Question #1
Has anyone successfully used the 83xx "The Ones" line-up while using a non-Genelec Sub, bypassing all GLM options for room correction purposes? I've gone thru most of this thread and don't recall seeing anyone mention this but I could have missed it?...
Question # 2
Its been mentioned multiple times as a concern in this thread and others around the web about "The Ones" ultimate SPL output when playing them at higher levels depending on listening distance...
Great questions for a New Year. Floorstanders come with benefits, beyond headroom and low frequency extension. However, the main advantage has been somewhat kept a secret; due to a stubborn and detrimental simplification of reproduced sound in engineering literature: Disregard for inter-aural time domain coherency at low frequency. In case LF inter-aural time and magnitude differences have been recorded across channels, and made it safely through a reproduction chain, it is such a pity to kill Auditory Envelopment (AE) at the last stage, by using mono sub(s) with bookshelf/nearfield monitors. That’s game over before even started.
Floorstander-users expect at least some ability of a room and system to convey AE, possibly the most universal and enjoyable dimension the human auditory system is able to declare. The topic has been discussed before on ASR, and we will report from new studies in 2025. To the questions:
Genelec 83 series monitors include extensive per channel frequency domain and time domain adjustment capability. The GLM application can be used to adjust those parameters automatically, manually or in a combination of both. You might also make adjustments upstream instead, or partly upstream and partly in the 83s. Anyway, settings may be stored and set in stone per monitor. Settings will stay the same despite power-down; until GLM is connected again and deliberate changes made.
Building your own subs, for instance into walls, or buying a different brand, is therefore also fine. Because of AE, I would *always* use at least two sub channels. If later movement of subs will be impossible, consider listening to AE test samples before committing to placement. If two subs are not possible, I would not cross-over higher than 40 Hz.
Regarding hearing safety, with an average listening level of 105 dB(A), according to the clinical gold standard, adults should be listening for no more than 2 minutes per day (risk of material hearing loss ~1%). Happy New Year
