Commentary: Genelec design allows for perfect audio mixing anywhere

Genelec’s formation in 1978 was a direct response by its founders, Ilpo Martikainen and Topi Partanen, to the needs of the broadcast world. Juhani Borenius, who worked for the Finnish national broadcaster YLE, needed an active monitoring loudspeaker for a new radio house. Juhani had a very clear idea of what YLE needed from a loudspeaker, which included consistent performance, total reliability, easy serviceability and the ability to adapt to the acoustic environment it was placed in.

Those design criteria have been embedded in Genelec’s thinking ever since and are now neatly showcased in the company’s wide range of Smart Active Monitors and Subwoofers, powered by GLM calibration software.

What’s the Problem?

Any engineer’s challenge is producing an audio mix that will translate consistently to other playback systems and will sound good in any listener’s environment. What’s required is truthful, neutral monitoring loudspeakers that are optimized for the room where the mixes are being produced. An engineer makes every mix decision based on the accuracy of the monitoring system, and the room’s acoustics will often significantly influence what the engineer is hearing.

Any engineer’s challenge is producing an audio mix that will translate consistently to other playback systems and will sound good in any listener’s environment.

So, every Genelec monitor leaves the factory producing a very smooth, neutral frequency response. Once placed in a room, the magic happens. A combination of internal DSP and external calibration software allows the engineer to tailor the monitor’s performance to that room’s acoustics, getting as close as possible back to the ideal frequency response the monitors produced in the measuring room at the factory, which is free from any room effects whatsoever.

Designed to Adapt

Every Smart Active Monitor adapts to a room’s acoustics in two ways. First, a set of simple rear-panel room compensation switches allows basic EQ’ing to correct obvious effects caused by placing the monitors close to walls, on desktops and so on. But the true power of the monitors lies in GLM calibration software. This quickly analyses the room and automatically optimizes the playback level, frequency response and distance delay of every monitor and subwoofer in the system, thereby achieving performance specifically tailored for the room, even if that room is acoustically challenging. This approach is a bonus for multi-room facilities needing total sonic consistency between studios. Knowing that content will always translate reliably to the outside world is essential for any engineer, too.

Ironically, the pandemic has shone a spotlight on the power of this room calibration technology since it allows engineers to work from home — or in remote ad-hoc environments not designed for critical listening — and still produce reliable mixes. Even small rooms benefit. Genelec’s extensive range of compact monitors allows the creation of a premium quality reference monitoring system in a very tight space, from basic stereo to full immersive.

So, in conclusion, any engineer looking for an accurate, reliable, scalable and future-proof monitoring system should visit the Genelec website for further details.

Learn about Genelec’s GLM smart monitors in this video.