Genelec 8320A

Broadly called accurate and neutral. Audio Science Review found it smooth with wonderful tonality, Sound On Sound heard the characteristic clear Genelec sound before calibration, hifitest calls it extremely neutral, a Reddit owner's long essay calls the response very linear, and Thomann buyers and a video reviewer say it adds no colour. The same Reddit owner adds that the honesty comes at the cost of musicality — it is a tool, not a hi-fi voicing.

“It is smooth and has wonderful tonality.”

Audio Science Review (amirm, nearfield listening test)

“Sie sind extrem neutral und unbestechlich im Klang, robust und praktisch unzerstörbar”

Michael Voigt, hifitest.de (German: “they are extremely neutral and incorruptible in sound, robust and practically indestructible”)

“The frequency response is very linear across the entire frequency range.”

ekortelainen, r/audiophile (owner, with GLM calibration)

The main split. Audio Science Review was impressed by how smooth and controlled the bass is and found enough of it for desk listening, hifitest says you can skip a sub in the nearfield, a video reviewer was startled by the low end and Thomann buyers rate it well for the size. Against that, owners on ASR, Reddit and Gearspace call it clearly short of full range — sub-bass is simply absent — and MusicTech, an owner's REW measurements and several owners who moved up to the 8330A or added a 7350A sub say it needs one for bass-heavy work. Sound On Sound and MusicRadar take the middle line: fine for its size, but the 8330A or a sub goes deeper.

Mostly clean and uncoloured. MusicRadar describes good articulation without a forward midrange, MusicTech found Focal's monitors sweeter and fuller in the mids by comparison, a Reddit owner calls the midrange as accurate as it gets, and German and Czech Thomann buyers call it absolutely neutral (one hears slight midrange distortion at high levels as surround speakers). One Thomann buyer found it sharp in the mids before calibration — and worse after.

Clear and open, with one note of caution. MusicRadar praises the very clear top end, a Reddit owner calls the treble open, textured and free of sibilance, and a German Thomann buyer says it never grates. MusicTech heard the open Genelec treble too, but applied a little roll-off because the stock response made reverb tails sound washy.

“The treble is open and textured, free from any annoying sibilance.”

ekortelainen, r/audiophile (owner, with GLM calibration)

“we applied a bit of treble roll off, because the stock response tended to accentuate reverb tails into a slightly washy haze”

Huw Price, MusicTech (8320A against Focal monitors)

Mostly open and larger than the box. MusicTech scores it highly for openness and realism, a Reddit owner calls the speakers sonically invisible, and Thomann buyers agree. The dissent is about scale: an ASR owner used to large dipole speakers heard a compressed, roughly five-foot-wide stage before calibrating them in a big room, and a Reddit owner who uses 8330As at work finds the 8320 more constricted because of its cabinet size.

A strong point. MusicTech heard every mix element in a distinct place, a Reddit owner says the phantom centre sounds like a real centre speaker, an ASR owner finds the left–right images stable, and Thomann buyers praise its precision.

“Every mix element seemed to occupy a distinct space within a precisely conveyed stereo picture.”

Huw Price, MusicTech

“The phantom centre channel sounds like there's an actual centre speaker, and you can easily pinpoint the sound between a stereo pair.”

ekortelainen, r/audiophile (owner, with GLM calibration)

Consistently praised. Sound On Sound heard the clear, detailed, revealing Genelec sound, MusicTech calls it very detailed and transparent within its range, hifitest and a video reviewer agree, and owners on Reddit and Thomann describe clarity they call otherworldly and revealing, holding up even at very low volume.

“Uncalibrated, on stands and positioned correctly in my listening room, both pairs of monitors delivered the characteristic clear, detailed, revealing Genelec sound.”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound (8320A and 8330A pairs)

“For its size, the 8320A performs really well, providing very detailed and transparent monitoring down to a point.”

Huw Price, MusicTech

“The bass cutoff is very noticeable, but the accuracy and clarity of these things within their range is otherworldly.”

