Two actives ...

[RoA]

A bit of an open question. I am thinking of building a second system with small actives; The two contenders are Genelec's 8040 and Acoustic Energy's AE1 Active.

The Genelecs are more expensive. That aside, which one would you choose for a home environment in a small'ish room of approx. 3.5 sq meters?

I did hear the 8040 and 8030 ages ago. The larger speaker had clearly better dynamics, even at the same volume so I won't include the 8030 in my choice.

I have only heard the AE1 Actives very briefly at a show and can't really remember much about them.

I have several amplifiers and would likely use the Audiolab 6000A as a pre-amp/hub.

 

[record_spot]

Why are you limiting it to those two only?

There will be a slightly tweaked AE1 active later in the year from Acoustic Energy by the way.

 

[manicm]

A bit of an open question. I am thinking of building a second system with small actives; The two contenders are Genelec's 8040 and Acoustic Energy's AE1 Active.

The Genelecs are more expensive. That aside, which one would you choose for a home environment in a small'ish room of approx. 3.5 sq meters?

I did hear the 8040 and 8030 ages ago. The larger speaker had clearly better dynamics, even at the same volume so I won't include the 8030 in my choice.

I have only heard the AE1 Actives very briefly at a show and can't really remember much about them.

I have several amplifiers and would likely use the Audiolab 6000A as a pre-amp/hub.

I find the AE1's very appealing - bring your own preamp/streamer. Something like a Eversolo for example. They're beautiful and widely praised for their sound.

 

[daytona600]

Not heard the AE1. Genies are produced in Huge Volumes

 

[RoA]

Why are you limiting it to those two only?

There will be a slightly tweaked AE1 active later in the year from Acoustic Energy by the way.

Two I like the look of. Do you have a link please

 

[Jasonovich]

I would not limit yourself to those two speakers, consider also alternatives from Triangle and Elac.

I am obviously biased but those Adam A7Vs are mighty fine.
You can set them up nearfield or traditional setup.

Each speaker has two amps, class. D serves the lower frequencies and class AB caters for the high frequencies.
Find a dealer who has a generous returns policy, just in case these are not for you.



Adams have the power switch at the back but you can route it to a single switch mains adapter.

If you're looking for small form factor or on a tight budget,
These little D3Vs are also worth considering.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/fT5Q0326fVg?si=iI3wf8Hx1tvSz_xW

 

[record_spot]

Two I like the look of. Do you have a link please

No link I'm afraid. I was chatting to one of the AE guys at the Cranage hifi show at the weekend.

You do realise the Genelec 8040 comes in at around £1600/1700 for a pair right?

The AE1s are arround £1100.

There's also KEF LSX II and the LSX LT which are slightly cheaper but very well rated.

Dynaudio, Mackie and Adam also worth a look.

 

[RoA]

I would not limit yourself to those two speakers, consider also alternatives from Triangle and Elac.

I am obviously biased but those Adam A7Vs are mighty fine.
You can set them up nearfield or traditional setup.

Each speaker has two amps, class. D serves the lower frequencies and class AB caters for the high frequencies.
Find a dealer who has a generous returns policy, just in case these are not for you.

View attachment 9464

Adams have the power switch at the back but you can route it to a single switch mains adapter.
View attachment 9466
If you're looking for small form factor or on a tight budget,
These little D3Vs are also worth considering.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/fT5Q0326fVg?si=iI3wf8Hx1tvSz_xW

I heard the Adam's and although it's been quite some time since I clearly remember not liking them but that's just me.

 

[RoA]

No link I'm afraid. I was chatting to one of the AE guys at the Cranage hifi show at the weekend.

You do realise the Genelec 8040 comes in at around £1600/1700 for a pair right?

The AE1s are arround £1100.

There's also KEF LSX II and the LSX LT which are slightly cheaper but very well rated.

Dynaudio, Mackie and Adam also worth a look.

I don't like KEF's much. Had LS50 Wireless II's for a year.

 

[manicm]

No link I'm afraid. I was chatting to one of the AE guys at the Cranage hifi show at the weekend.

You do realise the Genelec 8040 comes in at around £1600/1700 for a pair right?

The AE1s are arround £1100.

There's also KEF LSX II and the LSX LT which are slightly cheaper but very well rated.

Dynaudio, Mackie and Adam also worth a look.

The KEF LSXs are suited more to smallish rooms though.

 

[daytona600]

KEF LSXs are suited more to smallish rooms though.
Pity software with Genelecs is so limited with no adjustment

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQER2hrkN-g


Calibrate - Automatically adjust in-room SAM™ system frequency response, distance delay and listening level.
- Freely adjust, personalise and store automatic settings.
- Create and expand systems to suit all types of stereo, multichannel or 3D immersive audio formats.
- Sample room responses in an unlimited number of microphone locations.
- Enjoy the benefits of consistent performance and accurate monitoring in any production environment.
- Import and closely mirror GLM calibration files in our Aural ID binaural virtual monitoring software.

