Why are Genelec subwoofers so expensive, huge, heavy and ugly?

[Rick63]

Because many folks have disposable income and poor taste in design.

 

[SigbergAudio]

Size: Ported subs will by necessity always be larger than a similar sealed sub, so at least compare with other ported subs.

If you look at the ported 15" from SVS it's 23x20x28" and weighs 174lbs. Soo...,comparing to the Genelec 7380 at 27x28x19 and 152lbs it's a little bit smaller, but actually heavier. So you're mostly left with price as a differentiator.

 

[ivayvr]

I asked this in the Genelec lounge and there was a short discussion, but I thought maybe it's fun as it's own thread.

Genelec subs are heavy, huge, ugly and expensive. Here is a list of their common models and a comparison with the 15" sub to SVS and Rythmik for fun. You can see how much larger, heavier and more expensive they are. (Trust me they are also ugly.)

View attachment 538820

First, don't get me wrong this is hardly a complaint. Sadly, if one wants to use SAM, the excellent Gelenec DSP and management tool, you have to buy a Genelec sub. I have five of these subwoofers in my house, so I have drunk plenty of the Kool-Aid. (In fact, I've moved on to stronger stuff.)

Second, forget price for the moment. Genelec command a premium price. If there is an advantage, it might be worth it.

But is there an advantage? Are these subs better? And why are these so big and heavy? We know it's a huge spiral sheet-metal open cylinder sandwiched between thick MDF, which makes it big and heavy. In this video (thank you @Pearljam5000 ) they claim the spiral enclosure subwoofer "acoustically has a very long reflex port with a large surface area so it's linear. The air changes direction very smoothly and slowly so it's very clean and has excellent linearity.' Does that make sense or bullshit? and ff it's so good, why aren't other manufacturers copying it or doing similar?

If they are so ugly, heavy, expensive...the real question is not why, but how come that you have five of them?

 

[ivayvr]

Because many folks have disposable income and poor taste in design.

I don't think that it has anything (significant) to do with folks with disposable income and bad taste. I tend to believe that at least 90% people with cursory interest in HiFi/audio, have never heard the name. The studios are their main target group and beauty of the equipment is not even a part of a consideration.

 

[Chanur]

Of course, but what do they base their decisions on? Why would these overpriced subs become worthwhile?

Not sure. I doubt I could justify a 6k sub to myself let alone the wife. But hey maybe if I heard it I'd be willing to throw a small fortune at one.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I don't think that they're that expensive
A pair of subs for $12K plus a pair of 8351 for another $8K
And for $20K you get an endgame system

 

[RedVikingHood]

Genelec are a pro audio company that crossed over into home audio for business reasons of course. There's no point complaining about the aesthetics of a pro audio brand.

 

[Chanur]

I don't think that they're that expensive
A pair of subs for $12K plus a pair of 8351 for another $8K
And for $20K you get an endgame system

Agree to disagree.

 

[Sokel]

I don't think that they're that expensive
A pair of subs for $12K plus a pair of 8351 for another $8K
And for $20K you get an endgame system

Nope, the endgame needs a W371A in-between if your room is big enough.
And that (W371A) is by far one of the ugliest pieces of gear around.

 

[Blueprint]

They are huge and heavy so that the bass is clean and as free of distortion as one could reasonably expect. They’re ugly because they’re fit for function and they’re expensive because they’re very good. It’s not really a mystery.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Nope, the endgame needs a W371A in-between if your room is big enough.
And that (W371A) is by far one of the ugliest pieces of gear around.

Indeed.
Apart from probably being too old to get my money's worth (I have been using my current speakers for around 30 years) the reason I didn't buy the 8361 (or 8351) and W371 combination once I saw the data was how appallingly ugly I find them.
Not sure I would need a sub for the stuff I listen to if I had the W371s.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Honestly for $20K I'd just skip the W371+8351 and get the 8381 instead
I also don't like the 2 speakers look
Maybe I'm more old school than I thought lol

Nope, the endgame needs a W371A in-between if your room is big enough.
And that (W371A) is by far one of the ugliest pieces of gear around.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Honestly for $20K I'd just skip the W371+8351 and get the 8381 instead
I also don't like the 2 speakers look
Maybe I'm more old school than I thought lol

I prefer the look of the 8381 too, but the hideous combination 8361/W371 is a big step up on room integration potential.

 

[LTig]

I figured I might as well try. Gave chatgpt a picture of my 7360A and asked it to make it look less ugly. This is what it came up with.

View attachment 538849View attachment 538850


Similar prompt to Claude but it had a bit of a brain fart. After ages it came up with this

Doesn't work. The big grill not only protects the speaker but also serves as cooler for the power amp.

 

[LTig]

[..] As far as performance goes bigger and heavier with a larger port area are all requirements for higher performance. Consumer subs optimize advertised extension and SPL per dollar and never mention distortion, thermal compression, or time domain issues (group delay, step response, etc.).

For an apple to peach comparison my Neumann KH150DSP uses a 10" woofer with 256 W power amp in a small sealed housing and the Genelec 7060b a 10" woofer with 120 W power amp in a bigger vented housing. Despite heaving half the power of the Neumann the Genelec delivers 3 dB more SPL, with identical frequency range.

 

[kma100]

Ugly, Heavy, Huge and expensive.

The white painted versions aren't too bad looking. But still...heavy/huge/expensive

 

[Shadrach]

I don't they look any worse than any other sub.
I don't think they're that expensive for what one gets.
Yes they're heavy but that's hardly an issue given one doesn't walk around with them.
I have a pair to support 8030Cs. Plug them in, a few adjustment and they sound fantastic.
Of course, it would be wonderful if one could get the same level of performance from a one inch cube hidden away in a corner somewhere. Unfortunately physics makes that rather difficult.

 

[Mark609]

It's like Apple. Once in their grip don't complain about the cost. They apparently sound great, so what is to complain about?

Crapple is a monoply, and expensive and restricted one at that. Buy into the Crapple system and "you can never leave".

As audiophiles we have choices, lots of them.

 

[delta76]

Good subs are expensive, heavy and big.
Ugly is subjective.

 

[Breeze98]

Just as another take, I personally find the look quite attractive (almost sexy lol)

I prefer the look of my 7360a to my KH750 dsp. Maybe if it was a bigger 73-- model, things could feel different, as they do get huge.