Genelec 8351B Review (Studio Monitor)

[richard12511]

I know this is the 8351B thread, but it's that same thread that put the 8361A on my list.

So I listened to a pair of 8361 two days ago, before purchasing. They sound big enough for my use and do seem very easy to room adjust. Room adjustment helps a great deal and some further tweeking may sometimes reduce brigthness if the recording has to much highs (not sure how to say it).

I sat aside and even stood up and down and walked around to test the coaxial design's ability to widen the sweet spot (which is something I'm looking for). Although the stereo illusion was perfect in the center, there was a quite a bit left to hear elsewhere.

Tried mono as well, which was surprisingly pleasant, even after having listened to stereo mode (but with no room reajustment though). Since I watched Amirm's video on mono testing, I now try to test every speaker mono too. Some sound very weak or even terrible when playing alone. The 8361A does not.

When the two W371A were brought in to play along with the 8361A, the whole system sounded predictably much much bigger, but not like as if the 8361 alone were ridiculously weak before. I can't fit those subs in my current home and I'm not sure I could even pay for them. But there was some benefit to adding them in of course, perhaps not worth as much as 18 more k€. Not sure, but perhaps adding just one cheaper SAM sub such as 7380A could be worth it. Has anyone experienced this?

I cross the 8351bs to JTR RS2s at 100Hz and it works fantastically. Have yet to hit any sort of output limitation at all at almost 4m listening distance. 8361 should have even more headroom. 7380 won't have the same headroom as the RS2, but it may not matter. I briefly tried 2x 7370s with the 8351bs, but I ran into some output limitations in my rather large room. I'm sure 7380 would be much better though with the 15" woofers.

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

I know this is the 8351B thread, but it's that same thread that put the 8361A on my list.

So I listened to a pair of 8361 two days ago, before purchasing. They sound big enough for my use and do seem very easy to room adjust. Room adjustment helps a great deal and some further tweeking may sometimes reduce brigthness if the recording has to much highs (not sure how to say it).

I sat aside and even stood up and down and walked around to test the coaxial design's ability to widen the sweet spot (which is something I'm looking for). Although the stereo illusion was perfect in the center, there was a quite a bit left to hear elsewhere.

Tried mono as well, which was surprisingly pleasant, even after having listened to stereo mode (but with no room reajustment though). Since I watched Amirm's video on mono testing, I now try to test every speaker mono too. Some sound very weak or even terrible when playing alone. The 8361A does not.

When the two W371A were brought in to play along with the 8361A, the whole system sounded predictably much much bigger, but not like as if the 8361 alone were ridiculously weak before. I can't fit those subs in my current home and I'm not sure I could even pay for them. But there was some benefit to adding them in of course, perhaps not worth as much as 18 more k€. Not sure, but perhaps adding just one cheaper SAM sub such as 7380A could be worth it. Has anyone experienced this?

Subwoofer didn't much in my experience. Most of my issues are in 130-200hz region.

One of the compromise of studio monitor is that they are designed to be bookshelf size at ear level. That's not the best place for bass drivers.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I know this is the 8351B thread, but it's that same thread that put the 8361A on my list.

So I listened to a pair of 8361 two days ago, before purchasing. They sound big enough for my use and do seem very easy to room adjust. Room adjustment helps a great deal and some further tweeking may sometimes reduce brigthness if the recording has to much highs (not sure how to say it).

I sat aside and even stood up and down and walked around to test the coaxial design's ability to widen the sweet spot (which is something I'm looking for). Although the stereo illusion was perfect in the center, there was a quite a bit left to hear elsewhere.

Tried mono as well, which was surprisingly pleasant, even after having listened to stereo mode (but with no room reajustment though). Since I watched Amirm's video on mono testing, I now try to test every speaker mono too. Some sound very weak or even terrible when playing alone. The 8361A does not.

When the two W371A were brought in to play along with the 8361A, the whole system sounded predictably much much bigger, but not like as if the 8361 alone were ridiculously weak before. I can't fit those subs in my current home and I'm not sure I could even pay for them. But there was some benefit to adding them in of course, perhaps not worth as much as 18 more k€. Not sure, but perhaps adding just one cheaper SAM sub such as 7380A could be worth it. Has anyone experienced this?

Have you listened to the 8351B side by side with the 8361A? Did the 8351B sounded smaller? Thanks

 

[kuf]

W371A is not a sub

 

[Thomas Lund]

My take and preferences: I don't wish to hear the reflections of my room to create this live feeling. Simple because my room's reverb and decay times will always be the same with every recording. This implies that the same sauce will be applied to all content. I don't wish to replicate a live performance in my living room. I want to re-produce the control-room experience of the mix engineer at home. I prefer to hear the captured ambiance and reverb times of the original record. to me that gives me the illusion of being present at the event.

This is a good distinction, without any clear right or wrong. Considering production rooms, some of the most important subjective evaluation test sounds are for determining the room+system "envelopment range", i.e. what are the limits to spatial cues you can reliably hear in the content. With many music lovers listening in headphones, the professional sweet spot, besides from mastering, is probably trending towards less room sound.

 

[MBI]

Subwoofer didn't much in my experience. Most of my issues are in 130-200hz region.

One of the compromise of studio monitor is that they are designed to be bookshelf size at ear level. That's not the best place for bass drivers.

Did you mean the W371A subs "didn't do much" or the 7380A and are you refering to the 8341A that your signature indicates you own or 8351 or 8361 please?

Cause I tested the 8341A side by side with the 8361A and the difference was, well, noticeable (not sure how to put it scientifically, but the 8361A filled the test room with ease at low volume, while the 8341A only did so to a much lesser extent, even when a 7040A sub was added in and the volume increased - the 8341A sounded good, don't get me wrong, but it sounded kind of weak without the sub compared to the 8361A, from two or three meters listening distance).

