8361A SAM™ Studio Monitor

From its much-loved Clash of Clans to the family favourite Hay Day and more recent releases such as Boom Beach and Brawl Stars, Supercell has become one of the most successful and profitable mobile gaming companies in the world. Now, Supercell have finally moved into their first custom-built offices in Helsinki – an impressive building named Wood City that has been designed from the ground up to represent the company culture and to encourage wellbeing and productivity. Nearly 500 Genelec loudspeakers have been integrated across the building, including some 300 Smart IP networked models.

Markus Haikonen is Head of AV and Broadcast at Supercell. “When we started to build the company’s new home, we needed to reimagine the spaces where we work,” he says. “We needed rock-solid AV project management, which is what Akukon did for us. We also needed a lot of help with the design, which Akukon and Audico did together.” Akukon are the number one acoustics and AV design experts in Finland. Akukon collaborated with AV solutions experts, Audico Systems Oy, who handled the systems design and integration.

We wanted the reliability and flexibility offered by the Smart IP concept.

“In designing these spaces – especially the team spaces and the meeting rooms – it was essential that they are easy to use, easy to monitor, and fit our needs. It also goes without saying that quality is really important to us,” continues Haikonen. “From an audio point of view, Genelec was an ideal choice, especially the new Smart IP loudspeakers. We’ve always been great fans of Genelec and use their loudspeakers throughout our offices globally, so it was a natural choice for this project as well. When we heard about Smart IP with its built-in DSP, we immediately saw that it would be a great fit for our team space and meeting room designs where there is no centralised DSP. We also wanted the reliability and flexibility offered by the Smart IP concept.”

Terhi Salo, technical specialist at Audico takes up the story: “Of the 500 Genelec loudspeakers installed all around the building, a little over 300 of them are 4430 Smart IP loudspeakers, while the rest are other Genelec active loudspeakers that have been repurposed from Supercell’s previous offices.

“Smart IP loudspeakers are ideally suited to large, complex installations like this because all you need to plug into the loudspeaker is one Ethernet cable,” Salo continues. “With that cable you get power, audio and the ability to control the loudspeaker and its DSP. Having them networked has been a huge help in configuring the system, especially during the commissioning phase when it was super-handy to be able to access the loudspeakers’ DSP remotely. For example, during the testing period, if anyone reported a problem in a certain area, I usually already knew what the problem was before my colleague on site got in the room!

Genelec was up to the task and helped us deliver a system ‘par excellence’.

“Regarding room setup and configuration, we have a variety of different spaces which required different approaches,” explains Salo. “For the Team spaces and the medium-sized Zoom rooms where the audio system is straightforward with just two Genelec loudspeakers, we used the speakers’ in-built DSP for EQ and volume control. In the larger rooms with more gear, we used Smart IP Manager to update the firmware of the loudspeakers, while everything audio-related is handled by the Q-SYS processor from QSC and then sent to the loudspeakers. The IP addresses were set up with a custom script created by my colleague, and the speakers were named in Dante Controller. Finally, now that the system is up and running, monitoring is carried out via the Genelec API using a custom Audico software.”

In the two largest meeting rooms, Genelec’s ‘The Ones’ coaxial three-way loudspeakers have been deployed as the main system, with 4430 Smart IP loudspeakers utilised for Voice Lift and as a delay system for the main speakers. A Voice Lift system uses a combination of strategically placed microphones and loudspeakers to subtly amplify speech, so that a person speaking on one side of a large room can be heard at the same level at the opposite side of the room – even if they're 30 metres away. Genelec systems also grace the main lobby, the gym, the cafeteria, and the staff entertainment facility. Many of the loudspeakers were subsequently painted in custom colours to blend seamlessly with the fantastic Supercell décor.

