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Genelec S360 Review (Studio Monitor)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 5 1.6%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 9 2.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 111 35.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 184 59.5%

  • Total voters
    309

james57

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Hi folks, I am considering the s360 for my mix use ht hifi system, saw many many reviews. I am especially interested on the s360 vs 8361 or 8351 but the s360 appears to be a solid choice, no negatives, my room is 8x12 listening is 11, I will have some acoustic panels installed shortly. I should mention that I have a rythmik e15 that I will keep and will most likely cover 20-80 hz. Glm for 80 and up. Any advices, comments, thanks for the help
 

Skytree

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Hi James, I presume your room dimensions are in metres. Genelec have cubic calcs online for all models. I use a S360 pair for Hifi and TV, using streaming and CD and also have listened to my friends 8361's numerous times. As the specs state the 8361 goes lower. In saying that using GLM the S360's are both -6db@31hz in room. ( 9mtr x 4.7x 2.4mtr). S360 performs well at all volume levels and sound superb at longer listening distances with plenty of headroom on all music types. Both the s360/8361 have been designed with different end uses and and each has its strengths. 8361 have a slight edge in detail for critical music listening. The S360's have a real fun factor that gives the feeling of a live venue when listening at louder levels. Both are excellent sounding speakers that can take on multiple roles. For music listening in my room I don't feel the need for a sub, like wise for the 8361.
 

james57

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Hi James, I presume your room dimensions are in metres. Genelec have cubic calcs online for all models. I use a S360 pair for Hifi and TV, using streaming and CD and also have listened to my friends 8361's numerous times. As the specs state the 8361 goes lower. In saying that using GLM the S360's are both -6db@31hz in room. ( 9mtr x 4.7x 2.4mtr). S360 performs well at all volume levels and sound superb at longer listening distances with plenty of headroom on all music types. Both the s360/8361 have been designed with different end uses and and each has its strengths. 8361 have a slight edge in detail for critical music listening. The S360's have a real fun factor that gives the feeling of a live venue when listening at louder levels. Both are excellent sounding speakers that can take on multiple roles. For music listening in my room I don't feel the need for a sub, like wise for the 8361.
Hi Skytree, first of all welcome to the forum ... oups and no my dimensions are in feet.. listening position is close to 3m, I know the s360 might be a bit too big.. for genelec it appears the consensus is more toward the 8351. I have also other products that are being considered, psi a23 is one of them. I am currently gathering as much info as possible and since I am planing a 2.1 setup I have a lot of options.
 

srrxr71

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Hi Skytree, first of all welcome to the forum ... oups and no my dimensions are in feet.. listening position is close to 3m, I know the s360 might be a bit too big.. for genelec it appears the consensus is more toward the 8351. I have also other products that are being considered, psi a23 is one of them. I am currently gathering as much info as possible and since I am planing a 2.1 setup I have a lot of options.
From reading the monitor selection guide my reading yielded 8361 for 3m distance.
 

changer

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The distances that Genelec defines in their brochures are the application in a treated studio space and benchmarked for decay times and the likes. I doubt we should apply them directly to home listening.

James, if you are listening from 3 meters, the pattern of the S360 could be a bit tight. With a longer distance, they will sound better, as more room cues enter the sonic perception and the controlled pattern really shines.
 

thewas

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The distances that Genelec defines in their brochures are the application in a treated studio space and benchmarked for decay times and the likes. I doubt we should apply them directly to home listening.
The bad thing is to get similar sound immersion in typical living places with higher reverberation someone would rather even need to go for the lower part of the recommended listening ranges.
 

james57

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The distances that Genelec defines in their brochures are the application in a treated studio space and benchmarked for decay times and the likes. I doubt we should apply them directly to home listening.

