Genelec Oy is a manufacturer of active loudspeaker systems based in Iisalmi, Finland. It designs and produces products for professional studio recording, mixing and mastering applications, broadcast, and movie production. The company was co-founded by the late Ilpo Martikainen (1947–2017) and Topi Partanen in 1978.
History
Early history
Genelec began operations to meet the needs of Finland's national public-broadcasting company YLE. YLE was building a new radio house in Pasila, Helsinki. Juhani Borenius, who worked for YLE as an acoustician, asked his friends at a postgraduate acoustics seminar if they could make an active monitoring speaker. Ilpo Martikainen and Topi Partanen had the first sample in two weeks. The prototype was promising enough to raise serious interest. In 1978, after two years of research and development, the company opened for business with their first speaker, the S30. The company moved immediately from Helsinki to Iisalmi, in the center of Finland. The first facilities were in Satamakatu, in the basement of an apartment building where Martikainen lived.
The first order went to RAI in Italy, the second to YLE in Finland. Four people worked for the company at the time, so YLE's order for 340 pieces gave work for one year. The company also began providing sound reinforcement contracting services.
Sound reinforcement contracting was half of the business. Genelec installed systems in many drama theatres in Finland—including the National Theatre, city theatres in Rovaniemi and Kuopio, the congress hall of the new cardiologic hospital in Moscow, the Moscow Circus, and two recording vans for YLE. The last contract job was Tampere Hall and the last audio system supplied went to the Royal Opera in Madrid.
The decision to quit the sound reinforcement business in 1989 was crucial for the future of Genelec. There was no financial need to leave contracting, but the company wanted to be known as a manufacturer.
Every year production quantities grew, as did the number of employees. In 1981 Genelec delivered active monitors to ZDF’s new control rooms in Mainz. The facilities in Satamakatu became too small. In 1983, Genelec moved to a lot next to lake Porovesi at Luuniemi.
International business
The export of speakers has increased exports over the years. In 1980, Genelec exported 20% of production, in 1984 80%, and on into the 1990s exports peaked at 95%. In 2000's export of Genelec has settled around 90%. The first export countries were Italy, the Nordic countries, Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Great Britain. In 1986 Japan was added.
As the export trade has grown, the degree of domestic added value of the products has remained around 80%. The 77th AES convention in Hamburg in 1985 was a turning point for Genelec. They introduced the 1022A and displayed a whole family of speakers: Biamp 1019A mini monitor, broadcasting monitors S30 and 1022A, and music monitors 1024B and 1025A. By 1985, Genelec produced 12 models. They also made sound reinforcement and passive Hi-Fi speakers for the domestic market. The passive Biway 1050A and Triway 1051A were in production in 1980–1982 and production of the small 1049A began in 1988. They have long since discontinued production of passive hi-fi speakers.
In the 1990s, Genelec was increasingly known as a manufacturer of active monitoring speakers. They designed new products, notably the large control Room Monitors 1035A, 1034A and 1033A between 1988 and 1990. In 1991 Genelec designed the 1031A, which was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame in 2014. Genelec followed the 1031A with the 1030A, 1032A, 1029A, 1037A, and 1038A, and subwoofers 1091A, 1092A and 1094A.
21st century The first years of the 21st century presented challenges. Genelec introduced the LSE-series of subwoofers and replaced most of the 2-way series with the new 8000 Series. The 8000 Series comprises four models (8020B, 8030A, 8040A and 8050A 2-way Active Loudspeakers), some of which are clearly smaller than their predecessors, which was obtained by using aluminium as the material of the speaker enclosures instead of traditional MDF. Renowned Finnish industrial designer Harri Koskinen designed the 8000 Series' appearance. Adding to the series are the smallest 6010A 2-way loudspeaker and its supporting 5040A Active Subwoofer, introduced in 2008.
Many new Genelec products feature digital signal processing and software control. The 8200 DSP series adds three products to the line (8240A, 8250A 2-way and 8260A 3-way Active Loudspeakers) with ability to automatically adapt their performance to any acoustical conditions with AutoCal calibration through the GLM Software.
As of 2010, Genelec produced over 50 active loudspeaker models, and numerous modifications and versions of these for specific applications. They also produced software products for acoustic calibration. After finishing sound reinforcement contracting, Genelec concentrated solely on active speakers.