“I hope that in my lifetime I’ll get to work on another project of this quality, but I’m not sure it’ll happen!” declares Akukon’s Tapio Ilomäki. “It’s been a privilege to see it all come together. Everybody involved, starting of course with the Supercell team themselves, to the building contractor and especially the systems integrator, Audico, completely understood that whilst technical excellence is both required and expected, that’s not everything — it has to work visually as well. The aesthetic of the Supercell environment is paramount to their way of working and it was up to us to adapt to that. Genelec, as ever, was up to the task and helped us deliver a system ‘par excellence’.”

“It’s been a great project and we’ve been lucky to work with some amazing partners,” concludes Haikonen. It’s also been a long journey from when Genelec gave us a privileged first view of the Smart IP prototype, and then as soon as the first units were available, we started testing our design concept in our previous offices, right up to implementing it on a massive scale in our new building. It was a challenge for everyone involved but the results speak for themselves. We can all be proud of what we’ve achieved.”

La Casamurada has expanded its monitoring capabilities with a pair of The Ones 8361 three-way coaxial monitors. The residential studio has built its reputation on delivering a unique experience for artists that draws on all the acoustic benefits of its historic location, while also offering a thoroughly modern technical environment.

The studio itself is located in the former wine cellar at the base of a defensive tower in a 12th century fortified farmhouse. In 2007, Jesús Rovira, bassist and composer for legendary Catalan rock band Lax ‘n’ Busto, decided that the acoustics made the cellar perfect for recording, and set about creating a space that would give musicians everything they need from a residential studio, while also respecting the original fabric of the building.

“We use the new 8361s for recording – their primary use – and mixing,” explains Rovira. “We’re very satisfied with their performance; in fact, all the engineers who have been in the studio since the 61s were purchased have been very pleased, and have told me so in no uncertain terms!”

GLM is adept at correcting flaws in the environment in which you use it.

The flagship of The Ones series, the 8361 monitors were created to offer an exceptionally wide dynamic range, unrivalled directionality and imaging, and an SPL of 118 dB, providing true reference monitoring even at longer listening distances. The 8361 promotes faster and more consistent decision making, and also allows users to work reliably on longer sessions – because unnatural imaging, a main contributor to listener fatigue, is minimised.

“These new Genelec monitors tell you crystal clear what’s going on and how to resolve it in your recordings and mixes,” says Rovira. “The feeling of stereo and 3D depth is beautiful.”

To get the most out of its new system, La Casamurada also took advantage of the calibration capabilities of Genelec’s GLM loudspeaker manager software. To achieve the best results, Rovira worked with Roberto López from Audio-Technica, Genelec’s distributor in Spain, to ensure that the monitors were optimised perfectly for the acoustics of the room. “The GLM software is very useful and adept at correcting flaws in the environment in which you are going to use it,” states Rovira.

“The acoustic treatment in the room is excellent, so once we’d analysed the system’s performance with GLM all that was required was some very minor adjustment in the LF region below 100 Hz,” adds López. “Overall, the response is smooth and flat, and this combination of an excellent room and a great pair of monitors really does produce mixes you can trust. Jesús is planning to move the 8361s from the console meter bridge to floor stands, and then all that’s required is a simple re-calibration. The flexibility that GLM gives you makes life so easy!”

The new monitoring system has been called into action for numerous sessions in the first few months since the addition of the 8361s. The artists that have benefitted from the new set-up include Ciudad Jara, with the Santos and Fluren production team, Despistaos with Tato Latorre, a jazz production with the Joan Claver Trio, Los Telepáticos with Ricky Falkner and Jordi Mora, and Mi Capitán, a band that includes members of Standstill, Egon Soda and Love of Lesbian.

"I’m very happy with these monitors,” concludes Rovira. “In fact, I've already recommended them to quite a few people. Everything seems to indicate that it’s been a good investment.”

The feeling of stereo and 3D depth is beautiful.

