Genesis ICE Speaker Genesis 52 User Manual

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A Message from Genesis  
Congratulations! You are now the owner of one of the finest  
loudspeaker systems in the world! Based on the technologies  
developed for our flagship Genesis 1.1, the G5.2 is a smallish 4-ft tall  
floor-standing loudspeaker, and yet it delivers some of the imaging  
and soundspace of our largest 7-foot tall products.  
The G5.2 loudspeaker system was created for the music lover living  
in the metro-environment. It is designed to reproduce music (and  
film) at live listening levels with virtually no restrictions on dynamic  
range, frequency response, or imaging capabilities. This is what we  
mean by absolute fidelity™, the ability to reproduce the musical  
event faithfully, as was intended by the performer, or the film-maker.  
Standing 44 inches tall, and only 11 inches wide, the Genesis 5.2 is  
a diminutive giant. By means of an active servo bass, response  
down to 20Hz is achieved, and the full range and impact of a  
symphony orchestra or a rock band can be reproduced.  
Please read this Owners Manual and Set-up Guide to get the  
maximum enjoyment out of your purchase. Also, if you have access  
to the internet, please check back at our website often. The address  
is www.genesisloudspeakers.com. We will put the latest updates,  
tips and tricks, and support for our owners on our website.  
Please write the serial number and purchase details of your  
Genesis 5.2 here for future reference.  
Bought at: _________________________ Date: __________  
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A Quick Start Set-up Guide  
Now that you have your new Genesis 5.2 loudspeaker system, we  
realize that you can’t wait to hook it up and start playing! However,  
please read this quick set up guide (even if your dealer is setting it  
up for you!) before you proceed.  
Unpacking  
Your loudspeakers will come to you in two large shipping cartons.  
The G5.2s weigh over 140lbs (63.5kgs) each, so we suggest a  
minimum of two strong people to move the speakers around. We will  
not be held liable for damage (to either the speakers or your backs!)  
during unpacking and setting up.  
Room Placement  
A good starting position for your G5.2 is about 20% the way into the  
room as measured from the front wall (the wall you look at as you  
are seated listening to the speakers), six feet apart, and firing  
straight ahead with no toe-in. You will want to sit ten to twelve feet  
away from the speakers.  
Typical room placement: Place speakers about 20% of the  
way into the room and 10 to 12 feet from the listeners  
6’ to 8’  
10’ to 12’  
20%  
80%  
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Set-up Guide  
Positioning  
A good starting position for the G5.2 is about 20% of the way into  
the room as measured from the front wall (the wall you look at as  
you are seated listening to the speakers). Start with the speakers six  
feet apart, and not toed-in. You will want to sit 10 to 12 feet away  
from the speakers (if you have the space). We will experiment with  
moving the speakers around, and toeing them in later.  
Power Connections  
There are two connections you will  
need to make to the G5.2. First, the  
power cord for the built-in amplifier  
will need to be plugged into a power  
socket. A 10-foot power cord is  
included with your speakers for this  
purpose. We do not recommend  
using an extension cord for the G5.2  
due to the high power demands of  
the 500W amplifier. However, if you  
MUST use an extension cord, use an  
extremely heavy duty one.  
Before you plug the power cord in,  
please make sure that the voltage  
selector is set to the proper voltage.  
Taiwan, Japan and North America  
will require the 115v setting. Most  
European countries and other Asian  
countries will require 230v. We  
recommend that you plug the G5.2 into an unswitched outlet, or a  
switched outlet that will always be left ON.  
There is an on/off switch for the power amplifier. This switch should  
always be left on. The built-in amplifier has an auto-sensing circuit  
that will automatically put the amplifier on stand-by when there is no  
music being played for around 10 minutes. It will immediately switch  
the amplifier on if there is music sensed.  
Source Input Connections  
Connect the output of your power amplifier to the High Level Input  
binding posts using a high-quality loudspeaker cable. Make sure that  
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you have the correct polarity connected for both speakers – the plus  
or positive (red) terminal on the G5.2 should be connected to the  
plus, positive, or red terminal on your power amplifier.  
