A Visit to Genelec USA (Natick MA)

[Head_Unit]

I’m glad to read that they decided to treat centre the same as LR. I’m a firm believer of full range LCR, and consider the centre speaker the most important speaker in a surround system.

Amen, I dislike surround mixes with a weak center. A "virtual center" is just not the same-illusion instead of real.

 

[sarumbear]

Amen, I dislike surround mixes with a weak center. A "virtual center" is just not the same-illusion instead of real.

I have never seen a surround sound studio to not have a centre speaker. If a virtual works why not its not used at the studio?

 

[AlmaAtaKZ]

Thanks for sharing!
Here is a photo report from a 2017 visit to a similar facility (Genelec demo location) in London, UK.

London Experience Centre - Genelec.com

Our London Experience Centre is located in Fitzrovia, right in the heart of the city’s busy post-production community. We simply can’t think of a better place to showcase how well Genelec loudspeakers can perform in stereo, surround and immersive audio configurations!

www.genelec.com

HHB Group and Genelec unveil world’s first Genelec Experience Centre – HHB

www.hhb.co.uk

https://flic.kr/p/Yk7T7S

https://flic.kr/p/XnWQ4p

https://flic.kr/p/YBS5Cp

https://flic.kr/p/YBS5z8

https://flic.kr/p/Y1JhRU

https://flic.kr/p/Yk7SGU

https://flic.kr/p/YBS4R4

https://flic.kr/p/Y1JhgL

https://flic.kr/p/YBS5Gn

 

[sarumbear]

The London facility is more of a showroom than the US one, which is more of a single studio.

 

[Head_Unit]

I have never seen a surround sound studio to not have a centre speaker. If a virtual works why not its not used at the studio?

Some mixers avoid the center. Elliott Scheiner once told a story at a conference I attended how his first surround mix he put the unnamed artist's voice hard in the center. The artist HATED that her voice was naked so he never did that again. Meanwhile Alan Parsons said he believed in virtual center as in stereo...fortunately his surround mixes some years later have not hewed to that. Tom Holman gave a convincing demo: center, then left/right with levels adjusted to match. Does not sound the same AT ALL due to vastly different reflections.