Genelec 1234a Operating Manual
1234A
Operating Manual
Genelec 1234A
Smart Active Monitor
Genelec 1234A Operating Manual
Introduction
Congratulations and thank you for
choosing Genelec!
Since 1978, Genelec has been guided
by a single idea – to make perfect
active monitors that deliver neutral and
accurate sound in every kind of acoustical
environment. In Genelec’s quest for this
ultimate goal, our unrivalled commitment
to research and development has led us
to continuously develop innovative driver
technology, electronic circuitry, enclosure
designs and more. Our design philosophy is
based on sustainability and environmental
values, where industrial design serves our
products' acoustical performance.
Your Genelec product has been designed
and manufactured with care in our factory,
in Finland, using environmentally ecient
solutions to give you reliable operation
over many years.
Please take the time to read this manual.
Happy monitoring!
General Description
The Genelec 1234A Smart Active Monitor
is designed for neutral sound reproduction
at high SPLs in large control rooms. The
system comprises of a 160 litre enclosure
and a RAM-XL 19 in 3U rack mount
amplier unit.
The monitor enclosure contains two
305 mm (12 in) bass drivers, a 130 mm
(5 in) midrange, and a 25 mm (1 in) treble
driver. The midrange and treble drivers are
mounted in a Genelec Directivity Control
Waveguide™ (DCW™) which can be
rotated through ±90° for either horizontal
or vertical mounting. The system low
frequency response extends down to 29
Hz (-6 dB). The high frequency response
extends up to 21 kHz (-6 dB).
Digital signal processing in the RAM-XL
amplier unit is done with high precision
algorithms, and includes driver and
amplifier overload protection. The room
response compensations include highly
exible parametric lters, level alignment,
and acoustic delay compensation. These
allow accurate matching to all console
output sections and room acoustics.
The power amplifiers of the RAM-XL
produce 2 x 750 W, 400 W and 250 W of
short term power in the bass, midrange,
and treble channels respectively.
Delivery Content
The Genelec 1234A Smart Active Monitor is
shipped in a box containing an enclosure,
an individually calibrated RAM-XL amplier
unit, a mains connecting cable, an RJ45
cable and one Allen key.
Before installing the system, check
all items for damage and omissions. If
damage is found, contact directly the
distributor and insurance agent. If there
are any missing components, contact your
local dealer.
Cables
Each 1234A is delivered with the following
cable kit:
• One mains cable
• Two 10 m (32 ft 9 in) 4-pole Speakon
cables
• One 10 m (32 ft 9 in) RJ45 cable
• One 5 m (16 ft 4 in) RJ 45 cable
The 10 m cables are designed to go
between the amplifier and the monitor
enclosure. If you need to make custom
length cables for this, please connect the
Speakon cables pin to pin and see Table 1
for recommended wire gauges.
Amplifier Positioning
The RAM-XL amplifier is encased in a
standard 19" 3U rack case. The cooling
system circulates air into the amplifier
from behind, so that it exits through the
openings on the right side. Free flow of
fresh air must be ensured and the space
around the amplier must be suciently
ventilated to dissipate accumulating heat
so that the temperature does not rise
above 15-35 degrees Celsius (50-95°F). If
the system overheats it will stop operating
until a safe temperature is reached.
Make sure that the amplier is positioned
so that the monitor connecting cables will
reach. A space 100 mm (4 in) deep should
be left behind the rear panel of the amplier
unit to allow for the cable connectors and
air circulation.
The RAM-XL amplier is compatible with
mains voltage supply of 100 - 120 VAC and
220 - 240 VAC 50/60 Hz.
Operating Environment
These monitors and their RAM-XL
amplifiers are designed for indoor use
only. The permissible ambient temperature
is 15-35 degrees Celsius (50-95°F) and
permissible relative humidity between
20% and 80%. Humidity condensation on
the product is not allowed during use. For
instance, if the product has been stored or
transported in a cool environment and then
taken into a warm room, it must be allowed
to warm up to the ambient temperature
before connecting to mains power.