The Bass Input selector switch should be in the up position –  
pointing to the inputs being used. This is the recommended hook-  
up, both sonically and for convenience.  
Nevertheless, you may wish to connect the bass section of the  
G5.2 directly to your preamplifier instead. You may wish to do this  
if you know that your power amplifier may be deficient in the bass,  
or does not have a response flat down to 20Hz. Also, check for the  
phase correctness of your power amplifier. If your power amplifier  
inverts phase, you will need to invert the high-level inputs when  
you connect the bass section of the G5.2 directly to the preamp.  
If you do this, use a good quality balanced interconnect cable to  
connect the balanced output of your preamplifier to the Preamp  
level input XLR connector on the back plate of the G5.2. Using this  
connection, switch the Bass Input Selector to the down position.  
This will bypass the high-level input from the servo amp, and take  
the bass input for the built-in servo bass amplifier directly from the  
preamp.  
If your preamplifier does not have a  
balanced output, you may elect to use  
a single-ended to balanced pass-  
through converter. High quality ones  
may be obtainable from Balanced  
Audio Technology, Cardas, or your  
favourite supplier. Reasonably good  
ones can also be obtained from Radio  
Shack.  
If you are planning to use long runs (over 10 feet) of interconnects  
to connect the line-level inputs of your G5.2 to your preamplifier,  
and your preamplifier does not have balanced outputs, we  
recommend that you use an active (or passive) signal-balancing  
device (such as from Rane Corporation) to convert the single-  
ended output from your preamplifier to a truly balanced signal.  
Such a signal will give you the benefit of maximum noise rejection  
and maximum signal fidelity over longer runs.  
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Controls  
The knob on the upper middle marked  
Bass Gain” controls the volume of the  
built-in bass servo amplifier. Begin with this  
control at position 7. The knob on the upper  
right marked “Low Pass”controls how high  
the woofer will play. At the extreme low of  
71Hz, the woofer will play up to 71Hz, and  
then begin rolling off, or reducing its volume,  
above this frequency. The recommended  
beginning position for this control is 90Hz.  
The lower left knob marked “Tweeter” is a  
volume control for the front tweeter. Turning  
this control clockwise will increase the level of the front tweeter.  
Use this control if you need a bit more treble or to increase the  
apparent space of the soundstage. Start with this control at the  
two o'clock position. There is about a one dB range for this  
control.  
The lower right knob marked “Midrange”is used to adjust the  
level of the midrange. Start at the 12 o’clock position. Turning the  
control anti-clockwise (or counter-clockwise) will make the  
midrange sound leaner, and turning it clockwise will make the  
midrange sound fulller. There is about a one and a half dB range  
for this control.  
Tuning the system  
Music is the best way to begin your setup procedure. We suggest  
that video sources be used only after you have setup the system to  
properly reproduce music.  
We suggest that you start with a single vocal with instrumental  
accompaniment because the sound of the human voice is more  
easily recognizable than many instruments and is the least  
complex sound to deal with.  
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Adjusting Bass Gain  
Leave the low pass filter alone for the moment, as it should remain  
set at approximately 90 Hz. This control will be addressed later.  
Turn the gain control of the woofer amplifier up or down until the  
voice sounds correct. Whatever controls you use, turn them up and  
down only a little at a time. It is easy to turn it up or down too much.  
Concentrate on the mid bass regions (as opposed to the very low  
bass in your recording) to achieve a natural blend. The voice and the  
music accompaniment should sound as if it were cut from one cloth,  
not separate.  
If the voice sounds “thin” or does not have enough “chest” to its  
sound, turn the woofers amplifier’s gain up till it does. If you find that  
turning the volume up creates too much low bass, you will then need  
to work on the low pass filter.  
Low Pass filter  
This control will lower the frequency cutoff point of the woofer.  
Turning the low pass filter up to a higher number will extend the  
upper bass regions without affecting the low bass level. Some rooms  
may require you to set the low pass filter up to 130Hz. Do not be  
afraid to increase this control to give the sound more body.  
