Genelec 8361A Review (Powered Monitor)

[mightycicadalord]

Thanks,

I think the answer would be 'no', on the soundstage question. The depth, width and height of the soundstage matches that of my Revels and exceeds it when it comes to depth. The fact that the GLM4.1 perfectly dials in the stereo image might assist here as the 8361A's offer three dimensional imaging, the like of which I've never experienced. I did a quick subjective comparison of the two on Amir's Revel F208 thread.

But on the sub, I am not certain. I need more time with them before I can decide. The low end is genuinely room shaking but on some pipe organ pieces, I am not yet certain if the lowest notes are being captured (even factoring in in-room and boundary influences). I will give it more time and play with the optimisation to determine. I also have a pair of the original Velodyne DD12 subs and might discuss with the excellent Genelec support team whether and how I might integrate these into the monitors. But here, we're really only talking about the notes from late 20's down to 17Hz and they might in fact not be needed. Time will tell.

Yet, overall, I agree that these are really end-game speakers. Phenomenal!!

You probably want subs then, but generally you cross them not to cover the rest of the ground where the speakers roll off, but dependant on what your room needs to work around its modes.

 

[JustJones]

There is a really long waiting time to get hold of any 8361A's over here in England, and I found a retailer that just happened to have these grey ones in stock. I must also admit that I am not that crazy about white hifi accessories. Although my wife might not share my old school aesthetic!

Same in the USA on wait times, about 12 weeks and that is not set in stone. The grey are in stock at a few places.

 

[Dgob]

You probably want subs then, but generally you cross them not to cover the rest of the ground where the speakers roll off, but dependant on what your room needs to work around its modes.

Yes, I'd be looking at a cross over point some where in the region of 80Hz. I've already heard back from Genelec support team and they have instructed me on how to integrate the Velodynes. But I must admit, I am not sure that they are needed for anything other than pipe organ music.

Marcel, at Genelec, has also advised me on how to adjust the bottom end and midrange. I will try that soon and see where that takes me. I really feel quite silly playing around with what is (for all intent and purpose) perfection. But they say the devil makes light work for idle hands!

 

[oversky]

Welcome to the club!! The custom stands look fantastic too! I’ll let you know how things sound once the W371a’s arrive in April (I don’t have room for the 7380 sub so won’t be going there)

I would like to know whether the image deteriorates or not as the system is not "coaxial" anymore.

 

[Dgob]

Same in the USA on wait times, about 12 weeks and that is not set in stone. The grey are in stock at a few places.

The strange thing is that the grey would have been my colour of choice anyway.

 

[Dgob]

I would like to know whether the image deteriorates as the system is not "coaxial" anymore.

Isn't the bass provided by the subs meant to be omni-directional anyway?

 

[Frgirard]

Isn't the bass provided by the subs meant to be omni-directional anyway?

It is.

 

[oversky]

Isn't the bass provided by the subs meant to be omni-directional anyway?

As my understanding, the better image of a coaxial driver comes from the design of only one sound source.
With the additional subs, now the sound comes from two sources at the crossover frequency.
Thus, the image is somewhat "blurred".
This is only my "theory", not tested.
Hopefully, AdamQ could confirm it is correct or not.

Nevertheless, omni-directional does helps on the frequency response.

 

[tmtomh]

I've joined the club of proud owners of the 8361A's. They are amazing and (most likely) my last speakers. I've had some custom stands built and they are blowing me away.

Not to gripe, but I only joined ASR in the hope of building a budget system that could perform near the level of my old overly expensive (but forcibly retired) one. Amir's review of the Rokit 5 G4's started it off. Then his review of the Revel F208's saw me upgrade. And now this. Sadly, I still have to admit that $10,000 monitors are amazing value for money. Better still, I can retrieve most of this with the sale of my two Benchmark AHB2 power amps and the Revel F208's.

