Genelec 8361A Review (Powered Monitor)

[Pearljam5000]

On their "high end listening" page, they recommend only these monitors, I wonder why.

 

[sarumbear]

On their "high end listening" page, they recommend only these monitors, I wonder why.
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Showing soffit mount speakers on home applications? Are they mad?

 

[Pearljam5000]

Showing soffit mount speakers on home applications? Are they mad?

If i had the $$$ and the room for them, I would buy them

 

[KaLam1ty]

Personally, I dislike stands where the speakers sit on a plate with the isopods.

I pray for the day where Genelec designs a pair of 8351/8361 stands that are "visually acceptable" for residential use. The ones they stock and recommend are really unsightly compared to it's closest competitors - though I suppose you're also paying a premium for the looks.

The Kii's are relatively standard in size.
And the D&D 8c's have an "official" stand that screw mounts nicely as one unit, with that traditional 4-pillar make.

I get Genelec products are utilitarian first, but I kind of wish they had more stand designs. I've been looking around for some attractive options, but it's quite difficult to find specific products that can withstand 70lbs and its volume. Some cheap end-tables are the best I've come by, but it's not necessarily ideal.

Any case, I contacted Genelec regarding this and they more-or-less also suggest their own product (understandably)... probably still ganna use those end-tables though lol:

Hope you had a good weekend. In terms of stands for the 8361A, we'd recommend our own stands - S360-415B with a 8260-450B standplate. This is because the Isopods and standplate mechanically-couple together to create so that the stand and speaker act as one - if you're just to place the 8361As on top of a generic stand without being coupled to an 8260-450B, it would create two pivot/points of rotation - one is the stand, and the other is 8361A.

Considering how large and heavy the 8361A, we recommend creating a setup that's as mechanically stable as possible to prevent any mishaps from accidentally bumping the unit or stand. That said, the S360-415B isn't the most elegant stand for home listening, so if you're set on the third-party stands, try to create a setup that's out of the way and will avoid being bumped around, and let me know and I can measure the 8361A Isopods for you.

Concerning listening height, it depends on your couch and height! A lot of people on a couch have an ear height between 3-4 feet - considering the acoustic axis of the 8361A is ~9.5" above the bottom of the unit, a 24" stand will bring you to about 33.5", which is a bit low, but the wide vertical coverage pattern of the 8361A should be able to mitigate the height differences.

 

[Tonygeno]

I kind of like the 415b stand. Sturdy yet adjustable. Koenig and Meyer actually makes them in Germany. I don’t think Genelec manufactures their accessories

 

[YSC]

I pray for the day where Genelec designs a pair of 8351/8361 stands that are "visually acceptable" for residential use. The ones they stock and recommend are really unsightly compared to it's closest competitors - though I suppose you're also paying a premium for the looks.

The Kii's are relatively standard in size.
And the D&D 8c's have an "official" stand that screw mounts nicely as one unit, with that traditional 4-pillar make.

I get Genelec products are utilitarian first, but I kind of wish they had more stand designs. I've been looking around for some attractive options, but it's quite difficult to find specific products that can withstand 70lbs and its volume. Some cheap end-tables are the best I've come by, but it's not necessarily ideal.

Any case, I contacted Genelec regarding this and they more-or-less also suggest their own product (understandably)... probably still ganna use those end-tables though lol:

For me they suggested that the coupling of the plate and the isopod is fair enough, understandably they recommended that due to profit and with justification is kind of ok to me. But tbh with something this tall and heave I would have a bad heart to put it on some stands and not on a large flat surface like top of a cupboard

 

[MikeFromNorway]

The 8351B uses the same midrange and tweeter, powered by the same amps, as the 8361A. So the main difference would be output between your sub crossover and ~320hz. This is a fairly narrow range, however, and honestly you will usually end up being sub-limited with this setup. My 12" sealed sub starts clipping on tracks with any amount of bass long, long before the 8351B does. Getting 2x Arendal 1723 2S soon which will alleviate this problem

Very interested in your opinion with the arendals! Thinking in the same lane aswell. Living in Norway so testing them is not a problem.. How big is your room? Can you do rock concert spl?