Next, set the woofers using more than just a voice. Select some  
music that you know to have good deep bass. Set the gain on the  
woofers for a natural and powerful bass sound. Use a symphonic  
piece of music if you can, or use a natural bass instrument for your  
guide. Try to make it sound real. You may have to return to the vocal  
to make sure you have not gone too far in one direction.  
At this point, if there is not enough mid bass, turn the low pass  
number to a higher position or, alternately, position the main  
speakers closer together in order to achieve better mid bass  
coupling between the main speakers. If it sounds too “fat” turn the  
low pass control down or adjust the volume. Small rooms have more  
bass gain, hence the smaller the room, the higher the low-pass  
frequency to use, and the lower the bass gain level.  
Imaging and Soundstage  
If your vocal selection is a well-recorded audiophile CD or LP, the  
performer should appear to come from behind the loudspeakers and  
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be at the appropriate height for a standing person. If it is not, there  
are several remedies that will address this.  
If the vocal appears to be larger than life, you should first check the  
system volume. Is it a volume that would be appropriate for  
someone actually singing in your room? If there is too much  
volume the artist will appear too big and the opposite is true  
for too little volume. If the volume is set correctly and the image is  
still too big, place them closer together and re-listen. Place the  
speakers no less than 5 feet apart. If the image is still too big, toe  
the speakers in a slight amount.  
Conversely, if the image is too small, move the speakers apart.  
The speakers should be no more than eight feet apart. Repeat  
this process till you have it right. If the voice is too low in height,  
turn the midrange control up (turning the knob clockwise) and the  
image of the voice will move upward slightly.  
If you have the speakers 20% of the way into the room, and you are  
not getting enough front to back depth (the singer not appearing  
behind the speaker enough) pull the speakers away from the front  
wall a little bit at a time. If you do not have them pulled far enough  
away, you may not have enough front to back depth. However,  
slightly more than 1/3 of the way into the room is about as far as  
you want to go. Pulling them half-way into the middle of the room  
is unlikely to help (and probably incur the wrath of your spouse).  
Find the best compromise for your room, your tastes and your space  
requirements. If you are not getting proper focus on the voice, you  
may angle the left and right speaker up to about 15 to 20 degrees  
(toe-in) towards your listening position until you have a properly  
defined center image. If the speakers are too far apart you will lose  
the side image and if they are too close together you will have too  
small a center stage.  
When properly set up very little sound should appear to come  
directly from the speaker, instead, the sound stage should extend  
far beyond the left and right edge of the loudspeakers and they  
should have tremendous front to back depth. When the recording is  
close miked (when the instrument or performer is very close to the  
recording microphone) the music may appear to come directly  
from the loudspeaker. This is normal. Typically, however, the sound  
should appear to be detached from the loudspeakers.  
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A simple rule of thumb to follow is that focus will be achieved by  
placing the speakers closer together or farther apart, and front to  
back depth can be adjusted by the distance from the rear wall.  
Further, as the system “breaks in”, the depth and width of the  
soundspace will increase and so will the “smoothness” of the sound.  
Tuning into the room  
There are no absolute rules concerning the speaker/room  
coupling, so do not be afraid to experiment with speaker  
placement for best results. You should also experiment with  
asymmetric positioning in the room. Do not have your speakers  
the same distance from the side walls – try putting them closer to  
the left or the right wall. If the speakers are equidistance from side  
and front wall, you may find a suck-out at 100Hz to 300Hz.  
In some problematic rooms a resonance may develop at one or  
two frequencies that is unnatural to the music. By moving the  
speakers closer to the front/side wall or farther from the front/side  
wall, the resonance may be reduced at the listener’s position.  
Ultimately, it is all about balance. You have a number of controls  
at hand with which to adjust the bass response, the low-pass filter  
frequency and woofer volume. You can also move the speakers  
closer together (for better speaker to speaker coupling), or further  
apart.  
Home Theater and Multi-Channel Music  
While the Genesis 5.2 was designed with the audiophile in mind, its  
performance and features make it ideal for Home Theater as well.  
The G5.2 is truly a full frequency loudspeaker that satisfies the  
requirement for Dolby Digitaland DTScinema reproduction.  
