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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: 28 4.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 638 94.4%

  • Total voters
    676

richard12511

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But 100% worth it. And in a few weeks or so, I'll have 3 ;)
That's gonna be an awesome system. Eventually you gotta get the W371s below them :p. If only they weren't so expensive. Would love to see Amir review and measure the 8361 or 51 integrated with the W371.

Really cool to see 3 different Ones measured, and great to see that all the Ones measure almost exactly the same. That makes building an all Ones system (with smaller surrounds/heights) much easier and cheaper.
 

Vintage57

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Laserjock

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Another option, 2x 8320a @$625 each and a good sub or two…

“Note: Rating is for far-field listening.

Preference Rating
SCORE: 5.7
SCORE w/ sub: 8.1

Frequency response: +/- 2dB 66Hz-20kHz ; +/-1.5dB 80Hz-20kHz”
 

Tks

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BOSS speakers as always. So hype when you see these reviewed, and affirms what hard work with objective metrics gets you.

Btw Amir, do you think this speaker makes more sense, or getting the Revel + a ABH2 setup?
 

preload

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I would not but it is a close call. The Salon 2s project a larger image and similar bass capability so not an advantage over them.
If they're that close, I wonder if running GLM calibration on the 8361a might give it the edge.
 
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amirm

amirm

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If they're that close, I wonder if running GLM calibration on the 8361a might give it the edge.
Those aspects do not change with EQ.
 

Ron Texas

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Yes, their look is polarizing for sure. Nobody can doubt they are excellent performers, but there's no way I could tolerate the style of the Genelecs.

When I was young, my Dad would say children should be seen and not heard- these speakers are the opposite.
I believe in form follows function. Even though I am not a committed Genelec lover, they look fine to me. If anything, it's big sound out of a relatively small box.
 

Chromatischism

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These look incredible, but one starts to wonder what else you could spend $10k on. I could buy 4 pairs of 2k/pair speakers plus subs. That's 8 speakers in the room making a killer multichannel setup! Not to take anything away from the 8361a. It's clear what you are getting for $10k, but in terms of the value proposition, we are climbing a steep slope of diminishing returns from $2k-10k.
 
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DanielT

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It has been pointed out in the thread that 8361A cost a lot. Do they? What do other speakers option that perform as good cost?

I would like to have the top model from Ferrari (which I can not afford to buy) Is the Ferrari expensive? That's what top models, super sports cars cost. Just to realize the fact.
8361A is the Ferrari equivalent in the speaker world.

Let's say that eh 8361A is not directly Ferrari beautiful (diplomatically speaking) what do you think of hiding them behind some curtain (which does not affect the sound)?
 

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Tks

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These look incredible, but one starts to wonder what else you could spend $10k on. I could buy 4 pairs of 2k/pair speakers. That's 8 speakers in the room making a killer multichannel setup! Not to take anything away from the 8361a. It's clear what you are getting for $10k, but in terms of the value proposition, we are climbing a steep slope of diminishing returns from $2k-10k.
A sick new camera, and a few G-Master Sony lenses would be awesome haha.
 

pierre

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Hi guy. I am very confused with powered speakers.

If I want to pair the Genelec with my benchmark DAC / Pre / Amp system, can I just connect signal out cables from a preamp to the speakers?
Or the speakers must be fed just a signal from a DAC.

I used to download the manual and read it, but I didn't understand fully. It seems to have a internal DAC inside each speaker. I am not 100% sure how to setup the Genelec system. It is worth exploring though.

Thank you.

Hello,

There are 2 ways to connect to active speakers: analog and digital (on AES).
So in your case, you can
- go from the pre directly into the speakers and do the volume control on your pre.
- go from the DAC directly into the speakers and do the volume control on the speaker (with GLM)
- ´go from a numeric source to the numeric entry of the speaker (you will need a box if input is not AES). volume control can be done at the source level or in the speakers

Good news is: you can sell the stack and you have a significant part of the cost of the speakers already.

P.S.: you still need the pre if you have a turntable. I use a RME box to aggregate various numeric and analog signals and fed the genelec on aes.
The quality of the benchmark stuff is higher than the components inside the Genelec but the difference is not audible.
Often if your box has a SPDIF non optical, it will connect well to the Genelec with a passive adaptor. That’s the same format, just with a difference connector and impedance. Since it is a numeric signal, you have no loss if it works and no signal if not.
 

pierre

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Speechless..
Question to Genelec? Can they be painted? :)


Hi
+ 1 on the underlined part.
I have lived with live instruments in my house. Pianos ( upright and Grand), Violins ( several, Cellos ( several)... What you hear on record is often far from what you hear at concert and again it depends on the seat and venue... Violins for example have much more treble energy than heard in most audio systems. The "massed strings" sweetness that many audiophiles talk about is a construct of rolled off systems or of recordings.

Back to the 8361... Endgame speakers? You bet. These are capable of 118 dB !!! :eek:at 1 meter... per speaker! Flat from 30 to 20KHz, Textbook directivity, low distortion. Yeah, Endgame, Drop the Mike, Slam-dunk...

