It was a most satisfying presentation delivered by Gary Koh, owner and designer of Genesis Advanced Technologies, yesterday at YY Audio Systems as he revealed some of the secret techniques used in his design of the Genesis Foxtrot speakers.
To start with, the grilles of the Foxtrot speakers are not removable…for a reason. Gary explained that he is using the grille as a membrane to generate sound. In other words, the tweeter, mid-woofer and woofers create sound waves which then generate vibrations on the grille textile to augment the sound. From what I can recall, the BBC LS3/5a also uses this technique and that’s why it is recommended to listen to the BBC monitors with the grilles on.
To achieve his goal, Gary had to calculate the volume of air in the space between the drivers, baffle and grille and its mass. He also had to choose the right type of grille material which is not as acoustically transparent as the normal type used in other speakers.
He said one can calculate only so much; the rest will depend on listening tests.
There is a tweeter at the back, but it is wired out of phase and it uses a different crossover.
The screws on the footers are not off-the-shelf types and are precisely manufactured for him so that he can turn it by, say, one and a half turns and know it would result in a certain increase in height in millimeters to enable him, or the trained sales personnel of his distributors, to adjust the height of the soundstage.
Even the width of the frame surrounding the grille has been chosen to be visually pleasing as the visual element plays a part in sonic enjoyment.
Gary played LPs on a TechDas turntable connected to a Gryphon Diablo 333 integrated amp. Other components included a Jadis i70, Wattson Audio Emerson Analog, Isotek and InAkustik NF204 RCA.
Most of the test tracks were slow paced to showcase either vocals or musical instruments. One attendee wanted to hear something more upbeat and up his street like a techno track while Gary picked a Foo Fighters track.
Suffice it to say that the Genesis Foxtrot could play these tracks with aplomb without missing a beat.
What I liked about the Foxtrot speakers was that the sound it produced was very balanced and cohesive without any segment of frequency awkwardly jutting out.
YY Sound Systems, the Malaysian distributor of Genesis speakers, is having a special offer. The Genesis Foxtrot speakers (normal price RM69,000) will be priced at RM55,200 while the Minuet speakers (normal price RM40,000) will be priced at RM31,000. This offer is valid for three months.