However the combination of the low frequency capability and a  
unique set of controls and connections on the G5.2 provide Home  
Theater users benefits beyond other loudspeakers on the market.  
In essence, the G5.2 has a servo-controlled subwoofer already  
included in each speaker. This capability allows the G5.2 to provide  
the ability to reproduce the low frequency effects (LFE) signal  
available on all modern movie decoders. An additional benefit of  
using this feature is that the LFE will come from two, or more,  
locations in your room versus using a single subwoofer for LFE.  
Utilizing this capability dramatically reduces room bass mode and  
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bass node problems. This results in smoother bass integration in  
the room, and a huge system impact capability.  
LFE Input  
The Low Frequency Effects (LFE) input allows the G5.2 to be used  
in addition to, or in place of, a separate sub-woofer. The LFE input  
blends the low frequency effects signal from the home theatre  
processor into the woofer section of the speakers.  
The LFE input bypasses the internal crossover, and hence uses the  
home theatre processor’s crossover. Since the G5.2 is able to play  
down to 20Hz, the bass section can also be used as your Home  
Theater System’s LFE sub-woofer if you do not have one – even if  
you are using different speakers for your home theatre system!  
On the home theatre processor, set the speakers to “LARGE” and  
sub-woofer to “YES” even if you do not have a separate sub-woofer.  
Then, take the sub-woofer line-level output from the processor, and  
plug it into the “LFE IN” connector on the G5.2.  
If your processor does not have a balanced output, you may elect to  
use a RCA-to-XLR pass-through converter. High quality ones may  
be obtainable from Balanced Audio Technology, Cardas, or your  
favourite supplier. Reasonably good ones can also be obtained  
from Radio Shack.  
If you are planning to use long runs (more than 10 feet) of  
interconnects to connect the line-level LFE inputs of your G5.2 to  
your processor, we suggest that you use a true single-ended to  
balanced converter – such as the Balance Buddy from Rane  
Corporation – that you attach directly to the processor LFE output.  
A long run of balanced interconnect can then be used.  
For runs of interconnect less than 10 feet (3 metres), a single-  
ended interconnect can be used, with a female-RCA to XLR  
converter that is attached to the G5.2 LFE input.  
LFE Gain  
The G5.2 has a knob that controls LFE GAIN separately from the  
BASS GAIN. This allows you to have the G5.2’s plugged both into  
your audiophile stereo system as well as your home theatre system  
at the same time without conflicts. The usual way to control the level  
of the LFE output is to set the LFE gain to 6 – the twelve o’clock  
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position – and then use the home theatre processors level control to  
dial in the level. However, having the LFE gain control allows you to  
tune the LFE if your two systems have completely different gain  
structure.  
LFE Output  
Along with the LFE input, the G5.2 has a unique capability of LFE  
output. This is a true powered balanced output, and hence, can  
convert a single-ended input signal into a true balanced output. This  
buffered output can be used to daisy-chain the LFE signal to other  
LFE inputs including other G5.2 speakers and separate subwoofers.  
Thus, it is possible to channel the LFE signal from your home  
theatre processor to one speaker, and then from that speaker to  
another, and to another, and to another!  
Distributing the bass is also helpful for reproduction of multi-channel  
music because you get incredible articulation and detail in the bass  
all around the room.  
The Refinement stage  
After following the rough setup guide above, you may not be  
completely satisfied with the results. We share with you here some  
of our observations in setting up these loudspeakers.  
One rule of thumb you should always keep in mind. Make one  
change at a time! Do not, for instance, change position of the  
speakers and make an adjustment to the tweeter, midrange, and  
bass all at once. Make each of these changes separately and note  
the difference - by listening - with each adjustment, then make the  
next change.  
A common problem we find with many set-ups is a tendency to  
separate the speakers too far from each other. This gives an  
unnaturally wide soundstage between the two speakers, and creates  
problems beyond the unnatural width of the center stage. The key  
problem is a lack of soundstage information beyond the left and right  
sides of the speakers, and also a loss of focus between the  
speakers.  
