Genesis 450XS User manual

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Owners Manual and Set-up Guide:
Genesis 450XS Loudspeaker
Contents
A QUICK START SET-UP GUIDE 3
UNPACKING 3
ROOM PLACEMENT 3
SET-UP GUIDE 4
POSITIONING 4
POWER CONNECTIONS 4
SOURCE INPUT CONNECTIONS 5
CONTROLS 5
TUNING THE SYSTEM 6
ADJUSTING BASS GAIN 6
LOW PASS FILTER 6
IMAGING AND SOUNDSTAGE 7
FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS 8
THE REFINEMENT STAGE 9
ROOM TREATMENT 10
MASTERING THE REFINEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM 11
THE TECHNOLOGY 12
THE GENESIS RIBBON TWEETER 12
28-INCH MIDRANGE 12
MID-BASS COUPLERS 13
THE SERVO-BASS ADVANTAGE 13
ALUMINIUM-CONE WOOFERS 14
1000 WATT CLASS D SERVO AMPLIFIER 15
CROSSOVER 15
SPECIFICATIONS 16

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A Message from Genesis
Congratulations! You are now the owner of one of the finest
loudspeaker systems in the world! Based on the technologies
developed for our flagship Genesis 1, the 450XS is our smallest
floor-standing line array loudspeaker model with three front-firing
ribbon tweeters and a 24-inch mid-range ribbon. Yet it delivers some
of the imaging and soundspace of our largest 7-foot tall products.
The Genesis 450XS loudspeaker system was designed to
reproduce music at live listening levels with virtually no restrictions
on dynamic range, frequency response, or imaging capabilities. This
is what we mean by “absolute fidelity”, the ability to reproduce the
musical event faithfully, as was intended by the performer.
Standing 57 inches tall, 23.5 inches deep, and only 14.5 inches
wide, the Genesis 450XS is a diminutive giant. By means of an
active servo bass, response down to 16Hz is achieved, and the full
range and impact of a symphony orchestra or a rock band can be
reproduced.
Please read this Owners Manual and Set-up Guide to get the
maximum enjoyment out of your purchase. Also, if you have access
to the internet, please check back at our website often. The address
is www.genesisloudspeakers.com. We will put the latest updates,
tips and tricks, and support for our owners on our website.
Please write the serial number and purchase details of your
Genesis 450XS here for future reference.
Bought at: _________________________ Date: __________
Address: __________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
____________________ Telephone: ___________________

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A Quick Start Set-up Guide
Now that you have your new Genesis 450XS loudspeaker system,
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.
Unpacking
Your loudspeakers will come to you in two large shipping crates. The
450XS weighs over 140lbs (63.5kgs) each, so we suggest a
minimum of two strong people to move the speakers around. We will
not be held liable for damage (to either the speakers or your backs!)
during unpacking and setting up.
Room Placement
A good starting position for your 450XS is about 20% the way into
the room as measured from the front wall (the wall you look at as
you are seated listening to the speakers) and six to eight feet apart.
You will want to sit ten to twelve feet away from the speakers.
6’ to 8’
20% 80%
10’ to 12’
Typical room placement: Place speakers about 20% of the
way into the room and 10 to 12 feet from the listeners

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Set-up Guide
Positioning
A good starting position for the 450XS is about 20% of the way into
the room as measured from the front wall (the wall you look at as
you are seated listening to the speakers). Start with the speakers six
feet apart. You will want to sit at least 10 to 12 feet away from the
speakers (eight feet if you have the space). We will experiment with
moving the speakers around later.
Power Connections
There are two connections you will
need to make to the 450XS. First, the
power cord for the built-in amplifier
will need to be plugged into a power
socket. A 10-foot power cord is
included with your speakers for this
purpose. We do not recommend
using an extension cord for the
450XS due to the high power
demands of the 1000W amplifier.
However, if you MUST use an
extension cord, use an extremely
heavy duty one.
Before you plug the power cord in,
please make sure that the voltage
selector is set to the proper
voltage. Taiwan, Japan and North
America will require the 115v setting.
Most European countries and other
Asian countries will require 230v. We recommend that you plug the
450XS into an unswitched outlet, or a switched outlet that will always
be left ON.
There is an on/off switch for the power amplifier. This switch should
always be left on. The built-in amplifier has an auto-sensing circuit
that will automatically shut the amplifier off when there is no music
being played for around 10 minutes. It will immediately switch the
amplifier on if there is music sensed.

