The powered loudspeaker manufacturer from Finland is not only a leading name in active monitors for studios and broadcasters worldwide, it is also increasingly a leading option for high-quality commercial and residential audio installations. Benefiting from its established speaker designs, particularly since the launch of its iconic 8000 series - recognized for its accurate sound reproduction quality and intelligibility, but also very high reliability - system designers and installers have long embraced the added value of specifying Genelec speakers for the most demanding projects.
Originally launched in 2019, the Genelec Smart IP loudspeaker range combines the recognized sound quality of its active two-way loudspeaker designs, with single-cable convenience, providing scalable power, audio and management features via a standard Ethernet cable. All models in the Smart IP are compatible with both Dante and AES67 audio-over-IP, and derive power via PoE and PoE+ Power-over-Ethernet formats. But while the previous two Smart IP models, 4420 and 4430, also offered conventional analog inputs, the new 4410 compact model is IP-only, featuring a single Ethernet connector.
Measuring just 181mm in height, the active two-way 4410 is perfectly suited to smaller spaces, yet its proprietary internal power supply helps to produce an impressive 100dB of short-term SPL. This is extremely impressive, considering that these speakers might be installed at the end of a 100 meter network cable length and that the Power-over-Ethernet options will supply the built-in amplifier modules with just 25 watts, from the original 30W at the original port, due to power loss.
The 4410 supports up to eight audio channels in a stream with sample rates of 32 – 96kHz and 16 – 24-bit resolution and delivers a frequency response of 67Hz to 40kHz, via internal Class D amplification stages driving a 3-inch woofer and 3/4-inch metal dome tweeter.
Created in conjunction with leading industrial designer Harri Koskinen, the 4410’s aesthetically beautiful Minimum Diffraction Enclosure is fashioned from recycled aluminum and utilizes Genelec’s trademark Directivity Control Waveguide, to ensure precision and clarity both on and off axis. Built to the highest environmental standards in Iisalmi, Finland, the 4410 is available in black or white finishes, and a wide range of accessories ensures that the 4410 can be mounted quickly and conveniently in almost any location.
As well as receiving both power and audio-over-IP, the 4410’s single rear panel RJ45 connector also allows access to Genelec’s Smart IP Manager – a sophisticated downloadable software tool running on Windows 10 that allows installers to configure an almost unlimited number of rooms, zones, loudspeakers and audio channels, and includes device discovery, a versatile room equalization tool set, system organization and status monitoring (these last features, being the most important reason for having speakers configured in a network, on a fixed installation).
Once the installer has used Smart IP Manager to configure and optimize the system - the end user can then download the free Smart IP Controller app onto their smartphone or tablet (iOS or Android) for instant wireless control of mute, volume control and power on/off. The Controller app will automatically discover the loudspeakers on the network, and offers a clean and intuitive user interface that both experts and non-technical staff alike will find straightforward and satisfying. Access to some or all of the zones created during configuration can then be assigned to the app, thus ensuring that the appropriate levels of access are granted to each end user.
"The compact 4410 is a natural and welcome extension to our Smart IP loudspeaker family, while the Smart IP Controller app is the perfect tool for less complex installations where comprehensive touchscreen control of the system isn’t always required," comments Genelec AV Business Manager Sami Mäkinen. "The 4410 is perfect for those installers looking for big loudspeaker performance from a small footprint, while the Controller app provides a simple, low cost alternative to third party house automation systems. We’re sure that installers and end users alike will warmly embrace these new additions to the growing Smart IP family."
Genelec is celebrating over 40 years of designing and manufacturing active loudspeakers, and 15 years of its Smart Active Monitoring technology. The concept of connecting speakers on a single Ethernet cable has long been a vision for the systems integration industry and for many audio professionals, allowing speakers to be networked, configured and calibrated for the user’s specific acoustic environment and installation requirements.
www.genelec.com/smart-ip
