Quality costs, but it sure sounds nice

Genelec

In addition to a nice setup allowing visitors to Genelec’s booth to have a seat and experience its speaker systems first-hand, the company is also showing its smallest speaker to date – the 6010A.

So what are Genelec speakers known for? According to marketing director Will Eggleston, they’re known for reliability, sleek design and power. Designed for computer sound systems, workstations and other close-proximity listening situations, the 6010A is a desktop-friendly 7-1/8in x 4-3/4in x 4-1/2in in size. Despite its small size and intended applications, Eggleston said that people simply can’t believe that such a small speaker can create such a large sound. And the applications very much go beyond what was intended. At the show, some station engineers have even shown great interest in putting the speakers in their master control room, he said.

Each speaker features an aluminum casing; a 3in bass driver and 3/4in high-frequency driver; a field frequency response of 74Hz-18kHz (+/- 2.5dB); and a maximum speak SPL output per pair of 102dB. It also has tone controls on the back and a sensitivity switch, as well as a power button. The downside, if there is one, is that it only features RCA connectors on the back, because XLR connectors simply wouldn’t fit in such a small speaker.

To complement up to five 6010As in stereo or surround applications, Genelec was also showing the 5040A subwoofer, which features a single 6-1/2in driver with a 40W power amp; a frequency response of 35-85Hz (+/- 3dB); and the ability to deliver short-term sine wave of 96dB SPL. It also has six RCA input connectors for five main channels and LFE channel and five RCA output connectors for the 6010As.

Now to the price. Genelec tries to keep its prices competitive, but won’t compromise on quality, so the 6010A is running at $375 and the 5040A at $750, prices which keep them just out of reach of mainstream retailers in the United States, but apparently not in Finland where they’re selling quite strong, according to Eggleston.