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Genelec 8361A Review (Powered Monitor)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 6 0.9%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 4 0.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 29 4.3%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 640 94.3%

  • Total voters
    679

Pearljam5000

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Oh whilst we’re all dreaming; who’s gonna carry their pair of Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit to amir for a dance with the NFS and help him with it upstairs for an all important listen…

I like their modesty
Screenshot_20211114-031920.jpg
 

a|F

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Of course it depends on use case. For my own studio though, not overkill at all.

As someone else pointed out, it's not that you *necessarily* need that extra SPL across the whole spectrum for a film, but if you listen loud, I would think in the bottom few octaves that extra headroom could be useful (at something like a 4m listening distance) over and above a smaller speaker. Especially if, like me, you like to run your LCR without bass management. (I know, I know..... I just like it, OK? ) If you're using BM then maybe not so much?

However, regarding reference level: I'd like to point out that in my opinion there's pretty much no such thing as reference level outside of the theatrical exhibition world any more. As a result of modern loudness specifications imposed by most distribution chains for home entertainment, the "ideal" monitoring level ends up probably needing about 3 - 6dB less than the 105dBC peak (or more like 108 with overs) required for theatrical. Of course people can crank it up if they like, but I find the dialog quite a bit hot on a home ent mix if the peak levels are up at 105!

Anyway, as a studio monitor, working at reference on content that's still in it's raw "cinema" dynamic (but in a small room at a 3m listening distance) I would definitely appreciate the SPL handling from 40 to 150Hz at least, which is where I always end up running in to active monitor limiters (or in the old days, blowing bass drivers). JBL 708 and KH310 being examples of popular speakers I know are highly possible to get sounding stressed for theatrical work, beyond about 2m listening distance. I say "highly possible" maybe that's a bit strong, but if you're doing an "aliens come down and blow up the world" type film, then definitely yes, at LF.

For what it's worth, as it happens I recently heard one of my mixes on 8361s, and they coped well with the SPL being thrown at them. Obviously rooms differ a bit in terms of power requirement, so I can't say any other speaker definitely would or wouldn't have coped, but I was a little bit surprised at how little they broke up. Otherwise they were kinda unremarkable to my ears, but these days (good monitors, good room treatment, good room correction) all rooms seem a bit unremarkable to me, so I'm probably saying that as a positive!? In the sense that I don't walk away thinking anything stands out "oh there was more clarity" or "oh that was bassy" And that's probably good as to my mind it's likely an indication that we're pretty much solving the old circle of confusion. (Of course, I think mixer preference based on the past carnage will actually take longer to settle down than the technology improvements!)
Great insight, thank you.

Which speakers do you currently own?
 

MZKM

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Suppose you could artificially create some data to get it a 10.

What does it take? And What would the spinorama look like?
Just tried some basic modeling with trying to make things somewhat realistic (at least for the latter ones).

Users using auto-EQ for optimized Spinoramas likely may be able to get more realistic looking simulations. What I basically did was add a log curve to the data where each degree past 20° increased the log by 10% in absolute terms (meaning 10%, 20%, 30%, etc.), I kept 0-20° identical to get the listening window realistic with only a slight tilt. Vertical data is identical, so coaxial. I also started the slopes at 100Hz because at a quick glance that seems average, plus that’s where the formula cares about apart from bass. Slope was set for the last 3 to have the DI curves at 5dB & 10dB at 20kHz, as that also is about average. Wiggles were +/-0.25dB and +/-0.5dB.

Preference Rating
SCORE: 10.0


SCORE: 9.6
Spinorama-13.png

SCORE: 9.5
Spinorama-14.png

SCORE: 9.1
Spinorama-15.png

SCORE: 8.8
Spinorama-17.png
 
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tktran303

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Well have you looked at their first generation G2 (smaller than G1 speaker). When it was released in 2012, it replaced Doug Schneider's own reference, the Revel Ultima Salon 2, as his best speaker he's ever heard or reviewed right?

Doug...
"What’s left to say about a speaker that can play music better than any other speaker I know of on the market at this time?"


Salon 2 according to Canadian NRC anechoic chamber (2009):

Giya 2 according to NRC (2012)

Hard to argue with the measurements too right?

Laurence Dickie was B&W's Head designer until he founded Vivid right?...

Time marches on...
 

richard12511

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Just tried some basic modeling with trying to make things somewhat realistic (at least for the latter ones).

Preference Rating
SCORE: 10.0

SCORE: 9.6
SCORE: 9.5

SCORE: 9.1
SCORE: 8.8
Man, this is really cool. Fun to see what a 9 or 10 actually looks like, and how difficult it's going to be to reach. Wouldn't have guessed that the best score to come from an omni-directional speaker.
 

richard12511

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Oh whilst we’re all dreaming; who’s gonna carry their pair of Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit to amir for a dance with the NFS and help him with it upstairs for an all important listen…


Based on what I've seen so far, I'm thinking Vivid speakers are going to measure very well. Would love to see one on the NFS.
 

Pearljam5000

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Well have you looked at their first generation G2 (smaller than G1 speaker). When it was released in 2012, it replaced Doug Schneider's own reference, the Revel Ultima Salon 2, as his best speaker he's ever heard or reviewed right?

Doug...
"What’s left to say about a speaker that can play music better than any other speaker I know of on the market at this time?"


Salon 2 according to Canadian NRC anechoic chamber (2009):

Giya 2 according to NRC (2012)

Hard to argue with the measurements too right?

Laurence Dickie was B&W's Head designer until he founded Vivid right?...

Time marches on...
They're $50,000 a pair so they're out of my price range anyways
 
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MZKM

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Man, this is really cool. Fun to see what a 9 or 10 actually looks like, and how difficult it's going to be to reach. Wouldn't have guessed that the best score to come from an omni-directional speaker.
Yeah, well it does mainly just look for flat response, the PIR curve gets checked for flatness & correlation, and the correlation is better with a slope, but the flatness has more wieght.

Also, due to that correlation, a truly 100% perfectly flat & Omni speaker doesn’t have a score as it gives an error, but put a tiny wiggle at 1 frequency at it goes to mid 7s.
 

tktran303

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Directivity isn’t a measure is it?

I mean, not directly. Perhaps indirectly in terms of flat and smooth on axis response and listening window.

How large is the effect of horizontal response from 90-180? Or vertical 30- to 180?
 

Holmz

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Since when 8C are $5000 per pair ?

Thanks for asking.. @Pearljam5000

go Dutch​

[for each person in a pair or a group] to pay for himself or herself. I don't want you to pay for my ticket. Let's go Dutch.Is it still considered a date if you go Dutch?

Hence get the other half to pay their share…
(Which I think comes out to 1/2 of $8000) :cool:
 
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