Genelec 8351b + W371 vs KII Three BXT. Help me..!!

[wiinilo]

Hi guys, this is my first post. I have decided to write for the first time. It turns out that I am building a professional mastering room, where we will also work on mixing styles of electronic music, urban pop, etc. It is time to buy the most complete monitoring system possible. I'm deciding between Genelec 8351b + W371A vs KII Three BXT. I would like to know your recommendations, if any user has managed to listen to these systems... Unfortunately they are very expensive systems and there is no showroom even installed in Spain. Any opinion will be very welcome.... Which system is better? Thank you very much to all....!

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I'm not a recording professional, but you said any opinion would be welcome.

My opinion is you should go with the Genelec system. Why? Because Genelec is first and primarily a professional audio brand, and they've been in business longer than Kii, and will likely continue to stay in business, even if some economic downturn leads to a shake out in the high end speaker manufacturing world. Also, they may well have a good deal of expertise on how to get the most out of their products in the studio, because, again, they've been doing this for a good deal longer than Kii.

That's not to in any way denigrate Kii. If I had my druthers, I would much rather have Kii 3's + BXT's in my living room than just about anything else, including Genelecs which I think are really ugly, but a professional recording studio is not a living room.

 

[mcdn]

Why not go visit studios in Spain which have either setup installed? Pretty easy to call the manufacturers or local distributors and get that arranged,

 

[wiinilo]

I asked the official Genelec dealer in Spain, and they do not have clients or studios that have two w371s installed throughout the country. There is a KII three study, but it could not make an A/B comparison with Genelec.

 

[Grotti]

If I was about to shell out so much money for professional reasons I would visit a Genelec show room; the cost of a flight and short stay in Berlin or London should be part of your budget.

Genelec Experience Centres - Genelec.com

Our growing global network of Experience Centres are the perfect places to audition a wide range of Genelec loudspeaker systems – from stereo to immersive.

www.genelec.com

And obviously make an appointment to listen to the Kii speakers in Spain. Both systems are state of the art and should work in every room. But I would prefer Genelec for two reasons: they have been in business for decades and service their very first speakers still. And their room correction seems to be SOTA too.

Edited for typo.

 

[YSC]

I personally would prefer the genelec setup, the GLM and bass control on those are great. And most import whenever it’s possible, a coaxial setup would work better especially your head have to move around

 

[Purité Audio]

If you aren’t in a desperate hurry, then at least wait until the new D&Ds arrive.
Keith

 

[Grotti]

If you aren’t in a desperate hurry, then at least wait until the new D&Ds arrive.
Keith

Wouldn't you have the same concerns about service etc. when you would depend on the system in your daily work? Dutch & Dutch may build beautiful speakers, but the Genelec speakers are still serviceable from day one of the company. If I would have to choose my tools I personally wouldn't take the (admittedly small) risk...

 

[Purité Audio]

D&D have been in business for eight years now, as far as I am aware every pair ever sold are still extant and D&D are extremely responsive should there be a fault.
I had far more failures with Kii than D&D, sometimes an issue arises but what is important is that the manufacturer rectifies the issue promptly.
Domestic or professional user.
Keith

 

[mcdn]

Your real problem is not which systems "sounds better", or even which system is better suited for the task. Both are state of the art, both are cardioid, both are used in famous mastering suites.

Your real problem is making sure all the stakeholders agree on a choice before spending the money. Whatever happens down the line, when a client blames the setup for a poor result, everyone needs to agree that the decision was made with the best info available.

That's it.

 

[Martijn Mensink]

D&D have been in business for eight years now, as far as I am aware every pair ever sold are still extant and D&D are extremely responsive should there be a fault.
I had far more failures with Kii than D&D, sometimes an issue arises but what is important is that the manufacturer rectifies the issue promptly.
Domestic or professional user.
Keith

Actually, yesterday Dutch & Dutch turned ten!

 

[Purité Audio]

Many happy returns!
Keith

 

[muslhead]

Actually, yesterday Dutch & Dutch turned ten!

Happy Belated Birthday

 

[AlmaAtaKZ]

Genelec

 

[Bob from Florida]

I had heard the Kii 3's with the bass bases and the D&D 8C's - separate times. Both were excellent. Oddly, the Kii has a wired remote for full functionality - seems like it should work off a web page but sadly not so. Have not heard any Genelecs. I would go for "functionality and service availability" as primary concerns. All three are "tunable" to your room so the desired sound quality should be possible with any of them.

 

[Purité Audio]

The Kii ‘control’ is wired but you can use another remote the slim Apple one for example to control the ‘control’.
Keith

 

[Bob from Florida]

The Kii ‘control’ is wired but you can use another remote the slim Apple one for example to control the ‘control’.
Keith

We could only do basic controls with the Apple remote - volume and input select sort of thing.
Unless of course the owner of the Kii 3's did not have full grasp of the Apple remote functions.

 

[Purité Audio]

We could only do basic controls with the Apple remote - volume and input select sort of thing.
Unless of course the owner of the Kii 3's did not have full grasp of the Apple remote functions.

Yes volume input selection, mute but once the speakers have been set-up using the control you can tuck it away as long as the remote can still see it.
The ‘control’ is pretty expensive , probably adjusting the speaker’s parameters via an app á D&D 8C is preferable and free.
Keith

 

[pierre]

Other considerations:
- what if you need to get them repaired? is there a shop in ES?
- potential resale value?
- resistance to angry customers, kids, late night behaviour
- do you have other Genelec or KII around?
- price negotiation
- warranty small prints
- do you need the bass module or w371 to start with? I would try without first but with one or two subwoofer then measure then see if you need to extra output.
- depending if you already have an interface that does volume control etc but glm is handy and getting better over time. I like the switch between configs, pre volume config (for ex: 73dB on GLM and 0dB on the interface) etc It is still a lot less convenient than TotalMix for ex.
- if you want to extend to 5.1.4 or 9.1.6 for mastering movies/audio, then genelec is handy. you can buy the whole set for less than a pair of w371 and that open some possible business.

I went Genelec (95% for a pure cost reason).

 

[Sacha]

W371 does a lot more than just a sub