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Genelec 8341A SAM™ Studio Monitor Review

q3cpma said:
The R3 certainly is better value, but I doubt you can compare it with the Ones. The Reference 1 is what you should use:
* Comparable price (here, 7300€ for the 8351B + GLM kit vs 7500€).
* Not made in a country with dirt cheap labour.
* Probably with more QC (especially seeing the recent shadow flare mounting lottery discovery).

Even then, you have to consider these (ignoring all the performance advantages pertaining to the DSP and room correction package):
* Have to add the price of Dirac, the hardware to run it and the beefy amplifier for a speaker dipping to 3 ohms.
* Not fully coaxial.
* Cabinet is optimized for (a) style, not performance.
* A little bit less flat (Genelec do calibrate every monitor at the factory using internal DSP filters, after all), but still incredible for a passive speaker.
* The Genelec has more LF directivity on its vertical side.
* You get a lot more midrange headroom with the 8351B/8361A, but bass is surprisingly okay with the Ref 1; probably as good as the 8351B.
* IMD is quite worse, even if the 8361A is playing 3 dB louder in those test (100 dB vs 85 dB at 4 m => 97 dB at 1 m).

Sources: Fidely Online and Sound and Recording
Click to expand...

What do you mean with midrange headroom? i don't see the 8341 playing even loud..., my concern too ( but im not sure ) is genelec go up to 100dB before clipping, but in the specs genelec claim 110dB. Kef r3 go to 110dB but apparently kefs specs are more real? ( im not sure about this )

My another thinking is, what happen if you rise a little the sub bass from kefs? the kefs go very low without any dsp, i really think you can boost a little the bass from Kefs for gain extension and have low extension like Genelecs, i really want to see the distortion of kefs vs genelec.
If the distortion are reasonably good you can raise the sub bass, also a guy above confirm the dynamics are better in Legs, without DSP. Which is impressive
 
BrokenEnglishGuy said:
What do you mean with midrange headroom? i don't see the 8341 playing even loud..., my concern too ( but im not sure ) is genelec go up to 100dB before clipping, but in the specs genelec claim 110dB.
Click to expand...
Read the sources I've given, the 8361A/8351B (exact same coax driver, crossover frequencies and amplifier power) does around 115~117 dB from 250 to 3 kHz while the Reference 1 is flat at 107~108, both at 3% THD.

My another thinking is, what happen if you rise a little the sub bass from kefs? the kefs go very low without any dsp, i really think you can boost a little the bass from Kefs for gain extension and get lower extension like Genelecs, i really want to see the distortion of kefs vs genelec.
If the distortion are reasonably good you can raise the sub bass, also a guy above confirm the dynamics are better in Legs, without DSP. Which is impressive
Click to expand...
I wouldn't do that in a ported speaker, as everything under the tuning frequency is (potentially dangerous) garbage.
 
q3cpma said:
Read the sources I've given, the 8361A/8351B (exact same coax driver, crossover frequencies and amplifier power) does around 115~117 dB from 250 to 3 kHz while the Reference 1 is flat at 107~108, both at 3% THD.


I wouldn't do that in a ported speaker, as everything under the tuning frequency is (potentially dangerous) garbage.
Click to expand...
Oh i see, but there is no reason for considerer better since the genelec have similar distortion and can't produce more volume in bass/treble, i prefer see the measurements in % instead of dB, is more easy to me. More standard also..

But genelec are portered too, and have a nice rise up in sub bass... a user here comment the 8341 feel a over EQ bass vs the ref 1

1613762324171.png
 
BrokenEnglishGuy said:
Oh i see, but there is no reason for considerer better since the genelec have similar distortion and can't produce more volume in bass/treble
Click to expand...
This is the average musical spectrum (lacking classical music, though):
index.php

Bass really is the job of subwoofers.
I prefer see the measurements in % instead of dB, is more easy to me.
Click to expand...
Those are almost always done at fixed level, making them useless. Knowing what volume you can reach at fixed distortion is a lot more helpful.
But genelec are portered too
Click to expand...
Yes, and I don't recommend you EQ either of those to get more output below the port tuning frequency.
and have a nice rise up in sub bass... a user here comment the 8341 feel a over EQ bass vs the ref 1
Click to expand...
More than probably his room, both are very flat in the bass and have the same ported rolloff.
 

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  • average_music_spectrum.png
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q3cpma said:
This is the average musical spectrum (lacking classical music, though):
index.php


Those are almost always done at fixed level, making them useless. Knowing what volume you can reach at fixed distortion is a lot more helpful.
[QUOTEBut genelec are portered too
Click to expand...
Yes, and I don't recommend you EQ it to get more output below the port tuning frequency too.

