Genelec 8351B Review (Studio Monitor)

[Deleted member 31750]

Powered speakers, and especially flat, is not my thing but these are widely regarded as exceptional monitors.

 

[MZKM]

I know, but the latest firmware or GLM updates could have some changes for that. For example 8361 has phase linearisation stage but it was not enabled in A version. So manual could have outdated information about excess GD.

Another view to the same feature would be step response and/or impulse response envelope (ETC).

Step response doesn’t tell you anything new.

Group Delay would be interesting, but I don’t care too much about it.

 

[kimmosto]

Step response doesn’t tell you anything new.

Group Delay would be interesting, but I don’t care too much about it.

Hah. I don't care too much about excessive spinorama hype on this forum. Spinorama and THD could be almost perfect but sound is weak, lame and dead. Try to figure out why - or remove science from forum's name

 

[Sancus]

For a small speaker such as this, I think 104 is beyond what anyone would consider viable.

It depends on how much sub-bass you have, but nope, they will play that loud in a room even without subs. The Genelec spec of 113dB@1m is accurate. The midrange is capable of close to 120dB, since they are designed to pair with the W371, and it is the same as the 8361A.

Unless you have a pretty large room and 4-5m listening distances, these speakers play very loud. And even at those distances, subwoofers would probably fix any issues as experienced in this review. That said, if your listening distances are as long as Amir's and you have a large room, the 8361A are probably worthwhile, or the W371A of course. It's always best to have more power than you need.

I hope one day we see a Ones+W371A review vs the Salon 2

 

[MZKM]

Hah. I don't care too much about excessive spinorama hype on this forum. Spinorama and THD could be almost perfect but sound is totally lame and dead. Try to figure out why - or remove science from forum's name

Step response info tells us nothing new, all I for you can get from it you can get from other graphs.

Group Delay can be audible, so measuring it is good form, but I and others doubt the audibility concerns from your average speaker. But again, it is good form to measure it.

 

[Robbo99999]

This review indicates once again that speakers are not like DAC and that for great performance you need to spend some four-digits $.

Debateable that you need to spend that much, but I do certainly like what I see in this review for this speaker.

 

[Robbo99999]

These are only the A version, so a couple of dB short compared to the B version, but still quite capable even in my room with a ceiling height of 3,8m. Ok, no rock concert levels, but for me loud enough, especially in my near field setting of 1,6m stereo triangle. It is a very lean/clean full range (goes down to 27 Hz) system.

Hang on, that's from the Genelec website that pic!

 

[richard12511]

Yeah I'm sure every buyer is interested in those graphs.. why do "much worse" boxed versions even sell then?

I don't think there is anything strange in physically larger (uglier?) and more expensive speakers being (anecdotically) more rare. And 8361A is probably around the price point where you could just go full retard with much larger speakers (or smaller and subs if you are very tight on budget). It's still only 10" equivalent, barely out of midbass territory.

They are significantly bigger, which you’re right is a big deal for many. Honestly not even sure it’s true that they’re more rare. Maybe Genelec knows.

Going back and looking at the at the 8341 review, I actually think that one is a little more smooth than this one.

 

[kimmosto]

Step response info tells us nothing new, all I for you can get from it you can get from other graphs.

Sorry I haven't seen here phase response or anything else what could help to derive group delay, impulse, step or ETC. Nothing fundamental about timing.

 

[Bernard 54]

Erring on the side of caution and compatibility with widest set of speakers I test.

If the comparative listening had been done at 9 feet, what do you think would have been the changes in your results from the 2 speakers?

 

[amirm]

If the comparative listening had been done at 9 feet, what do you think would have been the changes in your results from the 2 speakers?

Two speakers would certainly play louder. Without having the second unit though, I can't say for sure where I would land.

 

[Sancus]

Going back and looking at the at the 8341 review, I actually think that one is a little more smooth than this one.

It's an optical illusion. The aspect ratio of the graphs are very different. When they are equalized, you can see that they're almost identical. The primary difference is that the woofer crossover is ~150hz lower on the 8351B and the transition to fully omni is moved down by that same amount, leading to a slightly more gradual transition. Other than that, it's basically the same.