Now, the famous London facility is leading the way forward again, this time with a top-to-bottom rebuild of its historic Studio 4 into a Gold Standard space for immersive mixing, complete with a scalable 9.1.4 monitoring solution based around Genelec’s ‘The Ones’ Smart Active Monitor family.

RAK had been having creative and commercial discussions about building an immersive space for a number of years, with Studio 4 always earmarked for the project. However, it was clear that flexibility needed to be a key factor so it could adapt to any project that came through the door. The space had to be a state-of-the-art immersive studio while also offering a world-class stereo experience, creating the multi-functional room that RAK needed.

“In a project like this, you either do it properly, or you don’t do it at all,” states Emma Townsend, Studio Manager at RAK. “We just had to tear the whole thing down and start from an empty shell.”

The decision to rebuild rather than retrofit gave RAK the opportunity to work out exactly what it wanted to achieve with the space, a process it went through with the support of Level Acoustic Design for the acoustic design and Studio Creations for the build. “From the get-go we knew this could be more than just an Atmos room,” explains Andy Leese, RAK’s General Manager. “We wanted a room that was a master of all trades, so that you could do Atmos or stereo mixing, or you could sit in there to have a writing session and collaborate. We wanted it to be a really nice place to spend time.”

Photo credit: Bennie Curnow

“From a design perspective we worked with the RAK team to balance a number of objectives,” adds Matt Ward, Technical Manager at Level Acoustic Design. “Obviously, the internal room acoustic had to be world class. We needed to dramatically improve the isolation, both from the street outside and to/from the accommodation above – which could be hosting producers and artists working in the other studios within the facility. Lastly, the room needed to feel like part of RAK, both in aesthetic and vibe, maintaining the natural daylight of the windows opening out onto Chalbert Street, and providing connection to the other studios.”

Finding the right equipment to achieve its vision led RAK to embark on a thorough due-diligence process. The studio’s engineering team spent time in various different rooms listening to monitors from every major brand, before reaching a unanimous decision to choose Genelec.

“We invited the entire engineering team to our London Experience Centre,” recalls Andy Bensley, Regional Business Development Manager at Genelec. “They were quite taken with some of the technology that’s inherent in The Ones – things like the very consistent and controlled dispersion characteristics, wide stereo imaging and the LF extension of the W371 adaptive woofer systems. Our ethos matched theirs in terms of how they envisaged working in this new format.”

The resulting solution features nine 8361 three-way coaxial monitors in the front and surround positions, with three W371 woofer systems extending the low frequency LCR performance. Four 8351s serve as the height channels, with a pair of 7380 subwoofers handling system LF duties. GLM software was employed for the main system calibration, taking care of in-room frequency response compensation, distance delay and level alignment. “The precision of Level Acoustic’s design and Studio Creation’s build provided the ideal foundation for the system to be calibrated,” says Bensley. “From the initial GLM measurements we were incredibly happy with the setup, and it gave us a fantastic starting point to refine the performance and ultimately deliver a Gold Standard immersive system.”

In addition to the Genelec monitors, Studio 4 runs Pro Tools via Avid MTRX and HDX 3 plus S1 control surfaces, and also features a Grace Design m908 immersive monitor controller and the classic selection of outboard that you would expect from RAK.

With the project complete, Studio 4 is now a cutting-edge space that still fits with the aesthetic of RAK while also allowing it to offer artists new creative possibilities. “We already had three absolutely excellent tracking rooms, but different clients prefer different rooms for different things. The one thing that we were missing was a really good listening, writing and mixing room, and that’s what we’ve got now,” reflects Townsend. “Everyone who’s been in there so far is really happy with the sound of the room. It sounds great.”

“We couldn’t be more delighted with how Studio Creations have realised the design, and how the Genelec monitoring system and room interact,” reflects Ward. “The point source design and close-to-ideal impulse response of The Ones series, managed with GLM, gives incredible three-dimensional imaging and detailed articulation to the Atmos array, and the W371 woofers provide a smooth and clear low frequency extension way down below 20 Hz.”

