Genelec 8320a Review (Powered Monitor)

[captainspork]

Thanks for the help guys, I bought a pair of the 8030C!

 

[ivayvr]

Finally, my dream came through! Two days ago I received a pair of 8020D and currently I am trying to integrate the sub 7040 with the main speakers. Before getting the 8020, I was using the sub with a pair of Focal Shape 40 and I was able to achieve a very decent result just by following Genelec's recommendation for a corner position of the sub by applying -6dB. I guess that the fact that Shape 40 has passive radiators on their side made the task a bit simpler and the only thing I had to do was to adjust the volume of the sub.
With the 8020 the adjustment seems a bit more complicated. On certain recordings the bass sounds bloated and overpowering. I doubt that it is only a matter of a relative miss match of the main speakers and the sub. The speakers are positioned on the front edge of the shelf and the ports are 30 cm (12") from the wall. The sub is where it was and it is in the same plane with the main speakers. I am confused if I should use the -4dB bass tilt (near the wall), desk top switch (near field or console bridge) or both or any other combination. My listening position is around 2.5 meters from the speakers.
I have no measuring equipment that would facilitate the adjustments needed.

 

[Walter]

I think 8331 would be the best possible option for PC use.

I think most people would agree--as long as someone else was paying for them.

 

[Trell]

I think most people would agree--as long as someone else was paying for them.

For the price of a pair 8331 I got a pair of 8330A, Genelec L-stands, a 7360 subwoofer, the GLM Kit, cables and still have some change left. Still expensive, though.

This for desktop use and it sounds great.

 

[Habbe]

For the price of a pair 8331 I got a pair of 8330A, Genelec L-stands, a 7360 subwoofer, the GLM Kit, cables and still have some change left. Still expensive, though.

This for desktop use and it sounds great.

That's nice, but my point was also that in my experience for small listening distances (say from 50cm to 75cm) the 8030 / 8330 is not optimal, whereas 8020 / 8320 is better, and 8331 even better. Genelec's own recommendations do not differentiate the two sizes that much (both are at level "green") but I believe to have experienced a difference. Or maybe it was room modes... In which case I would upgrade to 8330 also.

 

[Walter]

For the price of a pair 8331 I got a pair of 8330A, Genelec L-stands, a 7360 subwoofer, the GLM Kit, cables and still have some change left. Still expensive, though.

This for desktop use and it sounds great.

Oh, no argument. If you have to choose between 8330 + 7360 + GLM, or 8331 only, I would always choose the former. You have an awesome desktop or small room system.

 

[Trell]

That's nice, but my point was also that in my experience for small listening distances (say from 50cm to 75cm) the 8030 / 8330 is not optimal, whereas 8020 / 8320 is better, and 8331 even better. Genelec's own recommendations do not differentiate the two sizes that much (both are at level "green") but I believe to have experienced a difference. Or maybe it was room modes... In which case I would upgrade to 8330 also.

I generally sit at a distance between 70cm to 100cm and I've not noticed any tweeter/woofer integration issues, and if I sit closer I'm busy typing on the keyboard but I've not noticed anything particular either then.

From the manual the minimum distance is 70cm for both 8320 as well as 8330:

 

[Hexspa]

Exactly my concern too! My ceiling is 8 ft. high, my ear level is about 50 inches from the speaker, so when angled 30 degrees (just above my L/C/R) that makes the 8320a about 8.5 ft away (2.6m). For me to get 86dB at my listening position and peaks above 90dB, I would have to increase the SPL at 1 meter to at least 96 dB and now that we get these measurements from Amir:
View attachment 133141
I have grave doubts that these speakers can handle it. On Genelec's website, the specs show that the peaks are capable of 107 dB at 1m; knowing that I would cut them off below 120Hz, I originally figured it was OK because I should easily get 86dB based on those peaks right? But of course I wanted verification of capability up to 96 dB so I sent @amirm both the 8320 and 8330.

Sadly, what I'm seeing here is that tweeter compression hits hard above 10kHz while distortion shoots through the roof below 1kHz. In real world terms, I'm possibly losing ambient cues relating to the "air" and "hiss" from flying jet fighters or screaming dragons overhead ("The brilliance range is composed entirely of harmonics and is responsible for sparkle and air of a sound. Boost around 12 kHz makes a recording sound more Hi-Fi"). I'm not as bothered by the distortion above 120Hz although not happy about it. I've asked Trinnov if the Alt16 provides frequency bandwidth information per channel channel so I can see if I'm losing audible information but they said No (not yet? I'm going to try to lobby for this if it's not already in development).

It is these measuremenst that makes ASR so valuable for speaker selection - I never would have known the limits of the 8320a if I relied only on Genelec's "peak 107 dB" rating. I'm hoping the 8330a measure better because Genelec rates them at 110dB at 1m - fingers crossed!

Edit: I do have 8040a Genelecs I could use, but I'm not a fan of hanging 20lb. speakers from the ceiling and may have to go with lighter passive speakers that I can drive harder.

