Genelec speakers

[syn08]

Not that I could afford any of their top products like the 8631A, but is it me only thinking these speakers look like crap? Agreed they sound great, but they have the look of some cheap boombox grade product. I am pretty sure my wife would hate them too.

I might be old fashioned, but I still like the veneered wood look for home speakers.

 

[dshreter]

You’ve added a lot to the discourse on this site. Now I have too

Edit: they’re not designed as home speakers. Arguably almost all studio monitors are somewhere on the ugly spectrum

 

[Doodski]

I like the black and the white ones. The gray is like something I've seen in a factory painted to look neutral with some sort of lead based industrial paint. The silver colored tweeter on the 1 series looks fantastic on the black ones.

 

[Eurasian]

I like the black and the white ones. The gray is like something I've seen in a factory painted to look neutral with some sort of lead based industrial paint. The silver colored tweeter on the 1 series looks fantastic on the black ones.

Matte industrial grey was the choice of Altec, JBL and RCA for their early theater and studio monitors because it would minimally reflect through the screen or off of monitoring windows, hopefully keeping these distractions from undermining the audio/video illusion. Western Electric, Jensen and others generally went flat black for the same reasons. Grey is an excellent choice for home theaters.

 

[syn08]

You’ve added a lot to the discourse on this site. Now I have too

Edit: they’re not designed as home speakers. Arguably almost all studio monitors are somewhere on the ugly spectrum

Sorry, I missed the review thread .

I still don't understand why such amazing (both objective and subjective) speakers need to be ugly as sin. IMO, this is not even a good industrial look, there is audio gear that have an industrial look and are not necessary ugly, thinking of e.g. the Bryston 4B-SST amplifiers.

 

[gorb]

I don’t find them ugly or unattractive.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Not that I could afford any of their top products like the 8631A, but is it me only thinking these speakers look like crap? Agreed they sound great, but they have the look of some cheap boombox grade product. I am pretty sure my wife would hate them too.

I might be old fashioned, but I still like the veneered wood look for home speakers.

The fact that you don't like their design doesn't make them "look like crap"
It's just your opinion

 

[tmtomh]

A lot of people think the Genelecs are ugly. I wouldn't call them beautiful, but I don't share the view that they're ugly. The black ones and white ones can look quite nice in the right setting.

They are also made of cast aluminum and incredibly solidly built, and the rounded edges serve the sound. Replacing that with wood veneer over MDF or whatnot would degrade the rigidity and likely the sonics.

I don't think you can do much about the shape, but I'm sure the technology exists to create a convincing-looking woodgrain surface on the Genelecs' aluminum covering. The questions are whether the production process is economically feasible, and whether there's much demand for a wood-veneer-look version of speakers with that shape and among the main customer base for this particular kind of speaker.

On the one hand I totally get the desire not to have to look at something one thinks is ugly - music is about aesthetics and enjoyment after all, and so being displeased by the things you have to look at while listening to it would be a bummer.

On the other hand, even though I appreciate fine art, sculpture, and design, I've never quite understood what people get out of their hi-fi gear looking like fine furniture. To me it's like wanting my computer to be clad in wood veneer. It just feels wrong somehow.

To each their own of course.

 

[dshreter]

I think appreciation of their looks goes along with understanding why they look the way they do.

Do they look like the Eye of Sauron or a Portal Sentry Turret? Well, yes they do...

But the shape is also defined by the waveguide, coaxial design, and shaped to reduce diffraction. They're also made out of aluminum which is much stiffer than the MDF boxes most speakers are constructed from. All of this gives them a unique look, and understanding the value of how each of these design choices contributes to the function I think lends greater appreciation for the form. Without that knowledge they just look like lame plastic computer speakers.

 

[maverickronin]

And this is where people's tastes just diverge.

Genelecs look so much nicer than the usual woodgrain monkey coffins that are traditional audiophile passives. The common alternatives of high gloss black or white start off looking nice, but never hold up.

Also, Genelec's grey finish looks much better in person than in pictures. It has a slight texture and a tiny hint of sparkle.

 

[dc655321]

I think they look a little bit "Ikea". Unsurprising I suppose.

They also look the part of having a lot of careful thought in their design and execution.

 

[Doodski]

and a tiny hint of sparkle.

That would be cool. I like sparkle with mood lighting.

 

[preload]

Not that I could afford any of their top products like the 8631A, but is it me only thinking these speakers look like crap? Agreed they sound great, but they have the look of some cheap boombox grade product. I am pretty sure my wife would hate them too.

I might be old fashioned, but I still like the veneered wood look for home speakers.

It’s not just you. But this ASR, not Better Homes and Gardens.

 

[Walter]

I love beautiful wood, and originally thought that modern Genelec, especially the Ones, were butt ugly. However, my opinion changed the more I looked at them and read about their sound quality and reliability, and I now find them more attractive than most studio monitors or vinyl clad home speakers. However, what I find rather amusing is that I'm absolutely certain I read somewhere that the shape was actually created by a designer they hired in order to get away from the standard monitor look.

 

[Kuba]

Sorry, I missed the review thread .

I still don't understand why such amazing (both objective and subjective) speakers need to be ugly as sin. IMO, this is not even a good industrial look, there is audio gear that have an industrial look and are not necessary ugly, thinking of e.g. the Bryston 4B-SST amplifiers.

Answer is really simple here, form follows function.

 

[Walter]

On the other hand, even though I appreciate fine art, sculpture, and design, I've never quite understood what people get out of their hi-fi gear looking like fine furniture. To me it's like wanting my computer to be clad in wood veneer. It just feels wrong somehow.

To each their own of course.

I live in a country where reasonable good wood and metal work is very cheap. I spent some time designing a wooden case, and later a wooden case based around the guts of a cheap metal case, for the PC I assembled earlier this year. I abandoned the idea only when I decided definitely that it would be going under my desk rather than on it--in order to not destroy the imaging of whatever speakers I eventually purchase. I'll still happily take a pair of Genelecs if I can afford them.

 

[DanielT]

Must still give Genelec a praise. Of course, Genelec know that their speakers by some are not considered so aesthetically pleasing but they ignore that.Cool attitude, like: We know we make some of the world's best speakers. If you do not like the look well take it or leave it. All up to you.

Please note not written ironically.

 

[q3cpma]

Must still give Genelec a praise. Of course, Genelec know that their speakers by some are not considered so aesthetically pleasing but they ignore that.Cool attitude, like: We know we make some of the world's best speakers. If you do not like the look well take it or leave it. All up to you.

A bit like Noctua fans (note: I like their brown and beige colour scheme).

 

[Digby]

A bit like Noctua fans (note: I like their brown and beige colour scheme).

I think they deliberately made the colour look like something you'd find in the potting shed so that people would say how ugly they were. The ugliness is what cemented their image/name in people's minds.

 

[mightycicadalord]

I think my genelecs look great, in fact they're kinda hot