“We wanted to be able to represent all the diversity of everything that goes on at RAK, and it dovetails so beautifully into all the things we’ve got planned in the future,” concludes Leese. “It sounds truly amazing, and I think it’s going to sound better over time when the room beds in. We’re so pleased about how it’s all come out. The look of it, the feel and the location itself of the room in the building was always really lovely – and now it’s even better because the internals are just so well done.”

The recent renovation of JMC Academy’s Sydney campus has seen two of its studios equipped with Genelec Smart Active Monitoring solutions. The new studios needed to give JMC’s students the experience of working with high-end professional equipment while also providing the longevity required by educational institutions.

JMC’s Sydney campus studios were fully redesigned from the ground up by architect Shaun Carter and interior designer Julie Niass, from architectural firm Carter Williamson. The renovation required the multifunction Studio A and the adjacent Studio C to have both surround and stereo monitoring configurations. Acoustic engineer Glenn Leembruggen of Acoustic Directions specified Genelec’s ‘The Ones’ series for the studio redesign and, with the help of Genelec’s Australian distributor Studio Connections, was able to deliver a quality design solution.

being able to automatically calibrate the monitor to sound neutral within any given room is a real benefit.

Having previously relied on a pair of 20-year-old 1034As in Studio A, JMC was aware of Genelec’s longevity. Centring around a 48 channel SSL Duality Console, the design team opted for 8361A monitors to be soffit-mounted into the wall in the LCR positions, with a pair of 8351Bs straddling the console bridge as stereo nearfields. Supporting these are 8340As for the rears and a 7360A for the sub, resulting in a fully independent 5.1 surround system. “For students to work on post-production video mixes or record a full band, Genelec monitors offer an amazing sonic performance,” says Paul Newcomb, Business Development Manager at Studio Connections.

Studio C was ultimately fitted out with a pair of Genelec 8351Bs, also seamlessly soffit-mounted into the wall and reproducing every subtle nuance of the music being heard in incredible detail. “The music seemed to float mid-air like a transparent three-dimensional puzzle,” adds Newcomb. “Robust and durable, they were able to perform at their breath-taking best and sounded fantastic.”

Due to the diversity of mixes and applications in each studio, the design team calibrated the entire installation with Genelec’s GLM loudspeaker management software, fully optimising every monitor for the room and allowing users to switch between monitors and maintain precise control of listening levels in each studio. “GLM always plays a major role in the sound of the monitors,” Newcomb explains. “Each space is different, and being able to automatically calibrate the monitor to sound neutral within any given room is a real benefit. The flexibility to set up and store groups, settings and listening positions is extraordinary – Genelec is definitely in a class of its own with this technology.”

JMC have provided their students with a great opportunity to learn their craft using monitors which tell the truth, sonically.

The final result has impressed the team at JMC as they’re now able to offer a space that audio engineers and producers are happy to work in. The studios boast an inspiring, world-class atmosphere, allowing students to access real-world experiences of audio engineering and production during their training.

“For students, facilities like JMC Academy are often the first time they get to experience a professional recording environment,” Newcomb concludes. “JMC have provided them with a great opportunity to learn their craft using monitors which tell the truth, sonically. We’re confident that their experience will be a positive one and that working with Genelec will become a partnership that they can trust in for many years to come.”

We’re certainly more accustomed to seeing Genelec’s flagship Smart Active Monitor range, The Ones, gracing high end production studios. The list of accolades from producers and musicians worldwide who appreciate the extraordinary imaging, accuracy and transparency of the world’s most compact three-way studio monitors, is extensive to say the least. However, there is no reason that a private residence cannot benefit from the same levels of performance as a professional studio — and that is exactly what Jarno Vihonen decided for his Joensuu home in eastern Finland.

