Help me replace my Genelec 8341's for the sanity of my beloved wife

[boxerfan88]

Maybe someone can design an acoustically transparent front cover that can be attached and hide away the front face.

 

[soundwave76]

Oh dear (pun intended). Somewhat similar situation here. We have Genelec 8340 in the living room and the wife hates the 8341 I have been thinking about. So the solution… switch to 8340. They might please her eye more?

 

[Rednaxela]

I could really make this work. They would be completely out of sight. Genelec even do an "in wall" kit so they would be completely hidden.....

Alternatively you could wrap the in-wall kit in the veneer of choice, and make a pair of fabric grilles to hide their front sides.

Sorry if this has been suggested already.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

An alternative to changing or hiding your speakers is to share this thread with your wife... to show your wife how lucky she is to have you.
There are some seriously dedicated Genelec folks out there. I couldn't abide by any of these rooms from an aesthetic standpoint.

A lot of those set ups looked like they were pictures of the "enhanced interrogation" rooms at Gitmo, so no, don't show.

 

[Waxx]

I hate the look of those genelec's also and can understand why your girlfriend does not want them. It's not only the material looks, it's also the form of hte box and so. It's not a dealbreaker for me. The sound is, to fatiguing for my (subjective) ears altough the objective specs are toplevel. But you are not me off course.

I would consider the Kef R3 in your case, it's way more living room/WAF friendly, almost as good as Genelec and Neumann, and it comes in wood finish. I would use NCx500 based amplifier (Apollon Audio or Audiophonics probally) with it, that would be a good fit. But any NCore or Purifi or similar amps of a +150 watt at 8R is a good fit, see what you can find near you.

For subcs, you will have to hide them somewhere or make it yourself. Subs seems to be almost always glossy piano black or very utilitarian looking it seems. But subs are not dificult to make, and a lot of plans are arround.

Or indeed hide the Genelecs and the subs behind an acoustic transparant curtain, then you may not have to sell them. If that is possible, that should be the frist thing to try.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

So make a frame with 1/2” or 3/4” MDF top and bottom say 10x10”; round the front corners. At the back build with 15” long 1x2 at the back and and 1x4 or 1x6 support along the sides. Wrap speaker cloth around and staple on the back 1x2 and on the top and bottom. Cover the top at least with a decorative cap to cover the stapled edges of the speaker fabric.

 

[antcollinet]

I've not read the whole thread so someone might have suggested this already.

Take Mrs Sparky round to some hifi dealers just to look at speakers - not to consider sound at all - just to find out what sort of style she would be happy to welcome into your living room. (EDIT - and possibly more importanlly what she would not - for example, there is a big difference in looks between a foil wrapped speaker and a veneered one, which may not show up in pictures)

Consider floor standers which can often look more attractive than stand mouts. Also consider that covered drivers will usually be less intrusive. And look less like a machine you stick your arm into . If it were me I'd be thinking of something a little more sculpted than the average monkey coffin. Say the R5 Meta, or Something a bit understated like JBL HDI-3600

Once you know the type of looks she can live with, you can sort out which speakers have those looks - combined with the audio performance you are looking for.

 

[Ken1951]

I've not read the whole thread so someone might have suggested this already.

Take Mrs Sparky round to some hifi dealers just to look at speakers - not to consider sound at all - just to find out what sort of style she would be happy to welcome into your living room.

Consider floor standers which can often look more attractive than stand mouts. Also consider that covered drivers will usually be less intrusive. And look less like a machine you stick your arm into . If it were me I'd be thinking of something a little more sculpted than the average monkey coffin. Say the R5 Meta, or Something a bit understated like JBL HDI-3600

Once you know the type of looks she can live with, you can sort out which speakers have those looks - combined with the audio performance you are looking for.

Looks ARE important to very many people. I wouldn't have a speaker in my home that I didn't like its looks. Sound is important, but I've got to look at it as well. I know that this position is heretical to loads of folks.

 

[kemmler3D]

Looks ARE important to very many people. I wouldn't have a speaker in my home that I didn't like its looks. Sound is important, but I've got to look at it as well. I know that this position is heretical to loads of folks.

Looks matter in almost every activity in life... would you even buy a PCB for an amp kit, without an image on the product page? People who suggest otherwise should shop (or use dating apps) using a text-only browser for a while and see how it goes.

 

[Sparky]

Oh dear (pun intended). Somewhat similar situation here. We have Genelec 8340 in the living room and the wife hates the 8341 I have been thinking about. So the solution… switch to 8340. They might please her eye more?

Oh god. I think she'd hate that even more!!

 

[Sparky]

A lot of those set ups looked like they were pictures of the "enhanced interrogation" rooms at Gitmo, so no, don't show.

It would be the best interrogation room in the world! Death by way of speakers with no sound signature. You die from not understanding how they sound so good....

 

[Sparky]

I hate the look of those genelec's also and can understand why your girlfriend does not want them. It's not only the material looks, it's also the form of hte box and so. It's not a dealbreaker for me. The sound is, to fatiguing for my (subjective) ears altough the objective specs are toplevel. But you are not me off course.

I would consider the Kef R3 in your case, it's way more living room/WAF friendly, almost as good as Genelec and Neumann, and it comes in wood finish. I would use NCx500 based amplifier (Apollon Audio or Audiophonics probally) with it, that would be a good fit. But any NCore or Purifi or similar amps of a +150 watt at 8R is a good fit, see what you can find near you.

