© Genelec Oy, 2006. Published in Resolution Magazine, Sweet Spot, p 46-47, April 2006, V5.3
1
Genelec DSP Monitoring
Technology
Integrating DSP into monitoring requires a number of key decisions to be made in the design
and implementation stages if the technology is to offer real benefits to the user. Genelec’s
Christophe Anet
and
Ilpo Martikainen
explain the company’s take on the subject and how it has
been applied to its new monitor products.
B
ack in the 70’s the engineers who wrote the
original Nordic Broadcast N12 specification for
monitoring conditions in control rooms were
very modern thinkers. One of the most
advanced requirements was probably that the
specification of the monitor’s frequency
response was defined, with acceptable
tolerances, in the control room at the
engineer’s listening position.
This led to the question of how to guarantee
meeting such specifications in varying room
acoustic conditions. The solution was first to
include calibrated rotary switches for frequency
response adjustments in the monitors and
these worked well and were later replaced by
DIP switches. In the mid 1990’s Genelec
started to collect data from studios worldwide
to observe and analyse what the real spectrum
of room acoustic conditions was and how the
products were set up. The results were
somewhat surprising. The collected data was
very useful in helping users to get the best out
of their systems and make their work as easy
as possible. One result of the analysis is now
included in the larger 8000 series monitors: the
desktop compensation control that corrects the
160 Hz boost caused by console-top loading
when monitors are placed on the meter bridge.
Another example is the DIPtimiser software
that works in conjunction with WinMLS
measurement software. Based on the
measured response, DIPtimiser calculates the
optimum settings for the DIP switches on the
back of Genelec monitors.
DSP crossover filters have existed for more
than 15 years in sound reinforcement and the
