Genesis G7 Owners Manual And Set-up Manual

Seven

1

absolute fidelity

READ THIS FIRST

Genesis loudspeakers in general are heavy and slippery. This is
due to the high gloss finishes that we put on the speakers to make
them beautiful and an object of art. They have a luxurious feel as
well as an elegant look.

The cabinet is solidly made of high-quality mdf and/or composite
material. Transducers have large magnetic assemblies and the
crossovers use large, high grade components. All this results in a
very heavy object for its size. We always recommend a minimum of
two people to unpack, move around, and set up the Genesis 7.2f.

Your speakers will come wrapped in a fabric “sock” inside a double­corrugated cardboard carton. Examine the carton for shipping
damage. Dented corners are an indication of something having
gone wrong during shipping.

Lift the speaker in its sock out of the shipping carton. Do NOT just
grab the sock to lift the loudspeaker. The sock is to protect finish,
not a sack to lift the speaker with. It may tear! Be careful that you
do not inadvertently put a finger through a driver and dent a cone.

Examine all the foam inserts as the speaker grills may be hidden
away in a recess. A power cord is also included with each
loudspeaker.

Collapse the shipping carton, and store it in a safe, dry place
together with the sock and the foam inserts. You will need this if
you need to ship the speakers in the future.

Read this owner’s manual, fill in your warranty registration, and get

started.

ver 2.0

2

absolute fidelity

Owners Manual and Set-up Guide:

Genesis 7.2 floor-standing loudspeaker

Contents

1 A QUICK START SET-UP GUIDE 4

1.1 UNPACKING 4

1.2 PLACEMENT 4

1.3 CONNECTIONS 5

1.4 ADJUSTMENTS 5

2 SETTING UP AS STEREO PAIR 7

2.1 POSITIONING 7

2.2 LOUDSPEAKER CONTROLS 7

2.2.1 TWEETER CONTROL 7

2.2.2 BASS GAIN 8

2.2.3 TWEETER DEFEAT 8

2.3 TUNING THE SYSTEM 9

2.4 ONE CHANGE AT A TIME 9

2.5 IMAGING AND SOUNDSTAGE 9

2.6 DEFINING THE SOUNDSTAGE 11

2.7 ROOM TREATMENT 11

2.8 MASTERING THE REFINEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM 12

3 SETTING UP: MULTI-CHANNEL 14

3.1 POSITIONING AS MAIN LEFT/RIGHT CHANNEL 14

3.2 POSITIONING FOR SURROUND CHANNEL 14

3.3 THE CENTER CHANNEL 14

4 THE TECHNOLOGY USED 15

4.1 DIPOLAR CONFIGURATION 15

4.2 THE SERVO-BASS ADVANTAGE 15

4.3 THE TRANSDUCERS 17

4.3.1 THE GENESIS RIBBON TWEETER 17

4.3.2 TITANIUM MID-WOOFER 17

4.3.3 ALUMINIUM-CONE WOOFER 18

4.4 CROSSOVER 19

4.5 THE ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION 19

4.6 VIBRATION-FREE CABINET 20

5 SPECIFICATIONS 22

ver 2.0

3

absolute fidelity

Please write the serial number and purchase details of your Genesis 7f here
for future reference.

Purchased from: _____________________ Date: __________

A Message from Genesis

Congratulations! You are now the owner of one of the finest
loudspeakers in the world. The first Genesis 7 floor-standing tower
loudspeaker, the G7.1f, won the prestigious Best of Innovations
Design and Engineering award with the highest scores in its
category. This award recognizes outstanding design and
engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics products and is
sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association of the USA
and endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society of America. The
G7.2f that you now own is an evolutionary improvement over its
predecessor.

The G7.2f is designed to be as flexible as possible. It can be used
as a pair of audiophile stereo loudspeakers or, in a multi-channel
system. It features the world’s first solid titanium cone mid-woofer
from the G7.1f improved for the G7.2f with even lower moving­mass for greater dynamics. The G7f also shares technologies
developed for our flagship Genesis 1 loudspeaker system.

