18
1818
18
absolute fidelity
the speakers disappearing completely on a recording containing
such information.
Room Treatment
No room is perfect. To optimize your sonic presentation it may be
helpful to treat your room. Here are some guidelines:
1. Front walls. This loudspeaker is a dipole and therefore
there is sound coming from both the front and the back of
the speaker. How the front wall is treated or not treated is
important. Generally speaking, the Genesis loudspeakers
prefer a live front wall.
By these terms we mean the amount of reflection of sound.
A typical wall of glass or, brick, cement or drywall material is
a reflective surface. A heavily curtained or sound proofed
wall would be considered a "dead wall" or a non-reflective
wall. A normal thin curtain across a window causes only a
small amount of absorption.
2. Sidewalls. Because the speaker is a dipole it is less
sensitive to the sidewalls. However, as a rule of thumb, it is
a good idea to keep the speaker as far away from the
sidewalls as is practical. With this in mind, it may be helpful to
add some damping material or diffuser panels to the point of
first reflection. This is a point on the sidewalls between the
listener and the loudspeaker. It is where the sound from the
loudspeaker first hits the sidewall, then bounces to the
listener. This reflection is undesirable because it is slightly
delayed from the original sound. This point on the sidewall
can be easily determined with the help of a second person
and a mirror.
Sitting in your listening position have an assistant hold a
mirror up on the sidewall. Move the mirror until you can see
the tweeter. This is the point of first reflection. A diffuser (see
your dealer), an absorptive material or even a piece of
furniture can help break up this point of first reflection.
3. Rear wall. In many cases it will be unnecessary to do
anything with the wall behind your listening position.
However, you may want to experiment with diffusers or