 

[EchoChamber]

Thank you @amirm for the great review!

I think if one wants to fill a large space with the 8351B’s, one or two Genelec subs would be recommended. In my modestly sized 30’s suburban house living room, they are perfect. If I had $20k to burn, I’d definitely add a pair of W371A.

So far, the most accurate, revealing and neutral speakers I ever had in my listening room. These are awesome, the best I’ve had in my long audio journey, and worth every penny IMO...!

 

[richard12511]

Yeah I'm sure every buyer is interested in those graphs.. why do "much worse" boxed versions even sell then?

Thinking about this for myself, there are a few Genelec speakers where I really don't understand why you would buy them. I can understand the why for some of those giant speakers if you've got a custom room with soffit mounting. Others speakers, though I don't understand. One example is the S360. What's the use case there? It's the same price as the 8361, doesn't get any louder, and measures worse. Being 2 way, I'm guessing it has worse IMD, too.

For me personally, the 8351 seems like the best choice for my multichannel room, and this review just confirms what I essentially already knew. The ability to turn it on its side and barely change the performance is invaluable for my situation where the center and surrounds have to be on their side to not block the TV/clear the couch.

 

[richard12511]

Maybe in the fall.

Fantastic! I'm super curious to see what the off axis looks like from 2-8kHz. I don't expect it to spin quite as well as this speaker, but I do think there is something to that super wide off axis response that can explain the very high subjective preference(especially in mono).

Of all the stereophile measurements I've seen, the Salon2 measurements still look this best in the off axis.

 

[richard12511]

The Salon 2 quickly showed its difference in taller image that was not so focused and centered as the Genelec. This of course could be an optical illusion of the Genelec pulling your eye toward its tweeter. Still, I stand by this observation.

I have no doubt this is true, as you're comparing a 50" speaker to a true point source where all the sound is coming from the same place. I think this is one of those preference things that readers need to be aware of when reading your reviews. To me, "taller" and "less focused" is a negative, but I think it's something you(and Toole) seem to enjoy. It's why you preferred the Triangle tower over the Revel bookshelf. For me, the super small and super focused image of the 8351 is its biggest strength.

I also think this may be one of those mono vs stereo quirks. I can agree that in mono, a small and focused image is a bad thing, even for me. In mono, I want the speaker to disappear and not reveal it's location. In stereo, the speakers disappear automatically by the magic of stereo, and now I'm looking for the speaker that can throw the tightest center image to replicate the size of a single human mouth.

As for which is more real? I think it depends on the instrument. For a single human voice, I prefer a smaller image, as it seems more like the real thing. For an orchestra, though, I kinda want the opposite. I think this is why I seem to prefer symphonic music with wider dispersion.

 

[MZKM]

phase response

This is a powered speaker…

 

[richard12511]

Sounds like the 8260 would be better suited to bass without the slot issues you and a few others have mentioned.

Worse vertical dispersion, and room correction DSP isn't as powerful on the 8260, but wider dispersion, deeper bass, no slots to interfere, and a slightly more accurate frequency response may make up for those things for many. I think it may still be their flagship.

Hopefully those using them for theater and living room use can pair them with sub's... There are better sub's out there but GLM tying everything together for a $300 is quite the value proposition when the alternative is a $4000 piece of flawed engineering and Dirac Live Bass Control without perfect digital output, or nightmare $16,000 room correction units that have their own sets of complaints.

8260 is discontinued, so we know it's not still their flagship. Obviously Genelec doesn't think it's as good as the newer speakers, and it seems like they really know what they're doing.

 

[richard12511]

Gosh, the Genelec 8351B is amazing -- arguably for US$10000 a pair it ought to be.

I don't need the high output of the Salon 2's. I really never listen at an average level above 70 dB though as a Classical music listener I need to allow 20 dB for dynamic head room; It seems to me that is no challenge for the 8351B's in my small-medium sized room.

So my only problem is to find something very like the 8351B's in performance but costing no more than US$2000. Any suggestions, folks?

8030c + HSU ported subwoofer.

 

[lordhumungous]

Genelec's are great speakers. I'eve had several in my house over the years.