There are some companies that make great near field monitors, KRK, Dynaudio, JBL and Yamaha, just to mention a few, but I have to say that my favorite studio speaker as an audio engineer is the Genelec 1032A. These have been replaced by the 1032B and 1032C.

The Genelec 1032 A is two-way, active near field monitor with a 10 inch woofer and a 1 inch tweeter. Genelec has been making studio monitors since 1978 and is one of the leading studio monitor manufacturers in the market today.

Check out the latest version of the Genelec 1030 series monitors here!

Genelec was one of the first companies to make active monitors. While almost every speaker manufacturer makes them now, not too long ago it was a rare find. The advantage of an active monitoring system is that the amplifiers and the speakers are designed to give the best quality sound together. With a passive set of monitors you have to find the right amp to pair with the speakers.

One of the technologies that Genelec has developed and implements in there near-field monitors is the Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW). Basically, the DCW is designed to match the frequency response characteristics and the directivity characteristics of the drivers in the speaker. The result is a very flat overall frequency response for on and off-axis listening positions.

Here are some of the features of the Genelec 1032 A studio monitors.

• Flat on and off-axis response for wider usable listening area
• Increased direct-to-reflected sound ratio for reduced control room coloration
• Improved stereo and sound stage imaging
• Increased driver efficiency
• Increased system Sound Pressure Level capacity
• Decreased drive unit distortion
• Reduced cabinet edge diffraction
• Reduced system distortion

One of my favorite features of the Genelec 1032 A is the roll-off and tilt controls. I found that they provide just enough control to make the monitors sound perfect for my ears and my room. The tilt and roll-off switches are adjustable in 2db increments. I found that I like the treble tilt +2, the bass tilt at 0, and the bass roll-off at -2.

If you use these monitors as your only speakers I would recommend pairing them with the Genelec 7070A subwoofer to get an amazing clean and punchy low end.

The down side of these speaker is that they are not inexpensive. The 1032A cost around $5000 for a pair. The 7070 A Subwoofer runs close to $3000. If you want an excellent, high-quality, great sounding near-field monitor from a company that has been around for a long time and has some pioneering technology, and if you can afford them, I would recommend getting a pair of the Genelec 1032 A Studio Monitors. Great for any audio engineering.