Recording - March 2015 - 30

B Y M I K E M E T L AY

For 35 years, the Finnish firm Genelec
has been supplying studios with a wide
range of monitor speakers and subwoofers that have become a famed signature sound in rooms all over the world.
Most recently, we reviewed the M030
and M040 monitors intended for small- to
medium-sized home and project studios
(March and June 2014).
This month we're reviewing the 8010A
active monitor, the newest member of
Genelec's 8000 range of active professional monitors. I lived with a pair for a few
weeks, and found them a revelation from
the moment I took them out of their boxes.
The speaker
The 8010A is a biamplified monitor in a
die-cast aluminum enclosure with a flared
rear port and Genelec's DCW™ (Directivity

speaker isolation, so no matter where you
put it, it's performing at its best. For a tiny
woofer that has little enough oomph to
begin with, it's vital to prevent coupling to
surfaces that will sap the speaker's ability
to move air efficiently, and the Iso-Pod
does a beautiful job.

Genelec 8010A Active Monitor
A tiny speaker that makes a huge impression
Controlled Waveguide) for smooth and
accurate frequency response over a wide
sweet spot. It shares those design elements
with the other speakers in Genelec's Pro
line, but it's a standout for one immediately
obvious reason-its size. The photos accompanying this review simply can't communicate just how tiny this speaker is!
The enclosure is only 711/16" x 43/4" x
41/2" inches in size and weighs 3.3
pounds. It holds a 3/4" metal dome tweeter
and a 3" cone woofer, both covered by protective grilles and each powered by a 25W
amplifier. The front fascia is otherwise
unadorned save a power LED. The rear
panel has sockets for the 2-prong power
cable and a balanced XLR input; the only
controls besides the power-on button are a
series of five recessed DIP switches that we'll
discuss below. There is no onboard level
control or attenuation; all volume adjustment
is done from your audio interface or mixer.
The rear panel has three sets of screw
holes for different styles of mounting hardware, but the 8010A's most distinctive
mounting feature is the Iso-Pod, a carefully fitted soft rubber "stand" that's affixed
to the bottom of the speaker on a sliding
track that allows for angle adjustment.
The 8010A comes with built-in custom
30

RECORDING March 2015

Fine tuning
The DIP switches are, in order: ISS
Disable, Sensitivity, Desktop Control, and
dual Bass Tilt controls. ISS™ is Genelec's
Intelligent Signal Sensing, which powers
down the speaker to less than 0.5 Watts
of consumption when not in use. When it
senses incoming audio, it powers back
up smoothly and without a pop or thump.
If for some reason you don't want to use
ISS, the first DIP switch defeats it.
Sensitivity is a 10 dB adjustment of the
speaker's output. Normally it provides 100
dB SPL at one meter distance with an input
signal of -6 dBu; flip the switch and it
brings that number down to 90 dB. It's
designed for long-term output over 90 dB
and peaks up to 105 dB, which is plenty
loud for its intended use.
The last three DIP switches affect the
8010A's frequency response, which is
normally 74 Hz to 20 kHz ±2.5 dB (6 dB
down at 67 Hz and 25 kHz). The Desktop
Control switch applies a broad 4 dB cut
centered at 200 Hz; this is intended to offset low-mid buildup that comes from setting the speakers on a tabletop or just
above a mixer or control surface. The two
Bass Tilt switches pull down the low end
by 2 and 4 dB respectively (6 dB when

both activated) at 100 Hz. This is intended to offset bass buildup from placement
very close to walls or in corners.
While I did play with the DIP switches
and found the Desktop Control switch particularly valuable when listening to rock and
dance music with forward mids in a tabletop setting, I did most of my listening with all
switches set flat. While I'm sure there are
rooms where the Bass Tilt control will come
in handy, I wasn't able to set up the 8010A
monitors in a way that produced more than
perhaps 2 dB of extra bass.
In use
When I review monitors or headphones, I
do extensive listening with a variety of material that's chosen to expose problems with
audio reproduction. In addition to well-known
and well-recorded rock and pop songs, I also
listen to very lean jazz arrangements, bassheavy dance tracks, and some classical
music on the Telarc label that's been captured
with minimalist mics and little or no processing. I also add in some modern recordings
that have been-let's be blunt-ruined by
modern "Loudness Wars"-influenced production techniques, and a range of my own
recordings from the 1980s and 1990s with
flaws that a good speaker will quickly reveal.

Recording - March 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - March 2015