Fox Networks Group Italy picks Genelec monitors for its first Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment facility

“We were asked to provide Foxwith Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment 9.1.4 mixing rooms two years prior to the release of Dolby’s approval protocol,” recalled Francesca Bianco, CEO at Proaudio Construction. “Located at Palazzo Marignoli, Rione I Trevi in the heart of Rome, Fox’s new facility hadto be containedin an open-space working environment.At the very centreof the floor, in a 180m2sound-proofed area, we had to fit fourAtmos Home Entertainment9.1.4 control roomsas wellas tworecording roomsandtwopost rooms-and we had just 16 weeks to deliver a working facility.”Donato Masci and Cecilia Torracchi from Studio Sound Service designed the entire facility and gave their support to Proaudio Construction's team until the final setup and Dolby Certification.

The designed called extensively on Genelec’s‘The Ones’ three-way coaxialstudio monitors, with the flagship 8351as the LCR solution, the more compact 8341sibling covering the surround and height channels, and 7380 subwoofershandling the LF duties. The systems were then configured and calibratedusing GenelecGLM softwarein all four control rooms.“In my opinion Genelec studio monitors are the right choice most of the time, because they're a real reference in the audio industry,” stated Donato Masci, Acoustic Designer and CEO at Studio Sound Service. “When a monitor is designedfor broadcast it is absolutely fundamental that the frequency response is linear, the directivity and distortion are controlledand it delivers a useful SPL across the whole spectrum.

Then there is the management of the whole system, which is not so easy when you have 13 studio monitors plus the subwoofer contained inan arealess than 20m2. Genelec systems are truly complete from these points of view.”The installation itself presented a variety of challenges, not least due to the location of the facility. With access to the area heavily restricted, all construction materials needed to be delivered to the site at night before being lifted to the roof of the Palazzo Marignoli for 2/2August 2019 storage.

Meanwhile, technical challenges focused on soundproofing the space and ensuring the Dolby specifications were met. Reflecting on the completed studio complex, Masci is clearly proud of the results: “The whole team of collaborators have worked at their best and the studios have been very successful. The design is appealing, and the environment is stimulating and creative. For me it was my first experience of a Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment room and when I saw and listened for the first time to some immersive audio tracks I was amazed by the dynamics and the sound immersion.“The control roomslookvery beautiful in photos, but when you go inside, you really have the feeling of being outside of space and time,” Masci continued.

 “This was the result we wanted to achieve with the interior design, lighting technology and acoustics -it had to be the basis for creating a 9.1.4 immersive audio system.Only by resetting the external environment,in all senses, will you be able to appreciate a system with so many sound sources –I think thisresult has been successfully achieved.”“Everyone’s happy with the end results,” added Bianco.“The facility looks and sounds astonishing.It’s been successfully approved by Dolby,and Foxare rightfully proud of it. Most importantly though, the sound designers are happy and comfortable.”

About Genelec

Since the founding of Genelec in 1978, professional audio monitoring has been at the core of the business. An unrivalled commitment to research and development has resulted in a number of industry firsts and established Genelec as the industry leader in active monitors. 40 years later Genelec monitoring products remain true to the original philosophy, offering reliability, neutral sound reproduction regardless of size, as well as the ability to adapt to the acoustic conditions of the listening environment. Genelec customers receive paramount support in the field, from acoustical advice and calibration services to technical service and long product life span. Buying a Genelec product is a secure long-term investment in outstanding and reliable audio monitoring.