• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Genelecs for home audio?

voodooless

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 16, 2020
Messages
10,223
Likes
17,800
Location
Netherlands
The issue is actually finding used Genelec. You could very much be waiting years, and I can't imagine they are any more frequent in India as they are in other areas despite the higher population. Over 3k you are in brand new Neumann KH 310/150 territory which I think I'd prefer over a non-coaxial Genelec.
I don’t know. I bought all of my Genelec’s second hand for a good price. Never had to look for longer than a few weeks. I just live in a small country. Some models are harder than others though. 8050’s are not very common. Come by every two months or so, and you’ll need to be fast to grab them.

Well worth the wait though.
 

Sokel

Master Contributor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
5,840
Likes
5,775
My room is a little bigger than the friends here (about 80m²) and even medium 3-way with double 8" woofers and f3 down to 30Hz haven't done justice.
Is not about SPL,is about fullness and big sound that you can have.
And we are talking about monitors here?

Every room size has it's own set of problems.In big rooms monitors is not the answer.And yes,even with subs,midwoofer will suffer and will be empty as in 90% of the measurements we see around.
My suggestion is to get the speakers with the biggest woofers he can afford even if the sound will not be at the "proper" standards.
At least it will be fun!

Edit:Note that the room is NOT acoustically treated in any way,Genelec's and the kind may be fantastic but their use is supposed to be in very well treated environments.
Yes,some friends might be lucky and the speaker will "sit" right in their room.
But can't leave that to luck,can we?
 
Last edited:

NiagaraPete

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Messages
2,185
Likes
1,954
Location
Canada
Greetings ASR!

Long time lurker, from Kerala, India.

First of all, deep respect for Amir & Co - for what you are doing.

I had a simple question:
Is it possible to use the Genelec speakers for home audio? [Budget 2000USD]
I wish to listen far field (say 3 to 4 meters) away in a room that is 30 feet by 20 feet.

They are marketed as Studio Monitors. I always had this question if Studio Monitors can be used for far field listening in a home set up.

Cheers
PS: Here is a tiny peep into music from our part of the world. A video song.
.
This is not a representative audio of the our kind of music, but it is fun!
Hi, I own the 8050b which is a studio version that I’m completely happy with so much so, I’ve ordered the G Five which is the home version. It’s the same but a bit different in that I could get a black finish and the ISS has a setting, and that there are also rca inputs which I won’t be using.
 

Rja4000

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
2,682
Likes
4,220
Location
Liège, Belgium
I'm very happy with my second hand Genelec 1032A.
I own 2 pairs, now.

Each pair costed me around 1500€.
They are not as "state of the art" as the latest "1" serie, but cost is also very different.
And they are pretty decent, still.
More than decent, actually.

You may perfectly use them mid to far field, (in a 45 square meters room in my case), as long as they aren't on the floor.

They are able to push quite some SPL too.
 
Last edited:

Sokel

Master Contributor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
5,840
Likes
5,775

Triliza

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Messages
477
Likes
558
Location
Europe
If I were you, I'd buy Wharfdale Linton and an Denon AVR-S970H (when it becomes available soon), that'll be around $2000, and you'll have Audyssey for room correction. Since you'll have the AVR, you may find yourself sooner or later with a multichannel system (if that's something you'll want and have the space for it). Genelecs surely are super nice but expensive also for a great farfield experience.
 

FrantzM

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
4,337
Likes
7,730
I'm very happy with my second hand Genelec 1032A.
I own 2 pairs, now.

Each pair costed me around 1500€.
They are not as "state of the art" than latest "1" serie, but cost is also very different.
And they are pretty decent, still.
More than decent, actually.

You may perfectly use them mid to far field, (in a 45 square meters room in my case), as long as they aren't on the floor.

They are able to push quite some SPL too.
You got yourself quite a bargain... @ 1500 Euros/pair.
 

Matthias McCready

Active Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2021
Messages
209
Likes
273
@ManFromKerala

Home-work assignment :)

Sit down-real close to your current speakers, and grab an SPL meter (a phone app will not be perfect, but should be within a few dB if you have nothing else).

Use that SPL meter to see how loud you enjoy.

----

Once you have that "SPL" number in hand here are some "back of the napkin," rules of thumb and math for you to determine the monitors/speakers you need.

1. Most loudspeakers have their SPL measurements done at 1 meter distance (check the specifications to verify)
2. Every-time you double distance, you half the volume (-6dB); note this occurs in freespace, this is not quite true in a room, as their boundries and reflections, "room gain."
3. On most systems it is good to have 6-12dB additionally to what you will be listening at. The reasoning for this is preserve dynamics, and also most equipment does not fare well in the longterm when it is running "full-out" all of the time. Granted some brands/models are fairly "idiot" proof and you just hit an internal limiter.

----

As an example for your situation.

Lets say you enjoy listening to music at 80dBA, but when the mood hits you might listen to music at 86dBA.

if your listening position is 4 Meters that is roughly-12dB from the 1 meter mark. So you would want a system capable of producing 98dBA. If we account for headroom , in this situation you would want a monitor capable of producing 104-110dBA per the spec sheet.

