Visible gap between the coaxial assembly and enclosure on my Genelec 8351B — does this look normal?

[WhiteBear]

Hi everyone,

Both monitors in my Genelec 8351B pair have a visible gap between the front coaxial assembly and the surrounding front baffle/enclosure. At the moment, the right monitor is more pronounced.

In some sections, the edge of a standard paper business card can enter the gap and get caught. This is not a plastic card or a thick object, just a normal paper business card.

I searched Genelec’s official product images, promotional photos, ASR, Gearspace, Reddit, and photos of other user-owned Genelec coaxial monitors as much as I reasonably could, but I have not personally found another example with a gap as pronounced as mine.

I contacted Genelec, and they told me this condition is within their acceptable limits and is not considered a fault.

I can provide additional photos, comparison images, or redacted screenshots of the email exchange if needed.


Do you consider this normal and acceptable for a Genelec 8351B?

 

[solderdude]

It's normal.
The drivers are sealed between the panel and driver.

 

[WhiteBear]

It's normal.
The drivers are sealed between the panel and driver.

Thank you. I understand that the drivers are sealed and that the gap may not indicate an air leak or structural sealing issue.

My concern is more about the visible finish and assembly tolerance around the front coaxial assembly. On my pair, a standard paper business card can enter the gap in some sections, and I have not been able to find many public examples that look this pronounced.

Have you seen a similar level of visible gap on other 8351B / The Ones units?

 

[solderdude]

Have never checked with a piece of paper but none of them are tightly flush around the rim.
There are always production tolerances as well as different materials being used with different temperature expansion etc. and some 'free space' allows the drivers to be installed easily under all circumstances.

What is your concern ?

 

[anlin]

Those look like very reasonable manufacturing tolerances to me. My three 8361s have similar gaps between the waveguide and the driver. If anything, mine are more uneven than yours. Sonically a small flush gap like that should not be a concern as you would need to be in the hundreds of kilohertz for diffraction etc. to come into play

 

[WhiteBear]

Have never checked with a piece of paper but none of them are tightly flush around the rim.
There are always production tolerances as well as different materials being used with different temperature expansion etc. and some 'free space' allows the drivers to be installed easily under all circumstances.

What is your concern ?

Thank you. I had expected that there would not be this level of visible gap on a product like this.

As I mentioned in my post, I was not able to find examples with a similar level of gap in public images, which is why I wanted to ask for opinions and help from other users here.

If you have time, would you be willing to share a close-up photo of the gap on your units? It would be very helpful for comparison.

 

[WhiteBear]

Those look like very reasonable manufacturing tolerances to me. My three 8361s have similar gaps between the waveguide and the driver. If anything, mine are more uneven than yours. Sonically a small flush gap like that should not be a concern as you would need to be in the hundreds of kilohertz for diffraction etc. to come into play

Thank you, this is helpful.

My concern was not really about an air leak or whether the drivers are sealed. I was mainly concerned about the visible finish and assembly tolerance around the front coaxial assembly, because the gap on my pair is clearly visible in normal use.

It is useful to know that your 8361s also have similar or even more uneven gaps. That gives me more context about what may be normal for The Ones series.

If possible, could you share a close-up photo of the gap on your 8361s? It would help me compare whether my unit is actually unusual or whether this is a normal manufacturing characteristic of the design.

I also understand your point about the likely acoustic impact being negligible. My concern has been more about finish consistency and what should be expected from this product class.

 

[Redacted]

It's a cosmetic trim.

 

[RexrothPigeon]

My concern has been more about finish consistency and what should be expected from this product class.

The product class is "utilitarian professional tool." These speakers are not dressed up for audiophile living rooms in wood or chrome or whatever. Looks are barely even an afterthought.

 

[anlin]

Thank you, this is helpful.

My concern was not really about an air leak or whether the drivers are sealed. I was mainly concerned about the visible finish and assembly tolerance around the front coaxial assembly, because the gap on my pair is clearly visible in normal use.

It is useful to know that your 8361s also have similar or even more uneven gaps. That gives me more context about what may be normal for The Ones series.

