Genelec 6040-ASM, Designed for perfection

• Active two-way loudspeakers.

• Price: €1,932

• Specialists' rating: 4

• Text: Ramon Sendra

In Finland's Lakeland region, in the small town of Iisalmi, where winter nights last all day and the sun never sets in summer, is Genelec.

Many will not know this brand; others will have seen it in some music recording studios. And now it appears in the pages of this home theater magazine. Mere coincidence? Obviously not.

Genelec has more than 25 years of experience designing and building excellent active monitors for professional applications. Its products are used in the most prestigious studios and production facilities. A successful path achieved through hard work, always based on research and development. Many patents bear the manufacturer's name, including the Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW), a technology for active loudspeakers with built-in amplification and crossovers whose goal is absolute fidelity.

More recently, Genelec began a tentative but effective move into home theater high fidelity, christened the Home Theater series, or simply HT.



From professional...



The first time I heard a Genelec monitor was in a recording studio. I don't remember the model, but I do remember the typical placement less than a meter from the ideal listening position (right where the sound engineer sits). A relatively small but tremendously effective loudspeaker. Or so it seemed to me, as it was many years ago. Those speakers, simple in design yet with excellent lines, earned my respect, inasmuch as they served as the yardstick for a full-fledged sound engineer.

There are three secrets to a good monitor for professional studio applications: neutral sound (or flat response), a complete and precise sound field (tonal accuracy) and exceptional reliability. Calling them "secrets" is perhaps going too far, since a large majority of loudspeaker manufacturers use exactly these (and sometimes even more) criteria to showcase their designs. But few also measure their speakers, and let others measure them, with such surprising results. Genelec is not only one of them (one of the few able to pass any flat-response measurement with an acceptable variation of +/- 3 dB), but has been doing so for a quarter of a century.

"We measure our products and we believe in measurements," they say. But they also believe in ears: they listen. A good principle for a company dedicated to designing and building reference speakers for professionals: a solid and reliable technological foundation, together with a final touch based on perception and subjective taste.



...to domestic.



Does it make sense for a manufacturer of monitors for professional applications to enter the domestic market? It might seem so, since if they can convince the most demanding professionals, they will be able to do the same in the home. But personally I do not give that last assertion full credit. First, because I find many differences between the demands of a studio and those of a living room. In the studio there is the near field; precision is what is sought, while overall sound level matters less (within logical limits). In our living room, even looks, ease of placement, versatility (electronic and practical) and covering a larger audience are weighed up. But if to this challenge we add the experience and proven effectiveness Genelec has shown over its long 25-year history and its eagerness to enter the world of home theater, don't you think it is worth giving them a chance? At the very least we will learn what steps one of the most prestigious loudspeaker manufacturers has taken. But before turning to our guests, a brief "technological" digression.



Active speakers



The concept of an "active speaker" is familiar to us. We know that subwoofers usually have their own amplification, and you will sometimes have seen the term "active subwoofer" referring to this.

Well, active design can also be applied to every type of loudspeaker, including any known combination. In fact, it is a very common design in professional applications (the vast majority of Genelec studio monitors are active), thanks to its better control, greater effectiveness, etc. But also because of the possibility of combining active design with amplification per way.

We are used to using a single amplifier channel per loudspeaker. Subwoofers aside, a speaker usually has two or more drivers, which we divide into "ways" according to the frequency range they must reproduce. Thus, a bookshelf monitor usually has a 1" tweeter (for sounds from 3,500 Hz to 20,000 Hz, for example) and a 6-8" mid/bass driver for 85-3,500 Hz. The amplified signal received from the A/V receiver or amplifier is split just before it drives the transducers, by circuitry we know as a crossover. Part of the energy the amplifier delivers is lost in this process.

If we place a crossover before the amplification, we can split the audio signal into as many signals as we wish according to given frequency ranges. In our example, we would get two signals, above and below 3,500 Hz. We would then need two amplifiers to drive a single loudspeaker, connecting the output of each amplifier directly to the corresponding driver. Some loudspeakers allow this option, which we know as bi-amplification.

An active loudspeaker is the sum of all of the above. Within the same enclosure (similar in appearance to any other loudspeaker) there will be a crossover and as many amplifier channels as there are ways.

The difference between an active and a passive crossover is that the former is used before amplification, while the latter splits the already amplified signal (some loudspeakers from certain manufacturers are active, and therefore have their own amplification, but with a passive crossover, that is, a single amplifier for the entire set of drivers).



Welcome, 6040



Those familiar with Genelec products will see in the styling of these new speakers a design similar to their other products, but extremely radical in lines and concept. Designed for home use, Genelec continues to bet on monitors, although they now come with a matching stand. In fact, this stand is essential to the speakers, as we will see later.

The 6040As boast not only a good "look" but exceptional acoustic performance. Designed for stereo applications, their results could well make them part of a high-flying multichannel system (what they call "home theater high fidelity"). Their aluminum design, without a single right angle, is the work of Finnish designer Harri Koskinen.

When I unpacked the two speakers (this time we reviewed the pair in stereo), their styling surprised me, and not pleasantly. I found it impersonal, perhaps too modern. Only when I integrated them into my usual test system did I see the excellent visual and decorative synergy they create. It is a design that does not go unnoticed, yet it neither stands out nor clashes with the rest. Even its bluish white color resembles the light gray of some displays. But let's leave their looks aside and focus on what's inside.

As I expected, it is a bi-amplified two-way speaker with separate amplifiers and an active crossover (that is, the input signal is split before amplification). Since it has its own amplifier, we must use a line-level signal, which in my case I obtained from the preamp output of a Marantz SR7300. Naturally, each speaker needs its own power cord. Both connections are made at the back of the speaker at its lowest level, at floor height, keeping the connectors well hidden.