In September 2025, Genelec launched the 8380A SAM Main Monitor, a coaxial-driver main monitor forming part of its "The Main Ones" family. The company showcased the model at Beatcon in Berlin that October, before further appearances at Inter BEE 2025 in Japan and the Tonmeistertagung conference in Germany.
Awards Genelec won two Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards at the NAMM TEC Experience, held on Thursday, April 13, at The 2023 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.
Genelec won outstanding Technical Achievement in the Production Essentials category for its GLM V4.0 loudspeaker management software. Additionally, FM Design won Outstanding Creative Achievement for its design of the Genelec Immersive Experience Centerin the 37th annual NAMM TEC Awards on June 4, 2022, as part of The NAMM Show.
Products
Current products
Studio Monitors Active Monitors and Subwoofers Active 2-Way Monitors: 8010A, 8020D, 8030C, 8040B, 8050B Active Subwoofers: 7040A, 7050C ™ Smart Active Monitors and Subwoofers Smart Active 2-Way Monitors 8000 Series: 8320A, 8330A, 8340A, 8350A Audio over IP Series: 8430A IP 1000 Series: 1032C Coaxial Studio Monitors The Ones: 8331A, 8341A, 8351B, 8361A W371A Adaptive Woofer System Main Monitors 1237A, 1238A, 1238AC, 1238DF, 1234A, 1234AC, 1235A, 1236A S360A Studio Monitor The Main Ones: 8381A Adaptive Point Source Main Monitor Smart Active Subwoofers and Woofer Systems 7350A, 7360A, 7370A, 7380A, 7382A
Home Speakers G Series Active Speakers G One (B) G Two (B) G Three (B) G Four (A) G Five (A) F Series Active Subwoofers F One (B) F Two (B) Signature Series 6040R Smart Active Loudspeaker
AV Installation Speakers 4000 Series Installation Speakers 4010A Installation Speaker 4020C Installation Speaker 4030C Installation Speaker 4040A Installation Speaker Smart IP Installation Speakers 4410A Smart IP Installation Speaker 4420A Smart IP Installation Speaker 4430A Smart IP Installation Speaker 4435A Smart IP Active In‑Ceiling Speaker 4436A Smart IP Installation Speaker Architectural Speakers AIW26B Active In-Wall Speaker 5041A Active In-Wall Subwoofer
Retired products Limited-production models are not included. Models shown in bold in the "Replaced by" column are in production .
Studio Monitors Two-way systems Model Produced Replaced by 1018A Active Speaker 1987–1989 Biamp 1019A Studio Monitor 1979–1994 1030A 1029A Studio Monitor 1996–2005 8030A 1030A Studio Monitor 1994–2005 8040A 1031A Studio Monitor 1991–2005 8050A 1032A Studio Monitor 1992–2013 1032B 1032B Studio Monitor 2013–2017 1032C SAM™ 2029A Digital Active Monitor 1998–2005 8130A 2029B Digital Active Monitor2029B-Y Digital Active Monitor 2000–2005 6010A Active Speaker 2008–2013 6010B 6010B Active Speaker 2013–2014 8020A Studio Monitor 2005–2009 8020B 8020B Studio Monitor 2009–2013 8020C 8020C Studio Monitor 2013–2017 8020D 8030A Studio Monitor 2005–2013 8030B 8030B Studio Monitor 2013–2017 8030C 8040A Studio Monitor 2005–2013 8040B 8050A Studio Monitor 8050B 8130A Digital Active Monitor 2007–2015 8240A SAM™ Studio Monitor 2006–2016 8340A SAM™ 8250A SAM™ Studio Monitor 8350A SAM™ M030 Studio Monitor 2013–2019 rowspan="2" M040 Studio Monitor Three-way systems Model Produced Replaced by Triamp 1022A Studio Monitor 1985–1990 1037A 1022B Studio Monitor 1987–1993 Triamp 1024A Studio Monitor 1979–1986 Triamp 1024B Triamp 1024B Studio Monitor 1985–1990 Triamp 1024C Triamp 1024C Studio Monitor 1990–1992 1038A Triamp 1025A Control