In Broadcast - December 2011/January 2012 - 44

InSOUND
Genelec’s 8260A Pushes Super Sonic In Neutral
Since it was launched the Genelec 8260A midfield monitor has won numerous awards and plaudits from all sections of the audio industry, InBroadcast listens in…
Genelec is justly proud of its success, but developing a multiaward winning monitor does not happen overnight. The 8260A is the result of almost 35 years of manufacturing experience in professional audio monitoring. At the core of Genelec’s business has been a commitment to research and development of new products. This has resulted in a number of industry firsts and established the company as one of the leaders in active monitors. Furthermore, the very latest Genelec monitoring products remain true to the original philosophy and offer reliability, neutral sound reproduction (regardless of size) and the ability to adapt frequency response to the listening environment. The 8260A incorporates these qualities, as well as building on them to create a product that offers a new blueprint in audio monitoring.

Enclosure Design

Background

The 8260A offers all the sonic benefits of a three-way system in a compact enclosure. With a three-way system higher sound levels can be achieved due to the separate midrange channel which can be optimised for that frequency range. This improved performance usually comes at the cost of having to make a larger enclosure. A small enclosure does not have the space for directivity control in the midrange and at high frequency, which results in more audible room effects. A larger three-way enclosure allows for proper directivity wave control.

The 8260A uses a die-cast aluminium enclosure for improved low frequency efficiency and volume control. The LF cut-off is 26Hz (-3 dB). The curved surfaces are inherently rigid giving structural resonances at higher frequencies which are easily damped. Heat generated in the power amplifiers is also effectively conducted away for improved system reliability. The Iso-Pod™ vibration isolation stand stops whole enclosure vibration and allows vertical tilting to allow easy aiming at the listening position.

Digital Signal Processing

The MDC Solution

The main structure of the MDC™ (Minimal Diffraction Coaxial) tweeter-midrange consists of an integrated MF diaphragmsuspension tweeter. The visible part of the coaxial driver is formed by the curved flexible foam surface with the dome tweeter assembly at its centre. There is no conventional spider, and the suspension is made of foam over the entire cone. Inner and outer suspensions are dimensioned to eliminate possible non-linearities and create a linear total suspension system. The 8260A combines for the first time a coaxial driver (MDC™) within a modern waveguide (DCW™) ensuring drivers to couple coherently over their full operating bandwidth as well as being a single MF/HF coincident point source. The inner section joins the cone to the tweeter structure without any acoustical discontinuity and the outer one does the same between the cone and the driver chassis. In this way there are no acoustically observable discontinuities between the tweeter and the cone and no diffraction either. The cone profile is optimised to form an integrated directivity control waveguide for tweeter radiation. This coaxial design provides improved imaging ad overall sound quality both on and off axis swell as an extremely smooth frequency response leading to outstanding clarity and definition of the inner details of the music being played.

DSP (digital signal processing) allows for steep crossover filters with high stop band attenuation. The combination of the MDC™ coaxial midrange tweeter driver, DCW™ and MDE™ enclosure design are complemented by steep crossover filters to minimise coradiation from any drivers within frequency range. In the 8260A it concerns only the woofer-midrange crossover where vertical directivity changes are small. The 8260A also features six fully configurable notch filters as well as two high and low frequency shelving filters for room alignment and calibration. All have wide adjustment ranges. The DSP hardware is a true three way with the driver feed signals for tweeter, mid-range and woofer all fed into their own DA converters then to separate power amplifiers and finally onto each drive unit. The power amplifiers are physically integrated into the MDE™ enclosure walls to enable very efficient heat transfer when the loudspeaker is heavily loaded. This ensures high system reliability in stressful operating conditions.

GLM User Interface

The GLM™ Software provides all the necessary means to setup, calibrate and control the system set up. It features a sophisticated graphical user interface and offers acoustic calibration and system alignment through the AutoCal™ function. GLM™ manages the 8260A like any other Genelec DSP loudspeaker, so it is possible to mix other DSP system speakers. This gives great freedom in designing system setups.

Conclusion

Genelec’s award-winning midfield 8260A

Acclaimed as a stunning technical design achievement, the 8206A represents a masterpiece in electro-acoustic systems. All the elements – mechanical, acoustical and signal processing – are intimately linked in a cohesive whole. Combined with the DSP features the result is a loudspeaker that is capable of outstanding performance in a wide variety and challenging environments.

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In Broadcast - December 2011/January 2012

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