It's Settled

[Emlin]

There’s a lot of negativity towards the design of Genelec speakers. It’s just a matter of taste of course, but I find their designs (80’s series and the ones) really beautiful. Form follows function and all, with exceptional build quality.

I’m really bored with the wooden furniture style cabinets. There are some that supposed to sound great, like the Wharfedale Linton, but for me a speaker is not furniture, it’s a piece of equipment. Those wooden boxes with some cloth on one side are really something from the past.

For me the difference is something like these 2 picture’s- where the Arne Jacobsen seat is the Genelec.

The Jacobsen chair does not look at all comfortable to me, whereas the other does. I know which one I'd rather sit in while looking at speakers. It might even be comfortable enough for me to actually listen to the music as well.

 

[EasyC]

The Jacobsen chair does not look at all comfortable to me, whereas the other does. I know which one I'd rather sit in while looking at speakers. It might even be comfortable enough for me to actually listen to the music as well.

It’s actually very comfortable. Also better for your back.

 

[Emlin]

It’s actually very comfortable. Also better for your back.

For you, maybe. But it's very looks have aggravated my sciatica!

 

[EJ3]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They wouldn't work in my house, but in a very large room that uses modern style for the structure and motif, I can see them being a good fit.

But I wouldn't have a house that can accommodate that style. Not saying that I can't appreciate various styles (my background is Austrian Farm Village/Salzburg suburbs)/USA Southern individual homes with land, streams & rivers. My wife is a big city mainland/Small Pacific Islander Asian. So we manage to have our unique blend of style.
But neither one of us con visualize a style that we could live with in which those speakers could be a part of.
So our collective opinion is the same as mine was by itself.
Of course, others may be quite happy with that style.
it would not stop me from visiting. It would just stop me from having it in my home.
I'm sure that many people would not like our homes style.
And that is fine.

 

[EJ3]

Where did I write that what's good for me must be good for you too?
You're the one who wrote that you don't even want it as a gift.
Have a nice day, I'll move on.
Auf Wiedersehen.

You did not write "what's good for me must be good for you too?"
But the OP sure insinuated that with the first post:
Amir has confirmed that Genelec 8361A is the one.

Any more attention is wasted.

If you're too poor to spend $10K on it, then suit yourself endlessly arguing pros/cons of inferior systems.

If you insist on spending more. The suit yourself into the pointless club.

As to the chairs, I find both of them quite uncomfortable.

 

[sam_adams]

 

[JSmith]

JSmith

 

[sam_adams]

 

[JSmith]

Now it is....

... or is it?

JSmith

 

[MAB]

JSmith

Can I respectfully disagree?

 

[Waxx]

You did not write "what's good for me must be good for you too?"
But the OP sure insinuated that with the first post:
Amir has confirmed that Genelec 8361A is the one.

Any more attention is wasted.

If you're too poor to spend $10K on it, then suit yourself endlessly arguing pros/cons of inferior systems.

If you insist on spending more. The suit yourself into the pointless club.

As to the chairs, I find both of them quite uncomfortable.

I heared it in 2 different locations and did not like it (i'm not a fan of Genelec on subjective level in general). I' would rather get a pair of JBL M2's (active) or 4367 (passive) for big spaces. Add dsp for room correction and clean amps and you got a system that is on par with the Genelec 8361A, but fit my subjective style better, and looks a lot better in my (also subjective) opinion. And some others will prefer the Neumann KH420, the Kii BXT, or D&D 8C or so.

The Genelecs, Neumann, Kii, D&D, JBL 43XX series and a few others are in the top league, and the difference is mostly subjective and how your listening space reacts on the speaker. No speakers fit's it all. That's why we don't agree about "the one". Even Amir, who i rate high on technical level and hearing objectivly, can not determine a one siez fit it all speaker because hearing is a large part subjective, and the speaker always interact with the room, which is an important factor that is not everywhere the same.

Genelec sounds best in a very well acousticly treated room in my experience. Not in a very flawed reflective average livingroom. The 8361A is one of the best measuring speakers, but that is in a semi-anchionic system (Kippel NFS), not in your room, where the speaker will sound very different without room correction and acoustic treatment. I find JBL easier to tune to a room that is flawed than Genelec, idem with Neumann and many others. You need to find what fits your situation, and objective measurements like found here are a very important tool for that, but don't tell everything as your listening room and subjective taste is not counted in the equation.

 

[Roland68]

Answer to saying that it is settled and that the Genelec whatever is it. Perhaps for them it is.
But I have vastly different opinions.
And not one of them include any Genelec as being the correct speaker for me, even if they were gifted to me (I guess that I would find a use for them out of politeness but it sure would not be in my main system).
And I am sure that I am definitely not wrong on this for me.

Maybe you confused me with someone else, because that is exactly my opinion and what I wrote. So I am neither alone with my opinion nor with my experience.
What some people don't understand is that it neither belittles this speaker nor makes it worse and certainly shouldn't affect anyone else personally.

 

[JSmith]

JSmith

 

[DLS79]

The only valid criticism I've heard is the Genelec's don't produce a "wall of sound" like Revel Salon 2

I have one for you, they look like poo!

 

[GoFaster]

Then why bother us, if you know what is right for you?
I know what is right for me and, while I admire Genelec for it's great base of "the curve", once anything like that is in my home, I will set it to the baseline curve. And then I will adjust that curve to my hearing and how things sound to me when I am at live music events.
But I find them FUGLY, so they would not be let into my home.
What do I have? Vintage Dahlquist M-905's that (never measured here) but where measured by Classic HiFi (that used CBS Labs, I think) as being +-2 DB from 26 HZ-20 KHz.
This is supplemented by a couple of custom ported subs that are tuned to 29 Hz & have an FR 20 Hz-80 Hz.
This is a tri-amped system, one bridged mono NAD 2200 (@ 8 OHM) on each Dahlquist & one NAD 2200 (in stereo @ 4 OHM) on each 12" duel coil sub.
I'm happy with it in the various homes that I have had it in over the years.
Some people like things because of the Cache' the name brings, or whatever. To me, the only thing that matters is that I can get a flat slope for my reference starting point and then adjust from that known point to what is right for me (sort of like being a chef, seasoning a recipe to my taste, except with sound).
Someone might come here & say, "Oh, that midrange sound isn't correct (or some other complaint that they have about my system in my home).
And I will say: It's my system, in my house, you do not have to listen to it. Nor do you have to be here. You are welcome to leave & go muck about with some other system some where else, please don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out.

You are correct, there is no denying they are ugly. Compromises must be made. I'll take sound quality over visual quality, since no true scotsman would sacrifice the objective.

I find it adorable that you inject what gear you are using into the conversation. We're all like that. Cause we're proud of our gear. For good reason.

 

[EJ3]

You are correct, there is no denying they are ugly. Compromises must be made. I'll take sound quality over visual quality, since no true scotsman would sacrifice the objective.

I find it adorable that you inject what gear you are using into the conversation. We're all like that. Cause we're proud of our gear. For good reason.

Well, it gives people an idea of the aesthetic that my home has.
As to what I can & cannot hear, there are actually gaps (dead zones) in my ears frequency response in one ear & they each have their own FR response.
So, their are many speakers (and much other gear) to chose from that won't sound bad to me.

 

[DLS79]

You are correct, there is no denying they are ugly. Compromises must be made. I'll take sound quality over visual quality, since no true scotsman would sacrifice the objective.

"the best" anything is a moving target. What is the best today, may not be the best a few days, weeks, months, or years down the road!

Hence why most people take into account how speakers look, even on the professional side of the industry!