Genelec takes it home - High spec residential project relies on Genelec

For some years now, Finnish loudspeaker manufacturer, Genelec, has been in partnership with a number of Finnish homebuilders so that AV planning is part of the fabric of the house and not just an afterthought. Incorporating AV considerations at the planning stage is a far more cost-effective approach than adding it later, and ensures professional quality audio with an immaculate finish throughout. A recent installation was for a client in Sipoo to the east of Helsinki, whose new-build property boasts a number of active loudspeakers from Genelec’s dedicated home speaker range specifically designed to bring professional audio quality into the home environment.

Genelec has been successfully serving the residential audio market for some years now, and for good reason.

The system was designed according to the customer’s wishes by Tomi Hyvärinen from AV sales and integration specialists HifiStudio in Helsinki – who also supplied and installed it – and Genelec’s domestic sales manager, Markku Syrjäpalo.

“The customer wanted a stylish, high quality background music system for the large open plan kitchen and living area on the ground floor,” describes Hyvärinen. “We installed a pair of Genelec G Three loudspeakers on the front edge of the mezzanine above the kitchen area. We selected G Threes as they are powerful enough to cover the double-height living area perfectly. Whether you’re cooking with friends or spending an evening relaxing on the sofa with a good book, high quality, detailed audio covers the entire space effortlessly, even at low levels.”

It’s a slick, high class, aesthetically pleasing solution that fully matches the quality standards of the rest of the home.

The potential issues arising from the large volume of the space and the number of reflective surfaces – namely the highly polished marble flooring and the floor-to-ceiling windows over two levels – are minimised by the fact that the whole ceiling has been acoustically treated with Konto acoustic panels, resulting in very moderate reverberation times throughout. The audio experience is continued outside onto the covered, heated terrace thanks to two Genelec AIW25 architectural loudspeakers in the ceiling. A Sonos Port streaming device in each area handles source selection and control.

The ground floor also houses a spacious, fully equipped gym for CrossFit workouts. A pair of G Threes controlled by a Sonus Port deliver high quality, high-energy audio to maintain the motivation levels!

Upstairs, another treat is in store in the dedicated TV/cinema room which has also been acoustically treated with heavy acoustic drapes from Karlevy, a Finnish company dedicated to the design and manufacture of acoustic drapes and fixings from natural fibres. The curtains mask the glass doors opening out onto the roof terrace. A pair of powerful Genelec G Four loudspeakers – designed for sonic purity at higher playback levels with greater low frequency extension - deliver flawless reproduction of music and movie productions, even at higher volumes. If required, the space may be completely opened out to provide sound for the upper floor terrace as well. As with the other audio zones, control is provided via a Sonus Port multiroom streaming unit enabling the sound from the TV to be streamed anywhere in the house – so you can still catch the hockey game whilst you’re making dinner!

“Genelec has been successfully serving the residential audio market for some years now, and for good reason,” says Hyvärinen. “Their G and F Series loudspeakers have been specially designed for integration into the home, distilling the very best of professional sound quality and minimalist Nordic design. The active loudspeaker design principle with built-in amplification makes installation easy – with no external amplifiers to worry about – and Genelec’s legendary accuracy means that audio reproduction remains faithful to the original source for a flawless listening experience.

“The installation becomes even more seamless when we are involved at the planning stage, as we were with this project,” he continues. “It means that any wiring becomes virtually invisible, and we can plan optimal speaker placement in advance. Full streaming capability is available throughout the house so the client can manage the playlist from anywhere, to any audio zone. It’s a slick, high class, aesthetically pleasing solution that fully matches the quality standards of the rest of the home.”