So that it will fit into the décor of any home, the cabinet design is a
combination of acoustic, furniture, interior design and architectural
principles.

Sound structural engineering principles have been applied to make
the G7f cabinet rigid and well damped. The construction ensures
that the cabinet is the best environment on which to mount the
transducers. This results in low cabinet coloration, and excellent
soundstaging and imaging. Classic Greek proportions are used for
the cabinet so that it would be visually pleasing and elegant.

Please read this Owners Manual and Set-up Guide to get the
maximum enjoyment out of your purchase. Also, check out our
website at www.genesisloudspeakers.com for the latest updates,
tips & tricks, and support for our owners.

ver 2.0

4

absolute fidelity

1 A Quick Start Set-up Guide

Now that you have your new Genesis 7f loudspeaker, we realize that
you can’t wait to hook it up and start playing! However, please read this
quick set-up guide (even if your dealer is setting it up for you) before you
proceed.

1.1 Unpacking

Your loudspeakers will come to you in two shipping cartons weighing
nearly 100lbs (45 kgs) each. Care must be taken when moving the
carton around, and taking the speaker out of the carton. While the
speaker is not large, it is slippery and heavy for its size.

We will not be held liable for damage to either the speakers or your
backs during unpacking and setting up. So, enlist a friend to help!!

Place the carton flat on the floor. It should be obvious which side should
be up. Open the flaps, remove the accessible foam panels and lift the
speaker with out of the carton. Be careful as you may inadvertently
damage the drivers if the cabinet slips and you grab at it and put a finger
into the drivers. Do not try to lift the cabinet by the shield or the acoustic
suspension frame (it is not a handle!). Hold the speaker cabinet (but be
careful not to dent the rear tweeter).

Long spike screws are provided on each corner of the acoustic
suspension to make it easy to adjust the height and alignment of the
loudspeakers. The provided spikes are screwed in all the way for
shipping. Un-screw them up until you can just feel the point at the other
end of the threaded hole with your fingertips. This will make positioning
of the loudspeaker far easier.

A second set of shorter spikes with hole covers are provided which give
you a much better cosmetic appearance. These should be used only
after you have completed set-up and fine-tuning.

Flatten the cartons and put them away together with the foam inserts.
You will need them if you decide to transport the speakers in future.

1.2 Placement

As a stereo pair of speakers, a good starting position for your G7f is
at least 18 inches (45cm) into the room as measured from the front wall
(the wall you look at as you are seated listening to the speakers) to the
back of the speakers, and about six feet (1.8 metres) apart. Point the
loudspeakers straight ahead with no toe-in.

ver 2.0

5

absolute fidelity

You will want to sit eight to twelve feet (2.5 to 3.5 metres) away from the
speakers. When sitting further away, you should place the speakers
slightly further apart. When sitting nearer the speakers, move the
speakers closer together or toe them in by a tiny bit – 1 to 3 degrees and
no more. Once you have the speakers about where you want them,

screw the spikes down to “ground” the speakers. You will want to barely

lift the speakers off the surface on which they are sitting. There should
be only about 1/8” (3mm) between the bottom of the suspension frame
and the carpet or floor.

1.3 Connections

The speakers should be connected directly to the speaker-level
output of your power amplifiers using high quality speaker
cables between the power amplifier and the 5-way binding
posts labelled HIGH LEVEL INPUT.

The IEC power inlet supplies power to the built-in servo­controlled bass amplifier. This needs to be plugged into a wall
outlet using the supplied power cord (or we recommend the
Absolute Fidelity Amplifier Power Interface cable). Check that
the voltage select switch is correctly set before plugging the
power cord in.

If a power conditioner is used, please ensure that it is a high­power, non-current limiting one.

1.4 Adjustments

Don’t be too worried with all the knobs and switches on the
back of the G7f. A good starting point is to set the tweeter level

knob and the bass gain knob to the 12 o’clock position pointing

straight up. This is the nominally flat position, and it will work
well in most cases, in most rooms.

