Genelec monitors create an immersive stereo environment at Tokyo Music School

Models 1234A have been installed in the new campus studio, 1238AC and 1238DF in an immersive configuration 5.1.2, with 8351A coaxial systems for stereo monitoring.

Smart Active monitors (Smart Assets – SAM) of Genelec, brand that distributes Audio-Technica Iberia, have settled in the heart of Tokyo College of Music's new Nakameguro/Daikanyama campus (TCM). The goal was to provide students with access to quality recording facilities with monitoring solutions for a wide variety of spaces., both in stereo and immersive formats.

The highlight of Genelec monitoring solutions at TCM is located in the flagship recording studio.

“The studio is primarily used by students specializing in the Fine Arts/Film course (Fine Art/Film Scoring) within the composition program”, explains TCM professor Hideaki Sano. “The course focuses on composition, arrangement and interpretation, but practical techniques related to pre-production are also studied, studio recording or production, etc. The studio had to be able to record an entire orchestra, and since we have a concert hall and other large performance spaces on campus, we wanted the studio to make efficient use of these facilities”.

The studio had to be the centerpiece of the new campus. To ensure the best possible results, TCM turned to a world-renowned acoustician, Masami 'Sam' Toyoshima, to be in charge of the acoustic design of the studio. Meanwhile, The task of planning and operating the study was the responsibility of Mixer’s Lab.

The technology in the studio is clearly high-end, complying with the standards required by TCM. Solution includes Genelec 1234A SAM monitors, 1238AC and 1238DF in an immersive configuration 5.1.2, with 8351A coaxial monitors for near-field stereo monitoring.

To Hideo Takada of Mixer's Lab, The decision to use Genelec monitors was easy: “I have been using your reference monitors at work for a long time.. They work well with acoustic instruments, pop music and a wide variety of genres. It's a studio monitor you can trust”.

If choosing the brand was an easy decision, the configuration of the space was a totally different matter. “The university originally requested that the studio be at least a two-channel environment and be able to make high-quality recordings”, remember Takada. “But as the planning of the study developed, we considered that it should support surround. This is why we opt for 1234As as L/R, a 1238AC for the center channel, two 1238DFs for surrounds and two more 1238DFs as height speakers, due to the compact nature of the studio”.

For stereo nearfield monitoring, TCM Opted for The Ones Series 8351A Three-Way Point Source Monitors. “The good thing about coaxial monitors is that you get coherent sound”, Speaking Tatsuu Ameme, de Mixer’s Lab. “Un cierto sonido puede ser percibido como si fuera algo natural, and the center of the sound is not erased. “I can tell exactly where the microphone was placed and how far away it was from the instrument.”.

Reflecting on the qualities that Genelec monitoring solutions have brought to TCM, Sano is clearly very happy with his performance: “They have the same sound even when the playback volume is low and that is one of the benefits. And the fact that it has become the industry standard is the key to our choice”.

In summary, The equipment that has been used in this project is made up of two 1234A studio monitors, un 1238AC, four 1238DF and two 8351A.