Genelec 8361a vs 8351b

[Purité Audio]

You should also consider the 8Cs, their cardioid response does help the speakers work with the room , no subwoofer required and they are a complete system within themselves .
Keith

 

[ilikesound]

Neither monitor is the best Genelec solution for EDM. In your budget, 1032C + a subwoofer (or two, which is much better) or S360 will offer a more pleasant experience.
Check out Genelec's recommended EDM solutions at bottom of the page. Hint, it's neither 8351 nor 8361.

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Yes i saw that, thanks. But the first solution is not glm and the second is well above my budget. So i think im “””stuck””” with the ones. I dont think edm doesnt sound good on them or(???)

 

[ilikesound]

You should also consider the 8Cs, their cardioid response does help the speakers work with the room , no subwoofer required and they are a complete system within themselves .
Keith

Ill look into it. but There is literally 0 chance i can demo those.. Do you have any insight as to how they compare to the ones? (im searching the forums as we speak)
thank you

 

[Sacha]

All the 'Ones' family sound very similar, they just gain in volume capability and extension as they go bigger (like any other speaker). If you really want lots of clean lows I'd get a sub or two, personally I found crossing over the 8351 with a pair of 7360 cleared them up a bit (again like most speakers), and having separate subs also gives you more placement options which can help with room acoustics issues.

 

[Purité Audio]

Ill look into it. but There is literally 0 chance i can demo those.. Do you have any insight as to how they compare to the ones? (im searching the forums as we speak)
thank you

I have compared them directly to the 8351a’s and 15” sub here as we took them in part exchange against a pair of 8Cs that particular customer had a really quite large room and was sitting some 4 metres away .
Just recently I visited Charlie who is a writer/composer/producer and we compared the 8Cs to his 8351/sub, both speakers are so adjustable but out of the box the Genelecs sound a touch thinner, mainly because their target curve is more horizontal than the 8Cs.
The 8Cs were designed to work exceptionally well in largely untreated rooms, what are your sources?
Keith

 

[HairyEars]

Yes i saw that, thanks. But the first solution is not glm and the second is well above my budget. So i think im “””stuck””” with the ones. I dont think edm doesnt sound good on them or(???)

You're wrong, the 1032C is a SAM monitor (i.e., GLM compatible).
The S360 x 2 is the same cost as 8351A x 2, and sound much better with EDM music.

I'd prefer the 8C over the "Ones" (I owe 2 pairs for them and far from enamored). On the other hand, the 1032C and S360 are more enjoyable than the 8C to my ears.

 

[tifune]

I'd prefer the 8C over the "Ones" (I owe 2 pairs for them and far from enamored). On the other hand, the 1032C and S360 are more enjoyable than the 8C to my ears.

Do you have a treated room? I often suspect I would like Genelec as much, or more, than my 8C if my listening spaces were properly optimized. But, as is the case in most domestic environments, it is not really possible to go all-in with treatment.

 

[ilikesound]

I have compared them directly to the 8351a’s and 15” sub here as we took them in part exchange against a pair of 8Cs that particular customer had a really quite large room and was sitting some 4 metres away .
Just recently I visited Charlie who is a writer/composer/producer and we compared the 8Cs to his 8351/sub, both speakers are so adjustable but out of the box the Genelecs sound a touch thinner, mainly because their target curve is more horizontal than the 8Cs.
The 8Cs were designed to work exceptionally well in largely untreated rooms, what are your sources?
Keith

I have found your post comparing those! I must say im impresed with what i have read about them. Sound treatment is something im fixed on so while it is a selling point for now, it isnt so much for the future (how do 51s sound . If by more horizontal target curve you mean flatter response im all for it.

 

[ilikesound]

You're wrong, the 1032C is a SAM monitor (i.e., GLM compatible).
The S360 x 2 is the same cost as 8351A x 2, and sound much better with EDM music.

I'd prefer the 8C over the "Ones" (I owe 2 pairs for them and far from enamored). On the other hand, the 1032C and S360 are more enjoyable than the 8C to my ears.

I was wrong indeed. Sorry. I contacted genelec about it and you are right about everything. But they did say if i wanted to mix on them as well i would not miss a thing with 51s. Thank you for your input! i think ill add a sub or two later on.

 

[ilikesound]

Do you have a treated room? I often suspect I would like Genelec as much, or more, than my 8C if my listening spaces were properly optimized. But, as is the case in most domestic environments, it is not really possible to go all-in with treatment.

I have minimal treatment but there is no option not to treat my room properly bit by bit. I think i will go for 51s. I just hope they wont sound too bad before proper treatment comes (around xmas i think).

 

[Purité Audio]

I have found your post comparing those! I must say im impresed with what i have read about them. Sound treatment is something im fixed on so while it is a selling point for now, it isnt so much for the future (how do 51s sound . If by more horizontal target curve you mean flatter response im all for it.

