Genelec 6040A User Manual

International enquiries:
Genelec, Olvitie 5
FIN-74100, Iisalmi, Finland
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In the U.S. please contact
Genelec, Inc., 7 Tech Circle
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Genelec document D0043R001.
Copyright Genelec Oy 6.2002.
All data subject to change without prior notice.

6040A Active Speaker
Operating Manual

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The bi-amplified GENELEC 6040A is a two way
floor-standing active speaker with high output,
low coloration, and broad bandwidth.

As an active speaker, the 6040A contains
drivers, power amplifiers, active crossover filters
and protection circuitry. The Directivity Control
Waveguide™ (DCW™) technology used provides
excellent frequency balance in difficult acoustic
environments.

INTEGRATED CONSTRUCTION

As the amplifiers are built into the speaker base,
the only connections required are the mains supply
and the line level input signal, making the 6040A
very easy to set up and use. The integrated design
allows the amplifiers and the drivers to be
calibrated as a single unit at the factory. This
eliminates the effects of component tolerances
and ensures consistent quality.

DRIVERS

The bass frequencies are reproduced by a 182
mm (7") bass driver. The –6 dB point lies at 43 Hz.

The high frequency driver is a 19 mm (3/4")

metal dome. Uniform dispersion control is achieved
with the revolutionary DCW™ Technology
pioneered by Genelec, which also results in perfect
phase and delay uniformity at the crossover
frequency.

Magnetic shielding is standard on the 6040A
to ensure minimal interference with TV screens
and computer displays.

CROSSOVER

The active crossover network consists of two
parallel bandpass filters. Acoustically, the filters
are complementary and the slopes are 24–32
dB/octave. The crossover frequency is 3.5 kHz.
The active crossover controls (“treble tilt”, “bass
tilt” and “bass roll-off”) allow the 6040A to be
exactly matched with the listening room acoustics.
Variable input sensitivity allows for accurate level
matching.

AMPLIFIERS

The integrated bass and treble amplifiers of the
6040A both produce 120 W of output power. The
amplifier unit incorporates special circuitry for
driver overload protection.

SPEAKER PLACEMENT

It is vital that the speakers are correctly positioned
in the room as this greatly affects their perform­ance. To produce a true and accurate stereo image
the speakers must have identical frequency
responses. This is easy to achieve in an anechoic
measuring chamber, but in a normal room the
response of a speaker is always affected by the
way the sound reflects within the room, bouncing
back from walls, ceiling, floor, furniture and other
objects.

A good starting point is to place the speakers
symmetrically at the same distance from the front
and side walls. This minimises colourisation effects
caused by cancellation dips in the frequency
response and maintains accurate stereo imaging.

The distance from the front wall should be either
less than 1 meter, or alternatively more than 3
meters to avoid an uneven frequency response
due to reflections from the front wall.

If the speaker is placed close to the wall (<1 m)
this will boost the lower frequencies and the tone
controls should then be adjusted appropriately.

The speakers should be aimed toward the
listening position. This is due to the effect of the

DCW which increases the directivity. If the ratio
of direct sound to reflected sound is greater the
listener is then able to listen to more of the material
and less of the room effects. Subjectively this is
perceived as superior stereo imaging.

INSTALLATION

Each 6040A speaker is supplied with a mains
cable, a set of pads (attached) and spikes for the
speaker base and an operating manual. After
unpacking place the speaker in its required
listening position. Before connecting up, ensure
that the mains switch is off and the mains voltage
selector set to your local voltage. Audio input is
via a 10 kOhm balanced XLR connector or an
unbalanced RCA connector at the speaker base.
Do not use both input connectors at the same
time. Once the audio and mains connections
have been made, the speakers are ready to be
switched on.

REMOTE CONTROL AND AUTOSTART

The 6040A has a provision for remote ON/STANDBY
switching by remote control or automatic signal
sensing. Two pairs of connectors are provided at