1234A SAM™ Studio Monitor

The highlight of TCM’s Genelec monitoring solutions can be found in the flagship recording studio. “The studio is used mainly by students who major in the Fine Art/Film Scoring course within the composition program,” explains TCM lecturer Hideaki Sano. “The course focuses on composition, arrangement and performance, but also studies practical techniques related to pre-production, studio recording, producing, and so on. The studio needed to be capable of recording an entire orchestra, and since we have a concert hall and other large performance spaces on campus, we wanted the studio to make efficient use of these facilities.”

Mr. Hideaki Sano of Tokyo College of Music

With this brief in mind it was clear that the studio would need to be the centrepiece of the new campus. To ensure the best possible results, TCM turned to world-renowned acoustician, Masami “Sam” Toyoshima, to handle the studio’s acoustic design. Meanwhile, the equally important task of studio planning and operation was given to Mixer’s Lab, thanks to its history and track record running its own studios as well as offering engineering and consultancy services.

The technology in the studio is clearly high-end, matching the standards that TCM demands. Nowhere is this clearer than with the studio monitoring. The solution comprises Genelec 1234A, 1238AC and 1238DF smart active main monitors in a 5.1.2 immersive configuration, with 8351A coaxial monitors for stereo nearfield monitoring. For Hideo Takada of Mixer’s Lab, the decision to go with Genelec monitors was an easy one: “I've been using Genelec reference monitors at work for a long time, so I know their sound inside out. They work well with acoustic instruments, pop music, and a wide variety of genres. It’s a studio monitor you can trust.”

Mr. Hideo Takada of Mixer's Lab

If the choice of brand was an easy decision, the configuration of the space was a different matter entirely. “The college originally requested the studio to be at least a 2-channel environment, and be able to conduct high-quality recording,” recalls Takada. “But as the studio planning developed, we considered that it should support surround. I had just experienced Dolby Atmos mixing myself, and realised the importance of it, so we opted for 1234As as L/R, a 1238AC for the centre channel, two 1238DFs for surrounds and two more 1238DFs as height speakers – due to the compact nature of the studio.”

For stereo nearfield work, TCM opted for 8351A three-way point source monitors from The Ones series. “What’s great about coaxial monitors is that you get one coherent sound,” explains Mixer’s Lab’s Tatsuo Umezu. “A certain sound can be perceived from one point as if it's a matter of course, and the centre of the sound doesn't get ‘blurred’. I can tell exactly where the mic was placed, and how far it was from the instrument. I suppose this is exactly what Genelec aimed for.”

A monitor needs to be comfortable to listen to, and Genelec has that quality.

Reflecting on the qualities the Genelec monitoring solutions have brought TCM, Sano is clearly very happy with their performance: “Genelec monitors have the same sound even when the playback volume is low, and that's one of the benefits. And the fact that it has become the industry standard is the key to our choice. Experiencing that industry standard sound is extremely beneficial for our students before they start to work as professionals.

“It's about the balance of the richness and the accuracy of the sound,” he continues. “A monitor needs to be comfortable to listen to, and Genelec has that quality – plus the accuracy to comprehend every detail of the sound whatever the genre. Genelec can precisely playback an orchestra, a violin solo, pop music, EDM, and much more. It’s a monitor we can completely count on.”

The new solution came about after Guetta identified a problem with the mixes that he was creating with his old system. “In the previous system that I had, the subs were so loud that they were not really realistic,” he explains. “If I would mix with those subs, sometimes I would end up with a record that didn’t have enough bass when played on other systems - because the bass in my room was so huge.”

With the 7380As installed, Guetta’s mixes now translate beautifully from his studio straight to the dancefloors of Ibiza, and the subwoofers have helped improve the overall sound in his room. “By installing the subwoofers, we were able to reposition David’s main monitors to avoid early reflections. Finding the best place for the subwoofers also meant that we had a great frequency response curve all the way from low to high frequencies,” notes Genelec’s Pasi Pönkkä, who travelled to Guetta’s studio to calibrate the system using Genelec’s GLM software. Using GLM, Pönkkä was able to analyse the acoustic environment of Guetta’s studio and then optimise each Genelec monitor and subwoofer accordingly - thereby reducing any negative influences of the room on the sound.

Pönkkä explains that “Each 7380A subwoofer is paired with a single 1234A monitor, so the low frequencies can be better localised. Also, the locations were chosen so that the subwoofer sums aren’t cancelling each other out. The overall result was that we were able to provide David with more bass extension, but with a much smoother and flatter response.”

“This is my reference, and this is my perfect setup.”

A further benefit that Guetta is enjoying is that he can now work for much longer periods without the listening fatigue that he used to experience. “When producing, I’m not really playing too loud, and the Genelec 1234As - even though they are huge - still sound very precise even when they aren’t loud,” he explains. “What I like about the 7380As is that I can work at a low volume so that I’m not too tired after a few hours, and it’s still very precise. But, if I want to blast it loud, it’s powerful enough to feel like it’s in a club.”
Reflecting on his newly upgraded monitoring system, Guetta is certain he made the correct decision. “It gives the feeling of how it’s going to sound in the club, but it’s also realistic,” he states. “This is my reference, and this is my perfect setup.”

