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PRESS RELEASE
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Michigan State University creates one of the nation’s largest Ambisonic environments with Genelec Smart IP studio monitor loudspeakers

— 146-immersive loudspeaker system in Eichler Hall opens new possibilities for music, spatial audio education and multidisciplinary research —

NATICK, MA, November 10, 2026 — Michigan State University’s College of Music has transformed Eichler Hall into one of the most ambitious immersive audio environments in higher education, installing a massive Genelec Smart IP loudspeaker system designed for Ambisonic composition, performance, education and multidisciplinary research. Located within the College of Music, the 2,150-square-foot Eichler Hall is a rehearsal and performance space traditionally used by the university’s large ensembles, including orchestra, band and choir. With the addition of the new system, the hall can now function as a highly sophisticated spatial audio environment capable of creating a 360-degree listening sphere and positioning and moving sounds throughout three-dimensional space. Currently the installed system comprises 143 Genelec 4430AW Smart IP Installation Loudspeakers (in white) and two Genelec 7382A Smart Active Subwoofers, with a network infrastructure already in place to accommodate additional loudspeakers. The project was made possible through the support of Ed and Wanda Eichler, who also funded the creation of Eichler Hall. Leading the project for Michigan State was Anthony T. Marasco, Assistant Professor of Composition and Technology, a composer, sound artist and instrument designer who has worked with immersive audio for approximately a decade. System design and consulting were provided by Tanner Upthegrove of Electroacoustics, LLC, who brought extensive experience working with large-scale immersive environments to the project. “When Tanner began looking at what we wanted to accomplish, he strongly recommended that we build the system around Genelec Smart IP,” states Marasco. “That decision really unlocked what was possible in the room. Being able to deliver audio, power and control through the network greatly simplified an installation of this scale, while giving us the ability to manage and optimize the loudspeakers individually. With more than 140 loudspeakers surrounding the listener, that level of flexibility is incredibly important.” The system operates over a Dante network, with Cat 6 cabling connecting the loudspeaker infrastructure throughout Eichler Hall. The network-based approach proved particularly valuable given the sheer scale of the installation. “Without Smart IP, we would have been looking at how to provide electrical infrastructure for more than 140 individual loudspeakers,” Marasco adds. “Using the network dramatically simplified that process. It saved us an enormous amount of installation complexity while also giving us an infrastructure that can continue to expand.” The physical installation was handled through Michigan State University resources, including College of Music Facilities Manager Tom March, Director of IT Justin Baker, and the university’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities team. Data cabling was initially installed during the university’s winter break, with loudspeaker installation beginning following the spring semester. By mid-June, the system was physically in place. Upthegrove subsequently spent several days on-site commissioning the system with Marasco and the MSU team. Working with Genelec Smart IP Manager software, they verified network communication and audio routing and optimized the response of individual loudspeakers within the array. This was particularly useful for loudspeakers mounted in locations where architectural conditions affected their acoustic response. “We could measure an individual loudspeaker, see how its particular position in the room was affecting its response and then create an EQ profile specifically for that loudspeaker,” explains Marasco. “That profile could then be stored in the loudspeaker. When you’re dealing with a system this large, having that degree of control is tremendously powerful.” “Smart IP Manager streamlined both individual and zoned control for EQ, sensitivity, and loudspeaker features without the need for an external DSP,” said Upthegrove. “The real-time control makes calibration and commissioning straightforward and predictable.” The system is centered around a Danish Audio Devices AX Center interface, with a Mac Studio serving as a primary production workstation. Additional connectivity includes Dante Virtual Soundcard, an RME Digiface Dante 256-Channel 192 kHz USB Audio Interface and a Behringer X32 mixer for bringing analog sources and live instruments into the environment. Software including REAPER and Max is used for multichannel routing, composition, Ambisonic processing and custom spatial audio applications. For Marasco, however, the technology is ultimately about what students can create with it. His Immersive Sound Design course, which is open to students across Michigan State University, explores immersive audio for music composition, gaming, storytelling, themed entertainment, museum experiences and other applications. Previous versions of the course required Marasco to repeatedly assemble and dismantle a temporary 7.1.4 loudspeaker array. The new Eichler Hall system gives students access to an entirely different level of spatial experimentation. “We can now go beyond simply talking about spatial audio and let students actually create for an environment of this scale,” says Marasco. “They can place a sound at a specific coordinate, move it above or around the audience, combine Ambisonic recordings with individually positioned mono or stereo elements, or create an acoustic environment that couldn’t exist in the physical world. It gives them an extraordinary laboratory for experimentation.” That opportunity extends well beyond music students. Immersive Sound Design has attracted students studying game design, engineering and communications, and the College of Music hopes the new facility will encourage further participation from disciplines including film and journalism. The university also envisions Eichler Hall becoming a destination for concerts, workshops, visiting artists and immersive audio events. Plans include fixed-media playback concerts, performances incorporating live spatialization and potential festivals bringing together artists and researchers working in immersive sound. Just as importantly, the system is being positioned as a multidisciplinary research platform. Michigan State is already exploring potential collaborations involving acoustic and sonic ecology, health and wellness, simulation, manufacturing and occupational safety training, among other fields. The ability to reproduce highly convincing spatial environments has already made an impression during early demonstrations. Ambisonic field recordings, for example, can create the perception of sounds moving naturally through and above the room rather than simply jumping from loudspeaker to loudspeaker. “The reaction has been fantastic,” Marasco notes. “We’ve played Ambisonic field recordings where you hear a bird above you and then hear it fly around the room. You’re not thinking, ‘the sound is coming from that speaker and then that speaker.’ It feels like the sound is actually there in the space with you. That accuracy of spatialization has really impressed people. It’s very moving.” The system can also recreate the acoustic characteristics of real-world and even entirely imaginary spaces using impulse-response (IR) modeling. Demonstrations have placed performers virtually within environments ranging from a Scottish mausoleum to train tunnels, as well as acoustical spaces that exist only as computer models. Marasco was already well acquainted with Genelec before the project began, having encountered the company’s monitoring systems throughout his academic and professional career. “Genelec has always been viewed by me and many of my colleagues as a premier tool for accurate sound and professional audio reproduction,” he says. “I had worked in Genelec-equipped multichannel spaces before, and we already have other Genelec systems here at Michigan State. When Tanner told us that Smart IP made it possible to create this entire environment with Genelec, it almost sounded too good to be true. But it worked, and the result has been fantastic.” Genelec also worked closely with the university throughout the procurement process to help ensure that the unusually large quantity of loudspeakers required for the installation could be secured and delivered on schedule. For Marasco, Eichler Hall’s new capabilities ultimately represent something larger than an impressive loudspeaker count. They provide students, faculty, visiting artists and researchers with an environment in which ideas that previously existed primarily in theory can now be experienced, tested and shared. “One of the great things about being at a university like Michigan State is having the ability to explore and try things that might be impossible to do on your own,” concludes Marasco. “Our students share their work and learn from one another, whether they’re writing for band, choir, homemade electronic instruments or now this massive immersive system. We’re excited to give them a space where they can create things that simply weren’t possible here before, and to see what they come up with that we haven’t even imagined yet.” For more information, please visit www.genelec.com.

