How much better are The Ones compared to 8030c

[Pancreas]

Old thread, but I can chime in. I have both the 8030c and 8341a at home. The 8341a is noticeably better sounding than the 8030c, the difference is not small like what I've read, but not huge either. Bass, midrange, and treble are all a fairly good step above the 8030c and the difference is immediately noticeable. What surprised me is that the 8030c actually sounds a little dull in comparison even though both speakers are flat. Is it worth 3x the price? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on how you look at it. It's certainly not 3x better, so the 8030c is definitely the better value. But it's without a doubt a noticeably better speaker than the 8030c, and one can do much, much worse than the 8341a for the price. The Ones represent the pinnacle of small speaker performance, and for that, their asking price is extremely reasonable.

obviously is going to sound better, i never heard of a device that costs 3-4 times more and somehow the cheap is just as good, no such thing exist in technology

$5000 for speakers is no cheap, heck even $1400 is a lot for the average person

 

[richard12511]

obviously is going to sound better, i never heard of a device that costs 3-4 times more and somehow the cheap is just as good, no such thing exist in technology

$5000 for speakers is no cheap, heck even $1400 is a lot for the average person

I've had both 8030s and 8351s for 5 years or so now, but never really taken the time to truly compare them side by side, which is a shame. I'll do that this weekend and report back what I hear, maybe whip out the ABX Comparator .

My initial impression after firing up the 8351b for the first time(I'd had the 8030c in my office for 2 or so years before that) was that the it imaged better than the 8030. Can't say I remember noticing a huge tonality advantage for the 8351, though they were in separate rooms at first, and then I started using the 8030s as front/rear height channels. One thing that is nice about the 8351s is that I can sit on the floor and listen without any tonality shift. I'm sometimes "forced" to do this when my dog is begging for pets/playtime during listening sessions, as he can't jump up on the couch(french bulldog who's had back problems).

One for sure advantage you'll get by upgrading will be GLM, which does a much better job of managing room problems than the dip switches on the 8030c does.

I'll let you know what I hear once I compare them. They'll both be high passed to giant subs, so the larger 8351s better bass shouldn't give it a huge advantage; hopefully that will make it pretty comparable to an 8030 vs 8331 comparison, since I don't have that speaker.

 

[JiiPee]

The 83X1 series gives the advantages of single point source, and the GLM. Increasing the X gives deeper reaching low frequency response and higher SPL capability. The improvements are real, not snake oil, or unfounded hype. Whether they are big enough to justify the price difference is a personal matter. To some of us they are, to some of us they are not.

 

[Pancreas]

The problem with these comparison, both from @richard12511 and @lowerfe is that you are comparing the 8030c with BIGGER speakers.

Both the 8341a and 8351 are bigger enclosure, bigger woofer.

A fair and legit comparison is what I postulated in the op 8030c with its equivalent cousin, the 8331a.

Obviously, is going to sound better, otherwise it wouldn't cost $5000 for pair, there is better tech inside, but you can't use a bigger speaker as comparison.

It has to be the same size speaker

$5000 for speaker is hard to justify for me

 

[lowerfe]

The problem with these comparison, both from @richard12511 and @lowerfe is that you are comparing the 8030c with BIGGER speakers.

Both the 8341a and 8351 are bigger.

A fair and legit comparison is what I postulated in the title 8030c with its equivalent cousin, the 8331a

Sure, but for sound quality, because the 8341a uses the same coaxial as the 8331a, and uses the same crossover frequency, the midrange and treble is going to be identical. The 8341a is going to dig deeper than 8331a and 8030c, but practically, the sound quality between 8331a and 8341a is gonna be essentially identical above 60Hz at normal volumes.

Oh and in my comparison, the speakers were side by side, not in different rooms or different positions. I use the 8030c's as surrounds, but for the comparison I put them side by side with 8341a.

 

[Pancreas]

I just wish i had 5k laying around