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Subwoofer/DAC for Genelec 8020d or 8030c

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strea

strea

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set to the lowest gain that allows you to get the loudest volume you need. You have more sensitivity in volume control and likely lower noise (hiss) then.
The lowest gains would be +12 and +6 right? I believe I read somewhere that the numbers were reversed / counterintuitive to what one would expect. Forgive me if not, I'm still quite a noob hence the questions lol
 

staticV3

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The lowest gains would be +12 and +6 right? I believe I read somewhere that the numbers were reversed / counterintuitive to what one would expect. Forgive me if not, I'm still quite a noob hence the questions lol
I would set the 8030 to +6dBu, that's the least sensitive setting (1.5V for 100dB SPL).
The 7050 I would set to +6dBu as well, then after that fine-adjust the sub's level to match up well with the monitors (use REW)
 
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I would set the 8030 to +6dBu, that's the least sensitive setting (1.5V for 100dB SPL).
The 7050 I would set to +6dBu as well, then after that fine-adjust the sub's level to match up well with the monitors (use REW)
Thank you. Found this in the quick start guide as well, I'll be using position A.

1676905297212.png
 
OP
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strea

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I would set the 8030 to +6dBu, that's the least sensitive setting (1.5V for 100dB SPL).
The 7050 I would set to +6dBu as well, then after that fine-adjust the sub's level to match up well with the monitors (use REW)
Another beginner question.. the E70 has Right/Left XLR out, but the 7050C only has IN 1 / IN 2 / IN 3 / etc. for XLR. Same with the monitors, they are not labeled R/L. Should I just making sure that the E70 Right out is going to say the 7050C then to the monitor that I will be placing on the right? So like E70 R out -> In 1 -> 8030c that goes on Right side?
 
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Hey all, so first impressions. Low to medium-high volumes sounds AMAZING. I am having one issue though. I'm noticing that the bottom end (30-35hz) is giving out on the subwoofer when I push my Topping E70 past -30 to -25db or so. It's almost like the subwoofer gives up and just starts producing a higher or muddy tone rather than the THUNDER/SHAKE it provides at low/medium-high volumes (under 88db SPL all is good, used my phone for reading). Does this sound normal simply because it's only an 8 inch woofer or is there something I should be concerned about? I have the 7050c at -3 input sensitivity and monitors at -4. All dip switches are currently OFF. I ran some sine wave tests as well of 35-30hz test tones and was able to duplicate the result, the thunder eventually gives way to a weaker sound, essentially like the sub is tapping out of the fight.

Thanks all.
 

Trell

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Hey all, so first impressions. Low to medium-high volumes sounds AMAZING. I am having one issue though. I'm noticing that the bottom end (30-35hz) is giving out on the subwoofer when I push my Topping E70 past -30 to -25db or so. It's almost like the subwoofer gives up and just starts producing a higher or muddy tone rather than the THUNDER/SHAKE it provides at low/medium-high volumes (under 88db SPL all is good, used my phone for reading). Does this sound normal simply because it's only an 8 inch woofer or is there something I should be concerned about? I have the 7050c at -3 input sensitivity and monitors at -4. All dip switches are currently OFF. I ran some sine wave tests as well of 35-30hz test tones and was able to duplicate the result, the thunder eventually gives way to a weaker sound, essentially like the sub is tapping out of the fight.

Thanks all.

The 7050C has an overload protection that is probably is kicking in. Some Genelec subwoofers/monitor shows overload by letting the power LED flash red.

 
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strea

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The 7050C has an overload protection that is probably is kicking in. Some Genelec subwoofers/monitor shows overload by letting the power LED flash red.

That makes sense then. Upon further testing I am finding this is happening less often than before, may have been just a specific couple songs really pushing it hard. Another question if you don't mind.. volume on the monitors/subwoofer is getting pretty loud with Topping E70 at -30db. Should I be lowering input sensitivity of monitors/subwoofer to utilize E70 closer to it's 0db peak. Will the DAC "perform better" at say -20db to 0db rather than always sitting at -45db to -30db?

Thank you.
 

staticV3

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Should I be lowering input sensitivity of monitors/subwoofer to utilize E70 closer to it's 0db peak.
Yes. Set the monitors to their lowest sens (+6dBu), then adjust the sub's sens to mesh well with the monitors at your main listening position.
Will the DAC "perform better" at say -20db to 0db rather than always sitting at -45db to -30db?
Yes. It'll have higher SNR.
 

Sokel

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Should I be lowering input sensitivity of monitors/subwoofer to utilize E70 closer to it's 0db peak. Will the DAC "perform better" at say -20db to 0db rather than always sitting at -45db to -30db?

Thank you.
Yes,you should,that will put you in the safer side too,imagine for example a glitch that will present the full output to your speakers.
 
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Yes. Set the monitors to their lowest sens (+6dBu), then adjust the sub's sens to mesh well with the monitors at your main listening position.

Yes. It'll have higher SNR.
Set the monitors and sub both to +6dBu, was able to achieve 95.7 max SPL w/ Topping E70 set to -15dB. Didn't go much louder because it's my first day with the speakers and didn't feel comfortable pushing them much harder.
 
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strea

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First adjustment using REW + UMIK-1. Utilized Julian Krause's youtube video.

