Leading Pro Audio loudspeaker specialist Genelec is inviting UK creatives who work with sound to try its SAM (Smart Active Monitor) system at home for 10 days, free of charge, as part of a new Pro at Home initiative, so they can explore its potential as part of their own system set ups.  

The active monitors are able to adapt dynamically to any given environment Using Genelec’s room correction software and kit – GLM4, ensuring playback sounds as accurate as possible. Designed for musicians, audio engineers, producers, sound designers, DJs and vloggers, Genelec is so confident you’ll appreciate using these compact enclosures as a sonic reference, you’ll want to make the change permanent. 

The Create with Genelec proposition has been a huge hit in the Nordics and the USA,  and is now being rolled out across the UK from September. 

Take up the Pro at Home system offer and you’ll get one pair of 8330 Smart Active monitors, complete with stylish RAW finish (more on that below), and a GLM room calibration kit with microphone stand. The whole shebang is delivered in a rugged hard-shell PELI case, you’ll also get a full set of interconnects. 

So how does the Create with Genelec programme work? 

In the UK, Genelec will deliver your kit to a participating Genelec dealer. You can register your loan request with Genelec here.

When a request is received, it’s allocated to a local Genelec specialist who will then manage the logistics, delivering a system to your chosen space. At the end of the trial, that same dealer will arrange a collection. 

If you’re in the USA, or the Nordics, things work slightly differently. Genelec will send the Pro at Home kits to you direct.

Genelec is encouraging users to share their Create with Genelec SAM trial setups, so be sure to check out the hashtag #createwithgenelec on Genelec’s Instagram and Twitter channels. Finish DJ Geoff Fitzgerald enthuses about the GLM4 room calibration software – “It really makes a difference!” he says.

 The Genelec SAM 8330A: What you need to know

Genelec’s networked Smart Active Monitor systems are tailor made for media creators. With an understandable trend toward more confined working environments, reliable audio creation becomes more of a challenge as acoustic problems become more pronounced and impacts the reliability of monitoring. 

More than ever, professional audio engineers need a monitoring system able to reproduce sound neutrally, without distortion.

The Genelec SAM systems are built on the same electro-acoustic foundations of the brand’s acclaimed 1200, 8000 and 7000 Series products, but offer a unique feature set for flexible monitoring. 

Working with Genelec’s proprietary Loudspeaker Manager (GLM) network and software, the SAM series can adapt to any acoustic environment, and automatically correct for levels, delays and room anomalies.

The GLM 4 software provides the monitor control backbone for all connected SAM studio monitors and subwoofers. More than 80 can be managed on a single network.  

Options include adjustment of levels, distance delays and flexible room response compensation equalization, as delivered by the AutoCal 2 automated calibration system. 

If you need to break a system down, or move it to another studio, that’s not an issue, as all parameters and settings are stored in system setup files, or saved in each individual monitor or subwoofer.

The SAM 8330A in particular has developed an enthusiastic following amongst creatives, thanks to its power and flexibility. The active monitor boasts 100W of Class D amplification, split equally between bass and treble drivers. 

The SAM enclosure may be compact, but it offers formidable SPL (104dB, 100 Hz to 3 kHz at 1 m) and has a deep LF extension (-6dB, 45Hz – 23kHz) . Its uncoloured character will ensure you’ll always make accurate mix decisions, says the brand.

Fashioned from recycled aluminium, the special RAW aluminium colour finish that distinguishes the Pro at Home packages is particularly noteworthy. It boasts the manufacturer’s Minimum Diffraction Enclosure (MDE) design, developed in collaboration with leading industrial designer Harri Koskinen. 

The RAW 8330A requires no painting, and involves less finishing than standard painted models, making it an exceptionally environmentally friendly loudspeaker, with a unique look and feel.  

Additional features include Iso-Pod Stands and Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW) technology.

Vibration decoupling Iso-Pod stands improve sound image definition. The Isolation Positioner/Decoupler attaches to the aluminium enclosure. It has four shallow feet and is made from special lossy rubber-like material. It also allows for a ±15° tilt of the loudspeaker. The resulting vibration isolation and damping properties reduce midrange coloration.

Genelec’s proprietary Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW) has been steadily refined over more than 30 years. DCW shapes the emitted wavefront in a controlled way, minimising early reflections and providing a wide and controlled listening area, both on- and off-axis. This makes the Genelec SAM 8330A ideal for small studios and near field monitoring.