Genelec W371A + The Ones : My quest for the Grail is over

[AdamG]

price is 3000 € (a piece) including 24% VAT
you can't buy it without paying VAT, except if it will be send outside EEC

Welcome Aboard @kuf.

 

[galanakop]

At the moment in a 15m2 room I have the 8330 together with the 7350 at 2.1.If I make the transition in the first phase to 8351 without a subwoofer will the difference I hear be big? In the future if I finally go to 8351b I will also get the w371 but as a first phase I will play with the 8351b without sub. Will the difference be significant compared to now? Unfortunately I do not have the ability to listen to them before I get the 8351b

 

[JustJones]

I have the 8351b and when I added 2 7350 subwoofers there was a nice improvement for me. Even though the 7350 uses 8 inch driver like the 8351 it reaches lower and the relief to the 8351 crossing at 80hz helped with distortion and they just sounded more relaxed?
Of course this is just my impression in my room. How much difference the 8351 without subs would compare to 8330 with subs I don't know but I believe subs help the 8351.

 

[galanakop]

I have the 8351b and when I added 2 7350 subwoofers there was a nice improvement for me. Even though the 7350 uses 8 inch driver like the 8351 it reaches lower and the relief to the 8351 crossing at 80hz helped with distortion and they just sounded more relaxed?
Of course this is just my impression in my room. How much difference the 8351 without subs would compare to 8330 with subs I don't know but I believe subs help the 8351.

I think I have to go with the 7370 to be right.

 

[JustJones]

I would have went with two 7360 but they were twice as much and in my room I'm not sure how much better they would be. I only do 2.2 with GLM and no HT. I think they reccomend the 7370 with the 8351b's.

 

[carewser]

I can't find the W371A on Genelec's website but I found it at other websites and found out it goes down to 23hz so is it just me or does it seem like kind of a waste of money since the 8361A's are pretty much full range speakers that go all the way down to 30hz? I have a sub to complement my speakers too but it digs 23hz deeper than they do and for what the W371A costs (which i'm sure is thousands) that seems like a lot to pay for the extra 7hz of depth

 

[echopraxia]

I can't find the W371A on Genelec's website but I found it at other websites and found out it goes down to 23hz so is it just me or does it seem like kind of a waste of money since the 8361A's are pretty much full range speakers that go all the way down to 30hz? I have a sub to complement my speakers too but it digs 23hz deeper than they do and for what the W371A costs (which i'm sure is thousands) that seems like a lot to pay for the extra 7hz of depth

Genelec’s product page is here and should answer your question, in addition to various discussion posts on the first few pages of this thread.

 

[richard12511]

I can't find the W371A on Genelec's website but I found it at other websites and found out it goes down to 23hz so is it just me or does it seem like kind of a waste of money since the 8361A's are pretty much full range speakers that go all the way down to 30hz? I have a sub to complement my speakers too but it digs 23hz deeper than they do and for what the W371A costs (which i'm sure is thousands) that seems like a lot to pay for the extra 7hz of depth

Compared on the basis of extension and output vs price(ie as a traditional subwoofer), the W371 is a very poor value imo. It's value imo comes from its completely unique(afaik) "multi-sub lite" performance in a 2 speaker package, as well as it's pretty unique ability to extend directivity down in to the bass region(similar to MEG, Kii, D&D). It's the only solution I'm aware of that provides the former, and while I do think the W371 is still a bit overpriced, when you're the only option on the market, you can charge mostly what you want. Even ignoring the extension difference, the 8361 doesn't have the ability to adjust the bass driver crossovers and timings based on in room measurements to give you the smoothest response, nor does it have the ability to continue the constant directivity down to the deep bass.

 

[JustJones]

I can't find the W371A on Genelec's website but I found it at other websites and found out it goes down to 23hz so is it just me or does it seem like kind of a waste of money since the 8361A's are pretty much full range speakers that go all the way down to 30hz? I have a sub to complement my speakers too but it digs 23hz deeper than they do and for what the W371A costs (which i'm sure is thousands) that seems like a lot to pay for the extra 7hz of depth

They're $18K USD for a pair.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1602770-REG/genelec_w371ap_adaptive_woofer_system_for.html

 

[Frank Dernie]

I can't find the W371A on Genelec's website but I found it at other websites and found out it goes down to 23hz so is it just me or does it seem like kind of a waste of money since the 8361A's are pretty much full range speakers that go all the way down to 30hz? I have a sub to complement my speakers too but it digs 23hz deeper than they do and for what the W371A costs (which i'm sure is thousands) that seems like a lot to pay for the extra 7hz of depth

IME the big difference will be whether it can cope on its own with the big bass sounds. Our ears are much less sensitive at bass frequencies and bass instruments like a bass drum or Tympany put out a huge amount of power.
IME it is here there is the biggest difference between speakers and it is certainly not only how low a speaker goes which is important for accurate sounding bass, but its output capability.
Whether the W371 is a worthwhile improvement for an individual will depend on both its unique room compensation and directivity control and its loudness capability.

 

[nai]

w371 improves two frequency bands of one, one is 100-300hz, other is 20-100hz. 100-300hz w371 is mainly to solve the sbir problem, this band belongs to the key band, the problem of this band is solved, the impact on the sound is huge. Therefore, one + w371 will sound very different from the general speaker.
The main difference between one+w371 and one+sub is also here.

