A sub for my 8020s or replace them with 8040s ?

[catalyst]

The problem - although I've always been happy with the loudness of my Genelec 8020s, I need deeper bass. I know the Genelec sound and want to stay with them, so I have narrowed my options to..

1) Add a 7050B Active Subwoofer.
2) Sell the 8020s and buy 8040s.

Yes, I'm skipping the 8030s altogether

My room is 10ft x 12ft and is complicated by the fact I can't add any 'proper' fixed treatment for the foreseeable future, though I do have a mattress and some soft coverings in there to reduce reflections. I monitor at low to moderate volume. Theoretically, as I don't need the extra SPL, adding a sub should be more beneficial (deeper bass) but would it be too awkward to set up given that I can't treat the room to any great extent ?

Help please

[Hidden Driveways]

The 8000 series are designed to accommodate room size, therefore I think putting 8040's in your small room is a bad idea.

I say go with the 7050B.

[zenvision]

on the contrary, i asked genelec directly about the room size issue when choosing my monitors, i was wondering whether to go for smaller ones with a sub myself, as i needed to hear low frequencies clearly. they said it's fine to have their larger monitors in smaller rooms, as long as there is sufficient bass trapping. in fact, they said having a sub in a smaller room can cause problems.

i went with 8050s (found a great deal on a pair second hand...otherwise they'd be waaaayyyy too much) and my room is about 13.5 feet x 8.5 feet with a height of 11 feet, so only a little larger than your space.

i've not heard the genelec subs yet though...so if possible try and compare both set ups

[mr.ergonomics]

test both solutions, there are theoretical pros for both of them. a sub can be an advantage due to the independent placement. that said, I have the 8040 in a really small room and it works ok (you should use the bass tilt).

[zenvision]

yep, forgot to mention the bass tilt and other dip switches...really useful

maybe post your question up on the genelec forum, their staff often answer: http://www.community.genelec.com/forum/

[catalyst]

Thanks.

I would LOVE to test both solutions but unfortunately that's not possible.. I will post the question on Genelec's forum too though, thanks for reminding me of that

[luddy]

both are really good monitoring setups. you can always back off the power on the 8040s, they make it easy since they are active monitors and you can dial in an appropriate level on the analog side with their level pots. The 7050B gives you a deeper bass extension than you'll get with the 8040s, so if you want to hunt around in the very bottom of a mix it's a good way to go. IMO the 8040s are easier to manage in a small room than the 7050B, it's harder in general to set up satellites + sub than a simple pair of nearfields, both from the point of view of keeping the bass under control (fighting room modes), but also in terms of getting even frequency response across the spectrum given the crossover between sub and satellites.

-Luddy