No, I didn't test the 8351B at all, there weren't any in stock at that point unfortunatly @Pearljam5000. Salesman claimed it was sounding just as great as all the other Genelec Ones but as an inbetween size from 8341A to 8361A. Would have considered it if the price difference wasn't just 1k€ from 8361A and if i hadn't programmed moving to a bigger place next year.

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

Did you mean the W371A subs "didn't do much" or the 7380A and are you refering to the 8341A that your signature indicates you own or 8351 or 8361 please?

Cause I tested the 8341A side by side with the 8361A and the difference was, well, noticeable (not sure how to put it scientifically, but the 8361A filled the test room with ease at low volume, while the 8341A only did so to a much lesser extent, even when a 7040A sub was added in and the volume increased - the 8341A sounded good, don't get me wrong, but it sounded kind of weak without the sub compared to the 8361A, from two or three meters listening distance).

No, I didn't test the 8351B at all, there weren't any in stock at that point unfortunatly @Pearljam5000. Salesman claimed it was sounding just as great as all the other Genelec Ones but as an inbetween size from 8341A to 8361A. Would have considered it if the price difference wasn't just 1k€ from 8361A and if i hadn't programmed moving to a bigger place next year.

Sub won't help much with room interactions in 130-200hz region.

 

[richard12511]

Sub won't help much with room interactions in 130-200hz region.

What does your speaker positioning look like? (distance from wall? distance to mlp?) I was able to resolve the dip in that region by putting a bass trap with wood reflector directly behind the speaker. The other dip I had was due to a phase mismatch between the subs and mains. Using REWs new phase alignment tool set at the crossover region generated a delay to add to the miniDSP that fixed the second null. Now I've got a great looking response with essentially no nulls .

 

[Sebastiaan de Vries]

This is a good distinction, without any clear right or wrong. Considering production rooms, some of the most important subjective evaluation test sounds are for determining the room+system "envelopment range", i.e. what are the limits to spatial cues you can reliably hear in the content. With many music lovers listening in headphones, the professional sweet spot, besides from mastering, is probably trending towards less room sound.

Thank you for your comment Thomas. It was one of your tutorials about our perception of time, and placement of sounds in space, that actually drew me (back) to the Genelec ones and made me buy them

EDIT: It was this tutorial. Highly recommended.

 

[Sebastiaan de Vries]

I cross the 8351bs to JTR RS2s at 100Hz and it works fantastically. Have yet to hit any sort of output limitation at all at almost 4m listening distance. 8361 should have even more headroom. 7380 won't have the same headroom as the RS2, but it may not matter. I briefly tried 2x 7370s with the 8351bs, but I ran into some output limitations in my rather large room. I'm sure 7380 would be much better though with the 15" woofers.

Your subwoofers are total massive beasts!! Why did you choose 100Hz. crossover? For most power? Best results in your room? or best sound by ear?

 

[richard12511]

Your subwoofers are total massive beasts!! Why did you choose 100Hz. crossover? For most power? Best results in your room? or best sound by ear?

Thanks! They've been awesome subwoofers, and dig super deep.

For 100Hz, that's just what gave me the best measured results. The 8351s can certainly handle a lower crossover, but in my situation it worsens a dip in the response. Actually I need to try 80Hz again now that I know about REWs new sub/mains phase alignment tool. That tool spat out a delay to put in the miniDSP that completely eliminated the dip I mentioned, so maybe 80Hz would be fine now.

 

[digitalfrost]

REWs new sub/mains phase alignment tool

Any guides how to use this?

 

[Sebastiaan de Vries]

Thanks! They've been awesome subwoofers, and dig super deep.

For 100Hz, that's just what gave me the best measured results. The 8351s can certainly handle a lower crossover, but in my situation it worsens a dip in the response. Actually I need to try 80Hz again now that I know about REWs new sub/mains phase alignment tool. That tool spat out a delay to put in the miniDSP that completely eliminated the dip I mentioned, so maybe 80Hz would be fine now.

Thanks for sharing.
For the same reason I cross-over at home 85Hz. It just fills in a dip in that array. It was amazing to hear how much a 5Hz shift from 80Hz to 85Hz can matter. I suddenly had I had notch of impact back at the edge of the of kick drums.

I am also intrigued how REW does this. I have seen demos on YouTube how the latest DIRAC Live bass control addresses this, and that was also very impressive, in how it defines the exact “best” crossover points based on their algorithm.

 

[MBI]

Sub won't help much with room interactions in 130-200hz region.

Whereas the W371A would, if that's what your response attempts to suggest (then I'd get your point).

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

Whereas the W371A would, if that's what your response attempts to suggest (then I'd get your point).

W371A or tower speakers. I think W371A locks you into GLM.

 

[Matias]

 

[MBI]

W371A or tower speakers. I think W371A locks you into GLM.

Thanks but when would being locked into GLM be a problem?

 

[richard12511]

Thanks but when would being locked into GLM be a problem?

I use both GLM and Dirac atm, and it works pretty well.

 

[Sancus]

Given the results we've seen from W371A setups it does not seem like you would even really need any other room correction anyway.

 

[richard12511]

Given the results we've seen from W371A setups it does not seem like you would even really need any other room correction anyway.

Looks too flat for pleasure listening, imo. In the webinar, though, it seems like they actually allow you to tilt the bass shelf in a positive direction(something that doesn't work without the W371), so maybe it's fixable. If it's not positively titable, I'd probably use another EQ pass to shelve it up.