Genelec vs JBL next to a living room TV

[Head_Unit]

I'm going to remove big towers from under my TV* and want to put speakers up next to the TV.
- A main criteria was not too wide due to space nor really deep which would stick out past the TV, nor boringly black rectangular in order to maintain spousal peace.

My candidates have thus devolved to
- Genelec 8040B 8040B Studio Monitor - Genelec.com based on https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/genelec-8030c-studio-monitor-review.14795/
- JBL CBT 70J-1 JBL Professional CBT 70J-1 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-70j-1-review-constant-beam-transducer.21469/
Genelec's appearance is maybe more artistic; the JBL can probably play louder???

There would be a subwoofer, eventually some kind of custom monster in the corner. Sources are TV and AirPlay. Not via an AVR, I want to put the modem and router and streamer and amplification etc all up behind the tilted TV.

Whaddaya think?
Or should I just get a $79 soundbar at Costco? (OK Just kidding NO)


*Wharfedale Diamond 11.4, they are really great, but I'm going to declutter and set up multichannel in a different room. Sell 'em to ya at a good price!

 

[kemmler3D]

This is an interesting comparison... the JBL looks worse on-axis but competitive in-room due to the directivity control. the JBL should work pretty well if you can mount them at exactly ear height. Otherwise you will need to use the Genelecs. The Genelecs will probably sound marginally more neutral in-room, but if you have some issue with floor / ceiling reflections the JBL might edge them out in this use case.

 

[kyuu]

I find both the JBL CBT and the Genelec strange choices for "spousal peace", but there's no accounting for taste. I don't mean that to cast aspersions, by the way. If your spouse likes (or at least doesn't mind) the looks of those speakers, you're actually quite lucky!

Couldn't go wrong either way, IMO, but positioning for the Genelecs will probably be easier just because they're relatively tiny and you're not dealing with the needle-like dispersion of the JBL. OTOH, if you want to be able to turn the volume up, I'm not sure those little Genelecs will get loud enough before you encounter serious clipping. Adding a subwoofer might alleviate that a bit.

 

[Head_Unit]

. If your spouse likes (or at least doesn't mind) the looks of those speakers

She minds the look of ANY speakers, damn you to hell Amar Bose for your little cubes!
The big-literally-issue I have with mounting many fine speakers is they are DEEP. Like 12" or something, which with the parallelepiped form would just look bad next to a TV.
- The Genelecs at least have a kind of artistic form. Disadvantage might be limited SPL though I don't crank to the max as I used to; an advantage could be that if I put in a huge TV, filling the space between doors, the Genelecs could be moved above the doors (not ideal no but again this is not the super critical listening environment).
- The JBL tapering depth kind-of matches the angle of the TV.
- I think I have given up on designing a custom shallow monitor and having cabinets made etc. I'll never get around to that. I haven't even gotten around to modeling a giant subwoofer.

 

[Mr. Widget]

- I think I have given up on designing a custom shallow monitor and having cabinets made etc. I'll never get around to that. I haven't even gotten around to modeling a giant subwoofer.

I like the CBTs behind perf screens, but in a living room?

How about tracking down a pair of Revel Gem 2s?

 

[Head_Unit]

Revel Gem 2s

Mmmm those look nice, not too deep. Wide though, I have to measure. Jeez $3500 used?!?

 

[kyuu]

How much space do you have width-wise? If you're looking for something relatively shallow and wall-mountable, I'd ordinarily recommend looking at the Kef Q4 Meta but at about 10" wide dunno if that'd work for you.

 

[Head_Unit]

How much space do you have width-wise?

Ah maybe 8"? It's not just the width now, if I fill the whole width I can't go bigger than a 75" TV in the future. I do admire KEF engineering.

 

[kyuu]

75" isn't big enough??

Have you thought about in-walls? Revel W553L would fit in the space nicely, assuming there's no studs in the way.

 

[Rednaxela]

I once toyed with the idea to build an enclosure around a pair of Genelec AIW26 speakers and use them as on-walls.

 

[Head_Unit]

Have you thought about in-walls?

It won't work, there's a stud right smack where the left speaker should go. Plus the TV would be not blocking it but right there, not good acoustically. And back to the bigger TV issue...if I want to fill the space with a big screen I should go Genelec I suppose, because no @kyuu 75" is not too big. Thinking 100"!!!