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Source Input Connections
Connect the output of your power amplifier to the High Level Input
binding posts using a high-quality loudspeaker cable. Make sure that
you have the correct polarity connected for both speakers – the plus
or positive (red) terminal on the 450XS should be connected to the
plus, positive, or red terminal on your power amplifier.
The Bass Input selector switch should be in the down position –
pointing to the inputs being used. This is the recommended hook-
up, both sonically and for convenience.
Nevertheless, you may wish to connect the bass section of the
450XS directly to your preamplifier instead. You may wish to do
this if you know that your power amplifier may be deficient in the
bass, or does not have a response flat down to 20Hz.
If you do this, use a good quality interconnect cable to connect the
output of your preamplifier to the Preamp level input RCA
connector on the back plate of the 450XS. Using this connection,
switch the Bass Input Selector to the up position. This will bypass
the high-level input from the servo amp, and take the bass input
for the built-in servo bass amplifier directly from the preamp.
Controls
The knob on the upper left marked “Gain”
controls the volume of the built-in bass
servo amplifier. Begin with this control at
position 7. The knob on the upper right
marked “Low Pass” controls how high the
woofer will play. At the extreme low of
40Hz, the woofer will play up to 40Hz, and
then begin rolling off, or reducing its volume.
The recommended beginning position for
this control is 105Hz.
The lower left knob marked “Tweeter” is a
volume control for the rear tweeter. Turning
this control clockwise will increase the level of the tweeter. This
will increase the apparent space of the soundstage. Start with
this control at the twelve o'clock position. There is about a 3 dB
range for this control.

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The lower right knob marked “Midrange” is used to adjust the
level of the midrange. Start at the 12 o’clock position. Turning the
control anti-clockwise will make the midrange sound leaner, and
turning it clockwise will make the midrange sound fulller. There is
about a one and a half dB range for this control.
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.
We suggest that you start with a single vocal with instrumental
accompaniment because the sound of the human voice is more
easily recognizable than many instruments and is the least
complex sound to deal with.
Adjusting Bass Gain
Leave the low pass filter alone for the moment, as it should remain
set at approximately 105 Hz. This control will be addressed later.
Turn the gain control of the woofer amplifier up or down until the
voice sounds correct. Whatever controls you use, turn them up and
down only a little at a time (less than ½ a notch!). It is easy to turn it
up or down too much.
Concentrate on the mid bass regions (as opposed to the very low
bass in your recording) to achieve a natural blend. The voice and the
music accompaniment should sound as if it were cut from one cloth,
not separate.
If the voice sounds “thin” or does not have enough “chest” to its
sound, turn the woofers amplifier’s gain up till it does. If you find that
turning the volume up creates too much low bass, you will then need
to work on the low pass filter.
Low Pass filter
This control will lower the frequency cut-off point of the woofer.
Turning the low pass filter up to a higher number will extend the
upper bass regions without affecting the low bass level. Some rooms
may require you to set the low pass filter up to 130Hz. Do not be
afraid to increase this control to give the sound more body.