My system is now mainly a reflection of best buys that have been recommended and objectively assessed here on ASR. The only exception is my expensive vinyl front end., which is also now nearing completion and should be set by the end of March.


View attachment 189718

Awesome!

I have been contemplating getting these as well - quite a stretch money-wise but they are my end-game aspiration, so I'm hoping to be able to swing it.

I assume yours are set up so the tweeters are at your seated ear height, yes? If so, can you share what the height measurement of your stands is? Thanks!

 

[Dgob]

Awesome!

I have been contemplating getting these as well - quite a stretch money-wise but they are my end-game aspiration, so I'm hoping to be able to swing it.

I assume yours are set up so the tweeters are at your seated ear height, yes? If so, can you share what the height measurement of your stands is? Thanks!

tmtomh:

It was a true financial stretch for me also, but I feel it was worth the outlay! I hope you can swing it.

On the stands, "yes", I've got them set up so that the tweeters are set at my seated ear level. The stands (including the Gaia isolation feet) are 745mm (29.25") high. I based their aesthetic around the Atacama Moseco stands, but obviously with totally different specs and materials in order to match these 70Ib beasts. They work in as much as they overcome issues with my wooden flooring and raise the monitors to where they should be. Sadly, that precludes my experimenting with setting the monitors up horizontally.

 

[Bill Brown]

As my understanding, the better image of a coaxial driver comes from the design of only one sound source.
With the additional subs, now the sound comes from two sources at the crossover frequency.
Thus, the image is somewhat "blurred".
This is only my "theory", not tested.
Hopefully, AdamQ could confirm it is correct or not.

Nevertheless, omni-directional does helps on the frequency response.

Not at all. How could it when the wavelengths he is talking about the subs reproducing are from 14 ft. (80 hz) to 66 ft. (17 hz)!?

Bill

 

[Dgob]

Congrats
Do you feel that you need a sub?
Do you feel the Soundstage is smaller than the Revels?
Thanks

I needed less time than I thought to make up my mind about the need for subwoofers with the 8361A's. Remembering that I can only state what applies in my listening room with dimensions of (L x W x H) 15ft x 13ft x 8.5ft, and specific room treatments.

I was advised by Marcel Schechter at Genelec and made adjustments using the SAC and various comparative group profiles, which could be tested and compared at the same time. I ultimately selected the one that suits my ears and environment best and saved this to the monitors as well as saving it to the Genelec cloud.

Well, any semblance of superior midrange fullness that I favoured in the Revel F208's has now completely evaporated with the midrange that I am getting from my Genelecs. Also, and more relevant here, the bass is simply superb. So much so that I will now also have a pair of the original Velodyne DD12 subs for sale. (These monitors are truly proving to be cost effective! ).

So in short, "no", I do NOT need a sub with these monitors. Blown away, completely!!

 

[oversky]

Welcome to the club!! The custom stands look fantastic too! I’ll let you know how things sound once the W371a’s arrive in April (I don’t have room for the 7380 sub so won’t be going there)

I would like to know whether the image deteriorates or not as the system is not "coaxial" anymore.

Emailed this question to Genelec, the answer is as following:

All advantages of the point source speaker design regarding the coloration-free wide listening zone, the stable stereo imaging and depth, and the possibility to sit really close to the speakers (if needed) are still there.

 

[Tonygeno]

I needed less time than I thought to make up my mind about the need for subwoofers with the 8361A's. Remembering that I can only state what applies in my listening room with dimensions of (L x W x H) 15ft x 13ft x 8.5ft, and specific room treatments.

I was advised by Marcel Schechter at Genelec and made adjustments using the SAC and various comparative group profiles, which could be tested and compared at the same time. I ultimately selected the one that suits my ears and environment best and saved this to the monitors as well as saving it to the Genelec cloud.

Well, any semblance of superior midrange fullness that I favoured in the Revel F208's has now completely evaporated with the midrange that I am getting from my Genelecs. Also, and more relevant here, the bass is simply superb. So much so that I will now also have a pair of the original Velodyne DD12 subs for sale. (These monitors are truly proving to be cost effective! ).

