This is a review and detailed measurements of the Genelec S360 (S360A) studio monitor. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $3995 each.
It comes in both white and black. As you can see, it is quite a departure from other Genelec speakers with rectangular shape and non-coaxial drivers. The latter was changed in order to allow for higher output level. The port is down firing. Fit and finish is superb. It is also quite heavy for its size, clocking at 30 kg/66 pounds. Many mounting holes are provided for various mounting options which is a major plus over traditional hi-fi speakers.
There is a digital input in this active bi-amped speaker and can be calibrated using Genelec GLM software.
Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections (so where I measure it doesn't matter). It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than an anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room.
Likewise listening tests comply with the latest research into proper evaluation of speakers calling for mono, instead of stereo listening:
Reference axis was not documented but based on trial and error, I found it be at the outer ring of the woofer. Company was kind enough to review and approve the measurements you are about to see.
Genelec S360 Measurements
As usual we are start with our "spin" frequency response measurements:
On-axis response is smooth but has a slight sloping down. Hard to find any faults other than the directivity error at around 1.4 kHz. This is caused entirely by vertical directivity:
Which you can see better in the drill down:
Floor and ceiling reflections could be absorbed to better controlled that vertical response error. Perceptually though, this is not nearly as significant as horizontal dispersion.
Predicted in-room response for far-field listening as a result has a small kink:
Here is our near-field response of the radiating surfaces showing excellence in response of the port/cabinet and that of the tweeter:
Back to directivity, we see the perfection again in our horizontal graphs:
Vertical dispersion advises sitting at reference axis relative to your ear height:
The reason for switch to standard 2-way configuration from coaxial is better power delivery. We can see this in the 106 dBSPL response best:
Compared to Genelec 8361, we see no limiting of the tweeter at 106 dBSPL:
The sweep at 106 dBSPL was scary loud even though I had full hearing protection!
I am sorry but I forgot to run the waterfall plot but there is the step response:
Genelec S360 Listening Tests
Due to heavy weight logistics, I had to listen to the S360 in our living room setting as you can see in the review picture above. This is a very live room/surrounding so different than my usual setup where there is for example a thick floor carpet. Still, performance was excellent with the single S360 capable of filling the entire room with authority. Bass is not super deep but what is there is very clean. I was only able to get the clipping light to blink once on a single track but could not detect any impairment.
I attempted broad 1 dB EQ to flatten the on-axis response but the result was inconclusive. In controlled AB tests, I preferred it with or without EQ equal number of times.
Compared to my memory of the 8361A, I thought bass extension was not quite as deep. And clarity while excellent, was not quite as impressive as that speaker.
Conclusion
The S360 moves the dynamic headroom forward compared to rest of Genelec line. It is clearly well engineered and built. By standards of traditional 2-way speakers, it performs excellently. It is only compared to the perfection of coaxial Genelecs that we see slight errors.
In the looks department, the S360 is now housed in a more home friendly enclosure and as such, should find more buyers. Many have walked away from Genelecs due to their somewhat polarizing look. Now you have a great alternative in the form of S360A.
I am happy to put the Genelec S360 speaker in my recommended list.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
It comes in both white and black. As you can see, it is quite a departure from other Genelec speakers with rectangular shape and non-coaxial drivers. The latter was changed in order to allow for higher output level. The port is down firing. Fit and finish is superb. It is also quite heavy for its size, clocking at 30 kg/66 pounds. Many mounting holes are provided for various mounting options which is a major plus over traditional hi-fi speakers.
There is a digital input in this active bi-amped speaker and can be calibrated using Genelec GLM software.
Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections (so where I measure it doesn't matter). It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than an anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room.
Likewise listening tests comply with the latest research into proper evaluation of speakers calling for mono, instead of stereo listening:
Reference axis was not documented but based on trial and error, I found it be at the outer ring of the woofer. Company was kind enough to review and approve the measurements you are about to see.
Genelec S360 Measurements
As usual we are start with our "spin" frequency response measurements:
On-axis response is smooth but has a slight sloping down. Hard to find any faults other than the directivity error at around 1.4 kHz. This is caused entirely by vertical directivity:
Which you can see better in the drill down:
Floor and ceiling reflections could be absorbed to better controlled that vertical response error. Perceptually though, this is not nearly as significant as horizontal dispersion.
Predicted in-room response for far-field listening as a result has a small kink:
Here is our near-field response of the radiating surfaces showing excellence in response of the port/cabinet and that of the tweeter:
Back to directivity, we see the perfection again in our horizontal graphs:
Vertical dispersion advises sitting at reference axis relative to your ear height:
The reason for switch to standard 2-way configuration from coaxial is better power delivery. We can see this in the 106 dBSPL response best:
Compared to Genelec 8361, we see no limiting of the tweeter at 106 dBSPL:
The sweep at 106 dBSPL was scary loud even though I had full hearing protection!
I am sorry but I forgot to run the waterfall plot but there is the step response:
Genelec S360 Listening Tests
Due to heavy weight logistics, I had to listen to the S360 in our living room setting as you can see in the review picture above. This is a very live room/surrounding so different than my usual setup where there is for example a thick floor carpet. Still, performance was excellent with the single S360 capable of filling the entire room with authority. Bass is not super deep but what is there is very clean. I was only able to get the clipping light to blink once on a single track but could not detect any impairment.
I attempted broad 1 dB EQ to flatten the on-axis response but the result was inconclusive. In controlled AB tests, I preferred it with or without EQ equal number of times.
Compared to my memory of the 8361A, I thought bass extension was not quite as deep. And clarity while excellent, was not quite as impressive as that speaker.
Conclusion
The S360 moves the dynamic headroom forward compared to rest of Genelec line. It is clearly well engineered and built. By standards of traditional 2-way speakers, it performs excellently. It is only compared to the perfection of coaxial Genelecs that we see slight errors.
In the looks department, the S360 is now housed in a more home friendly enclosure and as such, should find more buyers. Many have walked away from Genelecs due to their somewhat polarizing look. Now you have a great alternative in the form of S360A.
I am happy to put the Genelec S360 speaker in my recommended list.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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