For subcs, you will have to hide them somewhere or make it yourself. Subs seems to be almost always glossy piano black or very utilitarian looking it seems. But subs are not dificult to make, and a lot of plans are arround.

Or indeed hide the Genelecs and the subs behind an acoustic transparant curtain, then you may not have to sell them. If that is possible, that should be the frist thing to try.

Excellent. Thanks for the input.

 

[Sparky]

So make a frame with 1/2” or 3/4” MDF top and bottom say 10x10”; round the front corners. At the back build with 15” long 1x2 at the back and and 1x4 or 1x6 support along the sides. Wrap speaker cloth around and staple on the back 1x2 and on the top and bottom. Cover the top at least with a decorative cap to cover the stapled edges of the speaker fabric.View attachment 405915View attachment 405916View attachment 405917View attachment 405918

This is a brilliant idea! The only caveat is the 8341 waveguide. You have to leave an open space above and below the front baffle (waveguide).
Would be a tricky design to create and would cause a bit of headache to get right...........

 

[Sparky]

I've not read the whole thread so someone might have suggested this already.

Take Mrs Sparky round to some hifi dealers just to look at speakers - not to consider sound at all - just to find out what sort of style she would be happy to welcome into your living room. (EDIT - and possibly more importanlly what she would not - for example, there is a big difference in looks between a foil wrapped speaker and a veneered one, which may not show up in pictures)

Consider floor standers which can often look more attractive than stand mouts. Also consider that covered drivers will usually be less intrusive. And look less like a machine you stick your arm into . If it were me I'd be thinking of something a little more sculpted than the average monkey coffin. Say the R5 Meta, or Something a bit understated like JBL HDI-3600

Once you know the type of looks she can live with, you can sort out which speakers have those looks - combined with the audio performance you are looking for.

Fair comment. When I first started this journey a good number of years ago, I took Mrs I hate Genelec to SuperFi in Stockport for a browse of some speakers and a coffee.
We had a listen to a few different speakers in their demo room. I was listening to the typical speaker listening tracks you'd normally listen to whilst critically listening whilst Mrs I hate Genelec chose to listen to the famous speaker test track Hold On by Wilson Phillips

Yes, we bought a pair of Dali Opticon floorstanders based on how Hold On by Wilson Phillips followed by a nice cup of coffee and a chat.

Of course, the Dali Opticon didn't last long in our lounge as they were massive and overpowered the room.
The bass bloom/bloat from the low end was almost a seismic event it was that strong.
This taught me a lot about correct speaker type and placement, and the fact that PEQ/Room Correction is a must in most rooms up to 500hz.

 

[Sparky]

Due to the fact that we are going to build a media wall in the coming months, I might go down the route of trying to keep what I have with clever positioning and camouflaging.
Genelec offer an in-wall enclosure for the 8341 which might work well in this case as long as I can get the positioning correct in relation to the primary listening position.
The beauty of the 8341 is their wide dispersion both vertically and horizontally which will aid in placement.

Can subwoofer be placed in cabinets? Could I get my joiner to build into the media wall a pair of subwoofer cabinets with an acoustically transparent cloth over the front of it?

I am probably best creating another thread on how best to design a media based on speakers and subs?

 

[antcollinet]

I might go down the route of trying to keep what I have with clever positioning and camouflaging.

I doubt any set up which leaves the genelecs in any way visible is not going to result in a happy Mrs Sparky. Bear in mind it may not be only about the looks now, but may involve other feelings/resentments. For example, what you are prepared to do/give up/compromise to solve the problem.

 

[markstein]

Some interesting bookshelf speakers are mentioned in this thread as well. You might want to have a look:

Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 - Purifi based compact speaker

Radiant Acoustics have launched the Clarity 6.2, a compact speaker with performance similar to larger speakers. It uses a Purifi Ushindi woofer and passive radiators, combined with a custom-made AMT tweeter. Interesting is that this development was the initiative of Peter Lyngdorf and Lars...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Sparky]

I doubt any set up which leaves the genelecs in any way visible is not going to result in a happy Mrs Sparky. Bear in mind it may not be only about the looks now, but may involve other feelings/resentments. For example, what you are prepared to do/give up/compromise to solve the problem.

Agreed. I am going to have to discuss it with her openly to see her reaction. I really don't want to have to sell the best sounding system I have ever owned in my lounge.

I'll have to draw a mock-up of how it potentially might look when it's finished.

 

[Sparky]

Some interesting bookshelf speakers are mentioned in this thread as well. You might want to have a look:

Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 - Purifi based compact speaker

Radiant Acoustics have launched the Clarity 6.2, a compact speaker with performance similar to larger speakers. It uses a Purifi Ushindi woofer and passive radiators, combined with a custom-made AMT tweeter. Interesting is that this development was the initiative of Peter Lyngdorf and Lars...

audiosciencereview.com

Thank you, much appreciated.

 

[TurtlePaul]

The divorce jokes (I hope) are tiring. Not funny at all. We don’t need it 10 times in the same post. We don’t even need it once.

If you wouldn’t say it in the presence of the wife (if you knew her), then it isn’t something you should be saying at all.

I question if these are jokes because they are so humorless. And if f they are not jokes then you guys have serious issues.