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READTHISFIRST
Genesis loudspeakers in general are heavy and slippery. This is as
a result of the fine veneer, and high gloss finishes that we put on
the speaker to make them beautiful and an object of art. They have
a luxurious feel as well as an elegant look.
The cabinet is solidly made of high-quality MDF and/or composite
material. Transducers have large magnetic assemblies and the
crossovers use large, high-grade components. All of this leads to a
very heavy object for its size.
Due to the weight, and also to the waxy finish, the loudspeaker may
be slippery and difficult to handle. We always recommend a
minimum of two people to unpack, move them around, and set
them up.
Your speakers will come wrapped in a 100% cotton “sock” inside a
double-corrugated cardboard carton. Examine the carton for
shipping damage. Dented corners are an indication of something
having gone wrong during shipping.
Enlist a friend to help you unpack and set-up the loudspeaker. Not
only is it safer, it is more fun than doing it yourself.
Lift the speaker in its sock out of the shipping carton. Don’t just
grab the sock to lift the loudspeaker. The sock may break. Be
careful that you do not inadvertently put a finger through a driver.
Unwrap the loudspeaker, and store the sock in the shipping carton.
Store the shipping carton in a safe, dry place.
Read this owner’s manual, and then get started.
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4.2.2 TITANIUM MID-WOOFER
CROSSOVER
VIBRATION-FREE CABINET
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15
16
4.3
4.4
5
SPECIFICATIONS
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AMessagefromGenesis
Congratulations! You are now the owner of one of the finest
loudspeakers in the world. The Genesis 7.1 Convertible (G7.1c)
features the world’s first solid titanium cone mid-woofer, and shares
technologies developed for our flagship Genesis 1.1.
The G7.1c is designed to be as flexible as possible. It can be used
as a pair of audiophile stereo loudspeakers or, in a multi-channel
system, can also be used as main left/right speakers, a center
channel speaker, or as surround or rear channels.
So that it will fit into the décor of any home, the cabinet design is a
combination of acoustic, furniture, interior design and architectural
principles. Care was taken in the selection of fine furniture-quality
natural wood veneer finishes, and high-gloss “Italian” or automotive
finish.
Sound structural engineering principles have been applied to make
the G7.1c cabinet rigid and well damped. All construction is of ¾
inch MDF and panels have been “tongue and grooved” to ensure
that the cabinet is the best environment on which to mount the
transducers. This results in extremely low cabinet coloration, and
excellent soundstaging and imaging. The proportions are also
designed to be visually pleasing and elegant.
Please read this Owners Manual and Set-up Guide to get the
maximum enjoyment out of your purchase. Also, check out our
tips & tricks, and support for our owners.
Please write the serial number and purchase details of your Genesis 7.1c
here for future reference.
Purchased at: _________________ Date: __________
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1 AQuickStartSet-upGuide
Now that you have your new Genesis 7.1 Convertible (G7.1c), 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.
1.1 Unpacking
Your loudspeakers will come to you in two shipping cartons weighing
over 35lbs (16kgs) each. Care must be taken when moving the carton
around, and taking the speaker out of the box. While the speaker is
small, it is also slippery and heavy. Use correct lifting techniques utilizing
the muscles in your legs, and not just your back.
We will not be held liable for damage to either the speakers or your
backs during unpacking and setting up. Be careful as you may
inadvertently damage the drivers if the cabinet slips and you grab at it
and put a finger into the woofers. Do not try to lift the cabinet by the
shield (it is not a handle!) or by grabbing the woofers as handles.
1.2 Placement
As a stereo pair of speakers, a good starting position for your G7.1c
is at least 18 inches (45cm) into the room as measured from the front
wall (the wall you look at as you are seated listening to the speakers) to
the back of the speakers. Place the speakers vertically on a stand that is
at least 18 inches high, and about five feet (1.5 metres) apart with the
tweeters closest together. Toe the speakers in very slightly towards the
listeners – by about 3 to 10 degrees – no more.
Used as a center channel, the G7.1c can be placed below or above
your screen. If you have a perforated, sonically transparent projector
screen, you may place it behind the screen. In all cases, do not point
the tweeter directly at the ears of the listeners. Angle the speaker so
that the tweeter points 12 inches (30cm) below the ears or over the
top of the head.
You will want to sit nine to twelve feet (three to four metres) away from
the speakers. When sitting further away, you should place the speakers
further apart. When sitting nearer the speakers, move the speakers
closer together.
If you are using the G7.1c as surround or rear speakers, and you are
hanging them on the wall, you will need a qualified installer to mount
them on very strong brackets. The speakers weigh over 30 pounds
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(13.6 kgs) each, and can cause death or severe injury if it falls on
someone’s head!