More than probably his room, both are very flat in the bass and have the same ported rolloff.[/QUOTE]

I have tried a lot of headphones which are not '' ported '' and i know what he mean with '' over eq bass '' it's weird but is very evident, i hear that a lot of times. Since genelec doesn't sell passive version ( i think the passive version can't compite with revels or kefs ) the actives one have a lot of EQ, we can't know how Genelec sound without EQ because there is not pasive version

He used dirac for fix the Room, is not his room because he fixed that-
----------
And what about the electronics inside of Genelec? i don't thing the measurements from genelec integrated electronics measures better than 2 box
alone...

Is there any measure about these electronics inside? it's possible? because i don't think these measure equally
 
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richard12511 said:
I think he's saying that stereo image on any speaker is not great, and multichannel is always better. I tend to agree, though I'm also really interested in another stereo setup with Bacch dsp. Relatively, they have great imaging. Second best of the speakers I own, and the one that beats it is only slightly better, but doesn't come close to the soundstage width of the 8351s.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I meant. The soundstage of Genelecs is great, for stereo.

q3cpma said:
This is the average musical spectrum (lacking classical music, though):
Click to expand...

I've never found a study that explicitly included classical but I did find one that included Jazz. It seems like genres vary primarily in bass content and the rest of the spectrum is basically the same slope.
1601868160260.png


Note: From Spectral Characteristics of Popular Commercial Recordings 1950-2010.
 
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Another think, seeying that graph of avg musical spectrum, the mid-bass and sub bass are really important, seeying those measures about ref1 and genelec and r3, who is better for mid and sub bass in term of distortion? sorry but idk how to interpretet correctly the distortion measures in dB, any help please

Also for example you can buy r3 1799$ + 2 F12G 2000$ + 229$ mini dsp + Purifi VTV 999$, and a few more $ also consider the R7 tower, pretty sure the technnical result would be better than a 8341 alone, it is just really expensive... and the electronics inside can't match external, BUT i didn't see any test of inside electronics in active speakers too see if there is any negative impact, but apart of that i don't think genelec are using the most badass amps in term of measurements, or yes?
1613764917885.png
 
Sancus said:
Yep, that's what I meant. The soundstage of Genelecs is great, for stereo.



I've never found a study that explicitly included classical but I did find one that included Jazz. It seems like genres vary primarily in bass content and the rest of the spectrum is basically the same slope.
View attachment 113579

Note: From Spectral Characteristics of Popular Commercial Recordings 1950-2010.
Click to expand...

Really wish they would have used colors instead of just slightly different spaced or different darkness dashes and dotso_O. Above 3kHz or so, it's really hard to see what the f*#k is going on.
 
BrokenEnglishGuy said:
Another think, seeying that graph of avg musical spectrum, the mid-bass and sub bass are really important, seeying those measures about ref1 and genelec and r3, who is better for mid and sub bass in term of distortion? sorry but idk how to interpretet correctly the distortion measures in dB, any help please
Click to expand...
It isn't hard to compare, higher at a frequency is better.
Also for example you can buy r3 1799$ + 2 F12G 2000$ + 229$ mini dsp + Purifi VTV 999$, and a few more $ also consider the R7 tower, pretty sure the technnical result would be better than a 8341 alone, it is just really expensive...
Click to expand...
I did say that the R3 was a lot more value, but that the Ref 1 was the comparable model, on things other than pure performance.
And the electronics inside can't match external, BUT i didn't see any test of inside electronics in active speakers too see if there is any negative impact, but apart of that i don't think genelec are using the most badass amps in term of measurements, or yes?View attachment 113583
Click to expand...
Fortunately, only the whole speaker + electronics performance matters.
 
BrokenEnglishGuy said:
i have a question
I saw the measurements from this Genelec at the max output is 100dB?
Click to expand...

What do you mean 100dB? The person who posted a 2 meter test a few pages back was testing the 8331a, not the 8341a. The 8331a is specced at 104dB @ 1m, so that's pretty darn near exactly to spec. The 8341A play 6dB louder than that.
 
jonfitch said:
I'm gonna get a 8331 to test against the 8341.

According to this guy on Gearslutz he says the 8341 and 8351 have a hollow sounding enclosure that reverberates like a drum when you tap it whereas the 8331 does not. Not sure if he's serious but I'll report on the accuracy of that too lmao :p
Click to expand...

I hope he's not serious because any actual resonance would show up in measurements very clearly and we know there aren't any. Since of course somebody is going to ask anyway even though it's ridiculous: Yes I tapped my 8351B, no it doesn't make any drum-like noise LOL. The sound varies a bit depending on where on the casing you tap, of course, but it's extremely minimal -- in fact the polycarbonate side case of my KH80 makes a louder noise when tapped. Another speaker we know has no audible resonances.

Subjective audio people are WEIRD. Any audible LF issue is far, far more likely to be a room interaction than any flaw in the speaker, and of course he posted not one single actual measurement to support his conclusion.
 
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