Genelec 8361A Review (Powered Monitor)

[dasdoing]

10k?
I wait for the Behringer version lol

 

[martijn86]

Genelec's are made from aluminium. I would love to see these in the RAW finish that the 80XX/83XX come in.

 

[MZKM]

SCORE: 6.7
SCORE w/ sub: 7.9

If I had to guess why the sub score isn’t in the 8’s like the other Genelecs, the dip at 250Hz seems like the most likely culprit.

 

[MZKM]

Thank you.

Certainly the measurements are near faultless; particularly the 106dB test and impulse response.

What parts of the spinorama or measurements are we, as a Audio enthusiast community, doing or not doing that describes large sound image.

This is interesting because I’ve noticed this too.
Is there something about sound in 3D space that we are yet to capture or understand by measurements?

Here is the Spinorama (bass likely wrong) of the Salon2:

As Amir pointed out, the soundstage is wider, the Sound Power DI breaches 5dB around 1500Hz while this Genelec breaches it at a lower 500Hz.

Though we do see a directivity mismatch at 2500Hz

 

[anphex]

Wow, just wow. I think it can't get much better physically with this speaker size.

 

[tktran303]

But It’s not small…

593 x W 357 x D 347 mm

Makes SEAS Kingroy Mk III appear small and cheap…

 

[DanielT]

Thanks Amir!

I guess there is not much more to say than that, WOW.

Well, I'm adding. Talk about bass reproduction regarding Genelc 8361A in the thread I see. I guess that the bass reproduction is as good as it gets given the conditions of the size of the drives and the box. The bass reproductionn seems to be REALLY good.

 

[Pulkass]

Look above the speaker...

Where is the full test ? Can t find it.

 

[Lambda]

10k$ is not Cheap butt... the performance is exceptional
And you don't need a DAC, AMP, fancy cables and all this...

 

[Count Arthur]

I wonder how the 8351B compares? The specs are very close, but they're about 60% the price:

 

[q3cpma]

Strangely, S&R's test shows a massively better vertical directivity around 500 Hz than both NFS' and Genelec's own (unless I'm tricked by a difference in SPL color scale).

THD seems to track well, with S&R showing a dip in capability between 100 and 150 Hz, where the NFS shows an increase in H4 and H5 at 106 dB.

@amirm, did you test GLM's new phase linearization thing specific to the Ones?

 

[Lambda]

but they're about 60% the price:

Well they have less then 60% of the output power.

 

[Azathoth]

Reminds me of HAL9000, and I like that.

 

[Tersi]

I wonder how the 8351B compares? The specs are very close, but they're about 60% the price

This is of course dependent on room size (volume) and amount of room absorption.

Roughly speaking I would go for the 8351b for small to medium sized room and 8361a for medium to large sized room.

After listening the 8361a for a few months in my space I would personally take the 8351b and go for a pair of high quality subs (which I happen to own) if you can accommodate the space.

 

[Pearljam5000]

This is of course dependent on room size (volume) and amount of room absorption.

Roughly speaking I would go for the 8351b for small to medium sized room and 8361a for medium to large sized room.

After listening the 8361a for a few months in my space I would personally take the 8351b and go for a pair of high quality subs (which I happen to own) if you can accommodate the space.

Why?

 

[Tersi]

Why?

The effortlessness of a pair of say 18" sealed subs (my setup) is something that the 8361a simply cannot produce in my well treated room.

 

[ahofer]

For all these speakers, Genelec guidance is for nearer listening than my LR setup(these are recommended under 10ft, and I’m about 12). I’m wondering if that makes a big difference.

 

[DanielT]

The effortlessness of a pair of say 18" sealed subs (my setup) is something that the 8361a simply cannot produce in my well treated room.

It is not possible to go around the laws of physics, but based on conditions then 8361a seem great!

It's just a math exercise. How much air do your pair of 18" sealed subs pump vs 8361a.When do the systems start to show distortion when the power increases.So it also depends on what subwoofer amplifier you have for your 18 "
How much power your sub drivers can handle. Messured up to lets say 100 Hz.

Edit:
How many subs and its placement, EQ, room acoustics and so on. Although these are other questions.

Edit 2
Then for the sound itself, the quality itself with your 18 "drivers. If they have high distortion in themselves, the drivers themselves (due to the construction) then it is not possible to get good sound. Although they can be super good your 18 "(low distortion), I know nothing about that.

 

[kyle_neuron]

Strangely, S&R's test shows a massively better vertical directivity around 500 Hz than both NFS' and Genelec's own (unless I'm tricked by a difference in SPL color scale).

THD seems to track well, with S&R showing a dip in capability between 100 and 150 Hz, where the NFS shows an increase in H4 and H5 at 106 dB.

@amirm, did you test GLM's new phase linearization thing specific to the Ones?

The data is a good fit as I see it.

You've got to be careful to make sure you're visually compensating for the different data ranges on the axes; the S&R isobar runs 100 Hz to 20 kHz versus Amir's 20 Hz to 20 kHz. If you scale the S&R plot so the frequency axis lines overlap, then stretch it in the vertical to the equivalent sizing, the isobars agree -quick and dirty photo editor work for example:

The Genelec data uses a different range on the X-axis again, and only runs -90 to +90 degrees on the Y-axis. All three use log scaling on the X-axis and linear scaling on the Y-axis though, so you can just do the equivalent adjustments. I used the 500 Hz and 8 kHz lines here, it's not pixel perfect but close enough to illustrate:

Just for completeness' sake, S&R versus Genelec:

There are some small anomalies in isobar shape between the plots, but I'd put that down to them using different amounts of smoothing or the measurement environment / method.

 

[hege]

The effortlessness of a pair of say 18" sealed subs (my setup) is something that the 8361a simply cannot produce in my well treated room.

Well, I have 2x18" too, but I would say they don't handle or are not even meant for midbass as well as larger mains do (like my 1237A). So I would always choose larger mains if the price difference is neglible (as it is between 8351 and 8361).