Genelec unveils UNIO Personal Reference Monitoring Solution at IBC 2024

Genelec has unveiled the UNIO Personal Reference Monitoring Solution at IBC 2024, naming it the ‘most accurate headphone listening experience ever’.

Genelec’s new 8550A Professional Reference Headphones and Aural ID V2.0 Binaural Headphone Monitoring Technology strengthen the UNIO ecosystem by offering the most accurate and truthful headphone listening experience ever.

This unique system solution comprises the 9320A SAM Reference Controller, Reference Measurement Microphone and the new 8550A Professional Reference Headphones – which help create an even more seamless bridge between professional in-room loudspeaker and personal headphone monitoring.

And with the additional headphone calibration features available within Genelec GLM software – and the optional Aural ID V2.0 binaural headphone monitoring technology – users can enjoy the most personal and truthful headphone monitoring experience ever.

Originally introduced at IBC 2023, the UNIO ecosystem brings together the power of Genelec’s Smart Active Monitors, GLM calibration software, and Aural ID personal headphone technology, all under the tactile hardware control of the 9320A controller, and managed via the user’s MyGenelec account.

By combining a calibrated Smart Active Monitoring system and professional headphones with Aural ID, the user can enjoy mixes that translate reliably between monitors and headphones for a smooth, uninterrupted workflow – wherever they choose to work.

Now, Genelec has raised the bar significantly higher with the introduction of the 8550A Professional Reference Headphones, whose innovative active design allows the headphone output of the 9320A controller to adjust to an individual 8550A headphone factory calibration, thus bringing precise resolution to the uniquely optimised UNIO Personal Reference Monitoring Solution.

This active principle of using the 8550A headphones to accurately calibrate the headphone stage of the 9320A enables exceptional linearity, acoustic precision, and neutral sound character – and mirrors the kind of tailored precision that Genelec Smart Active Monitors provide for in-room loudspeaker monitoring environments.

The closed, circumaural 8550A provides exceptional sound isolation and comfort for all sizes of head and ears with a durable, adjustable design and replaceable component parts – for a sustainable, extended product lifetime.

The 8550A’s dynamic design features 40 mm transducers and neodymium magnets to deliver a 15 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, exceptional level matching, and an impressive 119 dB of short-term SPL via the 9320A controller.

Shipping with both leather and velvet ear cushions, and straight and coiled cables, the 8550A offers every user a distinctly premium experience – whatever their personal preference.

With the calibration file for the 8550A headphones stored within the matching 9320A controller, further personal optimisation is available via Genelec’s GLM 5 calibration software, including slope adjustment, parametric EQ, and L/R level balancing.

Then, for the ultimate personal headphone monitoring experience, the optional Aural ID V2.0 models the user’s own head and upper torso features to calculate their unique personal HRTF – delivering headphone mixes with externalised presentation, including precise azimuth and elevation, and producing a sense of space and direction that closely resembles in-room loudspeaker monitoring.

The new Aural ID V2.0 heightens that experience further via early reflection room modelling and integrated webcam head tracking support – which tracks the user and maintains a stationary acoustic presentation even when the head moves, for a more natural listening experience. Additionally, support for the Open Sound Control (OSC) standard interface for hardware head trackers provides maximum system compatibility.

Running as a standalone app on Mac devices, Aural ID V2.0 also offers optimised HRTF binauralisation options for both stereo and immersive monitoring up to 9.1.6, plus a ‘raw HRTF’ option that allows full access to both the directional (DTF) and sound colour (CTF) components within the HRTF, for users that wish to separately equalise their headphone acoustic effects for an even more reliable and precise listening experience.

In addition to Aural ID’s completely personal HRTF, the inclusion of standard Kemar and KU100 head-and-torso simulator HRTFs in Aural ID V2.0 provides an even wider range of user options.

“UNIO now effectively offers audio professionals three levels of reference monitoring,” said Genelec managing director Siamäk Naghian.

“Those simply seeking the finest in-room loudspeaker monitoring can enjoy the combination of Smart Active Monitors, GLM and the 9320A, while users that also seek accurate headphone monitoring will embrace the arrival of the 8550As. But, for those seeking the ultimate combination of in-room and personal headphone monitoring, the UNIO Personal Reference Monitoring Solution and Aural ID V2.0 represents the most accurate and portable monitoring system ever produced.”

Visitors to the IBC show in Amsterdam (September 13-16) can meet the Genelec team and audition the newly expanded UNIO ecosystem on Stand 8.A61 and in Immersive Listening Room 8.MS1/8.MS20.

Here and in the podcast below, Andy Bensley, regional business development manager at Genelec, explains the different elements that make up the UNIO Audio Monitoring Platform.