Genelec | Key Technologies
Smart Active Monitor (SAM™) Systems
Networked Smart Active Monitor (SAM™) Systems feature automatic calibration to the environment.
Room Response Compensation
Precise room response compensation for optimizing in-room performance.
Protection Circuitry
Sophisticated drive unit protection circuitry for safe operation.
Intelligent Signal Sensing (ISS™) Technology
Intelligent Signal Sensing (ISS™) for power consumption reduction in stand-by mode.
Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) Driver Technology
Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) transducer reproduces outstanding sound image.
Acoustically Concealed Woofers (ACW™) Technology
Acoustically Concealed Woofers (ACW™) for controlled directivity down to low frequencies.
Minimum Diffraction Enclosure (MDE™) Technology
Minimum Diffraction Enclosure (MDE™) for uncoloured sound reproduction.
Laminar Spiral Enclosure (LSE™) Technology
Highly efficient Laminar Spiral Enclosure (LSE™) provides accurate low frequency reproduction.
Laminar Integrated Port (LIP™) Technology
Laminar Integrated Port (LIP™) allows for precise bass reproduction.
Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW™) Technology
Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW™) for flat on- and off-axis response.
Networked Smart Active Monitor (SAM™) Systems feature automatic calibration to the environment.
The last decade has experienced a rapid increase in global media content creation, resulting in significant changes in the way network facilities deal with increased workload. Now, more than ever, a growing number of audio productions are done in tighter, more confined working environments. This increases acoustic problems and lowers the reliability of monitoring. At the same time, a professional audio engineer needs to have high confidence in a reliable and precise monitoring system that reproduces sound neutrally and without distortion.
Built upon the solid electro-acoustic foundations of the 1200, 8000 and 7000 Series products, Genelec advanced SAM Systems are today’s most advanced and flexible monitoring solutions. They are an indispensable tool for audio professionals, as they are capable to automatically adapt to the acoustic environments and correct for levels, delays and room anomalies. SAM Systems can be controlled via Genelec proprietary Loudspeaker Manager (GLM™) network and software, enabling you to build a highly flexible and reliable monitoring system.
The GLM 4 software is a highly intuitive and powerful monitor control networking system that manages connectivity to all SAM studio monitors and subwoofers on the network – more than 80. The GLM 4 software features adjustment of levels, distance delays and flexible room response compensation equalization with the state-of-the-art and robust AutoCal™ automated calibration system. All parameters and settings are stored in system setup files or saved in each individual monitor or subwoofer if the GLM network needs to be disconnected.
Also, all acoustical features of SAM Systems can be optimised for different working styles or client demands. Additionally, even if the monitors or the production projects move between rooms, you can expect SAM technology to achieve the highest consistency in monitoring, providing a neutral sound stage imaging with low distortion.
Genelec SAM Systems offers a comprehensive, solution-oriented, intelligently networked product range supporting analogue and digital signals in virtually any working environment.
Precise room response compensation for optimizing in-room performance.
The interaction between room acoustic and loudspeaker radiation is complex. Each room changes somewhat the monitor’s response in a unique way, e.g. reflective vs. damped rooms, or placement against a wall vs. on a stand away from the walls.
All Genelec loudspeaker systems feature room response adjustments to compensate for the room influences and retrieve a flat frequency response at the listening position.
Analogue Systems
Genelec analogue loudspeaker systems provide versatile Room Response Controls. They include (depending on models):
- Bass Roll-Off e Bass Tilt
- Treble Tilt e Treble Roll-Off
- Bass Level
- Midrange Level
- Treble Level
- Desktop Control
At low frequencies two main controls are provided. The Bass Tilt control, which acts as a shelving filter together with the Bass Roll-off control allowing you to optimize the low and very low frequency response of the system in different installations. Bass, midrange and treble level controls are provided in large systems. These controls allow to optimize the relative balance between the various pass bands.
