8351B

Genelec 8351B studio monitor: design overview

The Genelec 8351B packs remarkable sonic power into a compact design. At 287 x 452 x 278 mm (W x H x D) and just 14.3kg, it fits easily on speaker stands, a desk or a bookshelf without taking up much space.

The cabinet is finished in premium aluminium and comes in three colour versions, in an elegant, modern dark grey and white. The Iso-Pod stand damps vibration and reduces the contact area with the surface it sits on.

Genelec 8351B studio monitor: sound quality review

Premium driver system

The Genelec 8351B uses a four-driver system for clear yet perfectly blended 3-way sound: two 21.8cm bass drivers for warm lows, a 13cm coaxial midrange for accurate mids and a 2.5cm metal-dome tweeter for airy highs.

Accurate sound

The 8351B has been upgraded with higher SPL, additional room-compensation EQ, balanced latency and an enhanced HF response, delivering the same exceptional imaging and accuracy as its smaller siblings, the 8331A and 8341A. The Genelec 8351B also offers greater LF extension, while its higher maximum SPL allows longer listening distances and use in larger rooms.

The impressive 550W of RMS power from its class D amplifiers promises lively, realistic sound reproduction in any space.

Faster work

The 8351B helps you make faster, more consistent and more reliable decisions while keeping the sound natural, so even long listening sessions do not tire your ears.

Smart Active Monitoring (SAM™) and GLM™ calibration technology

Built on a solid electro-acoustic foundation and years of continuous research and refinement since the earliest products of the 1200, 8000 and 7000 Series, the Genelec SAM system is a flexible, advanced monitoring solution controlled over a network by Genelec's proprietary Loudspeaker Manager software (GLM™).

GLM manages connectivity to all SAM studio monitors and subwoofers, and flexibly adjusts level, distance delay and room-response compensation EQ with the automatic AutoCal™ 2 calibration algorithm.

ACW™ woofers for directivity control

The monitor's coaxial three-way acoustic system features the new Acoustically Concealed Woofer (ACW™) technology, which radiates sound through slots at both ends of the cabinet.

The 8351B has two woofers, positioned to extend the concept of coaxial sound radiation down to low frequencies. This dual-woofer design also extends directivity control to low frequencies along the largest dimension of the front baffle.

ACW technology makes the woofer openings and woofer drivers invisible to the sound radiated by the Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) driver, which handles the midrange and tweeter frequencies. The radiating slots are optimised in size and curvature to minimise acoustic diffraction, supporting directivity control and improving monitoring quality.

Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) driver technology

Genelec's Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) driver technology minimises cone excursion and limits the driver's low-frequency bandwidth to avoid any source of diffraction. At the heart of the MDC design is a tweeter structure with an integrated MF suspension, whose inner part joins the cone to the tweeter without any acoustic discontinuity.

This breakthrough in coaxial design improves imaging and overall sound quality both on and off axis, with an extremely smooth frequency response and exceptionally clear, detailed output.

Active crossovers for greater accuracy

Active crossovers bring more flexibility and precision when adjusting and fine-tuning the output frequency response of each driver. They not only isolate each driver from the drive signals handled by the other drivers but also reduce intermodulation distortion and overload problems.

Compensation for sensitivity variations between drivers

The system can also compensate for irregularities in frequency and phase response that come from driver characteristics. The active approach lets the frequency response be adjusted and the whole loudspeaker system optimised, so you can place the Genelec 8351B in many different rooms and still get a reliable, efficient, consistent and accurate monitoring system.

Intelligent Signal Sensing (ISS™) cuts power consumption

Since its launch in 2013, Genelec's Intelligent Signal Sensing technology has kept impressing users with its focus on sustainability and energy saving, which also lowers running costs. An 'ISS Off' switch sits on the back of every product next to the other room-response controls, making it very easy to use.

Iso-Pod™ stand for vibration isolation

More than an aesthetic touch, the Iso-Pod™ speaker stand, also known as the Isolation Positioner/Decoupler, is attached to the aluminium enclosure. It has four shallow feet made of a special rubber material that can slide along the curved side or curved base, letting you tilt the speaker by ±15°.

This way, the speaker's acoustic axis can be aimed precisely at the listener by adjusting the cabinet's tilt with the Iso-Pod.

Minimum Diffraction Enclosure (MDE™)

Sound is easily affected by diffraction, which distorts it. For the Genelec 8351B, Genelec designed a highly innovative enclosure optimised to match the characteristics of the monitor's drivers. The cabinet walls are fairly thin, yet they provide good EMC shielding and excellent heat dissipation for the power amplifiers.

Advanced reflex port design

The cabinet has a vent, or reflex port, that improves port performance and increases the woofer's low-frequency extension and sound pressure level for prominent, well-defined bass. The vent tube is long and curved as much as possible so it can reproduce deep bass without compression.

A well-matched reflex port design also significantly reduces woofer excursion, improving low-frequency output.