Jarno — a self-confessed audiophile — is no stranger to Genelec, having used them in his living room for years to enhance his movie-watching and gaming experience.
“A plethora of creators, from musicians to sound designers for video games use Genelec loudspeakers as the tools of their trade,” he explains. “Above all, I want to recreate that sound in my home environment and hear their work exactly as they intended it to sound. Genelec’s GLM calibration software works to correct the worst humps and slopes in frequency response that come with the peculiar shape of my listening space."

“My initial setup was a 5.1 configuration implemented with compact 8020B loudspeakers and a 7050B subwoofer,” he continues. “As living room setups go, that was pretty advanced for its time, although once The Ones were released, there was no question of me not investing — I upgraded to my first Ones setup with the 8351As in the L-C-R positions, plus 8340A two-ways as rears. Size-wise it worked perfectly for my living room space, and in terms of audio reproduction, it was a class above. However, when I met Pasi Pönkkä from Genelec through one of their ‘Calibration Tours’ he made it sound even better.”

I want to recreate sound in my home environment and hear their work exactly as they intended it to sound.

Genelec offers regular Calibration Tours in Finland for which customers can register online and explain their Genelec Smart Active Monitoring setup. A Genelec specialist then arranges a time to visit each customer to discuss loudspeaker placement and the room’s acoustics, before using their deep knowledge and extensive experience to help the customer perform some fine-tuning of their setup. “I found talking to Pasi about my setup, as well as others that he had worked on, very insightful,” recalls Jarno. “He was obviously very experienced in working with clients to get the most out of their systems in a variety of spaces, from home setups using The Ones, to professional studios for top recording artists."

“Pasi’s manual fine-tuning of the system’s GLM calibration settings yielded improved results over my own purely automated calibration, plus I also got some pointers as to how I might tackle some of the challenges that my asymmetric space presented.”

“Jarno’s unusually shaped space definitely warranted some special attention when it came to calibration,” agrees Pasi. “GLM’s AutoCal automatic calibration algorithm has been a fantastic tool for the majority of circumstances but when there are particular anomalies to overcome, as in this instance, a bit of manual tweaking can make a real difference. It also happens that some customers in home environments prefer a bit more ‘air’ or ‘flavour’ in the tone rather than a completely flat calibration — and so some subtle manual fine-tuning can also help in this situation. But, the new GLM 4.1 update — which features the next-generation AutoCal 2 algorithm — does a lot of this work automatically, so customers should find that there is generally much less fine tuning required now after the initial AutoCal calibration.”

GLM’s new, next-generation AUTOCAL 2 algorithm has contributed tremendously to the end result.

After the Calibration Tour, as Genelec expanded The Ones range with new models plus an upgrade to the 8351A, Jarno was tempted again, specifically to upgrade his front row of 8351A loudspeakers. “I had initially thought about upgrading to the same size of speaker, going from the 8351A to the 8351B which offered increased SPL, greater LF extension and additional room compensation controls. But ultimately, I settled on the larger, more powerful flagship 8361A which promised the ultimate listening experience. My aim was also to future-proof my setup in case I have the opportunity to build a bespoke space for an immersive system with Dolby Atmos and the like, in the future.”

In upgrading to the 8361As, Jarno also decided to tackle some of the acoustic challenges inherent in his unusually shaped listening space which features a double height ceiling in certain areas. All the speakers were repositioned, including his recently upgraded surround speakers (now 8341As) and the 7380A subwoofer. He also added pleated curtains to dampen reflected sound from some of the bare spaces in the living room, as well as some cleverly concealed acoustic panels to help with reverberant sound.

So, now that the new setup has ‘bedded in’, how does Jarno feel about the results? “At first glance, I thought the 8361As were comically large — any pictures of them don’t really do the size justice,” he says with a grin. “However, I’m used to it now so it’s less of a shock!"

