Genesis V sounds uninspiring. What's wrong?

Jacquesplafond

New Member
Aug 11, 2017
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Rotterdam, Netherlands
Hello all; this is my first post on this great forum.
Some time ago I decided to get myself a pair of Genesis V loudspeakers (the original 1990's version with dome mid) because what I read about them was irresistible.
Unfortunately, I can't get them to sound proper.
Coming from a pair of Infinity IRS Gamma/Delta's, I can say that the sound (compared to those) is rather thin, a tad hollow and mostly uninspiring.
Yes, the stereo image is the best I have ever heard. Yes, they do go shockingly deep.
But I miss the tonal structure of instruments that the Infinities can produce. Also the feeling of 'being there'.
Besides, it seems that the Infinities integrate much better than the V's, despite the fact that the V's have a servo controller with built in amp.

What could go wrong here? I use an Audio Research D90 all tube power amp for the mid/high's. I know this amp for sounding very good on all speakers I have tried it on previously.
My pair of Gen V's seem to be in excellent condition with all original, undamaged drivers. The servo amp is overhauled with new capacitors and so on.
What did struck me is that there's only a very small amount of damping behind the midrange dome. Could this be a cause?
All your comments are more than welcome :)
On a last note: I did place the speakers in several positions and always on a appropriate distance from the rear wall. (Also, after experimenting, they are only about 2 meters apart.)
 

Kal Rubinson

Well-Known Member
May 4, 2010
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From my review of the Genesis 500:
"Occasionally, however, something would upset the precious illusion and the 500s would call attention to themselves. I'll take a risk here and suggest that the culprit is the midrange baffle arrangement. Genesis touts the 500 as a dipole from the midrange up. Technically this may be so, but the midrange driver is mounted at the front of a short tunnel. Thus, it radiates freely to the front while its rear radiation passes through the chamber. Close listening reveals that the rear sound is decidedly lacking in the upper midrange as compared with the front. I suspect that, at the listening position, signals in that particular range have a spatial signature different from those in the rest of the spectrum. The effect was to fool my ears into sensing that the innocent tweeters were too assertive, but careful tweaking of the level controls revealed this not to be so. "

Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/genesis-technologies-500-loudspeaker-page-4#O6rRJ482m81tqtki.99
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
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www.genesisloudspeakers.com
Thanks, Kal. You nailed it. The Genesis V is even worse than the G500 because the dome midrange is closed-back. So, there is no rear midrange radiation at all. So, I don't know why any damping would be needed behind the midrange in that design.

Also, Jacquesplafond went from the Infinities which have a ribbon midrange to the Genesis V which has a titanium dome midrange which IMHO isn't very good. Since the loudspeaker is now already reaching 30 years old, the electrolytic capacitors in the crossovers might also need replacing.
 

Jacquesplafond

New Member
Aug 11, 2017
3
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Rotterdam, Netherlands
Thanks Kal and Gary for your feedback. It is really great to find that people of your caliber are present on this forum.
@ Kal: I think your observations clearly describe what I hear as well. The mids sound as if they go through a tunnel, which is actually the case.
@ Gary: The dome mids have an opening at the rear in the center of the magnet. It is covered with felt and sure enough they do radiate at the back.
Do the crossovers of these loudspeakers contain electrolytic capacitors? If so, I will sure enough replace them.
I have the Gamma's back in place and even though they don't image as well as the V's do, the sound is much more pleasing for the moment.

Warm regards from cold NL,

Jacques P.
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
5,599
225
1,190
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
You joined the right forum!!

The Titanium dome midrange has a vent in the center of the magnet - not designed to radiate at all as it's a tiny 1/2-inch diameter tube. That's why you are hearing what you are hearing. The crossover has a couple of NPE's (non-polar electrolytic) capacitors. Replace them with modern equivalents.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Beverly Hills, CA
Thanks Kal and Gary for your feedback. It is really great to find that people of your caliber are present on this forum.
. . .

+1

Thank you, Kal! Thank you, Gary!
 

Jacquesplafond

New Member
Aug 11, 2017
3
0
0
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Thanks for the information, Gary. I will try to access the x-overs and change those aging capacitors. Of course I will let you know what I think of the sound after this make-over.
By the way: I read somewhere that the original Gen V was rated 5 stars by The Absolute Sound. That is still quite impressive, I guess. (Although I didn't manage to secure a copy of the actual TAS review...) I can't wait to hear what they're really capable of once the electrolytics are swapped.

Greetings from sunny Rotterdam
J.
 

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