1.3 Connections
The speakers should be connected directly to the speaker-level output
of your power amplifiers using high quality speaker cables and the 5-
way binding posts.
The high-level thru-put binding posts are for connecting to a subwoofer.
We recommend the Genesis ServoSub™ 4/8 as the perfect
complement to this speaker. The correct cable for connecting a
loudspeaker to a ServoSub is an interconnect cable, and not a
loudspeaker cable.
The ServoSub has a high-impedance input, and the speaker and power
amplifier has a low-impedance output. A computer-networking CAT6
cable can be used as this “jumper” if a good interconnect cable is not
available.
1.4 Adjustments
Don’t be too worried by the knob and switches on the back of the G7.1c.
Set knob (tweeter level) to the 12 o’clock position, and the stand-
alone/with-sub switch depending on whether you have a ServoSub™
connected.
If you have at least 12 inches (30cm) of space between the back of
the speaker and the rear wall, the rear tweeter should be left ON.
Otherwise, turn the rear tweeter off with the tweeter defeat switch on
the back panel.
That is a good place to start. The G7.1c will sound great, straight out of
the box. As you play your system for the next hundred hours or so, the
speaker will settle down and break in.
Once you familiarize yourself with its performance, putting a little bit of
additional effort into tuning the speaker properly for your system (which
includes the room), will give you greater long-term enjoyment and
benefits.
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2 Settingup:Multi-channel
2.1 Positioning for Center Channel
A good starting position is for the G7.1c to be placed horizontally about
20 inches from the floor, and angled upwards by 3 to 5 degrees. This is
assuming that the speaker doesn’t block the screen in this position.
Use a good quality stand that is solidly built and as rigid as possible. The
Genesis ServoSub™ 4/8 is a unique subwoofer that complements the
G6.1c to turn it into a full-range absolute fidelity™ system, and also
makes a perfect stand for the G7.1c.
An alternative is to place the speaker horizontally above the television
set, and angle it downwards by 3 to 5 degrees. In either case, do not
point the speaker directly at the head of the listener, but either over her
head, or at her chest.
As these speakers are dipolar with a rear-firing tweeter, there should be
at least 12 inches (30cm) of space between the back of the speaker and
the wall. If this space is not available, turn the rear tweeter off with the
tweeter defeat switch.
On the home theatre processor, set the speaker to “LARGE” as the
G7.1c plays below 60Hz.
2.2 Loudspeaker Controls
2.2.1 Tweeter Control
The knob marked TWEETER on the plate on the back of the speaker is
used to tailor the high-frequency response of the G7.1c. It is a subtle
control, but can make a great difference in gaining that last bit of
additional performance from your speakers.
Turning this control clockwise will increase the level of the tweeters. Use
this control if you need a bit more treble, or to increase the apparent
space of the soundstage. Too high a tweeter level, and you can feel that
voices are too sibilant. With music, crashing cymbals are leaping out at
you, and nylon stringed guitars sound steely. Start with this control at the
12 o'clock position. There is about a ± 1dB range for this control.
2.2.2 Tweeter Defeat
The G7.1c should be placed at least 12 inches (30cm) away from the
wall behind the speaker. If this is not possible, turn the rear-firing tweeter
off to configure your loudspeaker as a monopole. This is perfectly
acceptable and will not compromise the performance for multi-channel
surround movies.
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3 SettingupasStereoPair
3.1 Positioning
Used as a stereo pair, the G7.1c should be placed vertically at least 18
inches (0.45m) into the room as measured from the front wall (the wall
you look at as you are seated listening to the speakers), to the back of
the speaker. They should be placed on good, solid speaker stands
about 18 to 24 inches (60cm) high.
Start with the speakers five feet (1.5m) apart with the tweeters placed
closest together, and angled in (toed-in) towards the listener by about 3
degrees. You will want to sit 9 to 12 feet (3 to 4 metres) away from the
speakers (if you have the space). We will experiment with moving the
speakers around later.
As these speakers are dipolar in the high frequencies, they are pretty
room-friendly and you are free to move the speakers closer to, or further
away from the front and side walls. We do recommend, however, that
you give the speakers a little bit of breathing space behind them, so
don’t push them up tight against the wall.
If you have the speakers too close to the front wall, you will find that the
image depth is not as good - the soundstage becomes a little two-
dimensional. If you have the space to move the speakers away from the
wall, do so. You will be rewarded with the deep, broad soundstage that
this loudspeaker is capable of. You should be able to “see” the
soundstage behind, as well as in front of, the loudspeakers. The sound
stage will also extend outside the left and right sides of the speakers.
3.2 Loudspeaker Controls
3.2.1 Tweeter Control
The knob marked TWEETER on the plate on the back of the speaker
tailors the high-frequency response of the G7.1c. It is a subtle control,
but can make a great difference in gaining that last bit of additional
performance in tuning your speakers for the room in which you are
using them. It can turn your system from very good to exceptional, so
take the time to work through this process.
