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Genelec 8351B Teardown (2nd Disassembled)

sarumbear

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Hi

I am annoyed by the turn taken by many posts in this thread. One look at one sample of a driver and suddenly all hell break loose. Not from a serious study, not from persons with knowledge of material and of drivers and ... No! a picture of some "things" from one driver in one speaker and .. that?
While the company has not officially responded, one of its employees has maintained the (non)-issues to be normal and the company would stand behind its products .. No... the barrage continues . Not enough. Mind you , no measurements, no studies have been presented of the "issue" only pictures of some "things" that appear to be suspect or perhaps non-optimal... in their appearance!!!!

Really!?!!:mad:.
Really indeed! I wish someone can stop such pages and pages of repetitive arguments that has no basis…
 

respice finem

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View attachment 125978View attachment 125979View attachment 125980View attachment 125981View attachment 125982View attachment 125983View attachment 125984View attachment 125985View attachment 125986View attachment 125987View attachment 125988View attachment 125989View attachment 125990View attachment 125991

Second time, I disassembled my 8351B again.

This time, I opened the speaker driver side and took a picture in more detail.

I wanted to disassemble the tweeter, but it was glued so I couldn't remove it.

The woofer looks like paper and the center is filled with solid foam.

The mid-tweeter driver is not directly screwed into the enclosure, but is pressed by the rear panel.

The notes on the amp module are curious.
This is 8351B, why is the amplifier module marked as 8341A? It seems to be a compatible part.

Then, I hope you enjoy it.
A question regarding the last picture: Are there cracks at the upper and lower edge of the bass driver, or just irregularities of the coating, or even picture artifacts?

/P.S. I see now it has been discussed already, but can't find a conclusive answer.
 

sarumbear

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Purifi is also selling faulty drivers it seems ;)

1637166651807.png


 

Scoox

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Purifi is also selling faulty drivers it seems ;)

View attachment 166120


Purifi Audio publishes detailed specs for their drivers, here's a technical drawing (source: purifi-audio.com). As you can see, the unorthodox driver design is fully intentional and is very likely to be identical across the board ;):
PTT6.5W04-NFA-01-Data-Sheet-0.91-5.png
 
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Scgorg

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I can.


Genelec can do that real quick. All it takes is one or two photos.
Comparing ourselves to Galileo Galilei, are we? The fact that you seem to believe these inconsistencies you see in one photo are in any way even remotely equivalent to Galilei's observations reveals hubris I didn't think possible.

Will you also complain about the scanspeak 18W/8545-00 because it has an uneven and ugly finish? Just realize it already, Genelec has already given us an answer (which is more than what would be expected of 90% of companies). You didn't find this answer to your liking? Tough luck, buy some other speaker. Don't expect the company to go out of their way to present images of their production line because some hard-headed fool on an audio forum demands they do so.
 

Scoox

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The fact that you seem to believe these inconsistencies you see in one photo
Unfortunately it's the only photo there is, and it points to a possible flaw. Genelec have a virtually unlimited number of photos they could use to end this silly debate. Since someone mentioned Purifi Audio, there is a video where a Purifi engineer pretty much dissects their driver on camera and explains how it works in great detail. I don't require that level of detail, merely a little clarification, but I'm sure Purifi would have already posted a close-up picture to put everyone's mind at rest. I don't think what I'm asking is unreasonable for a $4k speaker.
 

Trell

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Unfortunately it's the only photo there is, and it points to a possible flaw. Genelec have a virtually unlimited number of photos they could use to end this silly debate. Since someone mentioned Purifi Audio, there is a video where a Purifi engineer pretty much dissects their driver on camera and explains how it works in great detail. I don't require that level of detail, merely a little clarification, but I'm sure Purifi would have already posted a close-up picture to put everyone's mind at rest. I don't think what I'm asking is unreasonable for a $4k speaker.

Have you asked Genelec support for comment?

 

Scoox

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Have you asked Genelec support for comment?


Yes I did. The support person asked R&D and the reply they got was:

It is nice to see how keen some of our customers are about the details of our products. During the design phase all our products are rigorously stress tested to make sure the loudspeakers can safely be sent to the customers for decades of heavy use. The particular area that you are interested in the woofer diaphragm is by no means an accident or an unwanted feature in the design. You can find similar detail in both 8351B and 8361A racetrack woofers.