The operating manual and datasheet of each loudspeaker contains a list of preferred room response control settings for different installations. These have been specified out of long practical experience and measurements of various kind of typical acoustic environments.
Smart Active Monitor (SAM™) Systems
Genelec SAM Systems offer a comprehensive, solution-oriented, intelligently networked product range which all feature Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (GLM™) software and its automatic calibration system called AutoCal™.
Genelec AutoCal provides the industry’s first integrated process for complete automated measurement, analysis, and adjustment of every monitor on the GLM control network. The system measures the response in the listening area and applies relevant compensation in the low and low-mid frequencies to minimise the detrimental room acoustic anomalies as well as the differences between various listening positions. AutoCal also aligns relative levels, time-of-flight, as well as adjusts correct crossover phase (called AutoPhase) for all subwoofers on the network.
The Acoustic Response Editor provides accurate graphical display of the measured response, filter compensation and the resulting system response for each monitor, with full manual control of acoustic settings.
Each transducer is driven by its own optimized amplifier.
Audio electronic crossovers allow to split the audio signal into separate frequency bands that can be separately routed to individual power amplifiers which then are connected to specific transducers optimized for a particular frequency band.
In a typical 2-way loudspeaker system, the active crossover needs two power amplifiers — one for the woofer and one for the tweeter. The power amplifiers are connected directly to the drivers of an active loudspeaker, resulting in the power amplifier’s load becoming much simpler and well known. Each driver-specific power amplifier has only a limited frequency range to amplify (the power amplifier is placed after the active crossover) and this adds to the ease of design.
The active design principle offers multiple benefits:
- The power amplifiers are directly connected to the speaker drivers, maximizing the control exerted by the power amplifier’s damping on the driver’s voice coil, reducing the consequences of dynamic changes in the driver electrical characteristics. This may improve the transient response of the system.
- There is a reduction in the power amplifier output requirement. With no energy lost in the passive crossover filter components, the amplifier power output requirements are reduced considerably (by up to 1/2 in some cases) without any reduction in the acoustic power output of the loudspeaker system. This can reduce costs and increase audio quality and system reliability.
- No loss between amplifier and driver units results in maximum acoustic efficiency
- Active technology can achieve superior sound output vs. size vs. low frequency cut-off performance
- All loudspeakers are delivered as a factory aligned system (amplifiers, crossover electronics and enclosure-driver systems)
Intelligent Signal Sensing (ISS™) for power consumption reduction in stand-by mode.
Introduced early 2013, Genelec’s Intelligent Signal-Sensing technology has been developed to meet with both European Union ErP Directives and the company’s own wider sustainability commitments.
The Intelligent Signal Sensing, ISS™ circuitry tracks the signal input of the loudspeaker and detects if it is in use. If the ISS circuit does not find any audio on the input for a period of time, it sets the loudspeaker to a low-power sleep state and the loudspeaker will consume less than 0.5 watts. When an input signal is detected, the loudspeaker immediately turns itself on. Basically, the loudspeaker system will start saving power as soon as work is interrupted.
Additionally an ‘ISS Disable’ switch is located on each product’s back plate next to the other room response controls. First, when the mains power switch of the loudspeaker is set to “ON”, the ISS™ auto-start function (low-power sleep state on/off) of the loudspeaker is active.
If this function is not desired, the ISS™ function can be disabled by setting the “ISS Disable” switch on the back panel to “ON” position. In this mode, the monitor is only powered on and off using the mains power switch.
Note that the mains power switch will always turn the monitor off completely.
Bass Management System handles multichannel low frequency content.
The principle of bass management is that the bass content of the main channels and the Low Frequency Effect (LFE) channel are directed and reproduced only by loudspeakers capable of handling them, whether they are main system loudspeakers or one or more subwoofer(s).
