Genelec 8351B Review (Studio Monitor)

[Pearljam5000]

I am running 8351B's crossed over with a pair of JTR RS1's. I still prefer the sound of Salon2's, although they are both very nice.

What do you like less about the 8351B?

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

What do you like less about the 8351B?

The Salon2 just sounds massive and effortless. There is no sense of strain or compression. Sound is less localizable and more expansive.

 

[daftcombo]

The Salon2 just sounds massive and effortless. There is no sense of strain or compression. Sound is less localizable and more expansive.

So, in your opinion, point-source is not as good for spacialization than using many drivers?

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Salon no2 is less point source..

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

So, in your opinion, point-source is not as good for spacialization than using many drivers?

Point source is ideal for imaging and gives you the most accurate reproduction of the source material, including its space. The big sound with an exagerrated sense of height that you get from towers like the Salon2 is more pleasing for classical music and movies. It is just a bigger, more impressive quality of sound that makes the content more immersive and grand. I'm not sure quite how to describe it. It isn't quite as good for properly reproducing the space and objects within it, but it is good for creating an effect of spaciousness.

However, when you add in surrounds and height channels, you also get a huge sound from small speakers like the Genelecs. What sounds better in a full immersive audio setup is another question. I would argue that point-source coaxials are better for this because they can more accurately reproduce height information with their good vertical directivity.

 

[youngho]

I would argue that point-source coaxials are better for this because they can more accurately reproduce height information with their good vertical directivity.

I was wondering if you could explain this further.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

But the "exagerrated" height is what make the salon no2 worse for image
There is many towers with exagerrated height and people think its a disconection between drivers and sounds weird and no point source.. (?)

 

[simple6]

The Salon2 just sounds massive and effortless. There is no sense of strain or compression. Sound is less localizable and more expansive.

Were the 8351s ran with 1-2 subs or only by themselves? Monitors + subs is the only valid comparison against a full range tower like the Salon 2

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

But the "exagerrated" height is what make the salon no2 worse for image
There is many towers with exagerrated height and people think its a disconection between drivers and sounds weird and no point source.. (?)

It depends on the material. For vocals and small instruments close up the Salon2 isn't as accurate. For music and movies that are just supposed to sound "big," the sound you get is more pleasing to the ears. Think of an orchestra playing in a large church or concert hall. You are sitting far away from the instruments and can't discern the difference in size between a violin and a cello. This will sound better when it is reproduced by two speakers that have the stretched out vertical image you get from towers. You get a larger sound, which is what you want when you are trying to reproduce the size of the venue rather than the size of the objects within said venue. The idea is similar for movies, where you want to reproduce the scale of the content.

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

Were the 8351s ran with 1-2 subs or only by themselves? Monitors + subs is the only valid comparison against a full range tower like the Salon 2

Crossed over with the subs

 

[Pearljam5000]

Crossed over with the subs

Which is more true to the original recording?
That's the real question
By the way I'm not really sure it's because they're towers that sound "bigger"
A lot of the time the tweeter has that effect on the sound
I'm not sure if it's the same berillyum as Focal but the Solo 6 sounded huge compared to its size.

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

Which is more true to the original recording?
That's the real question
By the way I'm not really sure it's because they're towers that sound "bigger"
A lot of the time the tweeter has that effect on the sound
I'm not sure if it's the same berillyum as Focal but the Solo 6 sounded huge compared to its size.

It depends on what you are trying to reproduce. Without surrounds and height channels you simply cannot completely and accurately reproduce the space of the original recording. With only two speakers you can only create an effect by stretching out the source of the sound to create a taller image. For content that is supposed to sound large this stretched out image sounds truer to the original recording. For content that is more intimate the Genelec's are truer to the recording.

The sense of scale may also have something to do with the lower compression from the larger drivers. Perhaps the tweeter as well. I'm not sure.

 

[preload]

Which is more true to the original recording?
That's the real question

What exactly do you mean by "true to the original recording?" The original "recording" is literally a bunch of bits on a storage medium. It only has a "sound" when played back via electronics and transducers and therein lies the problem.

 

[preload]

The Salon2 just sounds massive and effortless. There is no sense of strain or compression. Sound is less localizable and more expansive.

Thanks for sharing your impression of the Salon2 vs 8351b+sub. If you completely ignored the soundstage/imaging, how would you otherwise compare the two speakers? Curious because ultimately the 8351b is going to have a disadvantage in soundstage size because it's a near field.

 

[Pearljam5000]

What exactly do you mean by "true to the original recording?" The original "recording" is literally a bunch of bits on a storage medium. It only has a "sound" when played back via electronics and transducers and therein lies the problem.

It means does the the Salon 2 paints a bigger soundstage than the actual recording originally had, or does the 8351B paints a smaller soundstage than what was originally recorded
Which is closer to what was actually recorded.

 

[daftcombo]

It means does the the Salon 2 paints a bigger soundstage than the actual recording originally had, or does the 8351B paints a smaller soundstage than what was originally recorded
Which is closer to what was actually recorded.

To know the answer, we would need someone to record a band playing, then play the recording thourgh both the 8351B and the Salon2, and compare to reality.

 

[stevenswall]

Not sure how the subs are crossed over, but I'd likely prefer the Salon unless the subs are perfectly integrated... Tens of hours with REW didn't get me close to what GLM did in 15 minutes.

I am curious about the effortless part. Is distortion being heard or is the Genelec actually compressing?

 

[daftcombo]

Tens of hours with REW didn't get me close to what GLM did in 15 minutes.

Once you see what GLM does, it is probably easy to re-do it in REW.

 

[temps]

Once you see what GLM does, it is probably easy to re-do it in REW.

Yup, I pretty much taught myself how to REW by watching how Anthem ARC went about correction and comparing on that setup downstairs. Learning how to FIR filters was a little bit harder but REW updates made it a lot easier since REW & Rephase work so well together now.

 

[preload]

To know the answer, we would need someone to record a band playing, then play the recording thourgh both the 8351B and the Salon2, and compare to reality.

Exactly. And that's assuming the mics were placed far back at the listening position as opposed to placing a close mic at each instrument and mixing it all later. And let's not even get started with vocals recorded in a recording booth and mixed together with synthesized accompaniment later. The point is the concept of "reproducing the original recording" is an abstract concept that isn't readily measurable or reproducible. We should stop referring to it as a desired state.

There is a reason that Harman research tries to solve for "listener preference" and not "accuracy" (another horribly undefined term).