Genelec 8330A Review (Studio Monitor)

[outlookrt]

Would be good to know if that peak/roughness in the presence region is infact measurement related. I'd probably rather a good old 'BBC dip' in that region vs a peak if i had to choose. I suppose these would be always be run with glm which I assume would sort it if is infact it's true FR.

My own measurements on axis shows a ruler flat response in the crossover region of Genelec 8330. 1/6 oct smoothing . I used a Line audio OM1 microphone , flat within +-1 dB 20-20000 Hz.View attachment 147081View attachment 147082

Are the other speakers DIY? Would love to learn more about them if so!

 

[rubenkemp]

Isn't the only difference between 8330A and 8030C the SAM room correction? Amps, drivers, enclosure all the same?
So it's strange that these have that 1-3K bump. And I don't remember a mention of the clipping light coming on for the 96dB distortion sweep with the 8030c.

Per speaker, as from the Genelec website, the 8330a is 500 grams heavier than the 8030c (5.5 vs 5.0 kg). Does this difference simply come from the extra electronics in the 8330a? For some older Genelec models I could find the so called data sheets online, with cutthrough drawings showing tubes etc, but nothing similar can be found for newer models. Dimensional measurements are identical, amplifiers are rated at same power output

 

[Sprint]

@amirm Thanks for the great review! Is there any plan to review the elder brother 8340? It has a 150 Class D amp for its 16,5 inch woofer. I assume that the dynamics are better compared to 8330 which has a 50W class D. I have both of them in my surround set up :-D.

 

[Apollo]

@amirm Thanks for another great review! Please could you kindly test the Amphion One15 and One18 and also the ATC SCM20ASL Pro and SCM20PSL Pro?

 

[soundwave76]

@amirm Thanks for the great review! Is there any plan to review the elder brother 8340? It has a 150 Class D amp for its 16,5 inch woofer. I assume that the dynamics are better compared to 8330 which has a 50W class D. I have both of them in my surround set up :-D.

I think you and me know the result already - they both sound fantastic and about the same, but 8340 goes lower. I didn’t notice any other major differences.

 

[NeoZs99]

I was going to pull the trigger on the 8030C tomorrow.. Well, I wonder how much better the GLM kit makes the 8330/8340 sound

 

[Sprint]

Yes.

Great! Here are my GLM measurements of 8330 which I use as surrounds. It shows a peak at 1,8 KHZ as well (more prominent on my right speaker which is in a corner => probably refections?). Also here is my room set up.

First image is left surround and the second image is right surround.

 

[jae]

Any benefit to using glm over some other solution like dirac, sonarworks, or other manual correction? Can I use commonly available calibrated measurement mics with it? Do you need to use the proprietary glm microphone kit?

 

[daftcombo]

Any benefit to using glm over some other solution like dirac, sonarworks, or other manual correction?

No.

 

[Tangband]

Any benefit to using glm over some other solution like dirac, sonarworks, or other manual correction? Can I use commonly available calibrated measurement mics with it? Do you need to use the proprietary glm microphone kit?

You dont need dirac. With GLM you can calibrate each loudspeaker individualy.
Manually you can change everything up to 20000 Hz.

 

[Sprint]

Any benefit to using glm over some other solution like dirac, sonarworks, or other manual correction? Can I use commonly available calibrated measurement mics with it? Do you need to use the proprietary glm microphone kit?

The benefit of GLM and SAM speakers is that you can store the measurements directly in the speakers and you do not need any external hardware always connected.

 

[soundwave76]

I was going to pull the trigger on the 8030C tomorrow.. Well, I wonder how much better the GLM kit makes the 8330/8340 sound

A LOT. Go for it. I wouldn't even consider buying speakers anymore without room correction. Nor use headphones without EQ.

 

[sophie smith]

Question about GLM kit.

Looks like it is about $300.
I have another set of speakers, for which I plan to get Dirac for room correction. Can Genelec kit be used with another speaker set (not Genelec) for room correction (I use PC as a source)? Or is it exclusively for their own brand?

Thanks

 

[temps]

I was going to pull the trigger on the 8030C tomorrow.. Well, I wonder how much better the GLM kit makes the 8330/8340 sound

If they are hooked up to a PC, doing room correction through some other means is very easy. When you consider the cost increase for each speaker plus the GLM kit, you could run a Dirac setup instead and have money in your pocket.

 

[kokono]

Why are they so ugly?
Couldn't they make a good looking speaker, or they are used only in studios?

 

[NeoZs99]

On a sidenote, the Genelec 8340 has a much more powerful amp so I guess they are the ones to get. They also seem to measure better according to Genelec's measurements @amirm

 

[Rizzle]

Why are they so ugly?
Couldn't they make a good looking speaker, or they are used only in studios?

These are made for studio use, although their home line-up looks exactly the same.

 

[andymok]

They set all their monitors to the same for consistency. The 8320A/8330A lack the analog pot, not sure why(physical internal space issue?), but larger ones have them. I do find it odd that they set all their monitors to highest sensitivity by default, but perhaps it reduces support requests with "why is my monitor so quiet".

You can, of course, change the sensitivity with GLM, but I'm sure you're aware of that.

For max system bandwidth for fastest rise time?

 

[GWolfman]

I was going to pull the trigger on the 8030C tomorrow.. Well, I wonder how much better the GLM kit makes the 8330/8340 sound

Speaker itself, likely nothing. But how it sounds in your listening area, bet it's notably improved.

 

[GD Fan]

Question about GLM kit.

Looks like it is about $300.
I have another set of speakers, for which I plan to get Dirac for room correction. Can Genelec kit be used with another speaker set (not Genelec) for room correction (I use PC as a source)? Or is it exclusively for their own brand?

Thanks

As far as I'm aware (could be wrong, but I do own the 8320) the GLM interface can only be used with Genelec speakers. That said, if you're running your speakers from a computer you could save on the GLM and just EQ them yourself.