If you have at least 8 inches (20cm) of space between the
back of the speaker and the wall, the rear tweeter should be

left ON. Otherwise, turn the rear tweeter off with the tweeter defeat
switch on the back panel.

The G7f will sound great, straight out of the box. As you play your
system for the next few hundred hours, the speaker will settle down and
“break-in” and begin to sound even better. Before the speaker breaks-in,
the drivers will be tight, and the woofer may clip with very bass heavy
music when played loud. If this happens, back off a bit on the volume of
your music, or reduce the gain of the built-in bass amplifier until the
woofer suspension breaks in (about 400 hours).

ver 2.0

6

absolute fidelity

If you play a lot of commercially mixed pop or rock recordings, you may
also find that a lot of these have a rising response in the bass because
they are not expected to be played on audiophile loudspeakers with a
flat frequency response. The mastering or recording engineer puts a
boost to the bass frequencies so that they sound good on speakers that
roll off the bass frequencies. On the G7f, you may find that these tracks

“bottom out” the woofers. If it happens only occasionally, it will not

damage the woofers, but long-term exposure will cause the woofer to
prematurely break down, and the sound of the amplifier clipping to
protect the woofer can be scary on first listen.

If this happens much, you will have to reduce the bass gain on the built­in bass amplifier. Once you familiarize yourself with the G7f’s
performance, putting a little bit of additional effort into tuning the speaker
properly for your room and system will give you great long-term
enjoyment and benefits.

1.5 A Word About Grills and Spikes

The grills of the G7f have been engineered to intrude minimally on the
sound. Moreover, the tweeter control allows you to almost completely
overcome the “sound” of the grills. The cover for the woofer does not
affect the sound and should not be removed.

The front grill will “snap” on magnetically, and hence even without the
grills on, you are not presented with ugly post holes on the face of the
loudspeaker. Nevertheless, we encourage you to listen to the G7f with
the grills on. They look better, and at the same time, it will keep little
fingers away from the drivers.

The long spike screws provide an easy means to adjust the height and
tilt of the G7f. They are also long enough to securely spike the speakers
through deep pile carpet. A second set of shorter spikes is also provided
together with a hex key for easy adjustment.

Hole covers are supplied for a much neater
cosmetic. These need to be pressed on firmly, and
this should be done only after all adjustments and
fine tuning is completed.

ver 2.0

7

absolute fidelity

2 Setting up as Stereo Pair

2.1 Positioning

Used as a stereo pair, the G7f should be placed at least 18 inches
(0.45m) into the room as measured from the front wall (the wall you look
at as you are seated listening to the speakers), to the back of the
speaker.

Start with the speakers about six feet (1.8m) apart with the tweeters
placed closest together and the woofers firing outwards. Do not toe-in
the speaker as they perform best when firing straight ahead.

You will want to sit 8 to 12 feet (2.5 to 3.5 metres) away from the
speakers (if you have the space). We will experiment with moving the
speakers around later.

As these speakers are dipolar in the high frequencies, they are pretty
room-friendly and you are free to move the speakers closer to, or further
away from the front and side walls. We do recommend, however, that
you give the speakers a little bit of breathing space behind them, so

don’t push them up too tight against the wall.
If you have the speakers too close to the front wall, you will

find that the image depth is not as good - the soundstage
becomes a little two-dimensional. If you have the space to
move the speakers away from the wall, do so. You will be
rewarded with the deep, broad soundstage that this
loudspeaker is capable of.

You should be able to “see” the soundstage behind, as well

as in front of, the loudspeakers. The sound stage will also
extend outside the left and right sides of the speakers when
they are properly set-up.