 

[CMB]

Same dilemma.
I ordered plain wooden blocks 65x40x40cm.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

I use stands from the German manufacturer Liedtke Metalldesign. Built quality is first notch. The top plate is the original Genelec monting plate modified for use with a countersunk screw to attach it to the central column of the stand.

The columns may be filled with sand, lead beads or peebles. They come with plastic pouches to contain whatever might be filled in. As they are 15 kg without any damping I left them as they are. This is rock solid. Height is 60 cm or about 24 inches, which is just fine for listening on a sofa.

 

[sdiver68]

For the price of the 8361a, price of custom or customized stands should be a non-issue.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

The K&M stands actually look pretty good. 2 inches more than I need/want in the lowest setting, but that should not really matter.

I wonder if there is a provision to level to foot plate, though.

 

[Trell]

The K&M stands actually look pretty good. 2 inches more than I need/want in the lowest setting, but that should not really matter.

I wonder if there is a provision to level to foot plate, though.

No, there is not according to the drawings.

 

[Trell]

I use stands from the German manufacturer Liedtke Metalldesign. Built quality is first notch. The top plate is the original Genelec monting plate modified for use with a countersunk screw to attach it to the central column of the stand.

The columns may be filled with sand, lead beads or peebles. They come with plastic pouches to contain whatever might be filled in. As they are 15 kg without any damping I left them as they are. This is rock solid. Height is 60 cm or about 24 inches, which is just fine for listening on a sofa.

View attachment 174514

You did the modifying of the top plate yourself? How is the stability of the stand with 8361?

 

[Joachim Herbert]

You did the modifying of the top plate yourself? How is the stability of the stand with 8361?

I had it done by a local locksmith, but I could have done it myself with an appropriate countersink and a drillstand.

Stability is as good as it gets. I replaced the bottom spikes with heavy duty feet for easy positioning. Coupling to the floor is irrelevant because of the isopod layer. Or so I think.

 

[dshreter]

Has anyone done wall mounting of these at home? It seems like that would be one of the benefits is the variety of mounts available and not have a clunky stand at all.

 

[Pearljam5000]

The 801 D4 has 2X10 inch woofers and the 8361 has only one
Theoretically if you add a pair of 10 inch subs to a pair of 8361A how close can you get to a 801 D4? SQ and output wise?

 

[thewas]

The 801 D4 has 2X10 inch woofers and the 8361 has only one
Theoretically if you add a pair of 10 inch subs to a pair of 8361A how close can you get to a 801 D4? SQ and output wise?
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So many posts and threads here and sometimes it feels still like at day one...

 

[Pearljam5000]

So many posts and threads here and sometimes it feels still like at day one...

Lol
I'm just wondering if a(not so) small monitor + a sub could compete with a beast like the 801 D4 for about 30% of the cost because I've always dreamed about the 800 series and big Focals when I was younger and I'll never be able to afford them

 

[thewas]

Lol
I'm just wondering if a(not so) small monitor + a sub could compete with a beast like the 801 D4 for about 30% of the cost because I've always dreamed about the 800 series when I was young

SPL wise I am afraid that the 8361 would be competitive even without a sub if EQed to the same bass response like the 801. Now about your question about sound quality, to make the 8361 sound similar to the 801 you would probably have to throw away its drivers with integrated waveguide (coax) and crossovers to get a similar directivity mismatch and thus voicing.

 

[echopraxia]

The 801 D4 has 2X10 inch woofers and the 8361 has only one
Theoretically if you add a pair of 10 inch subs to a pair of 8361A how close can you get to a 801 D4? SQ and output wise?
View attachment 174612

How many times does this question (any many others like it) need to be answered until you remember the answer?

SPL and distortion measurements are the only way to determine a speaker’s bass power and extension. You cannot look at manufacturing or physical specs alone to answer this.

My JBL 705P have a 5” woofer and yet are able to create bass power more similar to my Genelec 8351B (8” woofer equivalent) than my Genelec 8330A’s (5” woofer). (Of course there are other tradeoffs, i.e. the 8330A has better sound quality IMO, but that’s besides the point.)