Linkwitz Dipole v. Genelec 8351B on practical grounds

[suttondesign]

Hi all. I'm moving from Austin, TX to Bellingham, WA. For the first 6-9 mos, I'll be living in a modest, 1000-sq-ft apt. while I build my new home. The new home will combine media room and living room in a 16x18 room with a ceiling sloping from 14 ft. to 7.5ft, crosswise from the speakers.

The Linkwitz 521.4 are imaging champions, but they are ungainly and must be 1 meter out from the back wall. The bigger problem is, they require so many boxes and wires - 8 channels of DAC, 8 channels of amplification, digital source (in this case, mac mini), digital router (for routing TV and music).

The 8351B allow me to consolidate into a much smaller overall package which flanks the TV. I doubt they image like the Linkwitz, which if you haven't heard them, you would not believe, but the practical side of things speaks very loudly to me. I could also do the 8361A, but they are rather large.

What would you do?

 

[jhaider]

If you really like dipoles, probably best to stick with them. (I don’t, so the Gennies would be a no brainer for me.)

You can do the EQ, DAC, and power in 2 RU of space, with a miniDSP 10x10HD and a Lexicon DD-8/Crown CT8150 or similar. Ditch the Mac and run everything through an AppleTV, using the optical our from the TV into the DSP.

 

[minor1000]

Hi all. I'm moving from Austin, TX to Bellingham, WA. For the first 6-9 mos, I'll be living in a modest, 1000-sq-ft apt. while I build my new home. The new home will combine media room and living room in a 16x18 room with a ceiling sloping from 14 ft. to 7.5ft, crosswise from the speakers.

The Linkwitz 521.4 are imaging champions, but they are ungainly and must be 1 meter out from the back wall. The bigger problem is, they require so many boxes and wires - 8 channels of DAC, 8 channels of amplification, digital source (in this case, mac mini), digital router (for routing TV and music).

The 8351B allow me to consolidate into a much smaller overall package which flanks the TV. I doubt they image like the Linkwitz, which if you haven't heard them, you would not believe, but the practical side of things speaks very loudly to me. I could also do the 8361A, but they are rather large.

What would you do?

 

[Doodski]

Those look like the sewer vent pipe coming out of the roof with a rubber flange union connector.

 

[AudioJester]

New city, new home. I say new speakers!
Cant go wrong with genelec (I have Lx521).
Always nice to experience new speakers, particularly if there is a practical/cosmetic improvement. Add Neumann, Mesanovic etc to the buying mix, even more fun to be had!

 

[Jim Taylor]

Those look like the sewer vent pipe coming out of the roof with a rubber flange union connector.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that's exactly what the DIY version happens to be. Jim

 

[suttondesign]

If you really like dipoles, probably best to stick with them. (I don’t, so the Gennies would be a no brainer for me.)

You can do the EQ, DAC, and power in 2 RU of space, with a miniDSP 10x10HD and a Lexicon DD-8/Crown CT8150 or similar. Ditch the Mac and run everything through an AppleTV, using the optical our from the TV into the DSP.

you’re missing my roon core in there!

 

[jhaider]

Ah I fail to see the point of Roon compared to standard AppleTV apps so it wouldn’t occur to me to use the Mac as anything but a file server.

 

[suttondesign]

Ah I fail to see the point of Roon compared to standard AppleTV apps so it wouldn’t occur to me to use the Mac as anything but a file server.

Parametric eq, balance, etc. Combines tidal and local files.

 

[minor1000]

Those look like the sewer vent pipe coming out of the roof with a rubber flange union connector.

Linkwitz designed these to listen to, not look at

 

[dc655321]

Linkwitz designed these to listen to, not look at View attachment 215119

Clearly!
They’ve a face only a mother could love

 

[minor1000]

Clearly!
They’ve a face only a mother could love

Or one can easily contact www.linkwitzlab.com and purchase the esthetically pleasing LX Sirius . . .

 

[suttondesign]

I've built Orions, LXmini, and LX521.4. None are pretty. Some people looking to buy our house asked if the LXmini's were ash trays!

 

[HooStat]

If you really like dipoles, probably best to stick with them. (I don’t, so the Gennies would be a no brainer for me.)

You can do the EQ, DAC, and power in 2 RU of space, with a miniDSP 10x10HD and a Lexicon DD-8/Crown CT8150 or similar. Ditch the Mac and run everything through an AppleTV, using the optical our from the TV into the DSP.

I literally run the optical out from my TV into my 8351B to watch TV and listen to Spotify. I adjust the volume through Genelec's GLM, which I also used to do room correction. It is about as minimal as it gets. I might add a streamer at some point, but I am kind of hoping for Spotify's announced higher quality audio tier. Just mentioning this to corroborate the above suggestion.

 

[amirm]

Clearly!
They’ve a face only a mother could love

They are actually quite cute in person.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Those look like the sewer vent pipe coming out of the roof with a rubber flange union connector.

In other words authentic steampunk.

 

[Pearljam5000]

On looks alone I'd choose the Genelecs

 

[jeffbook]

The derogatory comments on the physical appearance of Linkwitz's designs are just the latest version of sighted bias of audiophools. To be appreciated, they must be heard, not seen.

 

[Pearljam5000]

The derogatory comments on the physical appearance of Linkwitz's designs are just the latest version of sighted bias of audiophools. To be appreciated, they must be heard, not seen.

Regardless of sound you still need to look at them every day
So yeah looks are important (especially in this case)

 

[minor1000]

Louis H Sullivan: Form follows function