Supporting "Genesis" Loudspeakers

bence

New Member
Dec 28, 2014
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Budapest, Hungary
Thanks for your quick reply, Gary! The information certainly helped me understanding the circuit better. In the meantime, I continued drawing the circuit based on the PCB onto a paper. Now I have the last couple of stages (out of the 12!) completed and I finally start to see what's happening here, including the feedback logic and the two trimpots. The term "compression" you used was new to me. I'm not sure if this is the same old Genesis design we can see here but if I understand this correctly the P4 trimpot adjusts the amount of feedback signal derived from the original signal, before entering into the last stage. Before the last stage U1(3), no compression is happening but by looking at the last stage those diodes there do concern me in the feedback loop. It's not clear to me if they act as a log amp and if they do any expansion/compression on the signal at this point but I'd be more happier with a proper linear output without any (logarithimic) compression if that's possible.
By listening to the sub and adjusting the P4 while playing sound I could certainly tell the difference and luckily this confirms that the accelerometer works as expected. The adjusment in sound as I can hear is an SPL vs. Linearity/Distortion adjustment. I don't have an SPL meter, so for now, I only adjusted this based on some listening tests to find a good middle-road here and I'm happy with the results. I'll probably fine tune this once again if I get the chance. I haven't touched P5 since I don't have any information what is the target voltage at R2 with a reference signal. If by any chance this circuit familiar to you and looks similar to another Genesis mode, please let me know. I'm also interested to take a look at the circuit of the later Genesis 900 sub model if you have it somewhere.

Schematic of the final stages:
http://www.digikey.com/schemeit/embed/#18xl

Also attached as PDF.

Lastly, going back to my original issue with the sub, the JFETs responsible for muting were causing the problem (no sound). The implementation of mute is very simple; the negative mute voltage is always present when the power supply is ON but for some reason the JFET channels have never got switched off, causing mute to be always active (signal shortened to ground).
 

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  • Genesis-Servo-12-Subwoofer.pdf
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petaluman

New Member
Mar 16, 2022
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1
69
I'm hoping you or someone else here can give me a bit of help. I own an early (pre-production) Genesis III. The back story, such as I remember it, was that the speakers were made by Arnie's son for an audio show. They did go back to the factory and were upgraded with the metal woofers. The guy I bought them from acquired them through the son.

However, I don't think they were ever completely finished. Having never seen the production version, I'm not sure how they were intended to connect with the floor. There are some 1/2" diameter holes drilled in the bottom, but they're not tapped, and no inserts came with the speakers. I'm curious if anyone can tell me:

1. How the IIIs were finished at the bottom for coupling to the floor
2. Other alternatives III owners would recommend
3. There was a rumor that the crossover was modified after the speakers were in production. Do you know anything about this or have any crossover schematics for the III?
4. What parts are the most likely to start showing their age first, as far as the sound quality? Which are replaceable?

Thanks for providing this forum. I know you didn't get a lot of the intellectual property in the sale. It can't be easy fielding questions on products for which you have little or no information. I appreciate any help or advice you can give me.
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
5,599
225
1,190
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
I'm hoping you or someone else here can give me a bit of help. I own an early (pre-production) Genesis III. The back story, such as I remember it, was that the speakers were made by Arnie's son for an audio show. They did go back to the factory and were upgraded with the metal woofers. The guy I bought them from acquired them through the son.

However, I don't think they were ever completely finished. Having never seen the production version, I'm not sure how they were intended to connect with the floor. There are some 1/2" diameter holes drilled in the bottom, but they're not tapped, and no inserts came with the speakers. I'm curious if anyone can tell me:

1. How the IIIs were finished at the bottom for coupling to the floor
2. Other alternatives III owners would recommend
3. There was a rumor that the crossover was modified after the speakers were in production. Do you know anything about this or have any crossover schematics for the III?
4. What parts are the most likely to start showing their age first, as far as the sound quality? Which are replaceable?