---

Let us know what kind of SPL you need :)
 

Shadrach

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Feb 24, 2019
Messages
662
Likes
947
I would like to make a suggestion. Find out what decibel level you use for normal listening at your usual listening position before you start wondering what to buy. If you have a smart phone you can get sound level metres that will give you a good enough idea.
Next go through your recordings and find one of your least loud recordings. How many db does it take for that to sound normal listening loudness for you?
You should now have a reference db level for comfortable listening.
Of course, sometimes we want to crank up the volume and having headroom to do this is great but that headroom costs money.
Do you really need it though?
I listen mostly in the 85db or less range. I can get that at two metres away without the volume control on my pre amp set flat out. 96db is too loud for me to find comfortable. Find out for yourself by playing some music at 96db.

I use a JDS Atom+ as my volume control. It has a high and low gain mode. If I want to deafen myself I can press high gain and the music sounds LOUD.
Is it still as higher quality as low gain? Apparently not according to Amir's measurement but at those higher listening levels who cares and most won't hear any distortion introduced in high gain.

The most cost effective solution to making things louder is to sit closer to the speakers! I could save some thousands of pounds just by moving the listening postion closer to the speakers.:p

I'm listening to a pair of Genelec 8030Cs as I type this, off axis and about 2.5 metres away from the nearest speaker. I'm getting 85db peak measurements and the volume knob is about half way. If I turn the volume knob to three quarters for me the sound is too loud and probably too loud for my neighbours.

Yes having more power is nice but will you use it?

What I would concentrate on is getting a speaker arrangement that gives you the bass power you want. This can be done by buying a speaker that reaches into the bottom two octaves or by adding a sub.
 

NiagaraPete

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Messages
2,185
Likes
1,954
Location
Canada
If I were you, I'd buy Wharfdale Linton and an Denon AVR-S970H (when it becomes available soon), that'll be around $2000, and you'll have Audyssey for room correction. Since you'll have the AVR, you may find yourself sooner or later with a multichannel system (if that's something you'll want and have the space for it). Genelecs surely are super nice but expensive also for a great farfield experience.
Not everyone has an interest in multichannel. For music it generally sucks.
 

Triliza

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Messages
477
Likes
558
Location
Europe
Not everyone has an interest in multichannel. For music it generally sucks.
Some members here are using multichannel systems using only Genelecs everywhere. I am sure their systems are great for stereo too. What you say may happen often, but I don't think it has to be that way.
 

NiagaraPete

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Messages
2,185
Likes
1,954
Location
Canada
Some members here are using multichannel systems using only Genelecs everywhere. I am sure their systems are great for stereo too. What you say may happen often, but I don't think it has to be that way.
Generally a stereo mix sent to multichannel is not good.
 

Vacceo

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 9, 2022
Messages
2,635
Likes
2,752
Studio monitors are perfectly fine for an average home setup. When they say nearfield or midfield, they mean for an audio professional to get the desired spl and performance in the listening position, etc etc For home use with no pretension to build a "perfect" system, you can perfectly omit those adjectives IMO.

Edit: If want a high spl in your big room, then perhaps 2000 USD may not be enough. I have a pair of 8030 is a much smaller room, about 5 x 3 meters, and I can't possibly play them at full volume.
The great thing about pro gear like Genelec is that you usually get an SPL chart with distances. Knowing your environment allows to predict the sound pressure you´ll get at your usual (or different) listening positions.
 

Marc v E

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
1,106
Likes
1,606
Location
The Netherlands (Holland)
I have the Genelec 8030 that I use for listening to music while I work at home. They are so good I intend to buy Genelecs for my main system when I need new speakers.

If you need to know which is suitable I would recommend you follow the spl per speaker table provided by genelec.
In a large room I would expect that you need a sub too. Why not email Genelec and see if they can provide you with good advice?
 

Sokel

Master Contributor
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
5,840
Likes
5,775
What Genelec fits in a 80m² (Metropolis Studios in London) room is what we're humoring about a few posts back (yes,the 100K$ 12345A's)

If they think that a space like this needs 4 15" drivers in a 700 litre (2 X 350) cabinets for the low's (ok they cover every possible condition,understandably) they must know a thing or two better.
 

al2002

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
May 18, 2016
Messages
264
Likes
200
Greetings ASR!

Long time lurker, from Kerala, India.

First of all, deep respect for Amir & Co - for what you are doing.

I had a simple question:
Is it possible to use the Genelec speakers for home audio? [Budget 2000USD]
I wish to listen far field (say 3 to 4 meters) away in a room that is 30 feet by 20 feet.

They are marketed as Studio Monitors. I always had this question if Studio Monitors can be used for far field listening in a home set up.

Cheers
PS: Here is a tiny peep into music from our part of the world. A video song.
.
This is not a representative audio of the our kind of music, but it is fun!
As others have pointed out you are unlikely to find Genelecs suitable for mid to far field use even with your revised budget. If you are willing to consider other options you can certainly build yourself a set of really good speakers. Consider the Linkwitz LX 521, the John K NaO Note, or one of Troels Gravesen’s designs.

I’ve listened extensively to the LX 521 and would be quite happy to have a pair as my main speakers. You should be able to build a set within your budget.
 

Rja4000

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
2,682
Likes
4,220
Location
Liège, Belgium
You got yourself quite a bargain... @ 1500 Euros/pair.
You have to seek a bit.
The second pair was actually sold by a fellow ASR member :)
(I didn't know before meeting him)

Radio France recently replaced all their small studio monitors and they had dozens of pairs for sale in a giant auction (with a bunch of other gears), some months ago.
So I expect some pairs will remain in circulation around here for some time ...
 
Top Bottom