Moving from 8250's with 7360 sub: 8351 with current sub or 8341 with two subs?

[jjb0737]

Hi friends, first post here so please excuse any ignorance of the ASR ways!

Case use: I am a pro film-composer who has recently left my commercial studio in favor of a home studio. The new studio is a well treated 13Lx28Wx8.5H ft room. Because of doorways I have to be situated with my front to back in the 13ft dimension (so lots of space to the left and right of me). I currently have a 5.1 surround setup that is comprised of Genelec 8250's (LR), 8330 (C, RS, LS) and a 7360 sub. Though I have a surround setup I generally work in stereo except for the occasional mix check for surround mixes I get from my scoring mixer. I have about a -10db reflection null at 94hz on both L an R speakers, so I currently have the sub crossing over at 100hz (sub is perfectly flat via GLM). The current sub is just to the right of the Left speaker on the front wall. I have space to move subs just about anywhere on the front wall but not anywhere else. I sit about 3ft from the 8250's at 38% of the room length. I listen at a moderate volume level, rarely getting above 80db.

All this said, I'm in the market to replace my 8250's and have about a 8-9k budget. I was initially gravitating towards the 8351's plus my current sub, as I assumed they would be similar in response to my trusted 8250's but much better with imaging and all the other benefits of the new design. As an alternative, I am also considering getting 8341's plus and additional 7360 sub, as the price is about the same. I have read though some of the posts about Genelec's problems with dual sub integration (i.e, summing the subs) but wonder if there might be some benefits I am not aware of. I am not particularly well versed in acoustics and speaker science so I'm looking for some buying advice.

Would anyone have any advice on which a better direction to go would be? Specifically, I would love to hear from people runnings two subs or people who no longer do. And, if 2 subs is the solution, would stereo or mono mode offer more precision? Would I be losing anything other than spl getting the 8341's over the 8351's?

Thank you all in advance!

 

[Karu]

Not buying advice. I had two (Rythmik) subs before I got my 8351s, but in hindsight in my room, doesn’t really seem necessary. I run the subs stereo, via Dirac. Was better to me vs. Mono.

The 8351 screenshot is without the subs, stereo only.

I just got 8331s and there definitely need the sub. So 8341 might be more in that direction.

 

[ferrellms]

Hi friends, first post here so please excuse any ignorance of the ASR ways!

Case use: I am a pro film-composer who has recently left my commercial studio in favor of a home studio. The new studio is a well treated 13Lx28Wx8.5H ft room. Because of doorways I have to be situated with my front to back in the 13ft dimension (so lots of space to the left and right of me). I currently have a 5.1 surround setup that is comprised of Genelec 8250's (LR), 8330 (C, RS, LS) and a 7360 sub. Though I have a surround setup I generally work in stereo except for the occasional mix check for surround mixes I get from my scoring mixer. I have about a -10db reflection null at 94hz on both L an R speakers, so I currently have the sub crossing over at 100hz (sub is perfectly flat via GLM). The current sub is just to the right of the Left speaker on the front wall. I have space to move subs just about anywhere on the front wall but not anywhere else. I sit about 3ft from the 8250's at 38% of the room length. I listen at a moderate volume level, rarely getting above 80db.

All this said, I'm in the market to replace my 8250's and have about a 8-9k budget. I was initially gravitating towards the 8351's plus my current sub, as I assumed they would be similar in response to my trusted 8250's but much better with imaging and all the other benefits of the new design. As an alternative, I am also considering getting 8341's plus and additional 7360 sub, as the price is about the same. I have read though some of the posts about Genelec's problems with dual sub integration (i.e, summing the subs) but wonder if there might be some benefits I am not aware of. I am not particularly well versed in acoustics and speaker science so I'm looking for some buying advice.

Would anyone have any advice on which a better direction to go would be? Specifically, I would love to hear from people runnings two subs or people who no longer do. And, if 2 subs is the solution, would stereo or mono mode offer more precision? Would I be losing anything other than spl getting the 8341's over the 8351's?

Thank you all in advance!

The 8351s will allow for longer listening distances since the direct sound will dominate at longer distances with 8351s. Also more bass and louder, of course. Also, in any case, GLM is always good.

 

[mkt]

This is an interesting question. Maybe your Genelec dealer can help or let you try out some options. Also I have found Genelec to be quite responsive in answering questions.

Is your -10db reflection null at 94hz in the GLM measurement? Or measured outside of GLM with the sub (base management on)? If you have a 10db null currently it seems worth trying to fix with an additional sub. That might be the first option to try.

Regarding multiple subs, there's this on the Genelec site, which I interpret as meaning that it is possible to position additional sub so as to fill in dips but you're on your own to figure out the placement.

https://support.genelec.com/hc/en-us/articles/5783732198418-What-are-the-benefits-of-having-one-or-multiple-subwoofers-

At your listening distance, the difference between 8341s (with sub) and 8351s might be modest. The specs are similar. One comment on the 83X1s: "I came away thinking the 3's were a bit squished in the midrange, but that the difference between the 4s and 5s was pretty marginal, especially with a sub on the 4s which I preferred to the 5s without."

Genelec 8351B Review (Studio Monitor)

The point is very simple: Independent of internal DAC details you shouldn’t be worrying about, the Genelec 8351/8361, Kii Three, and D&D 8C are examples of exceptional speakers that will sound vastly better than an inferior passive speaker even if the latter is fed with the world’s best DAC and...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[jjb0737]

Hi Everyone, thanks for your responses! I posed the same question to Genelec and their recommendation was to get the 8341's because of proximity to the speakers and moderate listening levels. My current sub is already filling the null that the 8250's produce so its essentially flat minus a little lost on the crossover (null is at 94hz and crossover set to 100hz). They said two subs down the road might be fun but definitely not required and wouldn't change the frequency response.