I've got an option to buy a pair of either 8331s or 8341s, after more than a year of dreaming about the Ones. Both are within my budget, at a price difference of 1150 euros in favour of the former. At least this year, since I'm open to the idea of adding a sub or even a stereo sub pair to either set up next year, depending on how it goes.
The pair would go onto my home studio desk:
8331:
As a side note, a question about the GLM Kit. For room correction to work, should it online at all times, or only when I mean to switch correction profiles or use a Genelec volume control accessory?
P.S. 8351s are too much of a jump for my budget, and physically larger than what's practical for me, to get ahead of a potential suggestion. Neumanns I have looked at, but I happen to be one of those weird folks who like the aesthetics of Genelec, and that is a factor here, if minor.
The pair would go onto my home studio desk:
- Room – an irregularly shaped studio, with the “main rectangle” of it being ~5 metres wide and ~3.5 metres deep.
- Listening positions – the desk in the middle of a wide wall of the “main rectangle” or a sofa right behind it, by the opposite wall. In other words, ~0.8 and ~2.9 metres. 80% of time in the closer position, and I'm fine with just switching between different GLM presets for desk and the sofa.
- Room acoustics – crap. Besides geometry issues, there are some questionable surfaces, and limited options to get proper proofing, due to my living arrangement and not really being an audio professional to begin with. Consequently, a preference for Genelec with the GLM, as a presumably low fussiness option to offset the most glaring issues.
- Use cases – hobbyist video editing, simple audio work included, and recreational listening. The PC's audio setup does have a digital out. I'm not a frequent film/series watcher, but I listen to a lot of EDM (drum and bass mainly), and use the computer for gaming both from the desk and from the couch.
- Volume preference – haven't tracked this studiously, but I'd say that ~70-80 dB average is what I gravitate to at the desk, slightly louder at the sofa (maybe 80-90).
8331:
- Pros: Narrower than my current monitors, cheaper than 8341.
- Cons: Shallower sub-bass extension than 8441.
- Pros: Deeper sub-bass extension than 8331.
- Cons: 2 cm wider than my current monitors (minor issue, can be negated by slightly re-planning the desk arrangement), more expensive than 8331.
As a side note, a question about the GLM Kit. For room correction to work, should it online at all times, or only when I mean to switch correction profiles or use a Genelec volume control accessory?
P.S. 8351s are too much of a jump for my budget, and physically larger than what's practical for me, to get ahead of a potential suggestion. Neumanns I have looked at, but I happen to be one of those weird folks who like the aesthetics of Genelec, and that is a factor here, if minor.