James, if you are listening from 3 meters, the pattern of the S360 could be a bit tight. With a longer distance, they will sound better, as more room cues enter the sonic perception and the controlled pattern really shines.
The bad thing is to get similar sound immersion in typical living places with higher reverberation someone would rather even need to go for the lower part of the recommended listening ranges.
Thanks for the feedback, seems like this is a great speaker but probably not the best for my application, I will test some 51 or 61 for the short list.
 

changer

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I liked the narrow pattern when I was listening to such speakers from 4-5 meters, but I do not so much from up close (my listening situation at the moment). Others have made similar experiences:

-Speakers with a narrow pattern such as this one really shine in larger rooms, to increase the direct to reflected sound ratio. I recently built some 15" coaxial full (ish) range (40hz -3dB) main monitors for a large studio room and especially in stereo this (and other) type of narrow directivity speakers can make other loudspeakers sound like toys under the right circumstances. Give them too little space and then things become less enjoyable as sounds are easily identified as coming from the left and right with an extremely clear phantom image (headhone effect). There's always a sweetspot when it comes to the ratio of direct/reflected sound.

A concept that was popularized in English speaking DIY forums promised to make this work even in smaller rooms:

Page 5 from The Geddes Loudspeaker System Design Philosophy said:
The earlier and the greater in level the first room reflections are, the worse they are. This aspect of sound perception is controversial. Some believe that all reflections are good because they increase the listeners feeling of space – they increase the spaciousness of the sound. While it is certainly true that all reflections add to spaciousness, the very early ones (< 10 ms.) do so at the sake of imaging and coloration. There is no contention that reflections > 20 ms are positive and perceived as early reverberation and acoustic spaciousness within the space. In small rooms, the first reflections from an arbitrary source, mainly omni-directional, will never occur later than 10-20 ms (basically this is the definition of a small room), hence the first reflections in small rooms must be thought of as a serious problem that causes coloration and image blurring.

Page 7 from The Geddes Loudspeaker System Design Philosophy said:
The requirements for the design are now clear. Above about 500 Hz, the speaker system must posses a narrow, 90° or less, coverage pattern which must be constant with
angle and frequency. Stated in another way, the Directivity Index (DI) should be above 9 dB above about 500 Hz and should be flat with frequency. The system can have an
increasing energy output capability (but not necessarily the SPL at a given point) at lower frequencies to produce the increasing energy demand of low frequencies without overloading. The polar pattern below 500 Hz is not as important as it is above so it makes sense to have the coverage control go down to about this frequency. In other words, the DI should fall to about 3 dB below 500 Hz. The sources must be oriented in the room in such a way as to avoid a reflection off of the walls nearest to them.

I have never had the chance to listen to the proper setup, which would consist of two 15-inch constant directivity two-way loudspeakers, crossed to three subs. Maybe this really is working then. But I cannot imagine that things will be all different from what we would experience with control monitors which have a similar directivity. For music listening, I preferred them when they where not so close, which means: the mix was shifted towards room sound and more reflections, diminishing direct sound. It takes some distance to enjoy the higher directivity for music listening, I think. "How big is your place?", is then an important question to consider.

And Earl Geddes, the originator of the above text, has lately explained his concept of audio reproducation in broad strokes as a "They are here"-approach. Four posts further down from the linked, he will decribe precisely what the trade-offs of the "They are here"-approach are. This way, we can understand that a highly directive stereo source is only one possible solution for playback and comes with specific constraints that it cannot overcome.

Which one is better must be learned from experience. Both Erin as well as Amir have often commented that they preferred a wider patter, i.e. a lower DI. But this might once more be a question of listening distance and room size, not to forget.
 
Last edited:

Skytree

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I liked the narrow pattern when I was listening to such speakers from 4-5 meters, but I do not so much from up close (my listening situation at the moment). Others have made similar experiences:



A concept that was popularized in English speaking DIY forums promised to make this work even in smaller rooms:





I have never had the chance to listen to the proper setup, which would consist of two 15-inch constant directivity two-way loudspeakers, crossed to three subs. Maybe this really is working then. But I cannot imagine that things will be all different from what we would experience with control monitors which have a similar directivity. For music listening, I preferred them when they where not so close, which means: the mix was shifted towards room sound and more reflections, diminishing direct sound. It takes some distance to enjoy the higher directivity for music listening, I think. "How big is your place?", is then an important question to consider.

