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Genelec 8340 for small cafe?

elteesang

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I've been eyeing to get a pair of 8340 for my new cafe, with seating area measuring 20' x 16' (6m x 5m). With the farthest seats being around 17-18' away from the speakers. I decided on the 8340 because of the aesthetics, sound quality, and the room correction, which checked all the boxes for what I was looking for in such environment. My only concern is I read that they aren't meant for farfield listening at all but at the same time, they won't be played at very loud level. Also, will bass be an issue for the 8340 at this room size? Again they won't be played at a high level but I would like a noticeable amount of bass presence and having big subwoofers won't be possible.
 

voodooless

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How many will you have? I doubt two will do very well. They will definitely not hold up during a party. Possibly if you have 4, that will do, one in every corner to maximize bass response.
 
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elteesang

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How many will you have? I doubt two will do very well. They will definitely not hold up during a party. Possibly if you have 4, that will do, one in every corner to maximize bass response.
They won't be turned up to party level. What about if it is mostly for casual listening at louder than background music level.
 

soundwave76

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GLM does room correction for a certain listening spot (or several). Might not work for a cafe where people sit in different places. Maybe save money and get none-GLM versions.
 

Sancus

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FWIW: First of all, nobody is going to be all that picky about the sound in a cafe... but...

I think coaxials are best for this sort of situation(ceiling mount, want even sound throughout the room). Conventional designs pretty much guarantee that the poor vertical directivity will affect some locations. But I also think Genelecs are just too expensive for this kind of use. The sound is going to be compromised by the suboptimal location and room characteristics.

If I was going to use a studio monitor for this at all, it'd probably be Kali IN-8 or IN-5, since they're relatively reasonably priced(vs Genelec) and you can buy as many as needed.
 

delta76

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Unless you kafe has some special music theme, such expensive speakers is not the best investment. Get 4 of decent speakers, like elac dbr62 and an AVR. You only need background music not something people actively listening to
 

Rja4000

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I think the same.
You'd probably do better with more, smaller (cheaper) but closer to listener speakers... and a sub :)

What about 6 x 8320 instead.
Or maybe you don't even need the SAM serie...

And a Sub shouldn't be that difficult to hide...
Or hang up there.

I've seen Cafés where the big speakers were hidden above the lights, which then act as a false ceiling. The above part being painted in mate black, that's not disturbing to the eye.

But, of course, that only works for a high ceiling... which you'd better have for accoustic reason anyway:
There is nothing worse, in my opinion, than a low ceiling room full of people.
It gets very loud with speaking noise quickly and no one can hear each other, nor be confortable....

Don't even think to play music in such a space !
 
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Koeitje

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Why not just ask Genelec? If I remember correctly their website had several examples of their speakers being used in cafés and such.
 

abdo123

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These speakers are going to work 12 hours a day i would stay away from any expensive Hi-Fi products as they’re not meant for that kind of use.

Find spaces online where these kind of uses are discussed. They would provide better advice.
 

DownUnderGazza

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Honestly, spend on acoustic treatment first, then think about speakers. DIY absorption on ceilings and upper walls would help a lot.
I’m sick of bright harsh cafes where it’s hard to hear the person sitting next to you over everyone else’s conversations, who then blast me with their ambient playlist.
 

Zaireeka

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I also would go the coaxial way with less expensive but still very good Kali's. A minimal amount of acoustical treatment is indeed mandatory like said above.
 

Thomas_A

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FWIW: First of all, nobody is going to be all that picky about the sound in a cafe... but...

I think coaxials are best for this sort of situation(ceiling mount, want even sound throughout the room). Conventional designs pretty much guarantee that the poor vertical directivity will affect some locations. But I also think Genelecs are just too expensive for this kind of use. The sound is going to be compromised by the suboptimal location and room characteristics.

If I was going to use a studio monitor for this at all, it'd probably be Kali IN-8 or IN-5, since they're relatively reasonably priced(vs Genelec) and you can buy as many as needed.
With respect to use, at my work they have installed tons of Genelecs. For video conferencing use…
 

Peluvius

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Assuming sound quality is one of your Cafe themes I would not be too worried about nearfield/farfield definition. This relates primarily to the speakers ability to produce SPL at a given distance not the tonal quality of the speaker. If you are not playing loud they will still sound very sweet at 18 feet. GLM is optimized for quite a small listening area so I don't think it will be great for a large seating space. I have not used it (yet) but understand Dirac is a good solution to optomise for a larger space. I would suggest a sub or better two (small ones) to give any bass at all at low levels. The 8040s wont give you low bass used at lower levels and a distance.
 

Digby

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Honestly, spend on acoustic treatment first, then think about speakers. DIY absorption on ceilings and upper walls would help a lot.
I’m sick of bright harsh cafes where it’s hard to hear the person sitting next to you over everyone else’s conversations, who then blast me with their ambient playlist.
This! This fifty times over.
I decided on the 8340 because of the aesthetics, sound quality, and the room correction, which checked all the boxes for what I was looking for in such environment.
To be honest, who is going to notice room correction in a cafe? What they will notice is if the sound is too loud or too bright, but that gives you a lot of room to play with.

For that size room + several bodies, I'd want something with 8" bass drivers at least, if you want noticeable bass. Genelecs look nice, but for background music with be rather expensive. There are plenty of cheaper options that will perform better in this role. Whether they suit your aesthetic requirements is another thing.

BTW are you sure you aren't overthinking this?

In a cafe my main concerns is the quality of cake and tea/coffee, followed by the aesthetics and that any music isn't too loud. Everywhere you go there is music, often TOO LOUD music, the only shops free from it here seem to be supermarkets and the odd independent shop.

Why is there background (often times, foreground!) music everywhere, is it necessary, does it serve a purpose beyond distracting people from the moment/task in hand?

Unless the music is part of a theme, a jazz cafe for instance, perhaps it would be better to have a cafe without music?
 
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FrantzM

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Hi

It would be interesting to understand what are you trying to accomplish. WHat is your inended application in what is at the end a fairly large space, with likely a dozen of human bodies occupied it at times. I understand the love of Genelec and of the The Ones but ... that is not their intended application. There are other, less expensive and perhaps better solution to reproduce background music. Some can be quite unobtrusive as to remove the aesthtics considerations (they aren't even visible) and were made for the purpose of diffusing music and speech to cover adequately public and commercial spaces. JBL has those, among others. I have been personally very surprised by the quality of some Bogen in-ceiling speakers, yes Bogen, driven by Bogen 70 volt, amplifiers. Properly EQ'd.

Peace.
 

fpitas

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Unless you kafe has some special music theme, such expensive speakers is not the best investment. Get 4 of decent speakers, like elac dbr62 and an AVR. You only need background music not something people actively listening to
I'd only use Genelecs if my clientele were recording engineers. Your normal person will never appreciate the difference from a cheaper speaker. Also, room acoustics will probably defeat attempts at super fidelity.
 

Koeitje

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