“When it comes to the listening experience, I’m really enjoying it; the new speakers add a very substantial layer of nuance, especially in the lower frequencies. I’d liken the difference to running the 8351As uncalibrated versus calibrated — the low end was always there, but when uncalibrated it could sound overbearing in my space. I think beyond the upgrade in hardware (as well as the physical size of the speakers over what I had previously), the availability of more nuanced calibration controls on the 8361A model, and GLM’s new AutoCal 2 calibration algorithm, have contributed tremendously to the end result."

“Also, in switching over to the larger speaker, I’ve found my subwoofer doing far less of the heavy lifting, since I’m no longer passing the lower frequencies from the main speakers to it. As such, it’s now free to exclusively handle LF when playing surround media like movies and games, which also makes a considerable difference. I’m really loving what we’ve achieved here, it’s everything I’d ever hoped it would be.”

Thrilled as he is with the current setup, Jarno’s ambitions don’t stop there: his aim is to expand the setup further with overhead speakers for an immersive setup. “Video game developers are slowly but surely moving on from traditional surround sound to adopting Dolby Atmos for their next-generation titles. That’s my goal for future upgrades — although it’s one that I’ll probably put off until I have a new space to work with, though!”

When Fracchia was looking to move away from his previous 2.1 system at his mastering studio to full range monitors, Genelec was not originally a brand he had considered. However, having researched the technology behind The Ones and then hearing the monitors in action for himself, he was convinced that these would provide the perfect solution to meet his needs.

“My background is in live sound, so I know the advantage that coaxial systems bring to stage monitors, and reading all the positive comments about The Ones intrigued me,” recalls Fracchia. “When I was able to hear them at the CAPER show in Buenos Aires I immediately wanted to hear more.”

The stereo image was just amazing, and I didn’t need to listen to anything else to make a decision. All the information I needed was there.

Genelec’s local distributor Equaphon agreed to set up a demo of the 8351s at Fracchia’s studio so he could get a clearer picture of the capabilities of The Ones range. “Listening to the 8351s in my studio just made me smile,” says Fracchia. “The stereo image was just amazing, and I didn’t need to listen to anything else to make a decision. All the information I needed was there.”

While the 8351s were almost perfect, there was one issue. Fracchia works mostly with urban music and needed his monitors to reproduce the lowest frequencies at high levels, to remove the need for a sub. The 8351 didn’t provide quite enough low end for Fracchia both in terms of frequency range and SPL. As an alternative, the Equaphon team suggested the flagship 8361s. Having already heard the 8351s, Fracchia knew that the technical specs of the 8361s would be able to solve the minor issues he had, and agreed with Equaphon’s proposed solution, keeping the 8351s at his studio until the 8361s arrived.

The acoustic treatment that is already installed at the studio meant that Fracchia was less concerned with the calibration of the monitors. However, he has found the GLM loudspeaker management software to be a very useful tool. Since the mastering process relies on monitoring at consistent and well-defined levels, he is making use of GLM’s powerful monitor control features. “Controlling volume is an essential part of my work,” he explains. “So I connect a microphone to GLM so that I can get a real-time SPL reading of my listening level.”

The extra headroom in the low frequencies, the pristine stereo image and the wider sweet spot all provide clear improvements to my mastering work.

Reflecting on what his new monitoring solution has brought him, Fracchia is clearly very happy with his decision to invest in the 8361s. “The extra headroom in the low frequencies, the pristine stereo image and the wider sweet spot all provide clear improvements to my mastering work,” he states. “I am now able to perceive even 1 dB of difference at any frequency, and I can now work at high levels without distortion.”

The 1,700-square-foot studio continued a winning streak for subsequent owners and artists right through its acquisition, in 2015, by Matthew DeFreitas, who renamed it Bay Eight after an acoustical update by acoustician Ross Alexander. Most recently, the studio took another leap forward with the purchase of a pair of Genelec 8361A “The Ones” Smart Active Monitors™ in white. These two-way speakers include Genelec’s acclaimed GLM™ calibration software, which allowed DeFreitas to create distinct, highly accurate monitoring zones for mixers seated at Studio A’s SSL AWS 900+ console or producers seated on the couch at the mix room’s producer’s desk island.

