Sonos Play 5 vs Genelec 8361A

[YSC]

Seriously. This is not like buying a 3090ti a day before 4090 is announced.

well, even in that case the 3090Ti buyer likely is rejoycing that he don't have a melted plug and a burnt house, newer isn't always guaranteed more reliable

 

[Rednaxela]

Yeah time to be asking the real questions like “do they have Genelec in heaven?”

In that case I’d vote for renaming the Book of Revelation.

 

[srrxr71]

In that case I’d vote for renaming the Book of Revelation.

I’d keep the name the same but there would be a twist in the end of the book.

 

[FrantzM]

With my luck
a day after I buy the 8361A they will announce the 8361B

We’re all waiting for that day!

Really!

Happy holidays!
Peace.

 

[stevenswall]

We’re all waiting for that day!

Really!

Happy holidays!
Peace.

I'd be curious to do a blind test to compare them. Genelec speakers I worry the least about as they all sound similarly transparent. Just like an instrument that can play something beautifully for years and years, any coaxial Genelec that goes loud enough and has a subwoofer for the bass should be excellent, especially since they can be paired with the W371.

Even if an 8361D comes out and has a trillion notch filters and can go to a thousand decibels and has the same frequency response but +/-.00000000000000001dB.

Neat.

Curious what people are looking forward to. Besides more volume, bass, etc, seems like it would sound just about as transparent as the other "The Ones"

 

[SuicideSquid]

I'd be curious to do a blind test to compare them. Genelec speakers I worry the least about as they all sound similarly transparent. Just like an instrument that can play something beautifully for years and years, any coaxial Genelec that goes loud enough and has a subwoofer for the bass should be excellent, especially since they can be paired with the W371.

Even if an 8361D comes out and has a trillion notch filters and can go to a thousand decibels and has the same frequency response but +/-.00000000000000001dB.

Neat.

Curious what people are looking forward to. Besides more volume, bass, etc, seems like it would sound just about as transparent as the other "The Ones"

I'm just looking for economies of scale with quality Class D amps and built-in DSP processing to drive the prices of perfectly flat monitors down from $3,000-$5,000 each like we have with Genelec and Neumann now, to a model that costs $1,000 each.

KH150 is there in performance, but not quite on price yet.

 

[stevenswall]

I'm just looking for economies of scale with quality Class D amps and built-in DSP processing to drive the prices of perfectly flat monitors down from $3,000-$5,000 each like we have with Genelec and Neumann now, to a model that costs $1,000 each.

KH150 is there in performance, but not quite on price yet.

Kali seems the closest. I hope they are the first. Curious what they can do with a 1000/each budget... Unless Neumann gets their act together and goes after Genelec and The Ones.

Concerning Kali though, I'm using their IN-8 as a center channel and it's working reasonably well. It's always infuriating to me that nobody likes color massive shift in a TV, even if you know you're off axis or standing up, but people excuse and put up with lobes and uneven vertical dispersion with expensive speakers... Even Neumann,Dutch & Dutch, and Kii.

Like if I was trying to use a speaker for a center channel, or had 2 rows of seats and was using a speaker for atmos height speakers, or if I did yoga, or if the ceiling and floor surfaces weren't treated... Most things would sound like wretched trash. You're forced to either have a bad center channel that doesn't match the left and right, or use a projector and I've tried half a dozen and they suck compared to OLED.

Can't wait until my 8351B comes in so I can calibrate it and have more or less the best center channel speaker in the world. (Unless additional SPL is needed in which case the 8361 makes sense.)

 

[SuicideSquid]

Kali seems the closest. I hope they are the first. Curious what they can do with a 1000/each budget... Unless Neumann gets their act together and goes after Genelec and The Ones.

Concerning Kali though, I'm using their IN-8 as a center channel and it's working reasonably well. It's always infuriating to me that nobody likes color massive shift in a TV, even if you know you're off axis or standing up, but people excuse and put up with lobes and uneven vertical dispersion with expensive speakers... Even Neumann,Dutch & Dutch, and Kii.

Like if I was trying to use a speaker for a center channel, or had 2 rows of seats and was using a speaker for atmos height speakers, or if I did yoga, or if the ceiling and floor surfaces weren't treated... Most things would sound like wretched trash. You're forced to either have a bad center channel that doesn't match the left and right, or use a projector and I've tried half a dozen and they suck compared to OLED.

Can't wait until my 8351B comes in so I can calibrate it and have more or less the best center channel speaker in the world. (Unless additional SPL is needed in which case the 8361 makes sense.)

Centre speakers are a bizarre beast. I've never used one in my home setup - I've always had a single bookshelf speaker instead.

 

[stevenswall]

Centre speakers are a bizarre beast. I've never used one in my home setup - I've always had a single bookshelf speaker instead.

Bizarre how? I think it's crazy that most of them are functionally broken with an MTM design on the side like most of them do. Much better to use a coaxial speaker on its side like a Kali, Klipsch, or Genelec ideally.

If you have a projector screen or can fit it an upright bookshelf or tower speaker works great too.

 

[SuicideSquid]

Bizarre how? I think it's crazy that most of them are functionally broken with an MTM design on the side like most of them do. Much better to use a coaxial speaker on its side like a Kali, Klipsch, or Genelec ideally.

If you have a projector screen or can fit it an upright bookshelf or tower speaker works great too.

Bizarre in exactly the way you describe.

 

[eret9616]

@johnwolf
can you upload a video to demo this.. (sound sample)

 

[srrxr71]

Here's a song suggestion: "Reconsider" by Jamie XX. Fast forward to 2:10 and listen for the bass. See which one can handle it without distorting.

Then, to test something a little deeper still listen to "Why So Serious" from Dark Knight, and about 3:30 into it there is a part with only deep bass.

On the Sonos if you turn the volume up and down it should sound like it has more bass relative to other frequencies if you turn the volume down, and at high levels will not sound like that.

The Genelec should sound roughly the same from lower to higher volumes.

Finally: Sit on the floor. Stand above the speakers. Walk from right to left. Listen to what they sound like when they aren't directly pointed at you.

Genelecs sound nearly the same on or off axis. Sonos and other speakers not so much: There are midrange and treble frequencies that change as you move up and down, and sometimes left to right.

Nail meets hammer

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Here is the picture.

If you are still about John, did you try the Sonos in a vertical position, which I think is supposed to be the ideal for stereo?