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Next, set the woofers using more than just a voice. Select some
music that you know to have good deep bass. Set the gain on the
woofers for a natural and powerful bass sound. Use a symphonic
piece of music if you can, or use a natural bass instrument for your
guide. Try to make it sound real. You may have to return to the vocal
to make sure you have not gone too far in one direction.
At this point, if there is not enough mid bass, turn the low pass
number to a higher position or, alternately, position the main
speakers closer together in order to achieve better mid bass
coupling between the main speakers. If it sounds too “fat” turn the
low pass control down or adjust the volume. At this point it is
suggested to use the low pass filter control until you get to the
refinement stage.
Imaging and Soundstage
If your vocal selection is a well-recorded audiophile CD or LP, the
performer should appear to come from 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.
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 them 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.
Conversely, if the image is too small, move the speakers apart.
The speakers should be no more than eight feet apart. Repeat
this process till you have it right. If the voice is too low in height,
turn the midrange control up (turning the knob clockwise) and the
image of the voice will move upward slightly.
If you have the speakers 20% of the way into the room, and you are
not getting enough front to back depth (the singer not appearing
behind the speaker enough) pull the speakers away from the front
wall a little bit at a time. If you do not have them pulled far enough
away, you may not have enough front to back depth. However,
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you want to go. Pulling them halfway into the middle of the room
is unlikely to help much, and probably make things worse.
Find the best compromise for your room, your tastes and your space
requirements. If you are not getting proper focus on the voice, you
may angle the left and right speaker up to about 15 degrees (toe-in)
towards your listening position until you have a properly defined
centre image. If the speakers are too far apart you will lose the side
image and if they are too close together you will have too small a
centre stage.
When properly set-up, very little sound should appear to come
directly from the speaker. Instead, the sound stage should extend
far beyond the left and right edge of the loudspeakers and they
should have tremendous front to back depth. When the recording is
close miked (when the instrument or performer is very close to the
recording microphone) the music may appear to come directly
from the loudspeaker. This is normal. Typically, however, the sound
should appear to be detached from the loudspeakers.
A simple rule of thumb to follow is that focus will be achieved by
placing the speakers closer together or farther apart, and front to
back depth can be adjusted by the distance from the rear wall.
Further, as the system “breaks in”, the depth and width of the
soundspace will increase and so will the “smoothness” of the sound.
Further adjustments
In some problematic rooms a resonance may develop at one or
two frequencies that is unnatural to the music. By moving the
speakers closer to the front wall or farther from the front wall, the
resonance may be reduced at the listener’s position. There are
no absolute rules concerning problematic rooms, so do not be
afraid to experiment with best speaker placement.
Ultimately, it is all about balance. You have a number of controls
at hand with which to adjust the bass response, the low-pass filter
frequency and woofer volume. You can also move the speakers
closer together (for better coupling), or further apart.

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The Refinement stage
After following the rough set-up guide above, you may not be
completely satisfied with the results. We share with you here some
of our observations in setting up these loudspeakers:
One rule of thumb you should always keep in mind. Make one
change at a time! Do not, for instance, change position of the
speakers and make an adjustment to the amplifier all at once. Make
each of these changes separately and note the difference - by
listening with each adjustment, then make the next change.
A common problem we find with many set-ups is a tendency to
separate the speakers too far from each other. This gives an
unnaturally wide soundstage between the two speakers, and creates
problems beyond the unnatural width of the center stage. The key
problem is a lack of soundstage information beyond the left and right
sides of the speakers
If you find that the sound is not spacious enough or you are not
getting enough front to back depth, pull the speaker away from the
front wall. This is typically preferable to separating the two speakers
too far, and will almost always give you better depth and soundstage
information. A word of caution, however. If you move the speakers
too far from the front wall you may lose focus.
Yet another problem is a lack of mid-bass energy. In order for the
appropriate amount of mid-bass energy to be present, the speakers
should be close enough together to achieve proper "coupling" of the
midrange driver and the mid-bass couplers. Coupling is desirable in
the lower frequencies from the mid-bass on down. This simply
means that the drivers on the left and right speakers "work together"
as opposed to working separately.
If you find there isn't enough deep bass, your first remedy is the
volume control on the woofer amplifier. This has several limitations.
First, turned up too high, you may get some distortion on very low
frequencies or you may overheat the amplifier.
Secondly, you may make the mid-bass at the crossover point
produced by the top of the woofer out of proportion with the mid
bass produced by the bottom of the mid-bass coupler. This would
tend to sound "boomy" in the mid-bass regions.

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Another good rule of thumb is to first set the volume control of the
woofer for proper mid-bass rather than low bass. The theory is that
if the mid-bass is correct, then the low bass should be very close to
correct. If the mid-bass is proper and the low bass is still not right,
here are some other suggestions.
A good balance between proper low bass extension and a deep and
spacious soundstage needs to be established to optimize your new
speaker's performance.
In order to achieve what the speaker is capable of we suggest you
focus your efforts on a proper balance of soundstage elements that
includes information beyond the left and right sides of the speakers,
front to back depth well behind the speaker, excellent focus of
instruments and voices with proper vertical information and mid bass
fill.
A Genesis loudspeaker system correctly set up, can and should
provide a soundstage that is wall to wall and with pinpoint focus, 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:
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 (the wall you face while listening) is treated or
not treated is important. Generally speaking, the Genesis
loudspeakers prefer a live front wall to a dead front wall.
By these terms, we mean the amount of reflection of sound. A
typical wall of glas, 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.
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