In stereo reproduction, signals from 20 Hz to 20 kHz need to be replayed. Large multi-way monitoring systems will reproduce such a wide bandwidth evenly. With multichannel audio, professional and consumer audio systems must also be able to reproduce audio between 20 Hz and 20 kHz for each channel. To achieve this, main monitors, subwoofers and crossover electronics should work together.
A Bass Management system uses either analogue electronic circuitry or software based filtering which will filter low frequency information from the main channels and route that information to one, or more, subwoofer feed.
The dedicated LFE channel can also be monitored via that subwoofer and added to the low frequencies of the other main channels. Therefore, the Bass Management’s basic and main goal is to ensure that the entire audio bandwidth of all channels can be accurately monitored.
The benefits of the Bass Management System:
- The subwoofer extends the system frequency response down the lower limit of the audible range
- Monitor can produce a higher maximum sound level when not reproducing low frequencies
- Optimized low frequency reproduction by selecting adequate subwoofer location; monitors can also be placed more freely
- Subwoofer’s output are aligned in level and phase with monitors allowing flat and accurate reproduction down to 19 Hz and across the crossover point
- LFE channel output level (0 or +10 dB re. main channels) can be selected for accurate reproduction depending on the source type
- The ability to bypass the subwoofer allows to evaluate the audible impact of the subwoofer
Active crossover operating at low signal levels.
Audio electronic crossovers allow to split the audio signal into separate frequency bands that can be separately routed to individual power amplifiers which then are connected to specific transducers optimized for a particular frequency band.
Active crossovers come in both digital and analogue varieties. Genelec digital active crossovers include additional signal processing, such as driver protection, delay, and equalization.
Genelec analogue active crossover filters contain electronic components that are operated at low signal levels suitable for power amplifier inputs. This is in contrast to passive crossovers that operate at the high signal levels of the power amplifier’s outputs, having to handle high currents and in some cases high voltages.
In a typical 2-way system the active crossover needs two power amplifiers — one for the woofer and one for the tweeter.
The active crossover design offers multiple benefits:
- The frequency response becomes independent of any dynamic changes in the driver’s electrical characteristics or the drive level.
- There is an increased flexibility and precision to adjust and fine tune each output frequency response for the specific drivers used.
- Each driver has its own signal processing and power amplifier. This isolates each driver from the drive signals handled by the other drivers, reducing inter-modulation distortion and overdriving problems.
- The ability to compensate for sensitivity variations between drivers.
- The possibility to compensate for the frequency and phase response anomalies associated with a driver’s characteristics within the intended pass-band.
- The flat frequency response of a high-quality active loudspeaker is a result of the combined effect of the crossover filter response, power amplifier responses and driver responses in a loudspeaker enclosure.
Using the active approach enables frequency response adjustments and optimization of the full loudspeaker system, placed in various room environments, without expensive external equalizers. The end result is a simpler, more reliable, efficient, consistent and precise active loudspeaker system.
Versatile mounting options for all installation needs.
In addition to perfect acoustical design and advanced tailoring options to optimize the loudspeaker’s behaviour to the room environment, Genelec loudspeakers offer a variety of mounting options for easy installation in different applications.
Our wide range of accessories and fixed mounting points on the back of our aluminium enclosure products offer solutions to all common installation situations. M6 support points have been integrated in the die-cast enclosure for wall and ceiling mounts.
Some models also feature a 3/8” thread at the bottom of the enclosure to fit a robust microphone stand. Other larger and heavier models feature M10 fixing points. Special floor stand plates have been designed in order to fit the Iso-Pod stand that is part of our product design.
With these features our loudspeakers have found their way to a variety of applications beyond the professional audio and studio world, for example in commercial and AV installation projects as well as in home environments all around the world.
Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) transducer reproduces outstanding sound image.
Typical to all current coaxial designs is somewhat ragged frequency response due to inherent diffraction problems. However, crossover issues due to non-coincident location of sources are solved with a coaxial configuration. Here lay the seeds of Genelec’s Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) solution: while it benefits from typical coaxial design advantages, it now overcomes their serious shortages as well.