Each Genelec has a 182 mm (7") midrange driver which, according to the manufacturer, is only -6 dB down at 43 Hz. The tweeter is a 19 mm metal dome.

For wider sound dispersion, Genelec has applied its exclusive DCW technology to these speakers, which also ensures perfect phase and time alignment at the crossover frequency (set, in this case, at 3,500 Hz).

The active crossover consists of two parallel band-pass filters. The filters are complementary, with crossover slopes of 24-32 dB/octave. Even so, Genelec is aware that the characteristics of the room can affect the resulting acoustics, so it has equipped these speakers with certain crossover adjustments. Basically, they allow you to cut or boost the treble, cut the bass or change the slope of the high-pass filter. Manual adjustment of input sensitivity for the line signal is even possible.

Once the signal has been split, two amplifiers of 120 W peak power each come into play (maximum power consumption is rated at 200 W). This combination allows each speaker to deliver a maximum sound pressure level of over 105 dB (when a level of 85 dB is already considered harmful by some medical experts).

All the electronics are housed in the base of the stand, which also ensures proper stability for the speaker. Speaker and stand therefore form a single, indivisible unit.



THE TESTS



I paired our guests with a Marantz SR7300, which in turn used a Primare DVD 30 as its source. The SR7300 allows all its amplifiers to be switched off so that it becomes a preamp. I used two unbalanced cables with cinch connectors to feed each Genelec. The first step was to check that both delivered the same sound pressure level with the help of a sound level meter, and then to confirm that, in my case, no equalization was necessary.

I started with one of my favorite discs, Silje Nergaard's "At First Light". This singer's distinctive, soft voice is reproduced at its finest, warm and intelligible, forming a very solid soundstage. The instruments take up perfect positions on the virtual stage this pair of speakers is able to draw. The same excellent stereo image is achieved with Keiko Lee's "New York State of Mind", which also brings deep and very well detailed three-dimensional sound when the sound engineer's skill calls for it.

With Michel Camilo's "Portrait" I was able to verify the apparent ease with which they render the subtlest sounds, such as the tick of Camilo's fingers as he strikes the piano, or the deep breathing of a musician that other speakers can hardly reproduce.

In all three cases, the sound pressure level I used could be described as high, but it was never harsh, something welcome for those who like fairly high volume. No distortion at all.

The next step I took hand in hand with Jerry Goldsmith and some of his most famous soundtracks, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under his own baton. The result was absolutely powerful, with no loss of control in any frequency range, always maintaining the tonal accuracy Genelec prides itself on. All the instruments, even in the most climactic passages, are represented in their full magnitude in the soundstage.

An inevitable leap to something more modern, this time Prince and his recent "Musicology". And this is where the problem appears, or rather the comment I had been waiting to make for a while: the bass. Those used to the deep bass generated by a subwoofer will no doubt find the Genelecs "lacking" in this respect. In a domestic setting the bass comes across as "too" perfect, too real. Although their own amplifier channel gives them a majesty and generosity unusual in an active monitor speaker, it will still be insufficient for those who aspire to deep bass. Perhaps explaining that the enclosure is sealed will help the reader "guess" the kind of bass achieved (combining this fact with its compact volume).

But those looking for "that" controlled, powerful (within the limits of the driver and enclosure) and well-defined bass (not deep bass) will appreciate the delicacy of these Genelecs. A difference that is down to each individual.

Meanwhile, I conclude this test convinced that this is a faithful, well-balanced speaker whose results add a very good music-lover's touch to the system. With acoustic music it responds more than efficiently, but that does not mean we should rule it out in more "electrifying" situations.

That its response is totally flat can be ruled out as soon as Silje Nergaard's disc is played and her voice comes across clear, crisp and lively. This implies a certain intentional peak around 1,000 or 2,000 Hz (something intolerable in a studio monitor). It is pointless to adjust the treble switches, as they act from roughly 3,000 Hz upward, although on the other hand the +2 dB option adds a nice sparkle to the sound, without becoming harsh. I recommend this option when we miss some definition in the upper spectrum at the listening position, probably caused by the apparently low height of the speakers on their stands (personally, I would have preferred the tweeters to be a little higher).

Installing these Genelecs in a less well-prepared room with the clear intention of testing the bass equalization, it proves effective when we notice some smearing in the lower spectrum, reducing the "ball of bass" without sacrificing good reproduction of the lowest sounds. I must admit that there are few monitor-type speakers like these Genelecs that can handle the deepest sounds on certain CD-Audio discs with perfect performance from a relatively small enclosure without a bass-reflex port. There has clearly been great care in their design and tuning.

But I cannot stress enough that the final word must rest with the future user, who must be able to judge whether the frequency response and the way it reproduces the bass are to his liking. The results are good, but it is well worth making sure of the purchase with an audition, just as we would with any other speaker.

Genelec's 6040As are an attractive proposition for music-loving enthusiasts whose goals include "faithful" sound.

Although they are expensive, we should remember that they include their own amplification system (two amplifiers per speaker) and boast one of the most polished aesthetic and acoustic designs in the music world, with a strong music-lover's character.

Genelec 6040-ASM, Designed for perfection

Specifications

47 Hz to 20,000 Hz (+/- 2.5 dB). - 6 dB at 43 Hz.

>105 dB.

182 mm driver, 19 mm tweeter.

Balanced XLR and unbalanced cinch/RCA analog audio inputs.

3,500 Hz.

Treble and bass equalizer. Potentiometer for input signal level.

Dual amplifier, 120 W peak power into 8 ohms.

Less than 0.08%.

200 W (5 W in standby).

996x250x266 mm (with base); 15 kg.

Price: €1,932