Anyone doing Genelec? Are they actually different in performance than a passive speaker?

Genelec speakers are used extensively in recording studios- obviously, the application should dictate what is used, but if you can, check them out.

I've never actually tried to use a studio monitor speaker for a home theater. I guess they can maybe sound a bit harsh, since the sound isn't colored like a lot of passive speakers from what I've been reading.

In theory you would think they would be good for home theater since that is apparently what they use for editing the original soundtrack.

I defer to highfigh, since I am only lowfigh lol

Quite quite a bit of interesting information exists about studio monitor speakers. One notable Yamaha NS10 speaker was a studio standard for many years. But those that knew the speaker would tell you that it did not belong in anybody’s home stereo system, it just didn’t sound that great. It was used in the studio almost as a lowest common denominator, the kind of speaker that perhaps most home users would utilize, and therefore needed to be the studio standard for final mixes.

I haven't used them in a while but a very solid brand and speaker. Like previously said they have a great following as studio monitor speakers. They have a unique form factor that I like (not as flashy as other brands) but they perform when the lights dim down.

Great speaker! Dynamic as hell and very low distortion. They have DIP switches that will let you tame the high end a bit. Interesting design philosophy in that they should all sound the same. The different sizes are to allow you to fit them into different size rooms. Balanced inputs so take that into account when designing the entire system.

Why would anyone want a harsh-sounding speaker in a recording studio? They want speakers that reveal problems in the recorded/soon to be recorded sound. The Yamaha NS-10 is almost ubiquitous in studios, but nobody actually likes the sound. The reason they're used- if it sounds good through those, it will sound good through just about anything and since they're everywhere, nobody needs to carry their own monitors from studio to studio when they're hired to mix/master. One major difference between studios and the real world- the control or mastering room is likely to have been acoustically designed or treated by someone who knows what they're doing. Lots of people use Dynaudio speakers in studios, too- from experience, they're easy to listen to and I have described them as "easy to listen to without thinking about what I'm listening through".

I didn't see your comments about the NS-10 before I posted but it's true and I know someone who had a studio with them sitting on the meters of their mixing console. I used to read Mix Magazine and they would interview people who had mixed wildly successful albums- they usually commented that at some point in the mastering process, they would make a cassette copy and play it through a boom box or car radio- not car stereo, a car radio. They wanted to hear it as punchy with good 'presence', meaning that it would cut through road noise and wind.

I don't like them for home, but they are a reliable and consistent over the years.

Comments that I've encountered made by studio people is that after a long day at the console you need something that screams at you in order to pick up issues. I've heard similar comments about some of the JBL's.

They are the gold standard in professional mastering studios and broadcast environments. The movies and shows you listen to are mastered on these. If you want to hear what the mastering engineer intended, why would you want anything else? The consumer world baffles me. All kinds of tech and processors that video and audio pros would never, ever use.

There are many competitors to Genelec (Neumann, Adam, etc) and some are also very, very good. But, when you hear the Genelecs, they are fantastic and there is now doubt they are the gold standard.

But, if you wanted to recreate the real show, you would have a horn array in your living room. I've listened to horn arrays in demo settings at the manufacturer's facility. While this was horrid, I would not hesitate using these speakers in a venue.

I don't think ANYONE actually likes them. I listened to them at my friends' studio and had an immediate reaction to the sound- harsh. OK for some stuff, but not if it has a lot of cymbals.

I was in a studio during the recording of some basic tracks and they had B&W 801 as their main large monitors- sounded dry, almost like they had a phase problem.

Needing speakers that scream by the end of a day when mixing is dangerous. I have only heard the opposite- everyone likes speakers that DON'T cause hearing fatigue. JBL studio monitors definitely have a 'sound' of their own and in the '70s, that's what they wanted- it really makes the tracks sound like real instruments. However, that's for getting the sound for the tracks, mixing and until they found better speakers for the application, mastering.

Two examples of well-known studios that have a mix of speakers (check out the artist lineups)-

Air Studios
[Link: airstudios.com]

Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios-
[Link: realworldstudios.com]

They aren't the gold standard, they're used because they're everywhere and the people who use them know what they're getting, so they don't need to become accustomed to something new every time they go into a different studio. Some take their own monitors, often Auratone speakers. They have 5" drivers and fit in luggage.

Early 801’s were very mellow, later 801’s are brighter.

FYI Dynaudio has their Core series which are pretty insane sounding.

[Link: dynaudio.com]

They make a range of powered monitors and subwoofers and wound make a killer studio setup or theater. Dynaudio speakers are in the images of some of the studios linked above.