Genelec 8341A & GLM 4: The Best Results in a less than perfect Sonic Environment?

Genelec describes its 8341A as a point source monitor with the perfect blend of size and performance. Headliner got hold of a pair, along with a GLM 4 Calibration Kit, to find out how they perform in a less than ideal acoustic environment...

Recently, a courier delivered to my house the largest Peli case I’ve ever seen. In it were a pair of Genelec 8341As and a GLM Calibration Kit. We have a pair of these in the Headliner London studio and while they’re hugely impressive, nothing quite beats the anticipation of using a new product in your own space.

Setup

I was keen to press these into action and at the same time get the huge Peli case off the living room floor. After carefully removing my trusty monitors of 14 years, I hooked the Genelec 8341As to the mains and my SSL SiX using a couple of XLRs – nothing! It dawned on me that I might need to set up the 8341As using either the dip switches on the back or, as I needed to try it out anyway, the GLM software.

Connecting the GLM Adapter requires mere common sense and simply connects to your computer via a supplied USB cable. Each speaker has both digital AES, EBU input and thru connections as well as analogue inputs. There’s a euro mains socket, two RG45s and a whole bunch of dip switches: more on these later. I daisy-chained the speakers to the GLM Adapter with a couple of Cat5 cables and searched for Genelec GLM software in my web browser.

After entering my email and answering a simple question as to which speaker model I wanted to set up, I was sent straight to the GLM V4 download page, with the option for Mac or Windows. The download and installation took seconds, and I was really chuffed to bits when I heard the strange swishing sound as I dragged each speaker into position on a grid, which represents how your speakers are positioned within your space – confirmation that I was on the right track. Each sound is played through one speaker at a time, so there can’t be any confusion as to which is left and which is right.

Essentially, you’re setting up what Genelec refers to as a Smart Active Monitoring (SAM) layout of the system, which in this case is – in its simplest form – with just a left and right monitor. However, the same could also be done for a multiple surround or immersive multi-monitor system. When you’re happy with the layout and its included speakers you can save it as a preset group. If you have a main monitoring system with a sub, this could be one group, and your near/midfield 8341As like mine could be your second group. Genelec makes controlling and switching between groups easy with the GLM software.

Calibration

The GLM 4 program simply prompts you to place the mic supplied as part of the kit at ear height in your listening position. The handy little mic clip fitted perfectly to my camera stand, so I used that as my means of mic positioning. When all was set up and ready, I clicked on the calibrate icon and the system sent a loud sweeping tone to each speaker in sequence, bringing up a frequency response chart for each, the filter sum to be applied and the resulting corrected response. Each time, you’re prompted to confirm and the filter is applied to the monitor speaker in question.

Having recently looked at alternative room correction software, I wasn’t surprised to see how wildly different the responses were from left to right speaker. My little mix room is a bit limited on space so the left speaker is almost corner locked which isn’t ideal. I really liked that the speakers negated that enhanced effect of one side of your stereo spectrum being corner locked. The overall separation of the stereo field was excellent, but I’m more inclined to put this down to a really excellent set of speakers and not just a clever piece of software.

If I could find the room to move my speakers I would, but it’s systems like this that make it possible to continue to create, mix and produce in the face of adversity. I’m sure most musicians would rather have a great tool to more accurately produce good results, even if they have to work in an attic so as not to disturb other household members!

GLM 4 also allows you to customise your frequency response further. For example, you’ve been working in a particular room with a characteristic sound that you want to replicate in your home studio or mix room. No problem – you can tweak the response to more closely mirror the target you’re searching for, and then store that as a preset. That ability to move work from room to room while retaining a greater degree of consistency has got to be of huge benefit to music professionals.

You also have the ability to set various listening positions. For example, you could have the engineer’s and producer’s chairs as well as the band couch, with the software’s ability to precisely calculate distances for each monitor together with its own unique calibration to represent the best possible sound at any given location. Phase alignment between subs and monitors can also be calculated for any listening position. You can of course keep the calibration mic plugged in permanently which then acts as a handy SPL meter. Also, having an onscreen remote volume control and dim button is very useful if your interface is racked up.

The Monitors

In recent years I’ve had the luxury of hearing and working with Genelec monitors, and it’s become apparent that these are tools designed to get the best out of your creative input – to give the clearest picture sonically and the best possible results whatever the genre and environment.

On the back of the monitor is a bank of dip switches that allow a certain amount of tweaking without setting up the GLM Adapter, although it really is a must to initially set up and calibrate your system. If, like me, you have limited space and it’s desirable to remove the mic, cabling and controller from your workspace, you can store your calibration directly to the monitor by setting the memory switch to on: the monitor loads the stored GLM setting every time you power it up. Without GLM you can also select which digital channel you want to pick up from the AES/EBU input, either A (left, odd number) or B (right, even number). You can select both, at which point the input signal is summed and attenuated to compensate for the increase in level.

Two of the dip switches on the back panel deal with a varying amount of attenuation depending on the combination, another turns on and off the front casing LED indicator if it’s a distraction, and another the ISS power saving function – the activation time of which is an hour. A further four switches deal with various EQ tweaks to help reduce common problems associated with monitor placement. Having said that, why anyone would struggle trying to set up these monitors without GLM is beyond me. It was so incredibly quick and painless, and in my case with not particularly ideal monitor placement it would have been impossible to get the great results I did.

Conclusion

There are defining moments in your life when the penny drops, so to speak, and you wonder why it took so long to realise that you could have been producing great work quicker and far sooner if you’d only listened to those already in the know. The set-up of the Genelec 8341As with the GLM V4 software is one such special moment.

They sound incredible even with less than optimal placement, and achieve tight, punchy lows that I’ve struggled to get right in mixes for some time. There’s beautiful detail and separation in the midrange and air and sparkle without harshness or jarring. I spent pretty much the whole day listening to music again and really enjoyed it, in fact I was blown away. It’s not often you bring something new into your own work environment that shines so brightly.