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Stereo HT setup with just 2 Genelec 8351A (via AES/EBU)

zeno, modified 6 Years ago.

Stereo HT setup with just 2 Genelec 8351A (via AES/EBU)

Youngling Posts: 6 Join Date: 3/29/16 Recent Posts
I’m setting up a home theater in a small room (3x3m = 10x10ft). For audio I prefer going with a very good pair of stereo speakers (which I’ll use for both music and movies) than a multi-speaker system (5.1, 7.1,…).

A friend who I trust told me about the 8351A monitors. I haven’t bought them (yet), but I read quite a lot about them and I must say I’m salivating and it’s now difficult to look away. Really impressive reviews, awesome look and they also seem to perform well in small rooms like mine.

Ideally, because I won’t have a multi-speaker system, I’d like to avoid adding a big AV Receiver to the setup. I rather plan to go with a good HDMI matrix (6x2, 4K, HDCP 2.2) that does optical audio de-embedding, decodes Dolby TrueHD, DD+, DTS-HD and can output the 2-channel LPCM (or DD/DTS if needed) over Toslink.

Normally I would need a DAC between the HDMI matrix and the 8351A monitors (Toslink to analog XLRs), but I’ve just learned about AES/EBU (I’m a total newbie here because I’ve never owned any speaker or audio equipment with AES3), so here are a couple of questions:

Is there a way I can hook up the two 8351s to my setup without going through an external DAC? And are there any drawbacks of doing that?

By reading a bit about AES/EBU, it looks like it is possible to convert S/PDIF Toslink to AES/EBU (either directly with something like this http://hosatech.com/product/odl-312/ or by converting to S/PDIF coax first and then using an impedance converter like the ones by Neutrik), but can I trust those interfaces/adapters? And most importantly, can the AES/EBU input on one 8351 get the digital stereo signal (2-channel LPCM) and then “pass” it to the other monitor and handle the L/R separation, or do I need to somewhat separate the signal before going into the 8351 AES/EBU input (no idea how I would do that btw)?

Many thanks in advance for your help, and sorry if I ended up asking 4 questions instead of a straight one.
1038, modified 6 Years ago.

Re: Stereo HT setup with just 2 Genelec 8351A (via AES/EBU)

Jedi Master Posts: 340 Join Date: 4/6/09 Recent Posts
Your friend has given you a great recommendation.

I don't have any experience with toslink/AES convertors, but you should have no problems, when you look at the connections on the speakers, they have a Digital in and Digital Through I/O, so all you need is a convertor from Toslink to AES/EBU then a pair of Male to female XLR Digital cables, make sure the cable is serial digital and is the correct impedance, Neutrik also has 110Ohm XLR's...

We have set up numerous S/PDIF - AES/EBU systems, all working well, all you will need to do is make sure that the decoding hardware and software you are using is configured correctly to output 2 channel from your various media sources and formats.

The new GLM 2 and it's ability to interface with Genelec's optional wireless remote control will be a great solution for you.
zeno, modified 6 Years ago.

Re: Stereo HT setup with just 2 Genelec 8351A (via AES/EBU)

Youngling Posts: 6 Join Date: 3/29/16 Recent Posts
Thanks Steve! So one cable to the Digital In on monitor A and then a second cable from Digital Through of monitor A to Digital In of monitor B. Great to hear it can be done!

Anybody from Genelec can comment on final sound quality of this setup vs. using a good external DAC and connect to the Analog In?

Does anybody have experience with this S/PDIF Optical to AES/EBU converter? http://hosatech.com/product/odl-312/ ? Is “96 kHz support” good enough?
markus-kahelin, modified 6 Years ago.

Re: Stereo HT setup with just 2 Genelec 8351A (via AES/EBU)

Jedi Knight Posts: 109 Join Date: 3/16/10 Recent Posts
Hi!

The quality difference between the AES/EBU and analog input on any of our products is minimal. AES/EBU input offers slightly better immunity for interferences. In terms of measured performance and specifications, there is no difference between the inputs. Here is a bit more detailded reply from our Online Answers Library

Best Regards, Markus
Genelec Oy

What is the quality and performance of the digital AES/EBU input and the A/D - D/A converters?

Monitoring of digital audio in AES/EBU supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz and word length up to 24 bits. The digital audio is sample rate converted to ensure synchronization with all sources. An AES/EBU thru output provides daisy-chaining to more monitors.

For the analogue audio input and output of the processed audio to the power amplifiers, Genelec uses professional quality A/D and D/A converters with at least 24 bit nominal resolution. Depending on the monitor model, the digital and analogue audio signals are internally processed at 96 kHz, and there is a true 48 kHz wide audio path from the input to the acoustic output, with the tweeter system equalized up to about 40 kHz.

In smaller products and subwoofers the internal sample rate is 48 kHz and the audio path is 24 kHz wide. All audio, including the analogue audio, goes through the digital signal processing and the internal dynamic range of the signal processing is always better than the equivalent of 24 bit resolution.