The 8361s, which were purchased through Mike Harris at Harris Audio Systems in Miami, have taken what was already a great mix room to a completely new level, says DeFreitas. “We were looking to change things up a little, and people had been telling me how good the Genelecs sound,” he says. “So we went for the 8361s, and we demoed them for two weeks. We were getting great response from everyone who heard them, and the GLM software added a lot of flexibility to the studio’s workflow, so we went for it.”

As good as the 8361s sound, they also look great, which is no small matter in a design capital like Miami. “They look very cool — the white design option was a great move on Genelec’s part,” he says, noting how well they pair aesthetically with the studio’s vintage-modern interior, which fuses the studio’s history with modern design elements such as Aztec and contemporary-inspired accents, and custom hand-painted murals by local Miami artists Lola Blu, Ariel Cruz and Weiyi Fan. “They have the perfect look for Miami. And the perfect sound.”

He credits his versatility in part to his history as a bass player: “Being a bassist first, I think, gave me an advantage in my work. It trained my ears in a particular way, to hear the big picture, support the ensemble, listen to the drums and singer, and when to trim the fat, so to speak. And I think it also got me thinking in terms across genres, whether it’s jazz, rock, R&B, or something else. Not every producer is an instrumentalist first, but for me I think it’s shaped the way I approach this work, and it’s led to some great projects and successes in my career.” Recently his path led to a relocation from L.A. (where he was based for over 15 years) to Gallatin, TN – just north of Nashville, where he now lives and works in a 5000-square-foot state-of-the-art studio. And a key component of his new setup is his pair of W371A Smart Active Woofer Systems and 8361A Smart Active Monitors™ from Genelec, which he sourced through Vintage King in Nashville.

He recalls, “I had made the decision to move to the Nashville area, but the original plan was to move into a small setup where I could do just some pre-production work but do the real work at Nashville’s great studios. But this five-acre property came up in Gallatin, and I couldn’t really turn it down! Its previous owner built it, and he was a studio designer by trade. It’s a gorgeous space. And then tragically the pandemic hit, but I’m now fortunate to have a fully-decked-out space to call my own. I often work with a dedicated tracking engineer, and this setup is great for that. It’s my dream scenario.”

Elizondo has been a Genelec user for years, having previously relied on a pair of 1031’s for much of his work. So when he reached out to a trusted friend who has his finger on the pulse of the latest and greatest audio products, and the friend recommended Genelec 8361A monitors and the W371A systems for the new space, Elizondo did not hesitate to commit. “I ordered them right away, ‘sight-unheard,’” he laughs.

Other gear at the new space includes an SSL 4056 E/G console, a Neve BCM10, an Ampex MM1000 tape machine, an eight-track Scully 280B tape machine and an Endless Analog CLASP tape-to-digital converter. And the Genelecs fit right in. He recalls, “Initially, I figured the Genelec 8361A’s and the W371A’s would be my ‘mains,’ and I’d rely on a different set as nearfields, but I’ve ended up using the Genelecs for both applications. I remember when we got the monitors set up, and I brought up some of my go-to test mixes and favorite albums to listen to, and I just instantly felt like I was immersed in this music. The low end is important to me, and the low end felt punchy and defined and not at all muddy – I knew that what I was hearing was totally accurate. I kept on pulling up more records, trying to find some fault with my new Genelec five-way system, but there wasn’t any fault to be found. After several hours listening to different records, everything just felt great. And I recognized the feeling in terms of continuity from my previous Genelecs – this is definitely part of that heritage, but the next generation of it.”