The first step is to minimize the cone displacement, in other words to limit the low frequency bandwidth of the driver. Next, is to avoid all sources of diffractions. The main structure of the MDC design consists of an integrated MF diaphragm-suspension- tweeter construction. The visible part of the coaxial driver is formed by the curved flexible skin with the dome tweeter assembly in its centre. The inner section joins the cone to the tweeter without any acoustical discontinuity, and the outer one does the same between the cone and the driver chassis.
As there are no acoustically observable discontinuities between the tweeter and the cone, just a smooth surface, there is no diffraction either. The cone profile is very carefully optimized to form an integrated directivity control waveguide for the tweeter radiation. The driver outer edge is terminated to a normal Genelec DCW in order to control the dispersion of midrange radiation as well. The response is very smooth both on and off-axis and free from any anomalies and directivity is well controlled.
This breakthrough in coaxial design provides improved imaging and overall sound quality on- and off-axis, extremely smooth frequency response leading to outstanding clarity and definition of the inner details of the music.
The main novelties of Genelec combined DCW™ and MDC™ designs:
- Diffraction-free joint between tweeter and midrange diaphragm
- Diffraction-free joint between midrange diaphragm and DCW™ waveguide
- A proprietary midrange diaphragm technology – laminate structure combining a rigid cone and elastic, lossy materials including the suspension itself
- A midrange diaphragm-suspension pair which cancels all possible non-linearity
Advantages:
- Smoother frequency response
- Ensures the drivers to couple coherently over their full operating bandwidth
- Significantly improves the directivity control in the critical frequency range
- Provides balanced suspension dynamics to minimize acoustic distortion
- Optimizes the use of the front baffle area while maintaining the 8000 series appearance and benefits
Acoustically Concealed Woofers (ACW™) for controlled directivity down to low frequencies.
The 8351 Acoustically Coaxial Three-way system features our novel Acoustically Concealed Woofer (ACW™) technology. The Acoustically Concealed Woofers radiate through slots located on both ends of the enclosure.
The 8351 features two woofers and the positions of the two woofers have been chosen to extend the coaxial acoustical radiation concept towards low frequencies. In terms of low frequency directivity, when two woofers are used, separated by a distance, the system of two woofers behaves acoustically like one giant woofer spanning the distance between the two woofers. Also, such a dual woofer design extends the control of the directivity to low frequencies along the largest front baffle dimension.
The ACW technology makes the woofer openings and the woofer drivers acoustically invisible to the acoustical radiation from the minimum diffraction coaxial (MDC™) driver responsible for the midrange and tweeter frequencies. The radiation openings are optimized for size and curvature to minimize any acoustic diffractions.
The ACW solution also allows us to use the whole front baffle surface of the 8351 as one giant Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW™) that is part and built into a Minimum Diffraction Enclosure (MDE™).
The 8351 ACW arrangement creates a monitor that has a physically compact size yet behaves like a much larger system in terms of low frequency directivity.
Such controlled low frequency directivity translates to improved quality of monitoring and smaller low frequencies interaction between the monitor and the room.
Advanced reflex port design for extended low frequency response.
Genelec’s choice for vented, or reflex, enclosures dates back to the S30 model, the first Genelec product from 1978. Port performance has been improved and refined over the years with the aim to increase the woofer’s low frequency extension and sound pressure level capability to provide outstanding bass articulation and definition.
Both driver and vent contribute to the total radiation of a reflex enclosure. Most radiation comes from the driver, but at the vent-enclosure resonant frequency the driver displacement amplitude is small and most of the radiation comes out of the vent.
To minimize the air speed in the tube, the cross sectional area of the vent should be large. This in turn means that the vent tube has to be long which presents quite a design challenge.