Take a closer look at David Guetta’s studio, and find out more about his music and workflow:

Ozcan has been making music since the age of 14, when his instinctive skill with the flute and keyboard were the first signs of an emerging, prodigious talent. His first single, Chica Good, arrived in 2006 but it was 2011’s Reboot, swiftly followed by 2012’s The Box, that solidified his reputation. In the years since, he has produced not only a string of hit singles but also collaborations with peers including Paul Van Dyk and Tiesto, while continuing to push his own creative limits with the development of soft-synths and soundbanks.

However, most of that work was performed in less-than-ideal listening environments. “The first space that I worked in... I’m not sure I could call it a studio since it was in the attic of my parent’s home,” recalls Ozcan. “I just had two speakers in there – actually just two hi-fi speakers! Then I moved to an apartment and I had a room – so I put some acoustic treatment on the walls, some bass traps, and just two monitors and a sub. I made my music in there for years, but when my friends came to visit I’d tell them to stand in the corner because that’s where they could hear the bass properly! If you took one step to the side then the sound changed completely.”

Ozcan describes his new studio as “everything I’ve dreamed of for the last 15 years – I can’t quite believe that it’s here. This room reflects my energy. It’s an extension of myself and my music. When you close the door, you’re in a different world, it’s amazing.”

The room itself is a blazing celebration of neon, seamlessly shifting between colour schemes to suit the mood of the artist. Sculpted acoustic panels from Artnovion adorn the walls while Morel has even recreated Ozcan’s logo on the ceiling. The Genelec smart active monitoring system which forms the studio’s centrepiece is just as impressive, with two 1234As installed as main monitors, accompanied by a 7382A subwoofer. Adding symmetry, what appears to be a second 7382A is in fact a customised bass trap designed around a Genelec grille. In addition, two of the newly-launched 8351B coaxial point source monitors from The Ones range are installed on Ozcan’s desk for nearfield listening. The DJ describes the sound as “mind blowing”.

Towards the conclusion of the project, Morel and Ozcan shared the process of calibrating the Genelec monitoring system for the room. That work began with Genelec’s GLM calibration software, then was fine-tuned by ear. “We went very deep into the process,” says Morel. Yet ultimately, little tuning was actually required. “You don’t have to do much,” explains Ozcan, “with almost no tweaking it sounds fantastic. You feel it in your chest and it gives you goosebumps because you can hear everything. I can hear things I’ve never heard before!”

For Morel, who has now designed private studios for some of the world’s most celebrated DJ producers, this is one of his proudest achievements. “This ranks as one of the top three studios that I’ve created,” he declares without hesitation. “Certainly for the design, this is number one.”

A wholly-owned R&D subsidiary of G-bits, the company employs enthusiastic games fans with one simple mission - to produce ‘unique and great games’. As a result of Leiting’s dedication to creating all-round immersive experiences for its users, the company recently commissioned a 5.1.4 game audio studio based around Genelec Smart Active Monitors.

"For a games company like ours, an audio studio is a must," commented composer and game sound designer Knuckles (Jianyu) Zhang, who led the studio project. "Our requirements are quite special, though. What we want is not just a recording studio, nor a standard mixing studio or a reviewing studio. To be precise, what we want is a ‘Game Sound Lab’ to assist us in the conceptual design of games.”

Originally conceived as a surround sound studio, the acoustic design and construction of the project was handled by Qiao Zhenyu of Huanyu Acoustics, who persuaded Knuckles to go fully immersive. “I knew that many games had already used the 5.1 format to produce sound. But Qiao suggested that since it was already 5.1, why not make it 5.1.4 by adding the 4 height channels? I realised then that immersive audio technology is no longer a new thing, and we as creators surely have to learn to master this format."

The studio then engaged the system integrator DMT to install a pair of Genelec 1234As as its main stereo monitoring system, with a 5.1.4 immersive system comprising eleven 8330A nearfield two-way monitors in all positions - complemented by a 7370A subwoofer. All the monitors were supplied in a stunning Polar White finish, and the entire system was configured and calibrated by DMT using GLM loudspeaker manager software.

Genelec's sound is very reliable. You can trust what you’re hearing.

Knuckles’ choice of Genelec monitoring was arrived at after many years of experience of working with other monitors - and actually avoiding Genelec in his earlier years, believing them to be too flat! “I used various monitors to evaluate my work in different rooms. Sometimes, it would sound fine on my own monitors in my own room, but the results would often vary when I’d listen to material in other spaces. So I’d start to doubt what I was hearing.”

He goes on to say “It was then that I realised that I needed a genuinely truthful monitoring system to do my work. Genelec's sound is very reliable. You can trust what you’re hearing, and you can be certain about what you create using them. When I use the 1234s to listen to material, I can immediately evaluate the quality of mixing.”

Knuckles is convinced that immersive audio is the format of the future for games developers. “In recent years, the domestic games industry has attached greater importance to the sound experience. As we look to the international market, we’re finding that more and more games with big-budget production are using immersive audio to create the sound experience. Because sometimes, we just want to step into another world and forget about real life, or even ourselves, for a while.”

He concludes by saying “While others here are still at the learning and building phase with immersive rooms, we already have the experience and a place to create immersive audio. Now we’re one step ahead, we’re ready to take the lead!"

Game sound designer Knuckles (Jianyu) Zhang