Elizondo is particularly fond of Genelec’s GLM software and the AutoCal protocol, which automatically calibrates the monitors for a room and allows for multiple adjustable sweet spots as presets. “Currently I have three sweet spots set up in the control room that I can toggle between – one for my main position, one at the client sofa behind me, and one at a sidecar workstation, where I do some programming work on another rig at the side of the room. I can push a button, and it feels like the Genelecs are right in front of me no matter where I’m positioned. It’s a game changer. And with clients, to be able give them the sweet spot where they’re already seated – that can really help keep the flow of ideas going, rather than stopping everything to say, ‘hey, come sit in my chair and hear what I’m hearing.’ AutoCal is like magic.”

And he’s been putting the new setup to good use, with new projects from Lake Street Dive and Twenty One Pilots in the works, as well as a major country artist. “I try to put a high level of polish into everything I work on, so even if it’s at the pre-production stage of a project, it can sound like a final mix when it leaves my facility. The combination of the Genelec 8361A’s and the W371A’s really let me apply that level of professionalism to this music, so my engineer and I know that what we hear is accurate and will translate across different setups and speaker rigs and car stereos. I’m proud to be able to offer that level of detail in what I do, and Genelec helps make it happen.”

In many ways, the fundamentals of music production have not changed: writing a song, then going into a recording studio with an engineer and a producer and putting it all together. On the other hand, Tyler Costantino — TyCo, to his friends and colleagues — and his PNDA Studios, in Haddonfield, NJ, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, are emblematic of how music production has evolved with the rise of social media. The Full Sail University graduate and his partner, Kate Nece, who does video editing, have some of what would be considered traditional music clients, including several successful singer-songwriters. But much of PNDA’s success is based around TyCo’s astute understanding of how music and social media intertwine.

He produces and also manages several high-profile influencers — creatives whose talents are often less traditional but no less impactful on a digital landscape. They include Mark Thomas, aka Duhitzmark, who boasts millions of followers and was one of the first and biggest stars on the social media app Musical.ly (later merged with the wildly popular app TikTok), Nashville country/pop artist Dalton Mauldin, and JJ Hannon, whose Instagram account has 1.3 million followers. Tyco, knowing the influencer space on all social media platforms, has also used TikTok to market artists for major record labels.

Collectively, PNDA’s network of influencers has over 500 million followers and has millions of fans on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

TyCo’s studio is equally unconventional. A console was kept in place for a while after it was opened nearly five years ago, mainly as a reference point for new clients who might have been expecting a more typical studio environment. But the facility’s black & white design aesthetic and its spare, modernistic vibe reflect how music production has moved into an almost post-technological, software-driven space – the console wasn’t being used, so it was an easy decision to sell it to a more conventional studio space that would put it to great use. But beneath its minimalistic sheen, PNDA Studios is built to let creativity flourish, to let those who work there hear what needs to be heard, just as the best classic studios of the last century were able to. So the console may be gone, but one traditional element of elite studios cannot be sacrificed: state-of-the-art studio monitoring.

That’s where Genelec comes in. TyCo first heard Genelec 1031s as a student at Full Sail. “I fell in love with them immediately,” he recalls. “When it came time for my first studio, which was more traditional, I went with the 8050s. I stayed with those for eight years.” For the latest iteration of his workspace, TyCo continued with Genelec, but this time moved on to the 8361A 3-Way Coaxial Smart Active Studio Monitors – the largest system in Genelec’s “The Ones” series.

And while they offered him the same accuracy and authenticity that Genelec is revered for (as well as Genelec’s Smart Active Monitoring technology and GLM calibration software that adapts itself to the room), this generation of Genelec also satisfied his design-aesthetic needs, with a stark white-and-black motif that perfectly matches the rest of the studio. “I literally built this studio around these speakers, both in terms of monitoring and in terms of the look,” he says. “The 8361s give me the sound, the low end, that I need to mix pop and R&B records without the need for a sub. I can turn them up and not lose the sound quality. They’re the perfect speakers for what I do. And they look great.”