Thanks for providing this forum. I know you didn't get a lot of the intellectual property in the sale. It can't be easy fielding questions on products for which you have little or no information. I appreciate any help or advice you can give me.
You may want to try to get in touch with Arnie's son as we have an absolute zero information on the Genesis III. As far as I can recall, some of these older designs were spiked. I know that the Genre-series were. Not sure about the G-III.
 

petaluman

New Member
Mar 16, 2022
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1
69
I have owned these speakers for ~20 years. I don't know his son's name. or even the name of the person I bought the speakers from. If you know where the son works now or anything else that might get me closer to contacting him, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again!
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
5,599
225
1,190
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
You might be able to check with Paul McGowan at PS Audio. He was friends with Arnie, and had a bunch of stuff from Arnie's garage. He may have some information, or might be able to put you in touch with his son.

Our current Genesis tweeter can be used to upgrade the G-III, but I doubt if any others of our current parts will fit.
 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
5,459
961
1,290
The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
But plenty of admirers/fans! Myself included, TBT. This, going back decades ago... ;)

Tom
 

RickP

New Member
Jun 19, 2022
1
0
1
As far as we can, we have been trying to keep customers of older Genesis loudspeakers going. Many of our owners have had their loudspeakers for 15 years or more. This sub-forum is intended to support all our customers - old and new. Great loudspeakers do not just die, they fade away, but they can also be injected with new life!

First, a bit of history.....

A previous company, Genesis Physics also made loudspeakers under the "Genesis" brand. They made high-quality, low-cost loudspeakers from 1975 to 1987. However, that company is totally unassociated with the current Genesis Advanced Technologies. However, parts may be available from www.humanspeakers.com.

Genesis Technologies was the previous company. They made loudspeakers in California, and then in Colorado from 1991 to 2000. They closed down during the stock market crash and were foreclosed by a bank. Genesis Advanced Technologies bought the assets, trademarks and intellectual property from the bank in 2002. Unfortunately, in the 1+ years that the company was closed, the bank managed to lose most of the assets and intellectual property. They even managed to let the trademark registration expire! However, we have tried as far as possible to recreate some of the old technology, and we do try to support the customers of the old company - as far as we can.

Genesis Advanced Technologies was founded in 2002 to carry on the brand, but unfortunately we have had to re-create a lot of the original technology. We also took the opportunity to improve upon the legacy started by Arnie Nudell with the Infinity Servo-Statik 1 in 1968. A lot of the new technology can be retro-fitted to the original designs (but we cannot do anything with Infinity loudspeakers - so please don't ask), but unfortunately we cannot roll-back prices to the 90's. We have also re-manufactured some drivers if plans/specifications are available.

So, if you own a pair of old Genesis loudspeakers, and you do not find a support answer here, post a question and I will try to answer as soon as I can.
Hi Gary. New Member here. Just "inherited" a pair of Genesis Genre II floorstanding speakers. I repaired the foam on the 6.5s, but now need to figure out what I can do about the tweeters. I'm assuming they are shot (but not yet done troubleshooting). Are there replacement options out there, either OEM or like kind? I've read some other forums indicating you can't get replacements, but not sure about that. thanks
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
5,599
225
1,190
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
Hi Gary. New Member here. Just "inherited" a pair of Genesis Genre II floorstanding speakers. I repaired the foam on the 6.5s, but now need to figure out what I can do about the tweeters. I'm assuming they are shot (but not yet done troubleshooting). Are there replacement options out there, either OEM or like kind? I've read some other forums indicating you can't get replacements, but not sure about that. thanks
Hi Rick,

Welcome to Whats Best.

The original tweeter is no longer available. I re-designed the round tweeter and turned it into a ring-radiator and it is a drop-in replacement for the tweeters in all the old speakers produced by Genesis Technologies. Please drop an email to my service and support team and they will get you taken care of.
 

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