Room Monitor 1983–1986 Triamp 1025B Triamp 1025B Control Room Monitor 1986–1989 1035A 1033A Control Room Monitor 1990–1999 1034A Control Room Monitor 1989–1999 1034B 1034B Control Room Monitor 2000–2015 1234A SAM™ 1034BC Studio Monitor 1234AC SAM™ 1035A Control Room Monitor 1989–1994 1035B 1035B Control Room Monitor 1995–2015 1036A Control Room Monitor 1997–2015 1236A SAM™ 1037A Studio Monitor 1992–1996 1037B 1037B Studio Monitor 1995–2003 1037C 1037C Studio Monitor 2004–2015 1237A SAM™ 1038A Studio Monitor 1992–2003 1038B 1038AC Studio Monitor 1998–2003 1038BC 1038B Studio Monitor 2004–2015 1238A SAM™ 1038BC Studio Monitor 1238AC SAM™ 1038CF Studio Monitor 2009–2015 1238CF SAM™ 1039A Control Room Monitor 1995–2015 rowspan="2" 1238CF SAM™ Studio Monitor 2011–2017 8260A SAM™ Studio Monitor 2010–2019 8361A SAM™ 8351A SAM™ Studio Monitor 2014–2019 8351B SAM™ Triamp S30 Studio MonitorS30NF Studio Monitor 1978–1992 S30BS30BNF S30B Studio MonitorS30BNF Studio Monitor 1990–1992 S30C S30C Studio Monitor 1992–2001 S30D S30D Digital Active Monitor 2000–2006 Subwoofers Model Produced Replaced by 1091A Active Subwoofer 1996–2003 ™ Series(7000 Series) 1092A Active Subwoofer 1994–2003 1094A Active Subwoofer 7050A Studio Subwoofer 2002–2005 7050B 7050B Studio Subwoofer 2005–2018 7050C 7060A Studio Subwoofer 2002–2006 7060B 7060B Studio Subwoofer 2007–2016 7360A SAM™ 7070A Studio Subwoofer 2002–2016 7370A SAM™ 7071A Studio Subwoofer rowspan="2" 7073A Studio Subwoofer 2003–2016 7260A SAM™ Studio Subwoofer 2006–2016 7360A SAM™ 7270A SAM™ Studio Subwoofer 7370A SAM™ 7271A SAM™ Studio Subwoofer rowspan="2" 7261A Digital Active Subwoofer 2007–2015
Home Speakers Two-way systems Model Produced Replaced by Biway 1049A Passive Speaker 1988– N/A rowspan="2" Biway 1050A Passive Speaker 1980–1982 6020A Active Speaker 2005–2010 G Two (A) 6040A Active Speaker 2002–2010 6040R G One (A) Active Speaker 2013–2017 G One (B) G Two (A) Active Speaker G Two (B) G Three (A) Active Speaker G Three (B) HT205 Home Theater Speaker 1999–2007 HT206 Home Theater Speaker 1999–2003 HT206B HT206B Home Theater Speaker 2003–2015 HT208 Home Theater Speaker 1999–2003 HT208B HT208B Home Theater Speaker 2003–2015 HT210 Home Theater Speaker 2000–2003 HT210B HT210B Home Theater Speaker 2003–2016 Three-way systems Model Produced Replaced by Triway 1051A Passive Speaker 1980–1982 HT312A Home Theater Speaker 2006–2008 HT312B HT312B Home Theater Speaker 2008–2016 HT315A Home Theater Speaker 2006–2008 HT315B HT315B Home Theater Speaker 2008–2016 HT320AC Home Theater Speaker 2006–2008 HT320BC HT320BC Home Theater Speaker 2008–2016 rowspan="4" HT324A Home Theater Speaker 2006–2016 HT324AC Home Theater Speaker HT330A Home Theater Speaker Subwoofers Model Produced Replaced by 5040A Active Subwoofer 2008–2013 5040B 5040B Active Subwoofer 2013–2014 F One (A) 5050A Home Theater Subwoofer 2005–2012 5051A Active Subwoofer 2011–2012 F Two (A) F One (A) Active Subwoofer 2012–2019 F One (B) F Two (A) Active Subwoofer F Two (B) HTS2 Home Theater Subwoofer 1999–2002 HTS3 Home Theater Subwoofer 2001–2003 HTS3B HTS3B Home Theater Subwoofer 2003–2016 HTS4 Home Theater Subwoofer 2001–2003 HTS4B HTS4B Home Theater Subwoofer 2003–2016 rowspan="2" HTS6 Home Theater Subwoofer
AV Installation Speakers 4000 Series Model Produced Replaced by 4020A Installation Speaker 2010–2013 4020B 4020B Installation Speaker 2013–2017 4020C 4030A Installation Speaker 2010–2013 4030B 4030B Installation Speaker 2013–2017 4030C