Point Source Continued Directivity (PCD) Technology

Important frequencies are experienced radiating from the same location and in perfect time alignment – creating precise sound imaging, natural soundstage presentation, and enabling the lowest frequencies to be reproduced at their intended source locations.

Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) Driver Technology reproduces outstanding sound image.

Typical coaxial designs suffer from a somewhat ragged frequency response due to diffraction problems inherent in their unrefined design. However, crossover issues due to the non-coincident location of sources are solved with a coaxial configuration, so a coaxial solution without diffraction problems is the ideal. Genelec’s Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC™) Driver Technology provides all the benefits of coaxial design while overcoming the typical shortages – solving the diffraction problem.

The first step is to minimise 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 optimised 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 couple coherently over their full operating bandwidth.
• Significantly improves the directivity control in the critical frequency range.
• Provides balanced suspension dynamics to minimise acoustic distortion.
• Optimises the use of the front baffle area while maintaining the 8000 Series appearance and benefits.

Quad Midrange System (QMS)

Acoustically coaxial woofer solution to support Minimum Diffraction Coaxial (MDC) driver output and maintain directivity in lower frequencies, enabling point source characteristics down into the woofer range.

Double Low-Woofer (DLW) System

Recoil-compensated adaptive low-woofer solution that combines with our Point Source Continued Directivity (PCD) Technology to give complete freedom of monitor placement in the room – with no compromise in performance or imaging detail.

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 minimise 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 maximises airflow so deep bass can be reproduced without compression. The reflex tube terminates with a wide flare located on the rear of the enclosure, minimising port noises and providing excellent bass articulation.

The curvature of the tube has also been carefully designed to minimise any audible noise, compression or distortion. The inner end of the tube has proper resistive termination to minimise 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.

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 Genelec's own ambitious sustainability standards.

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.

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.

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™). We have developed and refined this technology over more than 30 years to greatly improve 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 minimises early reflections and provides a wide and controlled listening area achieving accurate sound reproduction on and off-axis.

Minimised 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 their 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.

Each transducer is driven by its own optimised amplifier.

Audio electronic crossovers allow to split the audio signal into separate frequency bands that can be separately routed to individual power amplifiers, which are then connected to specific transducers optimised 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, maximising 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).

Sophisticated drive unit protection circuitry for safe operation.

When working in critical audio production environments it is essential that monitoring systems remain reliable and functional at all times. One of the main reasons behind Genelec’s excellent success in broadcasting environments is the reliability of our products and a key element behind the reliability is the internal protection circuitry found in all products since 1978.

The protection circuitry prevents driver failures by detecting signal levels, and in case of sudden peaks or constantly too high levels, taking the signal level down automatically. Of course this feature does not affect the sound quality in any way when working within the specifications of the loudspeaker, but only prevents inadequate input signals from breaking the loudspeaker.

Protection circuitry features and benefits:

• Reduces the output level when required, (e.g. when driver voice coil temperature reaches the safe limit), which highly improves system reliability.
• Appropriate protection circuitry design in every loudspeaker and subwoofer enables the maximisation of system output sound level.

Active crossover operating at low signal levels.

Audio electronic crossovers allow the audio signal to be split into separate frequency bands that are separately routed to individual power amplifiers, which are then connected to specific transducers optimised 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 equalisation.

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 two-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 increased flexibility and precision for adjusting and fine-tuning 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 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 optimisation of the full loudspeaker system, placed in various room environments, without expensive external equalisers. The end result is a simpler, more reliable, efficient, consistent and precise active loudspeaker system.