Old post but I just listened to those sines on my iphone 11 speaker. Must be 3-5% 3rd harmonic distortion at all frequencies.

 

[Spocko]

Old post but I just listened to those sines on my iphone 11 speaker. Must be 3-5% 3rd harmonic distortion at all frequencies.

As a follow up, a pair of 8320a for heights is absolutely FINE now that I know a bit better how patheticly inadequate Atmos mixes are for HT lol.

 

[Hexspa]

As a follow up, a pair of 8320a for heights is absolutely FINE now that I know a bit better how patheticly inadequate Atmos mixes are for HT lol.

That was you who sent Amir the 8320 and 8330? Thank you for that. I'm considering the 8330 after seeing the measurements.

 

[ivayvr]

Due to some changes in our living room my 8020d are not properly positioned and I will need some stands to accommodate for that.
We will have to change the cabinet the TV sits on to a lower one, so the speakers would be quite a bit lower than the ear level.
I am familiar with the Genelec line of stands and they are not ideal for the task. Do you have any suggestions for alternative stands?
I am considering the K&M 26772 but the downside is that the mounting plate is a bit too big for 8020.

 

[LTig]

Due to some changes in our living room my 8020d are not properly positioned and I will need some stands to accommodate for that.
We will have to change the cabinet the TV sits on to a lower one, so the speakers would be quite a bit lower than the ear level.
I am familiar with the Genelec line of stands and they are not ideal for the task. Do you have any suggestions for alternative stands?
I am considering the K&M 26772 but the downside is that the mounting plate is a bit too big for 8020.

You can use any microphone stand. The 8020 has a matching nut on its bottom side (3/8"). Look here for the selection of K&M. I use the K&M 23320 for the 8020 on my desktop.

 

[ivayvr]

Thank you LTig! How sturdy is the stand? Are you using it directly screwed to the speaker or you are using it with the adapter plate Genelec sells?
The 23320 looks fairly stable because of the much larger base than other stands of the same type.

 

[LTig]

Thank you LTig! How sturdy is the stand? Are you using it directly screwed to the speaker or you are using it with the adapter plate Genelec sells?
The 23320 looks fairly stable because of the much larger base than other stands of the same type.

It's quite sturdy even in the highest position. I screwed them directly to the speaker and took the Isofeet off before.
AFAIK you can buy the base separately and get an even bigger one.

 

[ivayvr]

Thank you again LTig! I am glad to hear that they work fine even without the base because the base is kind off pricey.
If for whatever reason I am not happy with that solution, I may try to reverse engineer the base.
After over fifty years of building model airplanes, that should not be too complicated. Of course, I would not use steel but some alternative material.

 

[LTig]

Thank you again LTig! I am glad to hear that they work fine even without the base because the base is kind off pricey.
If for whatever reason I am not happy with that solution, I may try to reverse engineer the base.
After over fifty years of building model airplanes, that should not be too complicated. Of course, I would not use steel but some alternative material.

The base? You mean the Genelec adapter? The base I mentioned is the round plate onto which the stand is mounted. This plate is very heavy and has very soft and thick damping material underneath.

I just checked again:

• The stand I use is the 23325 and the base has a diameter of 180 mm. total weight is ~2.5 kg.
• The 23320 is the same stand (same height) with a bigger base of 250 mm, total weight is ~2.3 kg.
• The 23323 is higher and uses also the 250mm base, total weight is ~2.4 kg. Just pick the one with the matching height.

The height adjustment can be tightened enough to support the weight of the 8020a (3.7 kg) but I'm not sure it could handle much more weight, like the 8030c (5 kg). It's a mic stand after all. However your 8020d is 3.2 kg and hence should be no problem at all.

 

[ivayvr]

Sorry, used the wrong term and edited it in my previous message.
I am glad that you were actually referring to the 23325 stand because the base of 23320 of 250 mm would be a a tight fit in the space available.

 

[LTig]

I am glad that you were actually referring to the 23325 stand because the base of 23320 of 250 mm would be a a tight fit in the space available.

Yep, same here.

 

[MotuM4]

Hi, can someone recommend me if the Genelec 8320 or 8330 would be a better application for a small room? I will be going through an Motu M4 audio interface with the speaker being 10-15 cm away from the wall and having a listening distance of roughly 80-90cm.

Also, will I need to purchase the GLM kit in order to make use of the speakers in-built EQ correction software?

Thanks!

 

[Trell]

Hi, can someone recommend me if the Genelec 8320 or 8330 would be a better application for a small room? The speaker will be 10-15 cm away from the wall and there will be a listening distance of roughly 70-80cm.

Thanks!

I've two pairs of 8330A in my small home office, with one of the sets having a Genelec 7360A subwoofer, and both me and my wife are quite happy with that. We're sitting about 70 to 110 cm away, depending on what we do, and the monitors are about 10 to 17 cm away from wall.

If you buy 8320 or 8330 you should also buy the GLM Kit so that you can use it's room EQ, along with some other features like enabling auto-standby (with timeout option as well) .