Control - Switch between multiple monitoring layouts using the same DAW outputs.
- Toggle standard calibrated listening levels, solo, mute and system-wide power.
- Engage bass management or entire system delay offsets.
- Switch between listening locations, including individual monitor time offsets.
- Seamlessly bridge in-room and headphone monitoring with Genelec UNIO Personal Reference Monitoring (PRM).
- Manage and control our UNIO Ecosystem, including more than 80 Genelec SAM Monitors, Subwoofers and devices.

 

[record_spot]

The KEF LSXs are suited more to smallish rooms though.

They're 100w per speaker in a 70LF / 30HF configuration. Add a sub and even better.

Plus, I've just heard two tiny speakers deliver room filling sound at the weekend, so I'm not massively convinced that they're only good for small rooms.

Also 3.5sq m is nothing. That's not a big room.

 

[record_spot]

KEF LSXs are suited more to smallish rooms though.
Pity software with Genelecs is so limited with no adjustment

Per my previous reply re: the LSX.

And the Genelecs would be excellent. They do have a trim function on the rear and no bad thing not having any software issues to deal with.

 

[record_spot]

I don't like KEF's much. Had LS50 Wireless II's for a year.

Fair enough. Happy shopping. 👍

 

[RoA]

Dynamics are a big issue with the single driver KEF's. Once you take the tweeter and it's surround out of the equation the cone is tiny. That was an issue with the LS50 W2 which sounded somewhat limp and likely more so with the even smaller LSX though I have to say I've never bothered to try them.

 

[record_spot]

Dynamics are a big issue with the single driver KEF's. Once you take the tweeter and it's surround out of the equation the cone is tiny. That was an issue with the LS50 W2 which sounded somewhat limp and likely more so with the even smaller LSX though I have to say I've never bothered to try them.

As stated, just add a sub. And work out the right positioning. Having used small speakers several times in past years, dynamics needn't be the problem people think when they remove their preconceptions.

Plus, they're actives, so they're probably giving a more realistic bass than not.

 

[RoA]

As stated, just add a sub. And work out the right positioning. Having used small speakers several times in past years, dynamics needn't be the problem people think when they remove their preconceptions.

Plus, they're actives, so they're probably giving a more realistic bass than not.

You are right, often, adding a sub can be a great help, especially when cut off frequency can be adjusted on the speaker so it does not have to work 'full range'. The issue I had with the Kef's was that they major in soundstage/imaging (good) as opposed to transient speed and impact (average-). A sub would not have helped there. The small Quad's I had did much better in that respect.

 

[record_spot]

You are right, often, adding a sub can be a great help, especially when cut off frequency can be adjusted on the speaker so it does not have to work 'full range'. The issue I had with the Kef's was that they major in soundstage/imaging (good) as opposed to transient speed and impact (average-). A sub would not have helped there. The small Quad's I had did much better in that respect.

One of the things I enjoyed adding a subwoofer to the AVIs was the increase in scale to music or movies - I just dialled the sub in and that's it. I might tweak the output slightly at times, especially in movies where the bass effects in action movies, or the likes of Jurassic World are there to test home cinema systems. Not so great with the neighbours.

I'm not sure what you're listening to musically wrt to the KEFs. I haven't heard any yet, not least as the AVIs aren't going anywhere soon (cue disastrous speaker termination event in three, two, one...), but the reviews I've read on both the LSX II and the LSX LT and the LS50W are generally very positive. Still, as long as you landed on something you liked in the end.

Just to be clear though, that's the LS50Ws you're referring to, as I think you'd mentioned above you hadn't heard the LSX II or the LT version of the same?

 

[RoA]

I have heard ADM's several times with and without a sub in my home, at Ashley's plus on a couple more occasions. No doubt whatsoever they sound more balanced with. They also do not lack in directness and speed as the KEF's did. I did not buy them at the time as I could not afford the speakers and sub. Without it they just did not sound right, going in the opposite direction of the KEF's. Great example of a speaker and subwoofer combination that works and I can't blame you for hanging on to them.

 

[manicm]

One of the things I enjoyed adding a subwoofer to the AVIs was the increase in scale to music or movies - I just dialled the sub in and that's it. I might tweak the output slightly at times, especially in movies where the bass effects in action movies, or the likes of Jurassic World are there to test home cinema systems. Not so great with the neighbours.

I'm not sure what you're listening to musically wrt to the KEFs. I haven't heard any yet, not least as the AVIs aren't going anywhere soon (cue disastrous speaker termination event in three, two, one...), but the reviews I've read on both the LSX II and the LSX LT and the LS50W are generally very positive. Still, as long as you landed on something you liked in the end.

Just to be clear though, that's the LS50Ws you're referring to, as I think you'd mentioned above you hadn't heard the LSX II or the LT version of the same?

The LSX models are not going to sound the same - they're much smaller.

 

[record_spot]

The LSX models are not going to sound the same - they're much smaller.

I didn't say that they would, I said they would be fine in the room size quoted in the OP.

Bearing in mind (again), I've just listened to two significantly smaller speakers than the LSX in the Neat Iota IIs that had no difficulty in delivering a room filling sound.