If possible, could you share a close-up photo of the gap on your 8361s? It would help me compare whether my unit is actually unusual or whether this is a normal manufacturing characteristic of the design.

I also understand your point about the likely acoustic impact being negligible. My concern has been more about finish consistency and what should be expected from this product class.

Pics attached. Your speakers are fine, please go and enjoy them.

It's a cosmetic trim.

It's the surround of the midrange cone! The almost seamless transition from the midrange to the waveguide is partly why the speaker is so well behaved both on and off axis

 

[Redacted]

It also probably hides screws. Waveguides aren't usually flappy-about half-detached items.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Tangential but relevant:
The waveguides in my 3 KEF Blade 2 Metas are consistently spaced 2 card thicknesses from the surrounding enclosure.
The waveguides in my 2 KEF LS60s are all flush with the surrounding enclosure.
The waveguides in my 2 KEF KC92 subs are consistently spaced 1 card thickness from the surrounding enclosure.
FWIW.

 

[Andreas007]

Looks like normal tolerance or even deliberate "shadow gap".
Is this even a concern if there's some distance between you and the speaker?

 

[JRowland]

Tangential but relevant:
The waveguides in my 3 KEF Blade 2 Metas are consistently spaced 2 card thicknesses from the surrounding enclosure.
The waveguides in my 2 KEF LS60s are all flush with the surrounding enclosure.
The waveguides in my 2 KEF KC92 subs are consistently spaced 1 card thickness from the surrounding enclosure.
FWIW.

I thought the tangerine thing is the waveguide? Do you mean the shadow flares (based off the subs not having tangerine things)?

 

[Axo1989]

The product class is "utilitarian professional tool." These speakers are not dressed up for audiophile living rooms in wood or chrome or whatever. Looks are barely even an afterthought.

Form follows function would be an apt description of the Genelec 8000 series. But the functional aesthetics are the careful work of Finnish industrial designer Harri Koskinen and not an afterthought at all.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I thought the tangerine thing is the waveguide? Do you mean the shadow flares (based off the subs not having tangerine things)?

You are correct. The tangerine thing is the waveguide for the tweeter. "Shadow flare" does not communicate to me.

 

[JRowland]

You are correct. The tangerine thing is the waveguide for the tweeter. "Shadow flare" does not communicate to me.

I'm new to this stuff, I wasn't trying to correct you it just made me question what I thought I sort of knew. I remember the shadow flare term from Erin in his video about checking them to see if they protrude and it got reinforced by Dr. Jack I think it was writing about them on here and their purpose in a discussion about edge diffraction. Beauty ring is what I think of coming from the vehicle world, or screw hider.

My flare things are all pretty flush but I would imagine an up close photo from certain angles might look like what has been posted above.

 

[kyuu]

This is from the listing on Genelec's site:

Looks to me like there's a small gap between the baffle and the driver, enough that you might be able to stick a business card in edge-wise. Definitely normal and not something to be concerned about at all.

 

[illusonic]

What you see is the edge of the surround. Looks like the speaker is clamped in from behind and centered by what seems to be a circumferential rubber sealing ring. The latter probably causes some tolerance.

 

[WhiteBear]

Pics attached. Your speakers are fine, please go and enjoy them.


It's the surround of the midrange cone! The almost seamless transition from the midrange to the waveguide is partly why the speaker is so well behaved both on and off axis

Thank you very much for taking the time to share photos of your 8361s. I genuinely appreciate it.

However, to my eyes, your examples do not look the same as mine. In your photos, the visible gap appears to be relatively narrow and limited to certain sections, roughly around the 11 to 2 o’clock area. On my unit, even the smallest part of the gap is closer to that level, and the wider sections are noticeably larger.

My concern is not simply that a seam or shadow line exists. It is that the gap on my unit is wide enough in some sections for the edge of a standard paper business card to enter and get caught.

I am attaching a photo of another 8351B unit that I previously had. I understand that angle and lighting can make a gap look larger or smaller, but they do not create a gap where there is none. If my current pair looked like your units, or like my previous 8351B, I probably would not have made this post.

Again, thank you for sharing your photos. They are helpful for comparison.