Cartossin, r/genelec (owner)

Split by level and bass content. Audio Science Review had all the volume it needed at a metre, MusicRadar hears plenty of punch from the reflex design, hifitest was surprised by the force these small boxes throw out, and a Reddit owner says they get loud. Against that, an ASR member calls the low-frequency distortion at 86 dB not great, a Gearspace owner finds the 8320 sounds small, and a Thomann buyer says they lack power for high bass levels without the 7350A sub.

Easy to fit almost anywhere. Sound On Sound calls it ideal for small spaces and location recording, MusicRadar found it workable away from the walls, and hifitest and Audio Science Review used it happily on a desk. Owners on ASR and Reddit find it works better than the bigger 8330A at very close distances, where the drivers sum properly, and one chose it as the largest that made sense for a 7 m² studio.

“Their diminutive dimensions and low weight make them ideal for small spaces or for mobile and location recording.”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound

“At small listening distances (around 75cm) the 8320 is working better as the separate driver responses sum properly.”

Habbe, Audio Science Review forum

“I realized the 8020/8320 sound better at close distance than 8030/8330.”

Amazeballs__, r/genelec (8320 + sub owner)

Mixed and mostly hedged. Sound On Sound says calibrated monitoring becomes far more predictable and repeatable, a video reviewer calls it a dependable reference to carry between places, and a Gearspace owner hears an improvement in his mixes, if smaller than hoped. MusicRadar and a Gearspace owner consider the bigger 8330A the more useful mixing monitor because it reaches lower.

“would make your monitoring very much more predictable and replicable”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound (on GLM calibration across rooms)

“I think my mixes also have improved but not so much as I hoped.”

thedberg, Gearspace (8320A + 7350A owner, after a Neumann KH 120)

“In the low-end, the reflex design provides plenty of punch, but quite understandably the larger 8330A has better low frequency extension, and is therefore much more use for mixing.”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

GLM room calibration is the feature, and most rate it highly: Sound On Sound calls the in-room results excellent, MusicTech found multi-point calibration far better than single-point, and owners on Reddit and Gearspace describe a large improvement ("twice as good" in a poor room, "night and day" against the 8020). The dissent: the kit costs extra, a Thomann buyer heard distortion after calibrating, and there is no digital input — so a computer source goes through a DAC and the speaker's own conversion, and one buyer discovered the GLM adapter is not an audio interface.

Split between simple and fiddly. Sound On Sound found calibration simple and intuitive, hifitest calls setup child's play, and MusicTech and owners agree once GLM is running. On the other side, Audio Science Review found the analog input extremely sensitive, MusicRadar prefers physical controls to on-screen settings, an ASR owner notes there are no DIP switches even for auto-standby, and buyers without the GLM kit have no way to change anything.

Excellent. MusicRadar calls the build first-class, hifitest calls it practically indestructible, Thomann buyers say nothing wobbles, and ASR owners describe the die-cast cabinets as tough.

“First-class build quality.”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“Die Verarbeitung ist erstklassig, da wackelt nichts.”

Klikon, Thomann customer review (German: “the build is first-class, nothing wobbles”)

Moderately positive, with a clear counter-argument. Sound On Sound found nothing as complete at the price, hifitest rates the price-to-performance outstanding, MusicTech and MusicRadar call it good value though not cheap, and owners on Thomann, Gearspace and Reddit are happy with it. The dissent: Audio Science Review notes the high cost for the size, owners suggest the analog 8020D with your own room EQ does much the same for less, and others would stretch to the 8330A for its extra bass. The missing digital input also counts against it for some.

“I can’t think of any comparable system at this price that is so complete, integrated and easy to use”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound (2015 APM pack with the GLM kit)

“Of course you pay for this in its high cost at nearly $1,300 for a pair.”

Audio Science Review (amirm, 2021 pricing)

“Save the money and just buy the 8020s and Sonarworks - does the same thing.”

texmurphy30, r/genelec