Green is my original response, red/purple are two measurements after correction.
1677201331654.png
 

YSC

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Hello all and thank you for your time. I've spent weeks now reading the forums/researching and still don't have the confidence to move forward on a purchase. Therefore, looking for some personalized advice.

Purpose of setup: Listening to music - No mixing/mastering
Room size: 11 ft x 11 ft x 9 ft - Room has thick carpet and a large bed
Listening distance: 2 feet away - Monitors will go on computer desk
Total budget: 3-4K

I have narrowed down that I like the sound of Genelec 8020d's, not sure if I need the 8030's as I will go for a subwoofer (low-end is a requirement for my listening). Any input here is appreciated.

As far as the subwoofer goes, I don't have a ton of space under my desk. I was considering the Genelec 7040a, but not sure if it would be underwhelming. Perhaps it will be okay for a room of my size? I'm not looking to shake the whole house. Otherwise, suggestions for alternative subs should have a width OR depth of no greater than 11" or 12". For example, a sub can be 15" H x 13" W x 11" D and that is okay, 15" H x 11" W x 13" D is okay as well, but 15" x 13" W x 13" D is NOT okay.

For the DAC, I was planning on RME ADI-2 DAC, but I read you need attenuators to allow the RME ADI-2 DAC to shine to it's full potential when matched with the Genelecs. I don't think I want to use those. Is there a DAC with a volume pot that will work well with the Genelecs out of the box? Looking for recommendations here.

Please let me know if you have any questions of me, thank you.
IMO if you are using it 2ft away it don't really matter for the 7040's extension, I have around the same setting to yours but in a much smaller room and it worked great, all you need would be the front wall gain for the 7040 to sound flat enough and extends down to ~27-30hz flat, and the other boundaries IME just creates quite some complications that I need to EQ out, if you don't need to listen far away I would say it could be the easiest and slim-est option at a budget, but if you could go larger, either 7050 for the ease of easy integration, or if you want to tickle a bit, try the SVS options, an RCA to XLR adapter should work fine
 

YSC

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@scar1g please use REW's light mode for the graphs. Dark mode has awful contrast and is a pain to read.
For EQ I have done a small trick, at that distance, even the 7040 could have boosted out the nulls by some 6-10db without creating massive distortions, but don't go by EQ boost as in some bass heavy track you could make the signal clip and sound weird. what I've done was making the sensitivity of the 7040 6 db higher and default a 3db High shelf to >200hz, then use REW and EQ to chop down the overshot bass to go inline with the rest of the FR, that makes the sound better in the <200hz FR range at listening level of ~65-70db average, which is good for me at 2ft distance to not hurting the ears
 
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@scar1g please use REW's light mode for the graphs. Dark mode has awful contrast and is a pain to read.
Sure. I have monitor stands coming on Monday so I plan to re-do all my measurements and EQ as well. Will report back.
 
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I am fairly certain there is an issue with my subwoofer. Genelec has forwarded me to their service team.

Currently the subwoofer is at +6 input sensitivity and when I push the E70 past -18db or so utilizing certain low frequencies, you can hear the sound change. Here are two videos below, utilizing 28hz and 32hz sine waves, you should be able to hear the sound change as I increase the volume. The subwoofer stops producing a thunderous low and simply sends out a "blurry" tone. Wondering if anyone has any idea what this could be or if this is normal? It occurs in music as well that has 30hz~ tones once I start pushing the volume past 88-90db or so.

1677345111654.png
1677345122443.png


 
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YSC

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I am fairly certain there is an issue with my subwoofer. Genelec has forwarded me to their service team.

Currently the subwoofer is at +6 input sensitivity and when I push the E70 past -18db or so utilizing certain low frequencies, you can hear the sound change. Here are two videos below, utilizing 28hz and 32hz sine waves, you should be able to hear the sound change as I increase the volume. The subwoofer stops producing a thunderous low and simply sends out a "blurry" tone. Wondering if anyone has any idea what this could be or if this is normal? It occurs in music as well that has 30hz~ tones once I start pushing the volume past 88-90db or so.

View attachment 267412View attachment 267413

No idea for that, would you like to try measuring the bass frequency in rew with various levels to see did the distortion spikes up or even the level clips at some point?
 
OP
strea

strea

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No idea for that, would you like to try measuring the bass frequency in rew with various levels to see did the distortion spikes up or even the level clips at some point?
Hmm I would try it, but I am not sure how to. I am very new to REW. I learned how to do a basic measurement and correction using EQ APO, but that's all at the moment.
 

YSC

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Hmm I would try it, but I am not sure how to. I am very new to REW. I learned how to do a basic measurement and correction using EQ APO, but that's all at the moment.
just the normal sweep measurement, if you are concerned about bass frequency, limit the sweep to something like 10-100hz and do the sweep at different levels (if you got external volume, use that). so say, do one measurement at 75db SPL and another at 90db SPL, the output graph should have an option in the REW plot to show distortion which can be selected as % or db.

If there's distortion peaking early, you would see say @75db spl the distortion is say, 3% and at 90db it becomes like 30% or more.

If it's clipping, you wold see the fundamental sound don't increase from 75db to 90db, and roll off early or so
 
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