If you find that the sound is not spacious enough or you are not  
getting enough front to back depth, pull the speaker away from the  
front wall. This is typically preferable to separating the two speakers  
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too far and will almost always give you better depth and soundstage  
information. A word of caution, however, if you move the speakers  
too far from the front wall you may lose focus.  
Yet another problem is a lack of mid bass energy. In order for the  
appropriate amount of mid bass energy to be present, the speakers  
should be close enough together to achieve proper "coupling" of the  
midrange driver and the mid-bass couplers. Coupling is desirable in  
the lower frequencies from the mid-bass on down. This simply  
means that the left and right drivers "work together" as opposed to  
working separately.  
If you find there isn't enough deep bass, your first remedy is the  
volume control on the woofer amplifier. This has several limitations.  
First, turned up too high, you may get some distortion on very low  
frequencies or you may overheat the amplifier.  
Secondly, you may make the mid bass produced by the top of the  
woofer out of proportion with the mid bass produced by the bottom  
of the mid-bass coupler. This would tend to sound "boomy" in the  
mid bass regions.  
Another good rule of thumb is to first set the volume control of the  
woofer for proper midbass rather than low bass. The theory is that if  
the midbass is correct, then the low bass should be very close to  
correct. If the midbass is proper and the low bass is still not right,  
here are some other suggestions.  
A good balance between proper low bass extension and a deep and  
spacious soundstage needs to be established to optimize your  
speaker's performance.  
In order to achieve what the speaker is capable of we suggest you  
focus your efforts on a proper balance of soundstage elements that  
includes information beyond the left and right sides of the speakers,  
front to back depth well behind the speaker, excellent focus of  
instruments and voices with proper vertical information and mid bass  
fill.  
A Genesis loudspeaker system correctly set up, can and should  
provide a soundstage that is wall to wall and with pinpoint focus, the  
speakers disappearing completely on a recording containing such  
information.  
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Room Treatment  
No room is perfect. To optimize your sonic presentation it may be  
helpful to treat your room. Here are some guidelines:  
1. Front walls. This loudspeaker is a dipole and therefore there  
is sound coming from both the front and the back of the  
speaker. How the front wall is treated or not treated is  
important. Generally speaking, the Genesis loudspeakers  
prefer a live front wall to a dead front wall.  
By these terms we mean the amount of reflection of sound. A  
typical wall of glass or, brick, cement or drywall material is a  
reflective surface. A heavily curtained or sound proofed wall  
would be considered a "dead wall" or a non-reflective wall. A  
normal thin curtain across a window causes only a small  
amount of absorption.  
2. Sidewalls. Because the speaker is a dipole it is less sensitive  
to the sidewalls. However, as a rule of thumb, it is a good  
idea to keep the speaker as far away from the sidewalls as is  
practical. With this in mind, it may be helpful to add some  
damping material or diffuser panels to the point of first  
reflection. This is a point on the sidewalls between the listener  
and the loudspeaker. It is where the sound from the  
loudspeaker first hits the sidewall, then bounces to the  
listener. This reflection is undesirable because it is slightly  
delayed from the original sound. This point on the sidewall  
can be easily determined with the help of a second person  
and a mirror.  
Sitting in your listening position have an assistant hold a  
mirror up on the sidewall. Move the mirror until you can see  
the tweeter. This is the point of first reflection. A diffuser (see  
your dealer), an absorptive material or even a piece of  
furniture can help break up this point of first reflection.  
3. Rear wall. In many cases it will be unnecessary to do  
anything with the wall behind your listening position.  
However, you may want to experiment with diffusers or  
absorbers behind you for best sound. Absorption behind the  
listener is usually beneficial.  
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Mastering the Refinements of the system  
Fine tuning an audio system is an art that will take time and  
patience. It can be one of the more rewarding learning experiences  
you will have in the pursuit of music and its enjoyment.  
One of the best pieces of advice we can offer is that you take  
advantage of the ear's ability to identify similarities in sound. This  
ability is useful in fine tuning your system because if every recording  
you listen to has a similarity of sound (too much or too little of a  
certain frequency for instance) then you can be fairly certain that you  
have yet to perfect your set-up. Keep at it and remember to enjoy  
your music as you work on perfecting your set-up.  
