Genelec 8341A SAM™ Studio Monitor Review

[Cahudson42]

Seems a great example of what can be done by correctly applying extensive DSP.
Manual makes interesting reading if you are considering your own DIY approach.

 

[stunta]

Setting the price aside, this is the kind of review that changes the game IMO. We have a reference and we have a manufacturer we can trust. Now the suspense lies in which speaker can come close at a fraction of the price. Exciting times!

 

[amirm]

Isn't this something that Klippel should provide some sort of solution to? Surely their other customers also run into this problem?

I agree. Note that the problem is more acute with small monitors with very flat response. Otherwise the difference gets lost in the noise.

 

[pavuol]

Got it. Dual woofers, one behind each vent.

Looks like nice article: Genelec 8331 SAM & 8341 SAM "The Ones" Studio Monitors & GLM™ 3 - Do They Re-Write The Rule Book?

 

[LeftCoastTim]

wow.

 

[Biblob]

Unfortunately not. The problem creeps in during measurements. So I can't fix it after the fact.

We could however apply smoothing to that region.

Ah, that's unfortunate.
Could you show a differrence between a non-fixed and a fixed measurement? I wonder how much a differrence it is.

 

[MZKM]

Setting the price aside, this is the kind of review that changes the game IMO. We have a reference and we have a manufacturer we can trust. Now the suspense lies in which speaker can come close at a fraction of the price. Exciting times!

I want to know which speakers use the Peerless BC25TG15 (measurements), it’s ~$30/pair (MSRP ~$50/pair) and the performance is outstanding for that price. For a woofer, the 5” SB Acoustics SB15NBAC30 (measurements) is also really good (~$140/pair), and so I assume their larger models are good as well.

 

[MZKM]

Ah, that's unfortunate.
Could you show a differrence between a non-fixed and a fixed measurement? I wonder how much a differrence it is.

Roughly -0.5 points for the preference score.

I will say, the Genelec manual shows a slight rise in response >10kHz that does appear more in the non-fixed version, but it's less than 1dB probably.

 

[aarons915]

Speaker Listening Tests
Per intended application, I performed my listening test on my desk/workstation. Speaker is elevated about 6 inches and pointed up a few degrees. Levels were matched to a JBL 305P Mark ii as a reference. Mono clip was played with one speaker at a time active.

The Genelec 8341A quickly showed what it is about with warm and highly balanced response. As much as I liked the JBL 305P Mark ii before, it just could not compete. It sounded much brighter -- an attribute which got worse when I pushed it to higher SPLs to keep up with the Genelec. Of course there is a massive price difference but we don't care about that.

All was not well. You may be wondering with measurements as good as posted, why the 8341 did not get the top honor panther and had to settle for the next grade down. I was quite surprised that as I turned up the volume, listening at just 1 meter or so from the speaker, it just would not get that loud. At first I heard a glitching/ticking sound which then moved into red LED coming up with much more distortion. The amplification is simply too low for the amount of bass this speaker produces.

Do you know about how loud the SPL was before hearing the strange noises and/or the LED coming on? Also, you didn't mention anything odd about the woofers behind the coaxial the way they are but I always thought it might make the midrange sound odd since they're crossed at 500Hz, you didn't hear anything odd in that range in male vocals? These seem to be excellent speakers, was just curious about that.

 

[Koeitje]

Seems a great example of what can be done by correctly applying extensive DSP.
Manual makes interesting reading if you are considering your own DIY approach.

That is also what is causing the limited SPL I'm guessing, the woofers are probably already playing louder than normal due to the DSP.

 

[Vintage57]

Impressive results. Even more interesting is to know that there are 2 bigger and badder sibling, with the 8351 and 8361.

As a Neumann champion, for now, I think there ought to be a run off involving th KH 310 and KH 420 and the larger Genelec’s.

I live in Canada and international shipping is a pain in one direction never mind returning, or I would offer mine.

as Keyne’s has been given credit for saying. “When the facts change, I change my mind“. What do you do?

 

[Sancus]

Incredible. But if I were spending this kind of money, I'd go right for the 8351B.

Agreed, if you're already committed to spending this much and want midfield distances, the 8351B look better. They increase the size of the tweeter from 3/4" -> 1" and the midrange from 3.5" -> 5", and while their long-term SPL spec is only +2db relative to the 8341A, the 8361A have the same amplification, tweeter, and midrange with a spec of 109db. So if you're doing the dual sub thing anyways, 8351B should get very loud, as the overall SPL is clearly bass-limited.

Or if you have money to burn, buy the W371A modules.

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

I have them at 6-7 feet distance and the limitation for SPL is hearing pain. They are used at similar distance to mix movie and music tracks.

@amirm any idea what SPL you were listening at before the protection kicked in?

 

[Igor Kirkwood]

[QUOTE = "Doodski, post: 335118, membre: 11553"] Je n'ai jamais vu de réponse en fréquence aussi plate d'un haut-parleur auparavant. Est-ce principalement dû au DSP? [/ QUOTE]

C'est sur

Ce coaxial Genelec a une courbe de réponse exeptionnelle

 

[amirm]

@amirm any idea what SPL you were listening at before the protection kicked in?

I do not. But I was surprised that it was hitting well before my threshold for maximum SPL.

The measurements did not trigger it which is 79 dB SPL at 2 meters.

 

[MZKM]

8351 and 8361.

The 8361 shows worse performance as per their own measurements. the 8351 is better.
Their Main Monitors are all worse looking (trade-of for high SPL and bass).

 

[StevenEleven]

Isn't this something that Klippel should provide some sort of solution to? Surely their other customers also run into this problem?

I have a feeling the Klippel NFS measurement system is getting a “peer review“ the likes of which Klippel itself never even dreamed of. All the more credit to @amirm and the ASR community.

 

[amirm]

Also, you didn't mention anything odd about the woofers behind the coaxial the way they are but I always thought it might make the midrange sound odd since they're crossed at 500Hz, you didn't hear anything odd in that range in male vocals?

I will have to do more testing on this front.

 

[DanGuitarMan]

Any other one-bedroom apartment dwellers drooling?

 

[Sancus]

The 8361 shows worse performance as per their own measurements. the 8351 is better.

Yes, the main purpose of the 8361A seems to be to shove 700W of bass power into the speaker to overcome the bass SPL limitations of the lower models.

If you use subs or separate modules for bass, the 8351B just seems like the better option in addition to being cheaper.