Hi Digipete, hello everybody!
I'm new to this forum, and this is my first post.
I'm the happy (and recent) owner of a pair of 8260a.
Sound is IMHO very pleasant and natural; they're a real no-brainer to listen to on any kind of music style: everything in i'ts place, very defined treble (but not harsh), very deep bass (but well controlled, thanks to GLM), I wasn't expecting that from professional monitors ( supposed to be "over-analytical"...).
The only downside is the "practical" aspects of this setup: my source is a macmini running itunes, connected to the digital input of the Genelec's from the mini's optical (toslink) output, through an HOSA spdif/AES interface.
I run the monitors in standalone mode; GLM is loaded on a separate laptop only for setup, and then disconnected for normal use.
Limitations of the system include:
- Volume management only from the player: itune's volume control ( slider ) is everythig but progressive, making it a real PITA to achieve low volume listening.
- Genelec's connectivity is really poor: you only get ONE AES digital input, and an XLR analog, that's all folks!
I know we're in the professional domain where AES is gold standard, but honestly, couldn't they have supplied at least an SPDIF coax in ?
What if I need to connect some other digital gear...?
-GLM v.1 not running on El Capitan, need to upgrade to v.2 (have to pay for it, many bugs reported with E.C).
As a conclusion, I would say that running a minimalist all-digital setup has some benefits (short signal path, no amp or preamp) , but some drawbacks as well in terms of ease-of-use.
For instance, there's no way to plug in a pair of headphones (but it's not Genelec's fault !) without buying an extra DAC/Headamp.
The major issue is volume control, as there is AFAIK no hardware solution (interface).The only one I've found is a Weiss int 202 /203 firewire/AES interface w/volume control, but i'ts a + 1000$ option!
But overall, I still think the Genelecs are a real bargain (if not cheap) at their price, considering what you would have to spend ( speakers, amps, crossovers, room correction systems...) to get an equivalence in a conventional system.