The first Genelec Experience Center in the world opens its doors

The center, located in London, allows visitors to access an audio source in virtually any type of media and format and evaluate Genelec monitors in stereo, surround and “immersive audio” configurations.

Genelec The world's first Experience Center has just opened in London. From the very beginning, the center welcomes the visit of numerous people related to the music, broadcast, post-production and AV installation sectors, who are encouraged to visit the center to see its formidable collection of Genelec monitors in action and to learn more about speaker selection, placement and calibration.

The Genelec Experience Center is right in the heart of London's post-production community, which has traditionally been based in the Soho area but is now beginning to spread across Oxford Street in the Fitzrovia district, where spaces are often larger and a little less expensive (which is a good thing, by London standards).

The center allows visitors to access an audio source in virtually any type of media and format and evaluate Genelec monitors in stereo, surround and “immersive audio” configurations. The brilliance of the center's audio architecture is the ability to route any audio source to any destination, so visitors can choose to monitor different setups, from a stereo pair made up of compact 8010A monitors to a full 11.1 immersive sound system.

The power of SAM technology

In line with Genelec's growing commitment to using DSPs to optimize audio performance, the SAM monitoring range is very well represented, as this 11.1 system is based on 8351A monitors, while a second smaller 5.1 surround system is built around the 8320A model. A third surround system uses Genelec Architectural Series in-wall and in-ceiling speaker models to demonstrate how well Genelec speaker technology works in commercial and residential installations as well.

The Genelec Experience Center is overseen by Howard Jones, who joined Genelec as International Project Manager in the summer of 2016.

Jones explains that "we wanted to create a room that is accessible to both end users and distributors, not only to allow them to test Genelec monitors in a well-treated and controlled environment but also so that they can come learn about the technology of our systems and learn first-hand how it is possible to turn an unconventionally shaped room like this into a space with great sound. The asymmetry of the room and its low ceiling are very typical characteristics of the spaces in which many end users normally work and we want to demonstrate to these users how, with a relatively simple acoustic treatment and the power of Genelec SAM technology, a truly complicated space can be transformed into something very special.”

Bringing together the professionals

By virtue of its central London location, Jones also sees the Genelec Experience Center as a space for the capital's pro audio community: "Once we started planning the centre, we realized there were almost endless applications for a space like this. Dealer training, product displays, press events, clinics, seminars and video recording. All of this can be done here with the assurance that any audio played will benefit from the most incredible monitoring system, currently rivaled only by the Our seminar program kicked off last November with a talk on Loudness in Streaming and Broadcast given by our very own Thomas Lund and we were delighted to see how this event attracted some of the best mastering engineers in the UK to our center. We plan to develop many more activities like this and we think it is appropriate that an innovative company like Genelec leads this way that seeks to bring together audio professionals to discuss new developments and trends in our company. industry.”