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. Too high a tweeter level, and you can feel that
crashing cymbals are leaping out at you, and nylon stringed guitars
sound steely. Start with this control at the 12 o'clock position. There is
about a ± one dB range for this control.
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3.2.2 Tweeter Defeat
The optimal way to use these speakers as a stereo pair is to leave the
rear tweeters on, and run them as dipole and at least 18-inches from the
front wall. However, in some cases, this may not be possible.
Should the speakers have to be placed with their backs less than 12
inches from the wall, the rear tweeters should be turned off.
3.3 Tuning the system
Music is the best way to begin your set-up procedure. We suggest that
video sources be used only after you have set-up the system to properly
reproduce music. There is no “perfect” setting for the G7.1c
loudspeaker. Every listening room is different, and we recommend that
you take the time to carefully tune the system for the environment in
which it is placed.
Your Genesis loudspeakers should sound great straight out of the box. If
you don’t like the sound, several hundred hours of breaking-in will not
change the sound of your speakers, although it may break-in your ears!
3.4 One Change at a Time
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 all at once. Make each of these
changes separately and note the difference - by listening with each
adjustment - then make the next change.
3.5 Imaging and Soundstage
We suggest that you start with a single vocal with simple instrumental
accompaniment because the sound of the human voice is more easily
recognizable than many instruments and is a less complex sound to
deal with. Use a good recording that you know has atmosphere and
low bass content.
The performer should appear to be positioned behind the loudspeakers
and be at the appropriate height for a standing person. If it is not, there
are several remedies that will address this shortfall:
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 the speakers closer together and re-listen. Place the speakers
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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
until you have it right.
The wider apart you have the speakers, relative to your seating
position, the more you will have to toe the speakers in. However, this
may result in “audiophile-itis”. You get a huge soundstage, but only a
tiny sweet spot and you have to sit exactly in the center. Also, when
the speakers are very far apart, you may have to play them louder
before you can enjoy a realistic soundstage. The images are more
diffuse, and can seem larger than life.
If you have the speakers 18 inches 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. 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.
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 10 to 15 degrees (toe-in)
towards your listening position until you have a properly defined center
image. If the speakers are too far apart, the mid-bass will de-couple and
you will lose the side image. If they are too close together you will have
too small and congested 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.
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.
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3.6 Defining the Soundstage
A common problem 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. It focuses the soundstage in between the two speakers,
and you lose the “space” and “ambience” of the musical performance.
If you find that the sound is not spacious enough, or you are not getting
enough front to back depth, pull the speakers away from the front wall.
This is typically preferable to separating the speakers too far, and will
almost always give you better depth and soundstage information. A
word of caution though: If you move the speakers too far from the front
wall you may lose the focus of the image.
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, with pinpoint focus; the speakers
disappearing completely on a recording containing such information.
With the G7.1c, adding a ServoSub or two will result in the walls of the
room melting away. Ambience of large acoustic spaces is defined by
low-bass, and the ServoSub adds that critical element when listening to
performances recorded in large venues.
3.7 Room Treatment
No room is perfect. To optimize your sonic presentation it may be helpful
to treat your room. Here are some guidelines:
Front walls. This loudspeaker is a dipole and therefore, there is
sound coming from both the front and back of the speaker. How the
front wall (the wall you face while listening), is treated or not
treated is important. Generally speaking, the Genesis loudspeakers
prefer a live (hard reflective) front wall to a dead (soft absorbent)
front wall.
By these terms, we mean the amount of reflection of sound. A typical
wall of glass, 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.
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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. In some rooms, 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 audio dealer), an
absorptive material, a bookcase, or even a
piece of furniture can help break up this point
of first reflection.
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.
3.8 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.
In some problematic rooms a resonance may develop, at one or more
frequencies, that is unnatural to the music. By moving the speakers
closer to the front wall or farther from the front wall, the resonance may
be reduced at the listener’s position. There are no absolute rules
concerning problematic rooms, so do not be afraid to experiment with
speaker placement to determine the best position of the speakers in
your room.
One of the best pieces of advice we can offer is that you take advantage
of your ear's ability to identify similarities in sound. This ability is useful in
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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 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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4 TheTechnologyused
4.1 Dipolar Configuration
What a lot of people don’t realize is that the room is as big (if not bigger),
a part of their music system as are the loudspeakers. At Genesis, we
strive to get the loudspeakers and the room to work well together and
hence, design loudspeakers that interact with the room and have
enough of adjustment to make them work with most rooms in the world.
All rooms have floors, ceilings and sidewalls that distort sound because
of lateral, early-arriving reflections. We aim to suppress undesirable
contribution by reflected sound from these four surfaces (which is why a
lot of people put sound absorbers or diffusers at the first reflection point
of the room). In order to do that with a majority of rooms, we make our
loudspeakers dipolar.
