Active At Home

At the interface of technology and art

The history of the world ' s best active acoustics began in 1978 with two associates of the Helsinological University, Ilpo Martikainen, and Topi Paratanen (Topi Partanen) responding to the friendly request of one of the employees of the YLE Philanthropy company, to make a few good active monitors for the YLE. Two weeks later, the first column was ready and given to the radio studio for testing. The storm ovations were released the next day and, inspired by success, Ilpo and Topi, they were enthusiasmfully collecting a second copy.
Already in these first hand columns, the ideas and principles that have become Genelec were clearly visible (and heard):
- It's an active acoustic with built-in ensemble for each dynamic;
- This is active separation filters with the possibility of altering the sound under the acoustic characteristics of a particular space;
- it's completely neutral, it's a monitor character.
Ilpo and Topi took another two years to develop a final concept of translating their ideas into a real audio-visual production, so that Genelec was registered in 1978 and the first pair of active monitors was established, now with the official name Genelec S30. Ilpo is the manager and Topi is the director of product development.

Ilpo Martyinen's postgraduate with his kid is a S30 acoustic.

Now is the honorary professor and chairman of the Helsinki University of Technology.

Triple active acoustic system Genelec S30. Several modifications were made from 1978 to 2006.

Start

The first small acoustic ceremonies of Genelec were located in the town of Iisalmi (Iisalmi) in the centre of Finland, in the basement of the house in which Ilpo Martyinen lived and worked in it for four people.
The first official small order came from the Italian company RAI (Radiotelevisione italiana), but the second was 340 grand from the Finnish YLE.
In the first years, apart from acoustic production, Genelec had an installing unit, which was responsible for the installation and construction of Genelec columns in the client ' s territory. The staff members of the unit included the Finnish National Theatre, the City Theatres at Rivaniemi and Kuopio (Rovaniemi, Kuopio), Tampere Hall, ZDF headquarters in Mainz, Royal Opera in Madrid and many others.