The Genelecs measure pretty well but their target curve is more horizontal, listeners tend to prefer slightly more bass slightly less treble ( a downward tilting target) the Gens just sound a bit thin compared to the 8Cs.
Their cardioid response just helps with clarity and this is reflected in their in room measurements.
Be careful with passive treatment as fine measuring speakers can easily be diminished with ill conceived treatment.
Keith

 

[ilikesound]

The Genelecs measure pretty well but their target curve is more horizontal, listeners tend to prefer slightly more bass slightly less treble ( a downward tilting target) the Gens just sound a bit thin compared to the 8Cs.
Their cardioid response just helps with clarity and this is reflected in their in room measurements.
Be careful with passive treatment as fine measuring speakers can easily be diminished with ill conceived treatment.
Keith

one thing i often find myself do is boosting the treble on simple systems i listen to (car, tv, radios) so i think ill be fine with curve not leaning to bass. And for mixing the horizintal curve is atleast to me prefered. I hope you are wrong and for my ears they wont sound thin because that is the last thing id wish for my endgame speakers haha. Ill tackle the problematic spots in my room first bit by bit, so i think i wont kill the room that fast. Or what exactly do you mean by ill concieved- any tips? I think ill go with GIK acoustics. Thanks alot though!

 

[Purité Audio]

GIK will certainly take your money, I would try and learn a bit more about acoustics and what you are hoping to achieve before buying anything, and ideally you need to hear the speakers in your room, boosted treble very soon becomes tiring.
Keith

 

[Joachim Herbert]

When it comes to target curves, GLM comes to the rescue. Easily tilts any way you want. Just sayin.

 

[HairyEars]

Do you have a treated room? I often suspect I would like Genelec as much, or more, than my 8C if my listening spaces were properly optimized. But, as is the case in most domestic environments, it is not really possible to go all-in with treatment.

Yes, a dedicated room, treated with the help of an acoustician.
I'd say the quality is a top notch pro home studio, one step under a true professional studio.

Honestly, the best sounding speakers can only be as good as the room is.

 

[ilikesound]

GIK will certainly take your money, I would try and learn a bit more about acoustics and what you are hoping to achieve before buying anything, and ideally you need to hear the speakers in your room, boosted treble very soon becomes tiring.
Keith

If you have any better alternatives for acoustic treatment please share. Thats the only one i kinda came across thinking its bang for buck. If they will take my money as u say id be happy to go other routes. Also i havent find alot of info regarding vertical vs horizontal orientation of the ones. Do you know anything about that? for now all i know is it should not make a difference. But i will be putting them on table stands for now so what would minimise the table reflections better? or would you advise me against putting speakers on table at all cost?
Thanks

 

[sleepy.sock]

Best to get the speakers in situ first, measure using GLM and then decide on what treatment is required. You will be able to see from the GRADE report clearly if there are any issues and where they are. Treatment for different frequency ranges is different, and for lower freq ranges it is often impracticable in any normal home room. There is no way of saying what you need in terms of treament until you measure!

 

[sleepy.sock]

I have 8361As and I listen from roughly 3m away too. I am glad I got them and did not go with smaller models. They are pretty big beasts though. Bass response with EDM is excellent (although EDM isn't something I listen to much myself). As recommended in previous posts (and by Amir in his review) it is wise to add a bit of a bass boost in the 8361As -- this is easily done in DSP in GLM or Roon and produces superb results. The 8361A can really deliver in the bass dept.

The main acoustic issue you are likely to encounter if you listen 3m away is early reflections. Unless you are in a studio (which you can build to be as weird as you like), it's just very hard to control reflections at this distance. They do colour the sound and make it less sharply defined. Solutions are: sit closer to the monitors, or do massive structural work to your room to try to kill early reflections (good luck with that!).

 

[tmtomh]

I have 8351b’s in a medium-size room (approx 16x21 feet aka 5x6 meters), and I listen about 2.75M away. I’m perfectly content.

However, if I had a larger room and would be listening from 4M away and I could not audition the speakers myself (and I had the money), I’d go for the 8361a’s. (Or the D&D 8c’s.)

 

[Ellebob]

I do acoustic designs for a living. Lots of things to consider in your decisions.

1. How loud do you plan to listen?
The larger speaker will play louder and the further away you listen the more capable of a speaker you need if you like to listen louder.

2. Sub or no sub? I always recommend a sub, sometimes more than one. If you don't need loud sometimes the smaller model with a sub is better choice. If I place a sub in one location I will get a certain bass response, it might be boomy, it might seem like it lacks bass, or maybe it is perfect. If I move the sub to a different location I get a different response. If I am not using a sub and using speakers I get different response whether the left speaker is playing bass compared to right speaker and compared to both speakers. Stereo bass is not really possible in most room if people's homes. Moving your speakers to get a good bass response is very unlikely to be in good location for midrange and high frequencies and maintain good soundstage and imaging.

Also, if you move your seat you get a different response. Multiple subs help with keeping the same bass response in a larger area. If you only care about one seat, one sub is fine.

With that being said if you don't plan on adding a sub now, go with bigger speaker as it can play lower.

3. Acoustic treatments can make a huge difference in a room. You can make your soundstage wider with great envelopment or more narrow and have precise imagining and focus. There are also many different types of treatments to achieve the desired result. Finding the correct combination can be tough and many companies try to over treat a room and sell more treatments than necessary. This can make the sound worse and not better. Treating first reflections is not always desirable, it depends on how speakers measure on and off axis and one's goals for that room. Too much to cover here but be ready if companies that say you should be treatments a certain way and they have not discussed you goals or preferences. I find many customers don't even understand unless they sit in a room and listen to music they are familiar, move different treatments around where they hear the differences. Then they have a better idea what they want for the sound in their room.