Genelec 8341A SAM™ Studio Monitor Review

[Pearljam5000]

I do wonder how the 1237A compares to the 8361A, Specs are similar but design is obviously different

 

[samysound]

https://www.genelec.com/correct-monitors
Mainly loudness and direct sound dominating (if that is what you want, I do).
The bigger models are more suitable for longer listening distances IMO, subwoofer or not.

Do the larger models have narrower dispersion? If not, I would think the direct sound dominating is more related to the room size. I guess what I am getting at is that there nothing to indicate that, in terms of design, the 8341a would not be an excellent speaker at longer distance other than the loudness limitation.

 

[andreasmaaan]

I do wonder how the 1237A compares to the 8361A, Specs are similar but design is obviously different

The 1237 has much narrower directivity overall, and of course its vertical directivity is going to be messier as a result of having three non-coaxial drivers.

The 1238, which is very similar from the midrange up, was measured by Sound and Recording. Here are a few of those measurements, where you can clearly see the differences:

EDIT: for reference, the 8351A measured under the same conditions:

Do the larger models have narrower dispersion?

I think that is generally the case, yes.

 

[Pearljam5000]

@andreasmaaan
Thanks
It's just that it's pretty confusing because the 8361A, 1237A and the new S360 have pretty similar specs and cost exactly the same in my country so it's hard to decide lol, but I think I like the 8361A the most because of the coaxial design.
Now add the Kii Three and D&D 8C to the mix and its almost impossible to choose lol.

 

[hege]

@andreasmaaan
Thanks
It's just that it's pretty confusing because the 8361A, 1237A and the new S360 have pretty similar specs and cost exactly the same in my country so it's hard to decide lol, but I think I like the 8361A the most because of the coaxial design.
Now add the Kii Three and D&D 8C to the mix and its almost impossible to choose lol.

Well 1237A is older, I don't think there's much point buying it new unless you need it for soffit mounting or very high SPLs. For the 6500€ I got them used, it was a no-brainer and will keep that value for few years atleast.

S360 will leave most wanting a sub, it has much steeper highpass than the others from 40hz. Also it's "just" a two-way with compression driver, intended for more high SPL applications. It did sound very smooth when I heard it.

Kii Three, dunno if one wants a cabinet full of potentially breaking Hypex modules? Quite SPL limited in bass too.

Rest are up to your SPL needs, possible subwoofer requirements, ease of use etc. Stop overthinking pointless minor directivity differences etc, most people would be happy having any of those sound wise. One might even get better results spending way less on speakers and more on acoustics.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Kii Three, dunno if one wants a cabinet full of potentially breaking Hypex modules?

Do Hypex modules break more frequently than other amplifier modules?

 

[hege]

Do Hypex modules break more frequently than other amplifier modules?

Considering there's so many inside, I guess the chances of breaking is higher. Personally I would discard the speaker on bass SPL anyway.

 

[Pearljam5000]

@hege
Thanks for the info.
Would you say that the 8361A is the best choice at this price?

 

[hege]

@hege
Thanks for the info.
Would you say that the 8361A is the best choice at this price?

Against what? D&D? 8341A + subs? Haven't heard any of them. You keep asking questions that only can answer.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Do the larger models have narrower dispersion?

I presume so.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Considering there's so many inside, I guess the chances of breaking is higher. Personally I would discard the speaker on bass SPL anyway.

Do you have a link to data concerning the Kii's bass SPL capacity by any chance?

 

[hege]

Do you have a link to data concerning the Kii's bass SPL capacity by any chance?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kii-three-measurements.15840/

 

[andreasmaaan]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kii-three-measurements.15840/

Thanks. Obviously not great, but better than most models in the Genelec One series, unless I'm missing something?

E.g. significantly better than 8351A:

 

[Purité Audio]

It was the release of the Kiis that made me sell my 8260/7270s.
Keith

 

[hege]

Thanks. Obviously not great, but better than most models in the Genelec One series, unless I'm missing something?

E.g. significantly better than 8351A:

Why do you keep posting the deprecated 8351A graphs (sorry if it wasn't you, but keep constantly seeing it)? It's lower performance has no relevance here.

8361A has massively better bass performance than Kii for the same (or lower?) price:

Over 10dB better @ 40hz (and generally <100-200hz)

 

[Pearljam5000]

Isn't the 8361A more comparable to the Kii Three than the 8351B?

 

[Pearljam5000]

Also the 8351A is the older discontinued model that was worse even than the 8341A, the updates model 8351B is much better.

 

[Pearljam5000]

That's some high praise lol

 

[andreasmaaan]

Why do you keep posting the deprecated 8351A graphs (sorry if it wasn't you, but keep constantly seeing it)?

I posted it because it's the only One series speaker that I had measurements for (other than the much smaller 8331).

Also the 8351A is the older discontinued model that was worse even than the 8341A, the updates model 8351B is much better.

Does either of you have links to similar measurements of either the current 8351 or current 8341? Of all the measurements I can find online, the 8361 seems to be the only one with reasonably high max. SPL in the bass.

 

[hege]

Does either of you have links to similar measurements of either the current 8351 or current 8341? Of all the measurements I can find online, the 8361 seems to be the only one with reasonably high max. SPL in the bass.

I guess we have to wait for SaR to measure them too.. but it's pretty safe to iterate from specs that 8351B might have atleast 6dB less headroom. The frequency response is pretty much identical, only amp and driver size is different. I would assume it being Kii Three level at minimum.

The price difference is quite minimal anyway, and from my experience I would always choose bigger. At this price point, if you don't have extra grand or two loose cash anyway, you probably shouldn't consider either.