The long, curved tube maximizes airflow so deep bass can be reproduced without compression. The reflex tube terminates with a wide flare located on the rear of the enclosure for obvious reasons, minimizing port noises and providing excellent bass articulation.
The curvature of the tube has also been carefully designed to minimize any audible noise, compression or distortion. The inner end of the tube has proper resistive termination to minimize once again audible chuffing noise and air turbulence.
Proper reflex port design allows also to significantly reduce the woofer’s displacement, improving the linear low frequency output capacity.
Minimum Diffraction Enclosure (MDE™) for uncoloured sound reproduction.
A common problem with standard free-standing loudspeakers is that the front baffle discontinuities cause diffractions and the loudspeaker sharp corners act as secondary sources through reflections.
In order to improve the flatness of the frequency response and the power response of free standing loudspeaker systems, Genelec have designed a highly innovative enclosure optimized to match the properties of the monitor drivers, featuring rounded edges, and gently curved front and sides. In addition to achieving an unsurpassed flatness of the frequency response, the enclosure having minimum diffractions yields superb sound stage imaging qualities.
To achieve such a smooth and elegantly curved cabinet surface and to reduce the outer dimensions of the enclosure, maximising at the same time the internal volume for improved low frequency efficiency, we designed a cabinet made off die-cast aluminium. Aluminium is lightweight, stiff and very easy to damp to yield a “dead” structure. The cabinet walls can be made fairly thin, providing at the same time good EMC shielding and excellent heat sink for the power amplifiers. Die-casting is made in two parts, front and rear, and they are easy to separate for potential servicing needs.
The DCW waveguide has been integrated in the MDE aluminium enclosure to provide improved control of the loudspeaker’s directivity. Basically, the low frequency limit for constant directivity is determined by the size of the waveguide, so the larger the surface the better the control. With a very controlled off-axis radiation, the listening window becomes consistent, which is of utmost importance with multi-channel audio monitoring. Controlled directivity also reduces possible first order reflections on surfaces near the loudspeaker, helping to provide consistent audio reproduction in different acoustical environments. In fact, the entire front baffle is gently curved and the acoustically transparent grilles are part of the outer cabinet aesthetics, blending perfectly with the various other curved surfaces.
Highly efficient Laminar Spiral Enclosure (LSE™) provides accurate low frequency reproduction.
The demands placed on subwoofers over the last years have increased substantially to the point where traditional design concepts are no longer valid. For Genelec, in order to achieve the absolute best performance possible, bold initiatives must be taken.
Drawing on years of acoustic research and knowledge, Genelec’s engineering group accepted the challenges placed upon them in the beginning of the 21st Century. The totally unique, curvilinear shape of the LSE™ Series Active Subwoofer enclosure is the revolutionary patented result of their efforts.
All of the Genelec LSE™ series subwoofers feature this innovative Laminar Spiral Enclosure™ (LSE™) bass reflex cabinet. It provides excellent laminar flow characteristics with minimal turbulence noise and enables an optimal packing of a very long reflex tube into a small space.
The learnings from the LSE Technology are also utilized in the reflex port design of our aluminium enclosure products.
The spiral-shaped design yields an extremely rigid enclosure exterior while also forming the subwoofer’s integral port. The fact that one is part of the other means that air flow in and out of the enclosure’s interior through the port is totally unrestricted. This results in an extraordinarily accurate and responsive low-frequency system with measured second and third harmonic distortion levels typically better than 30 dB below the fundamental.
When combined with Genelec stereo and multichannel bass management active electronics, the LSE™ Series Subwoofers provide a low-frequency listening experience like no other. The result is a product range with impeccable technical performance: The Genelec LSE subwoofer range is unique, complete, functional, different from any other products on the market, and consistent.
Laminar Integrated Port (LIP™) allows for precise bass reproduction.
Genelec’s choice for vented (or bass reflex) enclosures dates back to 1978 and the first active monitor developed by Genelec, the S30. Research to improve the performance and efficiency of reflex ports has been pursued ever since.