Dipoles radiate the same, but out-of-phase, waveform from the front and
rear in “push/pull” fashion. Thus, the sound waves from the front and
back of the speakers cancel out as they radiate from the sides and tops
of the speakers which means that there is minimum radiation of sound
to the sidewalls of the room.
The G7.1c uses the wall behind the speaker to give more depth to the
soundstage and “air” to the speaker without detail robbing room
reflections from the sidewalls. Hence, it has the advantages of omni-
directional speakers, without the disadvantages.
With fewer spurious reflections to confuse your hearing, the program
source emerges more clearly. Imaging is stable, sharply focused,
deeper and spacious. Transients are clearer and sharper.
4.2 The Transducers
The transducers in the 2-way G7.1c are all proprietary Genesis-
designed drivers manufactured to our exacting standards:
4.2.1 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 accurately reproduce frequencies beyond 36 kHz.
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
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ribbon/electrostatic designs, without the high distortion and poor
dispersion that is typically associated with them.
The G7.1c uses two of these tweeters per channel. One is front-firing
and the other rear-firing; wired to the crossover out of phase to the front
tweeter, creating a dipole.
4.2.2 Titanium Mid-Woofer
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 G7.1c uses a Genesis-designed proprietary 6 inch solid titanium-
coned transducer to cover this critical frequency spectrum.
Manufactured 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 G7.1c
to sound lifelike and effortless.
The stiffness of the titanium cone also allows Genesis to use this as a
woofer – hence, mid-woofer. It retains its low distortion, even on long
throw application needed in delivering the lower frequencies. Hence, the
solid titanium cone allows Genesis to develop a driver that is exemplary
in the midrange, as well as deliver the heft and impact of a woofer.
4.3 Crossover
We believe that the crossover is the brain of the loudspeaker. In order to
manage and maximize the performance of the extensive complement of
transducers used in Genesis loudspeakers, we spend more money on
the crossover than many other manufacturers put in their entire speaker.
Each crossover is designed by computer modelling plus years of
knowledge and experience. The inductors are custom designed and
made for Genesis with OFC copper windings. The capacitors used are
also custom made for Genesis, using high-quality polypropylene-film
and tin-foil. The crossover of each G7.1c weighs over five pounds
(2.2kg)! L/C tuning is employed to extract the most bass out of the small
cabinet.
More importantly, the crossovers are designed with many, many hours
of music listening and constant refining, tuning and tweaking of the
circuit. Out of this comes the “magic” that is a Genesis-designed
loudspeaker system.
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4.4 Vibration-free Cabinet
The cabinet was designed for aesthetics, but with an obsession to sonic
quality, vibration control, structural strength and rigidity.
In some parts of the cabinet where vibration would have been the
greatest, 1 ½ inches (36mm) of multi-layer bonded MDF was used to
provide damping, structural integrity and a rigid platform for the drivers to
be located.
Incidentally, MDF was chosen as the material of choice for its damping
properties and its consistency in hardness, density and rigidity. It would
actually have been cheaper and easier to make the cabinet of solid
wood, but that would have been a compromise.
Genesis designed a unique tongue
and groove joint in order to improve
the structural rigidity and vibration
behaviour of the cabinet.
Crystalline glue the dissolves into
the mdf was chosen to ensure that
the interfaces between two panel
pieces becomes as one. This
results in the entire enclosure
behaving as a single unit, with
seemingly no discontinuity in
material.
This results in a joint so strong that
when you try to rip the joint apart, it
isn’t the joint that would break. The
mdf would break apart first.
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5 Specifications
ꢀ Frequency Response:
50Hz to 36kHz, ± 3dB
87 dB, 1 watt 1 meter
45/250 watts per side
ꢀ Sensitivity:
ꢀ Min/Max Power (Tube):
ꢀ Min/Max Power (Solid State): 60/500 watts per side
ꢀ Input Impedance:
ꢀ HF Transducers:
6 ohms (Nominal)
Two Genesis 1” Circular Ribbon
Tweeters (front & rear)
ꢀ Mid/LF Transducers:
ꢀ Controls:
Two Genesis 6” Titanium Cone
Front Tweeter level, Rear
Tweeter Defeat,
Standalone/With Sub
ꢀ Inputs:
High-level with 5-way binding posts
High-level with 5-way binding posts
H 7 ¾” x W 23 ¾” x D 11”
30 lbs (13.5kg)
ꢀ Throughputs:
ꢀ Dimensions:
ꢀ Weight:
ꢀ Finishes:
Rosewood or Olive Burl shield
with European Maple body;
Corian shield with High Gloss
Black body;
Standard and custom
automotive paints
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