And Earl Geddes, the originator of the above text, has lately explained his concept of audio reproducation in broad strokes as a "They are here"-approach. Four posts further down from the linked, he will decribe precisely what the trade-offs of the "They are here"-approach are. This way, we can understand that a highly directive stereo source is only one possible solution for playback and comes with specific constraints that it cannot overcome.

Which one is better must be learned from experience. Both Erin as well as Amir have often commented that they preferred a wider patter, i.e. a lower DI. But this might once more be a question of listening distance and room size, not to forget.
For home listening the S360 sound superb from 4 metres plus. My signal path is digital through a Behringer DEQ2496. This gives me source switching and the option to widen/narrow the stereo image to taste. :)
 

LTig

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For home listening the S360 sound superb from 4 metres plus. My signal path is digital through a Behringer DEQ2496. This gives me source switching and the option to widen/narrow the stereo image to taste. :)
Yep, that's a great feature for some recordings.
 

RobL

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Is this a feature of the s360?

No, his DEQ2496 has a stereo signal processor:

18F9687F-CD7C-4325-A0DE-86D2141ACC85.jpeg
 

teashea

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It is a good speaker. But there are better choices at this price point. Particularly, for less money the new Neumann KH150's are quite superior according to Amir's reviews. I cannot see many studios purchasing these as monitors.
 

dfuller

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It is a good speaker. But there are better choices at this price point. Particularly, for less money the new Neumann KH150's are quite superior according to Amir's reviews. I cannot see many studios purchasing these as monitors.
These go so, so much louder than KH150s. Some clients like listening insanely loud.
 

Rahan

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In France they seem to be discontinued.... A shame. I love the form factor and the ratio size/SPL.
I would love to hear them and to compare them with the JBL 708p.
 

jlo

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In France they seem to be discontinued.... A shame. I love the form factor and the ratio size/SPL.
I would love to hear them and to compare them with the JBL 708p.
We have installed some S360 in France : customers are very pleased.
JBL708p, when equalised, are very good speakers but I personnaly prefer S360 (although more expensive).
S360 may be used without EQ and can go louder so it can be listened up to a distance of about 4m in HE or Music Atmos rooms.
You cannot compare to KH150, which is a nearfield loudspeaker that cannot go very loud without bass management.
(I think that I shoud add 708p and S360 measurements to loudspeakers.audio)
 

badspeakerdesigner

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I'm considering a design like these for a 16x25 room. Most speakers I've tried really have their imaging collapse at the 7-8ft or so distance I like to sit at. I definitely want some volume to play with. I can't really afford these, but I did stumble on the VBS 10.2 by Matt Grant. These seem to offer quit good controlled dispersion at a very low cost. The designer gave me some suggestions on porting to get some more low end out of them, but I will use distributed subs. Been reading a lot of stuff from Geddes as well on directivity. Controlled speakers definitely sound better to me.


Perhaps this a good poor mans S360?
 

YSC

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I'm considering a design like these for a 16x25 room. Most speakers I've tried really have their imaging collapse at the 7-8ft or so distance I like to sit at. I definitely want some volume to play with. I can't really afford these, but I did stumble on the VBS 10.2 by Matt Grant. These seem to offer quit good controlled dispersion at a very low cost. The designer gave me some suggestions on porting to get some more low end out of them, but I will use distributed subs. Been reading a lot of stuff from Geddes as well on directivity. Controlled speakers definitely sound better to me.


Perhaps this a good poor mans S360?
on paper it is, but who knows the unit variation or QC, it shouldn't be too far off but likely wont have as tight tolerance.
 
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