Genelec 8260a or 8341a for desk listening.

[Melodic]

Hello, all! I've been lurking for a while, but am getting ready to put down a decent amount of money for a new desk setup after deciding that I needed an upgrade and moving my 8030cs (Amir's review was what convinced me to decide to buy them and he was right on the money! Great speakers!) to the media room, so I wanted some advice.

My budget is 5kish and I think I've narrowed down my options to either the 8260as or 8341as. I'm conflicted because the 8260as have the superior tolerance and extension, while the 8341a's have the better power response and vertical directivity. Which is going to be more noticeable to me in a near field context and is there anything else that I should know about to help make my decision? My apologies if these questions have already been answered in other threads, but I didn't see much for near field specifically or about the power response. Thanks!

 

[RobL]

8260’s would look huge on a desk…I have 8361’s which are the same size and they are a very large monitor.

 

[kemmler3D]

I would definitely go for the 8341as in a desktop situation - unless you're far away, the coaxial design is going to give you better imaging. Unless you really enjoy bleeding ears you don't need the extra SPL from the 8260s.

 

[Melodic]

I would definitely go for the 8341as in a desktop situation - unless you're far away, the coaxial design is going to give you better imaging. Unless you really enjoy bleeding ears you don't need the extra SPL from the 8260s.

Hey, thanks for responding. I listen at pretty normal levels, so I don't care that much about spl. You don't think I'd miss the extension? Or would it be indistinguishable with the correct subwoofer?

 

[Melodic]

8260’s would look huge on a desk…I have 8361’s which are the same size and they are a very large monitor.

Haha, part of me likes the idea of having speakers bigger than my monitor, though perhaps it isn't practical.

 

[kemmler3D]

Hey, thanks for responding. I listen at pretty normal levels, so I don't care that much about spl. You don't think I'd miss the extension? Or would it be indistinguishable with the correct subwoofer?

It should give you a reasonable sense of 35hz in-room, but I think you should probably get at least one sub anyway so you can fill in nulls, whether or not you want the deeper extension. I'm just waiting for the day that someone posts a pair of SVS subs on craiglist in my area... I have one sub going with my 8030s but now I'm starting to think I want to try stereo bass.

 

[Melodic]

It should give you a reasonable sense of 35hz in-room, but I think you should probably get at least one sub anyway so you can fill in nulls, whether or not you want the deeper extension. I'm just waiting for the day that someone posts a pair of SVS subs on craiglist in my area... I have one sub going with my 8030s but now I'm starting to think I want to try stereo bass.

35 hz isn't bad at all. I'm still not sure, but I'm less tilted towards the 8260s after talking with you. I've heard SVS is good, though I know less about subwoofers than perhaps I ought too. Which model are you thinking of pairing with your 8030s?

 

[kemmler3D]

35 hz isn't bad at all. I'm still not sure, but I'm less tilted towards the 8260s after talking with you. I've heard SVS is good, though I know less about subwoofers than perhaps I ought too. Which model are you thinking of pairing with your 8030s?

I currently have some random M&K V12 clone which works fine... I think any SVS model should be OK for my room, it's just a small office. The main thing is I use PEQ to integrate the sub and room correct, so pretty much any sub with enough output and extension works. My criteria is basically just that it goes a bit higher (150hz) for filling nulls and down to 20hz with reasonable SPL.

 

[TylerR]

It should give you a reasonable sense of 35hz in-room, but I think you should probably get at least one sub anyway so you can fill in nulls, whether or not you want the deeper extension. I'm just waiting for the day that someone posts a pair of SVS subs on craiglist in my area... I have one sub going with my 8030s but now I'm starting to think I want to try stereo bass.

Two basses is always better than one.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Where can you even get the 8260?

 

[Purité Audio]

I had 8260’s they were top of the range when they were released =.
That was a while ago though.
Keith

 

[richard12511]

I had 8260’s they were top of the range when they were released =.
That was a while ago though.
Keith

Interestingly, the 8260 arguably measure better than the 8361 or 8351(we need to see one on an NFS), but they just lack the point source characteristics. Their dispersion width is way wider than current Genelec offerings, and very similar to a Revel Salon2, which has won blind listening tests over flatter measuring speakers because of that wider dispersion.

 

[EAXAE]

For $5K 8260 is a no-brainer. Wide directivity, excellent flatness and range. I'd personally choose it over 8361.

 

[Purité Audio]

Interestingly, the 8260 arguably measure better than the 8361 or 8351(we need to see one on an NFS), but they just lack the point source characteristics. Their dispersion width is way wider than current Genelec offerings, and very similar to a Revel Salon2, which has won blind listening tests over flatter measuring speakers because of that wider dispersion.

They were coax mid/treble just a slightly earlier iteration.
Keith

 

[kemmler3D]

For the use case (desktop listening) I am personally less sure that the wide directivity wins over point source. But it seems like the consensus is either one is a great choice.

 

[richard12511]

They were coax mid/treble just a slightly earlier iteration.
Keith

Yeah I knew they had the coax mid/tweeter, but they lack the fully point source characteristic of the Ones due to not having symmetrical woofage.

 

[Melodic]

For the use case (desktop listening) I am personally less sure that the wide directivity wins over point source. But it seems like the consensus is either one is a great choice.

Interestingly, the 8260 arguably measure better than the 8361 or 8351(we need to see one on an NFS), but they just lack the point source characteristics. Their dispersion width is way wider than current Genelec offerings, and very similar to a Revel Salon2, which has won blind listening tests over flatter measuring speakers because of that wider dispersion.

Yep. The 8260s seem better in most ways, but not that much. And then you add the point source and how it competes with the wide directivity... If only I wasn't so far away from a Genelec auditioning location! Also, sorry to everyone discussing here while I stayed silent in my own thread, just wasn't seeing the notifications come through!

 

[Melodic]

Where can you even get the 8260?

I found the pair I'm considering used at Guitar Center.

 

[TylerR]

Might be worth mentioning that there's a pair of 8351a's (I believe) at the Guitar Center in Manhattan that they haven't posted online but if I remember correctly they were asking around $5000 for them as well. I haven't been in a few months so it may have changed since then, but if anyone is interested it may be worth calling them up and seeing if they're still available.

 

[tifune]

I found the pair I'm considering used at Guitar Center.

If you're talking about the pair currently on their site, FWIW I actually ordered and returned those due to the condition. The photos are very kind to the reality. They functioned just fine; I couldn't live with the dented grilles and heavy scuffing in addition to the austere appearance. I also wasn't comfortable with that price given their age (around 12 years IIRC). You may feel differently, just wanted to possibly save you some time