At that point I hadn't asked for further detail, I just wanted to know if it was normal, so their reply was 100% in order. But then I wanted to know more, so I asked if all woofers were like this and what that feature was referred to as. That was almost two weeks ago, still no answer.
 

Kuba

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Yes I did. The support person asked R&D and the reply they got was:

It is nice to see how keen some of our customers are about the details of our products. During the design phase all our products are rigorously stress tested to make sure the loudspeakers can safely be sent to the customers for decades of heavy use. The particular area that you are interested in the woofer diaphragm is by no means an accident or an unwanted feature in the design. You can find similar detail in both 8351B and 8361A racetrack woofers.

At that point I hadn't asked for further detail, I just wanted to know if it was normal, so their reply was 100% in order. But then I wanted to know more, so I asked if all woofers were like this and what that feature was referred to as. That was almost two weeks ago, still no answer.
May I ask you to stop this tiresome crusade?
 

mightycicadalord

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I had no idea I was on audio "make up whatever bullshit you want" review, thought this was audio science review.

Gotta love how the dude doesn't even own the speakers in question.
 

Lilith

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I don´t get what´s the problem here. The cracks in the paper or the ripples in the rubber?

index.php
 

dfuller

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Genelecs are damned hard to kill. This is a well-known fact. I work at a college with something like 25 studio spaces total plus classroom speakers, and the mains are either Barefoots, Focals, ATCs, or Genelecs; the classrooms all have Genelecs as well. I've never seen a Genelec go down. Never seen an ATC die, either. Barefoot and Focal? Well, more Barefoot than Focal, but both are less uber-reliable. Part of my preference toward ATC is that they'll last decades. Genelecs are known to do that as well.
 

Pearljam5000

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Genelecs are damned hard to kill. This is a well-known fact. I work at a college with something like 25 studio spaces total plus classroom speakers, and the mains are either Barefoots, Focals, ATCs, or Genelecs; the classrooms all have Genelecs as well. I've never seen a Genelec go down. Never seen an ATC die, either. Barefoot and Focal? Well, more Barefoot than Focal, but both are less uber-reliable. Part of my preference toward ATC is that they'll last decades. Genelecs are known to do that as well.
How would you describe Genelec sound vs ATC sound in general?
Aren't ATCs bass light?
 

sarumbear

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dfuller

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How would you describe Genelec sound vs ATC sound in general?
Aren't ATCs bass light?
I'd rather mix on ATCs with a sub. I'd rather listen to Genelecs without a sub.
 

sarumbear

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Unfortunately it's the only photo there is, and it points to a possible flaw. Genelec have a virtually unlimited number of photos they could use to end this silly debate. Since someone mentioned Purifi Audio, there is a video where a Purifi engineer pretty much dissects their driver on camera and explains how it works in great detail. I don't require that level of detail, merely a little clarification, but I'm sure Purifi would have already posted a close-up picture to put everyone's mind at rest. I don't think what I'm asking is unreasonable for a $4k speaker.
Everyone’s mind are at rest. It’s you who aren’t. Inspect the Purifi picture I posted, please.
 

Inner Space

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Genelecs are damned hard to kill. This is a well-known fact. I work at a college with something like 25 studio spaces total plus classroom speakers, and the mains are either Barefoots, Focals, ATCs, or Genelecs; the classrooms all have Genelecs as well. I've never seen a Genelec go down. Never seen an ATC die, either. Barefoot and Focal? Well, more Barefoot than Focal, but both are less uber-reliable. Part of my preference toward ATC is that they'll last decades. Genelecs are known to do that as well.
Agree 100%, at least anecdotally. I run two facilities in two states, and we have 18 Genelec units (or 20, maybe, not sure) and billing records show the oldest pair have been running loud and proud for more than 16,000 hours, with no issues at all. The more recent units look like they're going to be just as good. Takeaway from a hardheaded $$-based approach: no need to worry.
 

sarumbear

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Part of my preference toward ATC is that they'll last decades. Genelecs are known to do that as well.
You said you have a reason to prefer ATC but Genelec has the same reason. Why do you prefer ATC then? Do you like wood?
 

Pearljam5000

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Honestly, would I rather the driver to look differently? Yes
Would I trust Genelec to take care of its customers in the worst case scenario in 5 years from now if it turns out to be a defect? Also yes, because if they don't they're pretty much done in the pro world, especially at these prices
 

Lilith

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The cracks in the paper. The ripples in the rubber are a feature, and you can tell because there is a pattern to them.
So they make the ripples after the production step that is shown on the factory photo
 
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