Genelec 8050B Speaker Review (and how to read speaker measurements)

[ezra_s]

BTW, the focus is a bit off because I tried to make the Genelec look more in focus than it would be otherwise. At the end neither is really in focus so I have to come up with a better setup.

Looks good to me, btw, it was nice to see the speaker there to realize the real size which is quite hard from a picture. If I wasn't poor I would probably want to try a pair of newer Genelec. Amazing review!

 

[Billy Budapest]

@39:55 Hey, that’s me!

When you recorded it I forgot to put the caveat about this being a near-field monitor (so good that you mentioned that), it’s up there now.

Also, the highest score (if rounding to 1 decimal place) is a 6.8 by the Genelec 8341A and for the w/ sub score it is the Genelec 8030C at 8.5 (8341A is in 2nd).

What exactly does the “score w/sub” mean?

 

[MZKM]

What exactly does the “score w/sub” mean?

Basically, it simply ignores the bass extension of the speaker (which is about 30% of the score).

This allows bookshelf and tower speakers to be placed on a level playing field.

_______
To go a bit more in-depth, I simply overwrite the actual bass extension and tell the formula it has XHz as it’s bass extension. The frequency I chose it was pushed to score to ~10 under theoretically ideal conditions, some other people also using the formula are choosing 20Hz, as while it doesn‘t allow for a max of ~10, it is seem as a bit more realistic (if people rated this Genelec a 6.3, would they really rate it a 7.5 if you added a sub?).

 

[Billy Budapest]

Basically, it simply ignores the bass extension of the speaker (which is about 30% of the score).

This allows bookshelf and tower speakers to be placed on a level playing field.

OK, so it’s a generic “sub.”

I don’t think the “w/sub” score is particularly useful, then, as it doesn’t take into account how the presence of a sub would interact with the output of the speaker. That would be room dependent, of course. I understand what you are doing but I’m not sure it has a real world application.

 

[MZKM]

it doesn’t take into account how the presence of a sub would interact with the output of the speaker. That would be room dependent, of course.

This is assuming you‘d have a crossover and employ DSP.

Again, it‘s simply to have a somewhat level playing field for bookshelves and towers. If you run dual subs with a crossover, you don’t care how deep your speakers play, so you would focus more on tonality, which is what the rest of the score focuses on.

 

[richard12511]

OK, so it’s a generic “sub.”

I don’t think the “w/sub” score is particularly useful, then, as it doesn’t take into account how the presence of a sub would interact with the output of the speaker. That would be room dependent, of course. I understand what you are doing but I’m not sure it has a real world application.

I think you're kinda missing the point of the score. The w/sub part and higher overall scores seems to confuse many folks who are trying to imagine integrating it with a subwoofer. I view it more as a "ignoring bass performance score". Maybe it would be less confusing if the bass portion of the score were simply subtracted out(rather than adding a theoretical "perfect" bass)?

It's actually the score that's more useful for me, since I generally don't care about bass performance of speakers at all. The default score is not so useful for me, as a speaker that does everything above 100Hz worse can get a higher score by doing sub 60Hz better. That's correct for a 2.0 channel application, but for me, it would sound worse, since I'm crossing it over to 4 subs at 100Hz. That superior sub 60Hz performance won't matter in a system like mine.

Hopefully that helps a bit. You're definitely not the first to be confused by that score.

 

[testp]

right now im kind of a amplifier guy, but for future... active genelec's or jbl starts to look like a perfect setup...

from genelecs i would pick 8040 probably.. but my biggest issue with them ( i havent heard them ) is that deamn they are old... when the heck is the model upgrade happening ( they could do it for all of the 8030/8040/8050 line-up with basically the same budget, makes sense.. they seem to be milking it and milking it, but i ain't buying it... until they upgrade)

jbl 306P or 308P kinda was more expensive in europe, could be wrong though..

 

[Pearljam5000]

right now im kind of a amplifier guy, but for future... active genelec's or jbl starts to look like a perfect setup...

from genelecs i would pick 8040 probably.. but my biggest issue with them ( i havent heard them ) is that deamn they are old... when the heck is the model upgrade happening ( they could do it for all of the 8030/8040/8050 line-up with basically the same budget, makes sense.. they seem to be milking it and milking it, but i ain't buying it... until they upgrade)

jbl 306P or 308P kinda was more expensive in europe, could be wrong though..

They updated the whole series (some to D versions) except the 8040B and 8050B which is weird.
And I'm also not buying until the updates

 

[DrJayDub]

Thank so much for the video Amir! I really learn a lot when reading, and now watching, your reviews and articles. I have learned more about audio reproduction science on this site in the last year than in my previous 10 years on other sites.

Also, loving the videos as well, keep up the good work.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

The vertical response is designed to fall off to minimize ceiling and floor reflections.

 

[xxie]

Thank so much for the video Amir! I really learn a lot when reading, and now watching, your reviews and articles. I have learned more about audio reproduction science on this site in the last year than in my previous 10 years on other sites.

Also, loving the videos as well, keep up the good work.

Totally agree! Before Amir, I only have bits and pieces from reading magazine like stereophile and soundstage measurements, Amir completely changed the game in his style of depth and honesty. Great work, Amir!

 

[zskyper]

ASR Measurements = AMAZING! Informative! great!
ASR Review and P.P. Ranking = LOL!
ASR as YT channel = LOL!
The ASR fundamentals go up in smoke since almost a year or I'm maybe to old to appreciate the changes... it's time for me to see if the grass is greener elsewhere.

 

[daftcombo]

ASR Measurements = AMAZING! Informative! great!
ASR Review and P.P. Ranking = LOL!
ASR as YT channel = LOL!
The ASR fundamentals go up in smoke since almost a year or I'm maybe to old to appreciate the changes... it's time for me to see if the grass is greener elsewhere.

Good luck!

 

[Pearljam5000]

.

 

[Pearljam5000]

ASR Measurements = AMAZING! Informative! great!
ASR Review and P.P. Ranking = LOL!
ASR as YT channel = LOL!
The ASR fundamentals go up in smoke since almost a year or I'm maybe to old to appreciate the changes... it's time for me to see if the grass is greener elsewhere.

Bye

 

[AndreaT]

Most excellent thorough explanation of academic quality and value on speaker measurements and testing.

 

[Steve Dallas]

Great presentation, Amir. In a future video, it would be cool to see you cover the listening window, directivity indexes, and other parts of the spin. Many people have a hard time grasping what those are showing and how good vs. poor plots differ. Something like this:

https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/understanding-loudspeaker-measurements

Or this:

https://www.sausalitoaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Interpreting-Spinorama-Charts.pdf

 

[LTig]

ASR Measurements = AMAZING! Informative! great!
ASR Review and P.P. Ranking = LOL!
ASR as YT channel = LOL!

Feel free to read the measurement graphs and ignore the rest. You just need to understand their meaning. Nobody forces you to read the text or view the videos.

The ASR fundamentals go up in smoke since almost a year or I'm maybe to old to appreciate the changes... it's time for me to see if the grass is greener elsewhere.

I'm sure there are many sites where the grass is greener - where all reviewed units shine in a 100% saturated green...

 

[Mike-48]

I need to format it for web and then post for those of you who want to just read and not watch videos.

Much appreciated! I am one who would rather read than watch a video, especially one more than 5-10 minutes long.

 

[dogtagkz]

Much appreciated! I am one who would rather read than watch a video, especially one more than 5-10 minutes long.

Long videos work for some that learn things thru visual and aural. I would rather watch/listen/pause/rewind this long video than read a wall of text.

Thanks for the effort, amir. Great stuff.