2.2 Loudspeaker Controls

2.2.1 Tweeter Control

The knob marked TWEETER on the plate on the back of the
speaker tailors the high-frequency response of the G7f. It is a
subtle control with only a +/-2.5 dB range, but it can make a
great difference in gaining that last bit of additional
performance in tuning your speakers for the room in which
you are using them. It can turn your system from very good to
exceptional, so take the time to work through this process.

ver 2.0

8

absolute fidelity

Turning this control clockwise will increase the level of the front tweeter.
Use this control if you need a bit more treble in a highly absorbent room,
or to increase the apparent space of the soundstage. Too high a tweeter
level, and you will feel that crashing cymbals are leaping out at you, and
nylon-stringed classical guitars sound like steel-stringed acoustic guitars.
Start with this control at the “nominal flat” 12 o'clock position.

2.2.2 Bass Gain

The BASS GAIN knob is unique to Genesis, and it controls the gain in the
built-in servo-controlled bass amplifier. It allows you tune the bass
performance of the G7f into your system, and your room. As you rotate
the knob clockwise, it will give you more bass.

Again, the 12 o’clock position is the “nominal flat” response and can be

used in most rooms. When you move the speakers closer to walls and
corners, you will find that you need less gain in the bass. When you
move the speakers further out in the room, you will need more gain in
the bass.

The sweet spot for this control is about 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock. Go beyond
4 o’clock at your own risk. Some malicious “speaker killer” tracks could

damage your woofer as the built-in amplifier is far more powerful than an
8-inch woofer needs in order to give a snappy and dynamic response.

We do this in order to give the speaker the speed and dynamics that is
the hallmark of the “Genesis sound”. Just like a sports car with 800
horsepower, if indiscriminately used, having so much power also means
that you could do damage to yourself and your neighbors.

We have resisted putting in power limiters or speed limiters in the bass
amplifier as we found that speed, dynamics, and transparency are
compromised. An over-load current limiter built into the amplifier chops
current off to protect the woofer’s voicecoil from melt-down but it is still
possible to damage the woofer with long, sustained and high levels of
bass.

2.2.3 Tweeter Defeat

The optimal way to use these speakers as a stereo pair is to leave the
rear tweeters on, and run them as dipole and at least 18-inches from the
front wall. However, in some cases, this may not be possible. Should the
speakers have to be placed with their backs less than 12 inches from
the wall, the rear tweeters should be turned off.

With the rear tweeter turned off, the G7f will also behave as standard,
sealed-box point source loudspeakers.

ver 2.0

9

absolute fidelity

2.3 Tuning the system

Music is the best way to begin your set-up procedure. We suggest that
video sources be used only after you have set-up the system to properly
reproduce music. There is no “perfect” setting for the G7f. Every
listening room is different, and we recommend that you take the time to
carefully tune the system for the environment in which it is placed.

Your Genesis loudspeakers should sound great straight out of the box. If
you don’t like the sound, several hundred hours of breaking-in will not
change the sound of your speakers, although it may break-in your ears!
Unfortunately, the extreme transparency of the G7f may highlight
deficiencies up the reproduction chain.

2.4 One Small Change at a Time

One rule of thumb that you should always keep in mind: Make one
change at a time! Do not, for instance, change position of the speakers
and make adjustments to the tweeter and bass all at once. Make each
of these changes separately and note the difference - by listening with
each adjustment - then make the next change.

When you make adjustments, make only small changes. For example,

when locking in the “image” and tonality, move the speakers about ¼”

(5mm) at a time. Changes to the tweeter and bass level should be less
than a “notch”.

2.5 Imaging and Soundstage

We suggest that you start with a single vocal with simple instrumental
accompaniment because the sound of the human voice is more easily
recognizable than many instruments and is a less complex sound to
deal with. Use a good recording that you know has atmosphere and
low bass content.

The performer should appear to be positioned behind the loudspeakers
and be at the appropriate height for a standing person. If it is not, there
are several remedies that will address this shortfall.

If the vocal appears to be larger than life, you should first check the
system volume. Is it a volume that would be appropriate for
someone actually singing in your room? If there is too much volume
the artist will appear too big and the opposite is true for too little
volume. If the volume is set correctly and the image is still too big,
place the speakers closer together and re-listen. Place the speakers
no less than 5 feet apart. If the image is still too big, toe the
speakers in a slight amount.

ver 2.0