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at Genesis. Our  
website is the first place that you can look to for more information,  
but you are welcome to either send us an email, or just give us a  
call!  
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The Technology  
The Genesis Ribbon Tweeter  
Reviewers in the Audiophile press have often remarked that the  
Genesis circular ribbon tweeter is the world’s best. It is a one inch  
circular planar ribbon design crafted from an extremely thin  
membrane of Kapton with a photo-etched aluminium “voice coil” that  
is a mere 0.0005 inch thick. The entire radiating structure has less  
mass than the air in front of it! That is why it will reproduce accurately  
frequencies beyond 36k Hz.  
The result of this design is a driver that has a rapid and uniform  
response to high frequencies, and has the speed of the best  
ribbon/electrostatic designs without the high distortion and poor  
dispersion that is typically associated with them.  
The G5.2 use two of these tweeters per channel. One front-firing,  
and the other wired to the crossover out of phase to the front tweeter  
and firing to the rear, creating a dipole. Dipoles radiate the same  
sound from both front and rear out of phase in “push/pull” fashion.  
Thus, the sound waves from the front and back of the speakers  
cancel out as they radiate from the sides of the speakers; which  
means that there is minimum radiation of sound to the sidewalls of  
the room.  
The net result is that the G5.2 generate far fewer detail-robbing room  
reflections from the sidewalls than other types of loudspeakers. With  
fewer spurious reflections to confuse your hearing, the program  
source emerges more clearly. Imaging is deeper, yet more focused.  
Titanium Midrange  
We sometimes say that the midrange is a window into the mind of a  
composer or a singer. And indeed, the midrange is where the  
“magic” is in a well-recorded musical event.  
The G5.2 uses a Genesis-designed proprietary 4.5inch titanium  
coned midrange to cover this critical frequency spectrum. Machined  
out of one of the lightest and stiffest materials known, this low mass  
cone driver is one of the best midrange transducers ever made with  
nearly instantaneous transient response, enabling the G5.2 to sound  
lifelike and effortless.  
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The driver is housed in an enclosure that is open to the back. Thus,  
the midrange operates as a dipole too.  
Mid-Bass Couplers  
In order to create a “sound bridge” between the midrange and the  
bass section, the G5.2 incorporates two 6.5inch metal cone mid-  
bass couplers. One front and one rear firing, again working as a  
dipole.  
Made of aluminum, this metal cone is extremely light and stiff. The  
driver is hence capable of handling the huge dynamic range  
demands of the system while maintaining extremely low coloration  
and excellent transient response.  
The Servo-bass Advantage  
Very few loudspeakers use servo drive, either because most  
designers think that it is too difficult to design, too expensive, or  
because of the extraordinary demands a servo system makes on  
the amplifier and the transducer. However, the Chief Scientist of  
Genesis, Arnie Nudell, first introduced the servo system in the  
legendary Infinity Servo Statik One in 1968(!) – so we know how to  
design and build servo systems.  
The concept of the Genesis servo bass system is an easy one to  
understand: It employs, an accelerometer as a sensor, to constantly  
monitor the movement of the woofer cone and instantaneously  
compares it to the input signal. This comparison circuit identifies any  
deviation from the input and instantaneously applies a corrective  
signal to compensate, thus practically eliminating the inherent  
distortion of the woofer!  
As an example, when you have a high-impact, low-bass signal that  
starts and stops suddenly (for example a tympani), the inertia of the  
woofer cone makes it slow to start moving, and then after it is  
moving, the momentum of the cone makes it continue moving even  
after the signal has stopped.  
The sonic result is overhang, bloat, lack of tautness and definition,  
and a blurring of dynamic impact. With the servo system, the circuit  
senses that the woofer is not moving as fast as it should, and it  
instantaneously applies much more current to make it move faster.  
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When the signal stops, it detects that the woofer will continue to  
move when it shouldn’t and applies a counter-signal to stop the  
woofer faster and more effectively than an open loop woofer could  
possibly respond.  