Aligning the DCW
The 1234A monitor is designed to be ush
mounted in either the vertical or horizontal
conguration. The DCW should be rotated
so that the treble and midrange drivers
align vertically. This ensures that optimum
stereo symmetry is obtained.
IMPORTANT-The DCW plate is heavy,
care must therefore be taken when
removing and replacing the DCW. To rotate
the DCW plate, proceed as follows:
• Place the monitor in its intended
listening orientation.
• Unscrew the eight M5 xing screws on
the edges of the plate using a 4 mm
Allen key.
• Carefully pull the plate a small distance
away from the enclosure. Rotate the
DCW so that the midrange and treble
drivers are aligned vertically (treble
driver on top) and remount the DCW
plate reversing the procedure above.
Flush Mounting of the
Enclosure
Although the 1234A may be used
successfully as a free standing monitor,
ush mounting is strongly recommended
for acoustical reasons. Flush mounting
improves the bass response and eciency
and also enhances the midrange transient
and frequency response.
Figure 1. The location of the acoustic axis.
>2.0m
390 mm
270 mm
700 mm
383 mm
890 mm
>2.0m
350 mm
660 mm
(13 3/8 in)
355 mm
(7 7/8 in)
(7 7/8 in)
The monitor enclosure has its acoustical
axis midway between the midrange and
treble drivers. This axis should be used
as the listening and measuring axis of the
system. (See Figure 1 and 2).
The typical listening distance varies
between 2 and 3.5 m (6½ and 11½ ft) from
the monitors. The monitor should be aimed
so that the vertical acoustical axes of the
two monitors meet midway between the
standing and seated listening position (1.4
m – 4 ft 7 in from the oor). This allows
the correct frequency response to be
received by a standing or seated person.
The monitors should not be mounted too
high as this increases the required vertical
tilt of the monitor and reduces the optimum
listening area.
The ceiling, side walls and especially the
rear wall should be acoustically absorbent
at low frequencies. The monitor mounting
wall should be acoustically hard and
therefore reective. The monitor mounting
wall should be angled so that the monitors
are correctly aimed. Great care should be
taken over how the monitor is mounted into
the solid and sturdy wall structure.
Figure 2. Monitor enclosure
mounting.
Figure 4. Eliminating discontinuities.
Figure 3. Monitor enclosure mounting
details.
(14 in)
180 mm
(7 7/8 in)
355 mm
(14 in)
180 mm
180 mm
340 mm
Figure 5. Recess for speaker cable
connectors (front view).
Cable gauge Max. length
2,0 mm2 (14 AWG) 30 m (100 ft)
3,3 mm2 (12 AWG) 40 m (130 ft)
5,3 mm2 (10 AWG) 60 m (200 ft)
Table 1. Recommended cable thicknesses
for dierent lengths of speaker cable
Note the following:
A space 50…100 mm (2…4 in) wide can be
left around the monitor enclosure.
Cover the space around the enclosure
with a facing panel, this should be xed
to the wall. Leave a gap of about 5…10
mm (¼…½ in) between the enclosure and
the panel. Fill this gap with a soft rubber
gasket to allow for possible enclosure
movement. Ensure that the speaker cables
can reach the rear of the enclosure. If a
light (e.g. wooden), but heavily braced,
wall is used, the monitor enclosure should
be mounted on vibration isolators with a
resonant frequency of around 2…8 Hz, to
prevent vibrations from being transmitted
to the wall and impairing the low frequency
performance. The space around the
enclosure should be lled with absorbent
mineral wool or foam plastic. The walls
must be well braced.
For a solid wall (e.g. concrete), the
enclosure may be directly mounted to the
wall without vibration isolators. The space
around the enclosure should be lled with
mineral wool or sand bags.
Discontinuities in the enclosure mounting
wall will cause diraction, which leads to
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