Genelec 8361A Review (Powered Monitor)

[Sancus]

2. I am still not clear on the THD % at 86db and 96db. It's hard for me to compare apples-to-apples as I do not understand the conversion method.

1. Here's a calculator.
2. I wouldn't recommend comparing THD between speakers. Compare 3rd+ harmonics instead, 2nd harmonic is benign and does not typically correlate to anything audible.

 

[73hadd]

I am wanting to see the measurement here posted the same as others, for example 8351B:

Not sure why some are posted different between speaker reviews?

I also notice now that on the 8351b review that "Analog xlr input was used" so I want to get that confirmed as well for 8361.

Thanks for the calculator. If the 8361a biggest peak on 86db graph is 45db at 50hz, does that mean use -45 on the calculator and get .056% distortion? And 8351B equivalent as shown above roughly .8% at 50hz?

 

[Sancus]

Thanks for the calculator. If the 8361a biggest peak on 86db graph is 45db at 50hz, does that mean use -45 on the calculator and get .056% distortion? And 8351B equivalent as shown above roughly .8% at 50hz?

You have to subtract the fundamental from the distortion, which gives you a negative number. So on the 8351B, at 50hz you can see the distortion is just below 40dB. If you look above that, the fundamental at 50hz is just under 80dB. So distortion at 50hz is 80dB-40dB = -40dB = 1% which is also shown in the percentage graph you posted(yes I know it's more like 0.95% and the other numbers are slightly lower, I'm simplifying).

 

[73hadd]

Thanks! The explanation helped a lot.

8361a at 50hz, fundamental 80db, THD 45db, 45-80 = -35 = 1.78%

Yes, I understand this does not tell the whole story. The 8361a has lower distortion than the 8351B at 40hz and 30hz. There are a few other spots below the xover where the 8361a does better for THD. I do see now in the Genelec manuals:

8351B 50-100hz at 90db <2%
8361A 50-100hz at 95db <3%

8351B >100hz at 90db <0.5%
8361A >100hz at 95db <0.5%


Above the xover, it is not identical between the two, which is confusing. I should consider that variation due to day/time/air temp, etc. as I have heard that THD measurement is not as exact/repeatable from speakers?

 

[Sancus]

Above the xover, it is not identical between the two, which is confusing. I should consider that variation due to day/time/air temp, etc. as I have heard that THD measurement is not as exact/repeatable from speakers?

I dunno why the 8361A has those two spikes of 2nd harmonic distortion relative to the 8351B(at 50hz and 275hz respectively). Above 300hz, they are more similar than not, and crossovers are not brick walls so the woofer is still playing above 320hz. We know the 8361A can play significantly louder due to being larger and having more power, so this might just be some secondary effect of increasing the woofer size. Or unit to unit variation.

2nd harmonic distortion doesn't really mean anything either. Both these speakers have inaudible distortion at 86dB and since distortion is non-linear, you can't really predict anything at higher SPLs from a specific measurement. So I don't see any practical reason to worry about it.

 

[AdamQ]

My 8361’s just arrive a few weeks ago. Decided to set them up in horizontal mode.

 

[Pearljam5000]

View attachment 185940

My 8361’s just arrive a few weeks ago. Decided to set them up in horizontal mode.

Looks great
How are you liking the sound so far?

 

[AdamQ]

Looks great
How are you liking the sound so far?

Probably not surprising to say I love them! I had the 8351a + 7370 sub previously and the 8361’s just simply have a lot more heft to them, less distortion and more detail.
I’ve got the W371a’s coming in April… I actually find it hard to imagine where they will take things

 

[Mykola]

Any plans to add sub also ? I got 8361s for awhile and planning to add 7380. Then see if I need w371s or other channels for atmos for similar budget .

 

[oversky]

8361A on the W371

Isn't it going to be a 2-way system, and lost benefits of coaxial design, like smooth vertical directivity?

The IN-Series from Kali audio have similar design.
Quoted from their website,


https://www.kaliaudio.com/independence

The IN-Series solves this problem. The tweeter and midrange share an acoustic center, and the woofer is crossed over at a low-mid frequency, so the distance between the woofer and midrange is well under a quarter wavelength at the crossover point. This means that each IN-Series monitor is acoustically a point source. As such, it has the same excellent directivity that the LP-6 and LP-8 have at their sides in a full 360 degrees around the speaker. You’re hearing all of the spatial information at the listening position, so the soundstage that you hear will have every detail that’s present in the mix.

 

[KaLam1ty]

View attachment 185940

My 8361’s just arrive a few weeks ago. Decided to set them up in horizontal mode.

That media storage is just perfect for records. Where'd you get it?

 

[AdamQ]

Any plans to add sub also ? I got 8361s for awhile and planning to add 7380. Then see if I need w371s or other channels for atmos for similar budget .

No room for it in this set up. And I think a 7380 would push my long suffering neighbour over the edge

 

[AdamQ]

That media storage is just perfect for records. Where'd you get it?

