Genelec 8361A Review (Powered Monitor)

[Arnas]

Lol as an owner of 8351, 41, and 31s I think the 51s are a bit absurd on a desk(and yes ive seen the photo of someone using 8361 at a desk...). If you want to upgrade further past 8331s you should get subs and learn to configure them right or get the GLM Genelec ones. That will do way more for you.

Bonus is that I've seen 8331s heavily discounted as new and for sale used more than any of the other models.

51 are amazing for desk or not, but i think its overkill for desk.
I have tons and tons of reserves for desk use, 31s + genelec 7360 sub would provide same awesome experience for cheaper + easier placement for better bass.

 

[Pearljam5000]

51 are amazing for desk or not, but i think its overkill for desk.
I have tons and tons of reserves for desk use, 31s + genelec 7360 sub would provide same awesome experience for cheaper + easier placement for better bass.

I don't know the 8331 has a smaller mid/tweeter
I'd rather be future proof

 

[RexrothPigeon]

I'd rather be future proof

well, I guess not buying speakers ever is one way to accomplish this goal

 

[Arnas]

I don't know the 8331 has a smaller mid/tweeter
I'd rather be future proof

Every use is different. I use 51s for desk with preamp gain set to low and at -40 is loud already, -50 suffice most of the time.
They are so loud, 31 with sub is absolutely more than enough for every case scenario in desk use.

 

[Mort]

I don't know the 8331 has a smaller mid/tweeter
I'd rather be future proof

I'm not so thrilled with the 8331a, as I find it lacking enough bass even nearfield with a 7350a. The 8341a are very impressive and should work for most people. I listen to bass-heavy music 10 feet away and can get them into the 90s with a 7360a. And they are much easier to mount or place on stands than the larger 'ones' like the 8351b.

 

[Arnas]

I'm not so thrilled with the 8331a, as I find it lacking enough bass even nearfield with a 7350a. The 8341a are very impressive and should work for most people. I listen to bass-heavy music 10 feet away and can get them into the 90s with a 7360a. And they are much easier to mount or place on stands than the larger 'ones' like the 8351b.

7350a is a weak sub, 7360a would suffice i would imagine.

 

[Mort]

Well that's a slippery slope. If you aren't listening to bass-heavy music, 8331a's might be fine. For an additional $1400, I'd much rather have the 8341a unless I was ok with very modest volumes for bass heavy music. (I'm not. )

• 8331a+7360=$9400
• 8341a+7360=$8000

It's a 17% cost increase for which one gets, 45hz vs 38 bass extension, much bigger waveguide, a lot more power, larger tweeter, slightly better directivity. Seems worth it to me.

 

[Arnas]

Well that's a slippery slope. If you aren't listening to bass-heavy music, 8331a's might be fine. For an additional $1400, I'd much rather have the 8341a unless I was ok with very modest volumes for bass heavy music. (I'm not. )

• 8331a+7360=$9400
• 8341a+7360=$8000

It's a 17% cost increase for which one gets, 45hz vs 38 bass extension, much bigger waveguide, a lot more power, larger tweeter, slightly better directivity. Seems worth it to me.

Both are poor for anything, but desk setup, both need sub. In desk setup, its cakewalk to play bass down to 80hz, then sub will take care of the deep bass and speakers wont be strained.
only case scenario i see where 41 are no brainer is if weak sub or no sub is used.

 

[Sancus]

It's a 17% cost increase

I paid about $2700US for my pair of 8331s(2 years ago) vs about $4300 for my 8341s so it was pretty different. I think if you're paying list price and you can accommodate the size you should definitely always go with 8341. But like I said, I've seen 8331s discounted a lot more often, I've basically never seen a real sale on 8341 and up but I've seen a few for 8331s. I suspect they don't sell as well at the regular price.

 

[Mort]

I paid about $2700US for my pair of 8331s(2 years ago) vs about $4300 for my 8341s so it was pretty different. I think if you're paying list price and you can accommodate the size you should definitely always go with 8341. But like I said, I've seen 8331s discounted a lot more often, I've basically never seen a real sale on 8341 and up but I've seen a few for 8331s. I suspect they don't sell as well at the regular price.

There was a significant price increase last year. The 8341a price is current.

I agree 8341a's are the least common to see used. But I'd have to say I see a lot of 8351, a and b. 8361a seem to have the largest discount.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I read somewhere that the D&D 8C was less analytical sounding than the Ones
Anyone compared them?

 

[RexrothPigeon]

I read somewhere that the D&D 8C was less analytical sounding than the Ones
Anyone compared them?

What does "analytical sounding" mean? I have listened to 51s and own 8Cs, and neither of them ever tried to analyze me afaik

 

[Mort]

I doubt there is tight agreement on the definition but it tends to imply characteristics like tone neutral, narrowish directivity, ultra clear, precise soundstage - basically a genelec 'ones'.

The opposite is usually warmer, wide directivity, large less precise soundstage, extra reverberance like a Revel salon 2.

 

[RexrothPigeon]

I doubt there is tight agreement on the definition but it tends to imply characteristics like tone neutral, narrowish directivity, ultra clear, precise soundstage - basically a genelec 'ones'.

These characteristics are far more readily perceptible in the data than in random internet strangers' subjective posts here. Both speakers are known for being neutral, clear, and precise, and that's how they both sounded to me. If I had them side by side I might notice a difference. I might even choose to apply arbitrary and subjective adjectives (like "analytical" or "musical" or "bovine" or "bathycolpian"), but imo only a fool would give literally any weight to my adjectives when there are very detailed data available for perusal.

 

[tmtomh]

I wonder if the 8380 measures better

If memory serves, the 8351b measures better - though we’re talking about pretty small and subtle deviations here.

 

[Mort]

If memory serves, the 8351b measures better - though we’re talking about pretty small and subtle deviations here.

Yeah, we don't have the 8380 independent measurements yet.

8351b was a hair flatter, you are right.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Probably but I don't know there's something special about how a big speaker with 15 inch sounds
But on the other hand there will be probably more diffraction because of the cabinet.

 

[Mort]

We have these.
Orient on the Y axis, it's zoomed in.

 

[Mort]

A pair of 8381A weighs a quarter ton. 235kg

Erin is adorable discussing these at 15:43.

 

[dfuller]

If memory serves, the 8351b measures better - though we’re talking about pretty small and subtle deviations here.

Yes, it's not as optimized as the smaller coax speakers but it is way, way more dynamics-capable.

Remember studio levels are often considerably louder than home levels.