

It's all about your use case - know why you're choosing the 8351B, 8350A or 8050B. I love the GLM software as it perfectly integrates either the 8351B or 8350A to a matching Genelec SAM subwoofer - so this is a good reason if you're planning to implement GLM or a SAM subwoofer. Otherwise, the 8050B will sound so close as to be likely indistinguishable on axis. Which brings up why I chose the 8351B. I have all 3 models for my home theater setup (8050B, 8350A and the 8351B is being shipped to Amir as we speak). For me the reason I chose the 8351B specifically for center channel duty is that I wanted to the best off-axis sound quality available thanks to its best-in-class directivity and dispersion characteristics and also perfectly match its tonality to the L/R via GLM software. And unique to Genelec, I plug all 3 into the 7370A Subwoofer and set them as full range L/C/R (also via GLM). The 8050B and 8040A serve as side and rear surrounds respectively. So if you're planning to use GLM then you have to get the 8350A.

 

[q3cpma]

the 8351B is being shipped to Amir as we speak.

Huzzah!

 

[Sancus]

8351B is being shipped to Amir as we speak

Thanks so much for doing this, now I don't have to worry about it

 

[sweetchaos]

8351B is being shipped to Amir as we speak

Thanks very much for doing this. Much appreciated!

 

[daftcombo]

Next, I'll send my Genelec 8040B,

Did you?

 

[daftcombo]

the 8351B is being shipped to Amir as we speak

I can't wait, but the best reviews often come on saturday morning (friday night in the US), so I'm confident it will come very soon. ;-)

 

[sweetchaos]

Did you?

Not yet. I want to measure mine first.
Plus shipping to US is COVID overpriced right now.
If the border was open, I could ship from a US forwarding postal office, to save a lot of $, but sadly that option is N/A right now.

 

[tellyoulater]

Did you?

Here you have mine 8040B

 

[daftcombo]

View attachment 125856
Here you have mine 8040B

What is the light blue curve?

 

[tellyoulater]

What is the light blue curve?

Phase

 

[Sparky]

Would the 8050b be a bad idea if one of them was placed next to a sidewall? I'm a bit tight for space on the right hand side. No chance of room treatment.

 

[daftcombo]

Would the 8050b be a bad idea if one of them was placed next to a sidewall? I'm a bit tight for space on the right hand side. No chance of room treatment.

Can you EQ with the computer?
I have one 8030C in a corner and EQing out a room mode peak improved the sound greatly.