Thanks man. The lower section is two of the same pieces adjoined from a brand called Totem Road here in Australia. The top section that holds the records I designed myself and got custom made by Totem Road - in total the whole thing is made up of four seperate pieces

 

[Dgob]

I've joined the club of proud owners of the 8361A's. They are amazing and (most likely) my last speakers. I've had some custom stands built and they are blowing me away.

Not to gripe, but I only joined ASR in the hope of building a budget system that could perform near the level of my old overly expensive (but forcibly retired) one. Amir's review of the Rokit 5 G4's started it off. Then his review of the Revel F208's saw me upgrade. And now this. Sadly, I still have to admit that $10,000 monitors are amazing value for money. Better still, I can retrieve most of this with the sale of my two Benchmark AHB2 power amps and the Revel F208's.

My system is now mainly a reflection of best buys that have been recommended and objectively assessed here on ASR. The only exception is my expensive vinyl front end., which is also now nearing completion and should be set by the end of March.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I've joined the club of proud owners of the 8361A's. They are amazing and (most likely) my last speakers. I've had some custom stands built and they are blowing me away.

Not to gripe, but I only joined ASR in the hope of building a budget system that could perform near the level of my old overly expensive (but forcibly retired) one. Amir's review of the Rokit 5 G4's started it off. Then his review of the Revel F208's saw me upgrade. And now this. Sadly, I still have to admit that $10,000 monitors are amazing value for money. Better still, I can retrieve most of this with the sale of my two Benchmark AHB2 power amps and the Revel F208's.

My system is now mainly a reflection of best buys that have been recommended and objectively assessed here on ASR. The only exception is my expensive vinyl front end., which is also now nearing completion and should be set by the end of March.


View attachment 189718

Congrats
Do you feel that you need a sub?
Do you feel the Soundstage is smaller than the Revels?
Thanks

 

[Dgob]

Congrats
Do you feel that you need a sub?
Do you feel the Soundstage is smaller than the Revels?
Thanks

Thanks,

I think the answer would be 'no', on the soundstage question. The depth, width and height of the soundstage matches that of my Revels and exceeds it when it comes to depth. The fact that the GLM4.1 perfectly dials in the stereo image might assist here as the 8361A's offer three dimensional imaging, the like of which I've never experienced. I did a quick subjective comparison of the two on Amir's Revel F208 thread.

But on the sub, I am not certain. I need more time with them before I can decide. The low end is genuinely room shaking but on some pipe organ pieces, I am not yet certain if the lowest notes are being captured (even factoring in in-room and boundary influences). I will give it more time and play with the optimisation to determine. I also have a pair of the original Velodyne DD12 subs and might discuss with the excellent Genelec support team whether and how I might integrate these into the monitors. But here, we're really only talking about the notes from late 20's down to 17Hz and they might in fact not be needed. Time will tell.

Yet, overall, I agree that these are really end-game speakers. Phenomenal!!

 

[AdamQ]

I've joined the club of proud owners of the 8361A's. They are amazing and (most likely) my last speakers. I've had some custom stands built and they are blowing me away.

Not to gripe, but I only joined ASR in the hope of building a budget system that could perform near the level of my old overly expensive (but forcibly retired) one. Amir's review of the Rokit 5 G4's started it off. Then his review of the Revel F208's saw me upgrade. And now this. Sadly, I still have to admit that $10,000 monitors are amazing value for money. Better still, I can retrieve most of this with the sale of my two Benchmark AHB2 power amps and the Revel F208's.

My system is now mainly a reflection of best buys that have been recommended and objectively assessed here on ASR. The only exception is my expensive vinyl front end., which is also now nearing completion and should be set by the end of March.


View attachment 189718

Welcome to the club!! The custom stands look fantastic too! I’ll let you know how things sound once the W371a’s arrive in April (I don’t have room for the 7380 sub so won’t be going there)

 

[Dgob]

Welcome to the club!! The custom stands look fantastic too! I’ll let you know how things sound once the W371a’s arrive in April (I don’t have room for the 7380 sub so won’t be going there)

AdamQ,

Great. I look forward to your review.

Happy listening.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I've joined the club of proud owners of the 8361A's. They are amazing and (most likely) my last speakers. I've had some custom stands built and they are blowing me away.

Not to gripe, but I only joined ASR in the hope of building a budget system that could perform near the level of my old overly expensive (but forcibly retired) one. Amir's review of the Rokit 5 G4's started it off. Then his review of the Revel F208's saw me upgrade. And now this. Sadly, I still have to admit that $10,000 monitors are amazing value for money. Better still, I can retrieve most of this with the sale of my two Benchmark AHB2 power amps and the Revel F208's.

My system is now mainly a reflection of best buys that have been recommended and objectively assessed here on ASR. The only exception is my expensive vinyl front end., which is also now nearing completion and should be set by the end of March.


View attachment 189718

Just wondering, why did to choose the black color and not the white?

 

[Dgob]

Just wondering, why did to choose the black color and not the white?

There is a really long waiting time to get hold of any 8361A's over here in England, and I found a retailer that just happened to have these grey ones in stock. I must also admit that I am not that crazy about white hifi accessories. Although my wife might not share my old school aesthetic!