Genelec 8260A Technical Bulletin page 2

Genelec Document BBA0081001 Copyright Genelec Oy 9. 2009. All data subject to change.
The 8260A Part of a Complete System
The 8260A integrates in the Genelec DSP loudspeaker system
solution providing customers with all necessary means to setup,
calibrate and control their complete multi-loudspeaker system
with perfect flexibility. This way, the system level benefits to the
user are magnificently extended beyond the mere benefits of
the unique acoustically advanced features of a single iso-
lated 8260A loudspeaker. The GLM™ (Genelec Loudspeaker
Manager™) loudspeaker control network supporting also the
8260A can handle up to 30 DSP loudspeakers and subwoofers
in a single-room setup. The loudspeaker network is seamlessly
accessible through sophisticated graphical user interface of the
GLM™ loudspeaker system control software. After automatic
acoustical calibrations and system alignment using the Auto-
Cal™ function, all settings can also be permanently stored in
the loudspeakers and operate independently, bringing unique
flexibility to the monitoring system.
Figure 1: An example of the basic configuration of 8260A three-
way loudspeaker system
Technical Paper
Genelec 8260A DSP Loudspeaker
Figure 1 illustrates an example of the three-way 8260A loud-
speaker system. While 8260A loudspeaker forms the main build-
ing block of the system the entire system consists of the following
components:
• 8260A three-way DSP loudspeaker with Minimum Diffraction
Coaxial™ (MDC™) tweeter and midrange
• Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (GLM™)
• Fully automated calibration module (AutoCal™)
• Audio network communication protocols
• Network Interface Device (NID)
• Calibration microphone
It should be noted that the use of subwoofer is not necessary as
the low frequency of the 8260A loudspeaker goes down to 26
Hz. When the system is built based on 8260A only, the system
cabling can be setup in daisy chain topology. Also, the network
interface device is capable of acting as a bridge between differ-
ent system zones.
Background
A properly designed three-way loudspeaker offers clear sonic
benefits compared to a two-way system, especially at higher
sound levels, due to separate midrange channel. The midrange
driver can be optimized for that frequency range. To utilize the
benefits the loudspeaker designer has to make a choice for the
enclosure size. A small enclosure does not have space for di-
rectivity control and hence room effects are more audible, while
making the enclosure larger, proper directivity control can be in-
cluded. The technical dilemma lies in the physical dimensions
available for proper midrange and high frequency directivity con-
trol.
Since the introduction of the 1022A in 1985, Genelec has ap-
proached this issue with proprietary directivity control wave-
guides (DCW™) having spaced midrange and tweeter drivers.
The DCW™ has proven to be a successful concept in the mar-
ket, and it has been adopted widely in the industry.