Genelec Sounds Great at Sanoma

13.12.2015

Sanoma is the leading consumer media company in Finland and the Netherlands. Through a broad range of services across a range of media platforms which include online, print, radio and television, the company serves multiple channels in the entertainment and learning sectors.

Based in Helsinki, the company has recently acquired a new building in the city. The new location brings together separate parts of the business into one state-of-the-art location. The project involved a substantial refurbishment and complete refit of all fixtures and fittings, as well as a new interior design scheme. There is also a new audio visual system in key areas of the building featuring Genelec 4000 Series loudspeakers.

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The history of the Sanoma business goes back to the birth of the Päivälehti newspaper in 1899 and includes many landmarks in its history including the more recent acquisition of SBS Broadcasting in 2011. In Finland, the company has undergone a transformation in its operations and the new headquarters is a reflection of the new direction in which the business is heading. With communication in its widest sense being an important part of the business, the company wanted to make sure that its new audio visual installation fitted in with its needs both now and in the future.

The fast-growing-Helsinki-based systems integration company, 4Business was chosen to transform this vision into reality.

4Business has a background in custom installation in the residential sector and has now grown its expertise into the commercial sector. This broad range of integration and project management experience was invaluable when taking on the Sanoma project, as Tuomas Immonen, Head of Sales and Marketing at 4Business relates: “We were really excited to take on the Sanoma project but at the same time, we were also aware that there would be some substantial project management challenges involved. The company was relocating from two buildings into this one new property and we were working to a tight timescale. This meant we had to make sure that everything went smoothly because as soon as the workforce moved in the audio visual system would need to be up and running without delay.”

The first task of the installation was to get in all the cabling into the seventy rooms which included a mixture of conference and meeting rooms. 4Business also installed ‘Through-Desk’ mounted AV connection boxes which were flush mounted into table tops to provide discreet, out-of-the-way storage. There are ports for a wide range of AV inputs and outputs as well as retractable cables for connecting a wide range of devices. The larger meeting rooms have been designed as large presentation spaces and there are smaller rooms for video conferencing and other collaborative work tasks.

Genelec loudspeakers are installed in seventy rooms throughout the building. This includes the open plan reception area which features a pair of Genelec 4030B loudspeakers to complement the large format display that provides rolling news and company content for visitors and staff. The area was also used for the cocktail party held to celebrate the opening of the building.

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Pairs of Genelec 4030Bs are also used in the larger conference spaces alongside flat panels displays. 4030B is an extremely compact two way active loudspeaker designed for fixed installations. As an active loudspeaker, it contains drivers, power amplifiers, active crossover filters and protection circuitry. The MDE™ (Minimum Diffraction Enclosure™) loudspeaker enclosure is made of die-cast aluminium and shaped to reduce edge diffraction. Combined with the advanced Directivity Control Waveguide the design provides excellent frequency balance whatever the environment. Each 4030B is supplied with an integrated amplifier unit, mains cable, a 5-pin phoenix connector for audio signal, plus a range of mounting solutions for maximum versatility.

“We have been really pleased with the performance of the 4030Bs in the larger presentation rooms,” says Tuomas Immonen.

“The sound quality is perfect for the corporate environment and even at high volumes the clarity is maintained. In the smaller rooms, the compact 4020Bs have also performed extremely well and the client is delighted with the results.”

In some of the smaller video conferencing rooms the 4020Bs are mounted in pairs either side of the display on specially designed, custom mounts. The 4020B designed for this type of challenging installation, especially where space is compromised. The compact and stylish Genelec 4020B active loudspeaker shares the same superior design as the Genelec 8000 Series monitors. Its controlled directivity allows it to be easily installed in all types of acoustic environment.

The finished installation demonstrates what can be achieved when companies at the forefront of their respective fields come together on a project.

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