 

[carewser]

They're $18K USD for a pair.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1602770-REG/genelec_w371ap_adaptive_woofer_system_for.html

Thanks for finding the price of the W371A

Looking closer at the specs of the 8361A reveals the frequency response of 30hz - 43khz is -6db (which I didn't notice the first time) so to get Genelec's legendarily flat frequency response of +/- 1.5db the speaker's frequency response is actually 36hz-20khz which means adding the subs makes more sense. I thought 28 grand for some speakers is insane (this Bernard guy must be incredibly wealthy) but then also realized that unlike regular speakers the Genelecs are powered thereby only needing a source to hear glorious music, so the bottom line? Good on you Bernard, I hope you enjoy them

 

[Purité Audio]

IME the big difference will be whether it can cope on its own with the big bass sounds. Our ears are much less sensitive at bass frequencies and bass instruments like a bass drum or Tympany put out a huge amount of power.
IME it is here there is the biggest difference between speakers and it is certainly not how low a speaker goes which is important for accurate sounding bass, but its output capability.
Whether the W371 is a worthwhile improvement for an individual will depend on both its unique room compensation and directivity control and its loudness capability.

I completely agree, the Hedd towers had a weight to the bass, it wasn’t extension but impact.
Keith

 

[Bernard 54]

Thanks for finding the price of the W371A

Looking closer at the specs of the 8361A reveals the frequency response of 30hz - 43khz is -6db (which I didn't notice the first time) so to get Genelec's legendarily flat frequency response of +/- 1.5db the speaker's frequency response is actually 36hz-20khz which means adding the subs makes more sense. I thought 28 grand for some speakers is insane (this Bernard guy must be incredibly wealthy) but then also realized that unlike regular speakers the Genelecs are powered thereby only needing a source to hear glorious music, so the bottom line? Good on you Bernard, I hope you enjoy them

Unfortunately, not yet ... I am awaiting confirmation of the date of my next wedding (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...quest-for-the-grail-is-over.23198/post-773975) in July or August and I will publish the banns very soon...
In the meantime, I console myself with my JM LAB from 1985 which still sound very good, despite their age.
Hereafter his little cousins :

Fortunately, polygamy is allowed in the Hi-Fi world ...

 

[carewser]

Fortunately, polygamy is allowed in the Hi-Fi world

My listening room goes beyond polygamy and is more like an orgiastic hippie commune

 

[Mykola]

Wonder what you think about my plan ?

Having pair of 8361a and going to add 7380 sub , and ,maybe, w371 at some point (or surrounds, or both).
Room is with big openings to two other rooms, but 5.5m x 4.8m x 2.9M .

Room treatment somewhere around after sub point must happen I guess.

 

[galanakop]

Wonder what you think about my plan ?

Having pair of 8361a and going to add 7380 sub , and ,maybe, w371 at some point (or surrounds, or both).
Room is with big openings to two other rooms, but 5.5m x 4.8m x 2.9M .

Room treatment somewhere around after sub point must happen I guess.

This system would be of particular interest. It would be around 30,000 euros but I think it would be the top.
2x8361 2x w371 2x7380

 

[MarsianC#]

Wonder what you think about my plan ?

I think you should open a thread in acoustics forum and show measurments and pics
Get the 7380 for LFE and/or really high SPL under 30 Hz. Get TWO W371A if you have problems with SBIR and/or in need of very SPL in bass (30 Hz+). They are very expensive....

 

[FrantzM]

w371 improves two frequency bands of one, one is 100-300hz, other is 20-100hz. 100-300hz w371 is mainly to solve the sbir problem, this band belongs to the key band, the problem of this band is solved, the impact on the sound is huge. Therefore, one + w371 will sound very different from the general speaker.
The main difference between one+w371 and one+sub is also here.

Hi

@dallasjustice, who unfortunately doesn’t post anymore (where are you Man!?) attacked this very problem in an heroic fashion with his JBL M2, using Rythmik subwoofers with Acoulense DRC. At the time, I sincerely found his solution a bit over the top, until I confronted myself the pesky and poorly known phenomenon of SBIR.
I believe a thread should be opened on this subject. For this thread, based on my experience with very different speakers, that SBIR affects the overall response of a system in the 100 to 500 Hz range, subwoofers or not, not easy to EQ your way out of it too. A pair of W371 is one of the most elegant solution to this problem. It should not be seen as "just" a pair of costly subwoofers but rather a solution that addresses:
SBIR.
Low Bass extension.
SPL in the low range
SPL in overall response.
Accurate in-room response in the audible range.

I am not shopping for a Genelec solution at the moment but, it registers now, as I understand more about system and room interactions, as a move I would like to contemplate.

Peace

 

[Bernard 54]

My listening room goes beyond polygamy and is more like an orgiastic hippie commune

Maintaining a harem of 16 speakers and 7 subwoofers must be expensive.
Why not sell everything in several steps and eventually become a bigamist with 8361A and W371A?
You will achieve true nirvana in your hippie commune and you will probably forget all your speakers and subwoofers...