Hi Franz, they are metallic. I have seen people removing the drivers, sanding them and then getting them paint in any RAL color. I do not know if Genelec does it with a premium.

Answer from Genelec support
 
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respice finem

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These look incredible, but one starts to wonder what else you could spend $10k on. I could buy 4 pairs of 2k/pair speakers. That's 8 speakers in the room making a killer multichannel setup! Not to take anything away from the 8361a. It's clear what you are getting for $10k, but in terms of the value proposition, we are climbing a steep slope of diminishing returns from $2k-10k.
I think that "diminishing returns" start even lower than 2k/pair for near/midfield monitors, but why should the pro audio market be different to any other market? Every market has a basic segment, a "value for money" segment and a "you only live once" segment :cool:
 

Tangband

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Hello,

There are 2 ways to connect to active speakers: analog and digital (on AES).
So in your case, you can
- go from the pre directly into the speakers and do the volume control on your pre.
- go from the DAC directly into the speakers and do the volume control on the speaker (with GLM)
- ´go from a numeric source to the numeric entry of the speaker (you will need a box if input is not AES). volume control can be done at the source level or in the speakers

Good news is: you can sell the stack and you have a significant part of the cost of the speakers already.

P.S.: you still need the pre if you have a turntable. I use a RME box to aggregate various numeric and analog signals and fed the genelec on aes.
The quality of the benchmark stuff is higher than the components inside the Genelec but the difference is not audible.
Often if your box has a SPDIF non optical, it will connect well to the Genelec with a passive adaptor. That’s the same format, just with a difference connector and impedance. Since it is a numeric signal, you have no loss if it works and no signal if not.
I have checked some of that options with the much cheaper Genelec 8340 , that also have digital input.
Here is what I have found:

1. With GLM , you can lower the internal digital volume in the speaker. The GLM volume control is after the dsp crossover. I have my 8340 set at -30 dB in GLM. That value can be stored into the speaker and you can then disconnect the GLM and do all volume regulation from a digital source with digital volume regulated spdif-outputs, such as Yamaha wxc50 .

2. Yamaha wxc50 is however not high-end quality with a sample rate converter that turns everything to 48 KHz if using the spdif digital out in ”pre amp mode” .

3. Using a good USB-spdif or USB -AES converter from a MAC/PC using Apple Music lossless or TIDAL can make the sound slightly better than using digital out from Yamaha wxc50. You then use the volumecontrol in the computer or the USB interface. I use this interface ( picture ) thats about 50 dollars.

4. A RCA spdif - AES xlr cable from digital source to Genelec digital input is no problem if the cable to the first loudspeaker is less than about 4 metres. You can modify a spdif source with a resistor of 35 ohms in series with the + connector in the RCA plug, making it a 110 ohm output instead of 75 ohm.

5. The Genelec digital input sounds slightly better than the analog inputs. More details, and a slightly more dynamic sound. Feeding the inbuilt dsp crossover directly with a digital signal without any A/D conversion is a good thing for sound quality.4DD3A2E6-DFEB-4898-803A-63253DCE3418.png
 
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Auditor

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This is my first post here. I currently have a pair of 8361s set up in my listening room for an in home demo. I have owned and heard many excellent speakers over the years. I have a different perspective from many members here in that I have a soft spot for bbc inspired speakers as well as quad es. I listen mostly to classical music. I agree that 8361s have a remarkable amount of clean, excellent, well integrated bass. astounding really for a speaker of their size. They can play much louder than I would ever care to listen. They certainly appear to have no distortion and to be exceptionally clear at all volumes. The detail presented is amazing. I really can hear things on recordings that I had missed before. I have no doubt that they are everything Amir says and that their designers wanted. Nevertheless, my experience is that the speakers are poorly suited for classical or other acoustic music. I think that strings sound harsh and piano brittle. Depsite the excellent measurements and clear virtues of the speaker, the e string on a violin is artificial sounding to me, harsh, unpleasant and cold. I find myself dreading the high notes. The beauty of live acoustical music is just not conveyed by these speakers In my room. The speakers are incredibly impressive, but do not companionable.

Now, all of this is without equalization. I have a GLS system arriving today, and it may improve things. I understand that I am posting a contrary view here. I do not doubt that these speakers are surely all they are intended to be for non-acoustic music, but they produce a sound, at least without eq, that is little like real acoustic instruments. I also understand that most here will take me to be an out of touch subjectivist ignoring the objective measurements. I do not intend to be anti-scientific or disrespectful in any way, but merely to report my short experience experience listening to the speakers. I hope that eq will fix the problems, for the many virturpes of the speakers are obvious, but I would not call them musical speakers, at least for classical music. Do others here who listen to classical music disagree?
In my opinion, the lack of naturalness you hear in classical and acoustic music is due to the fact that in the middle frequencies the third harmonic stands out over the second, giving a spark to the dynamics, but denaturing the timbral. This is the only fault that I see in these speakers. Very good for electronic music, can be improved for classical, acoustic and classical jazz.
 
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