Thus, the servo-drive reduces distortion and improves transient  
response by making the woofer seem massless. Typical non-servo  
woofer systems have distortion levels that exceed 10% at even  
moderate levels. The Genesis servo bass system reduces this  
distortion to below one percent at almost any output level. It also  
drives the woofer to constant acceleration, which makes its  
frequency response totally flat!!  
The servo system is a more proactive approach to controlling a  
loudspeaker than high-damping factor and high current in the normal  
amplifier. However, this also means that the woofer, the cables  
attaching the woofer to the amplifier, and the power amplifier has to  
be designed as an integrated system. Thus, the Genesis 5.2 is  
designed with a built-in 500W servo amplifier for the bass section.  
Aluminium-cone Woofers  
The transducer used in a servo system must be strong enough to  
withstand the high current approach of the servo, and yet delicate  
and light enough to react extremely quickly. The G5.2 features three  
8-inch aluminium cone woofers per channel.  
While the servo system is able to ensure that the driver works  
linearly as a perfect piston, it is unable to correct for distortion  
caused by cone wobble, bending, and break-up. Hence, the drivers  
were designed to minimize these non-linear distortions, allowing the  
servo system to most effectively eliminate the linear distortions.  
The woofers are a uniquely designed metal cone driver made for the  
Genesis servo system. Made of a cone of solid aluminium, the  
suspension and voice-coil have been maximized for long distortion-  
free excursion so as to increase dynamic range. Our aluminium  
cones are a magnitude stiffer than any plastic or paper cone on the  
market, and virtually eliminate the problems caused by cone bending  
and break-up.  
The lowest break-up mode (where there can be any chance of  
distortion at all) is at 6,000Hz – far above the 16Hz to 120Hz  
frequency range at which these drivers operate. Therefore, the  
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driver is a perfect piston within the frequencies used. Thus, low cone  
break-up distortion is inherent in the driver designed for the G5.2.  
Unlike the mid-bass couplers, midrange and the tweeters, which  
operate in dipole, the three woofers in the G5.2 operate in phase as  
an omni-pole. All three woofers work in phase to control the air mass  
of the listening room. This means that the surface area of the three  
cones and the loudspeaker enclosure all work in unison to produce  
bass output that descends evenly to below your hearing limits.  
500 watt Class D Servo Amplifier  
While the advantages of metal cones include extreme stiffness  
resulting in very low distortion and break-up, one problem is that of  
greater mass. To over come this, Genesis had to build an  
amplification system of great wattage, and high damping factor. The  
servo system also places extraordinary demands on the amplifier  
because the system uses enormous amounts of current to make the  
woofer follow the input signal. Combined with the metal cones, this  
means that the amplifier used must deliver extraordinarily large  
amounts of clean power.  
In the Genesis 5.2, the built-in amplifier was specifically designed  
and tuned for low frequencies in order to produce “floorshakingly  
musical” bass to power the servo woofers.  
One side benefit of this powered woofer system is that almost any  
sized amplifier can be used to drive the Genesis 5.2. No longer must  
one choose between having an amplifier with enough power to drive  
the woofers, and a smaller amplifier having better spatial and tonal  
characters. Nevertheless, we generally recommend 60 watts as a  
minimum.  
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Specifications  
Dimensions:  
H 44” x W 11” x D 22”  
140 lbs (63kg) per side  
Weight:  
Frequency Response: 20Hz to 36kHz, +/- 3dB  
Controls:  
Low-pass, gain  
Rear Tweeter (+/- 1 dB)  
Midrange (+/- 1.5 dB)  
Inputs:  
Speaker Level  
Line Level (Balanced)  
LFE Line Level (Balanced)  
Outputs:  
LFE Buffered Daisy Chain (Balanced)  
Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms (speakers)  
Sensitivity:  
Power Rating:  
Finish:  
90 dB 1 watt 1 meter  
500 watts each  
Rosewood, Bird’s Eye Maple, High  
Gloss Black, High Gloss Silver  
ver 1.0  
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