A typical reflex port enclosure features a tube and an opening area. To avoid turbulences in the tube the air flow should not meet any acute angles as this would generate noise, compression, distortion and losses of the total radiated energy. To minimize the air flow speed, both the tube and its cross section have to be large. Often, the outer enclosure dimensions become a limitation, because a long tube will not fit in the available volume anymore.
The M Series features two vent tubes having opening stretching across half of the enclosure depth to address these specific issues. The novel patent-pending Laminar Integral Port, LIP™, has been flow-optimized using computer-based finite element models to achieve low distortion and high efficiency even at very high audio output levels.
The reflex ports are integrated in the NCE enclosure during the moulding process, avoiding the need for separate additional components. The cross-section plot (Figure) demonstrates the efficient flow characteristics of the port. The natural installation orientation of the M Series is vertical and to allow easy placement of the monitor against a wall, the M Series ports opening face downwards, in the space under the monitor.
The novel Laminar Integrated Port, LIP™, bass reflex system provides accurate low frequency response and faithful tonal reproduction characteristics.
Vibration decoupling Iso-Pod™ stand improves sound image definition.
Although it is advisable to use sturdy and stable floor stands together with free-standing loudspeakers, a very common solution is to place loudspeakers directly on a table or on a console meter bridge.
This causes several detrimental side effects. Aiming of the loudspeaker axis towards the listener is rarely implemented, also, unwanted mechanical vibration do propagate from the loudspeaker to the mounting surface, and first order reflection on the work surface causes comb filtering and hence ripples in the frequency response.
To solve these very common problems Genelec developed an efficient and very practical solution. We designed a loudspeaker stand called Iso-Pod™ – Isolation Positioner/Decoupler that is attached to the aluminium enclosure. It has four shallow feet and it is made from special lossy rubber-like material. It is firmly attached to the enclosure so that it can be slid along the curved bottom or side surface to allow for a ±15° tilt of the loudspeaker.
The loudspeakers’ acoustical axis can then be pointed precisely towards the listener by adjusting the enclosure’s inclination with the Iso-Pod. The vibration isolation and damping properties reduce midrange coloration caused by unwanted vibration transmitted to supporting surfaces.
This innovative solution is an integral part of Genelec loudspeaker design and provides clear benefits in usability and sound quality.
Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW™) for flat on- and off-axis response.
A revolutionary approach was taken by Genelec in 1983 with the development of its Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW™) used at the time in an egg-shaped enclosure. The Genelec DCW technology developed and refined over more than 30 years greatly improves the performance of direct radiating multi-way monitors.
The DCW technology shapes the emitted wavefront in a controlled way, allowing predictable tailoring of the directivity (dispersion) pattern. To make the directivity uniform and smooth, the goal is to limit the radiation angle so that the stray radiation is reduced. It results in excellent flatness of the overall frequency response as well as uniform power response. This advanced DCW technology minimizes early reflections and provides a wide and controlled listening area achieving accurate sound reproduction on- and off-axis.
Minimized early reflections and controlled, constant directivity have another important advantage: the frequency balance of the room reverberation field is essentially the same as the direct field from the monitors. As a consequence, the monitoring system’s performance is less dependent on room acoustic characteristics.
Sound image width and depth, critical components in any listening environment, are important not only for on-axis listening, but also off-axis. This accommodates not only the engineer doing his or her job, but also others in the listening field, as is so often the case in large control rooms.
DCW™ Technology key benefits:
- Flat on- and off-axis response for wider usable listening area
- Increased direct-to-reflected sound ratio for reduced control room coloration
- Improved stereo and sound stage imaging
- Increased drive unit sensitivity up to 6 dB
- Increased system maximum sound pressure level capacity
- Decreased drive unit distortion
- Reduced cabinet edge diffraction
- Reduced complete system distortion