So in short, "no", I do NOT need a sub with these monitors. Blown away, completely!!

What is the SAC you mention in your response and where does one access the group profiles?

 

[Dgob]

What is the SAC you mention in your response and where does one access the group profiles?

A good question,

What I meant was SCP. If this dyslexia is not the reason for the confusion, then this might help:

"You can use the Sound Character Profiler (in menu Group Preset) to reduce the high and mid frequencies resulting in more warmth. This article shows how to do it: https://support.genelec.com/hc/en-u...-system-that-includes-one-or-more-subwoofers-"

Sorry for the obvious error and any associated confusion.

 

[Dgob]

I should note that, if you're NOT using a subwoofer then, you can also adjust the low shelf on the 8361A's. In my case and my ultimately selected duplicate group, I left the high shelf unchanged and increased the volume on the low shelf, which I also brought down from 100Hz to 80Hz. That was the setting in my 5th group duplication (and adjustment).

You can run some music and switch between the settings on your duplicate groups while it plays in order to make more fine adjustments and determine the perfect sound. I used this (having set 5 different duplicates in my main group and made significant adjustments to achieve different tones on each) to determine what plays best in my listening room for my hearing.

These were of course all variations on the optimum setting from the Automatic Calibration that the GLM identified using its microphone and test tones. Once done, you can again store your selected (EQ'd) group to the monitors and to the Genelec cloud .

Magic!

 

[jhenderson0107]

Here's my Genelec home theater setup. 8361As front and rear, 8351As on the sides, six Triad golds overhead for Atmos, three RS1 subs. Following the most recent MSO and room optimization efforts I am finally obtaining good, coherent sound.

Nothing goes according to plan. Thinking I'd build passive surround speakers, I previously hard-wired speaker cable to each speaker location. Then I purchased the 8351's for my office and liked them. I bought an 8361 to replace my home theater center channel and liked it too. So, I decided to run Genelecs all around which necessitated running two shielded CAT6 under the carpets to route differential signals to each speaker zone.

 

[Tonygeno]

A good question,

What I meant was SCP. If this dyslexia is not the reason for the confusion, then this might help:

"You can use the Sound Character Profiler (in menu Group Preset) to reduce the high and mid frequencies resulting in more warmth. This article shows how to do it: https://support.genelec.com/hc/en-u...-system-that-includes-one-or-more-subwoofers-"

Sorry for the obvious error and any associated confusion.

Now I get it. Thanks.

 

[Tonygeno]

Here's my Genelec home theater setup. 8361As front and rear, 8351As on the sides, six Triad golds overhead for Atmos, three RS1 subs. Following the most recent MSO and room optimization efforts I am finally obtaining good, coherent sound.

Nothing goes according to plan. Thinking I'd build passive surround speakers, I previously hard-wired speaker cable to each speaker location. Then I purchased the 8351's for my office and liked them. I bought an 8361 to replace my home theater center channel and liked it too. So, I decided to run Genelecs all around which necessitated running two shielded CAT6 under the carpets to route differential signals to each speaker zone.

Looks good. I went with 8361s for LCR, 8350s for surround and rear, and 8330s for overheads. Power to the ceiling speakers required an electrician, but it sounds great.

 

[Dgob]

Here's my Genelec home theater setup. 8361As front and rear, 8351As on the sides, six Triad golds overhead for Atmos, three RS1 subs. Following the most recent MSO and room optimization efforts I am finally obtaining good, coherent sound.

Nothing goes according to plan. Thinking I'd build passive surround speakers, I previously hard-wired speaker cable to each speaker location. Then I purchased the 8351's for my office and liked them. I bought an 8361 to replace my home theater center channel and liked it too. So, I decided to run Genelecs all around which necessitated running two shielded CAT6 under the carpets to route differential signals to each speaker zone.

I can only dream!!!