— Multi-purpose control room at the world-famous Peabody Conservatory had been plagued by uneven sonic response, but the 8260A’s ability to calibrate itself to accommodate any room design proved to be the perfect solution —

Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory, which has educated some of the world’s finest musicians and whose curriculum also has an extensive professional audio training component, recently purchased and installed an entire new 5.1 surround monitoring system from Genelec, the pioneer in Active Monitoring technology for three decades.

The new system consists of an L-C-R array of three Genelec 8260A Tri-Amplified DSP Monitors, and a rear pair of 8250A Bi-Amplified DSP Monitors. Both models feature Genelec’s proprietary AutoCal™ automated calibration, Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (GLM™) control network, advanced Genelec Directivity Control Waveguide™ (DCW™) and MDE™ (Minimum Diffraction Enclosure™). All five monitors are mounted on stands surrounding the control room’s console. The system is completed with the powerful and precise Genelec 7270A Active DSP Subwoofer. The Conservatory also purchased a Genelec AD9200A , high quality, 192kHz 8-Channel Analog to Digital Converter. The Genelec monitors and converter were sold by Greg Lukens at Washington Professional Systems.

The Peabody Conservatory’s Director of Recording Arts & Sciences, Scott Metcalfe, says he chose the Genelec monitors because they were the best choice to solve a perplexing acoustical problem in one of the school’s four control rooms. “The studio is used for recording, mixing and mastering, as well as recording live concerts from either of two performance halls we’re tie-lined to,� explains Metcalfe, who adds that the school’s studios record over 800 performances a year. “But the control room has problematic acoustical nodes and antinodes that we’ve had to contend with, and we weren’t in a position to do a major overhaul of the room’s design. We looked for a solution that could offer self-calibration and great sound. I explained this to Paul Stewart at Genelec when we met at last year’s AES Show. That’s when I first encountered the 8260A speakers and I was impressed with how they sounded and what they could do.�

Metcalfe says the implementation of the Genelec monitors has raised the overall performance of the control room. “In addition to being able to address the acoustical issues with its self-calibration, the 8260A’s are three-way monitors with concentric tweeters and mids, and we very much like that design,� says Metcalfe, noting that other studios at the Conservatory are also fitted with Genelec 1031A and 8020A monitors. “We’ve been very impressed with Genelec’s performance.�

For more information, please visit www.genelecusa.com.