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Photo file 1: 01_acoustic_studio.JPG Photo caption 1: Michigan State University’s Eichler Hall has been transformed into a sophisticated 360-degree immersive audio environment. Photo file 2: 02_Still_acoustic.JPG Photo caption 2: The system features 143 Genelec 4430AW Smart IP loudspeakers and two Genelec 7382A subwoofers. Photo file 3: 03_Ambisonic_Genelec_speaker.JPG Photo caption 3: Genelec Smart IP technology delivers audio, power and control over a network, simplifying installation and commissioning. Photo file 4: 04_Ambisonics.JPG Photo caption 4: Eichler Hall supports immersive composition, live performance, education and multidisciplinary research across the university. PDF file: MSU_Genelec_Case_Study_Web PDF caption: Genelec MSU case study Genelec, the pioneer in Active Monitoring technology, is celebrating over 45 years of designing and manufacturing active loudspeakers for true and accurate sound reproduction. Genelec is credited with promoting the concept of active transducer technology. Since its inception in 1978, Genelec has concentrated its efforts and resources into creating active monitors with unparalleled sonic integrity. The result is an active speaker system that has earned global acclaim for its accurate imaging, extremely high acoustic output from small enclosures, true high-fidelity with low distortion, and deep, rich bass. Genelec is also marking its 20th year of Smart Active Monitoring™ technology, which allows studio monitors to be connected, configured and calibrated for the user’s specific acoustic environment. Each Smart Active Monitor or subwoofer is equipped with advanced internal DSP circuitry, which tightly integrates with the GLM (Genelec Loudspeaker Manager) software application, running on Mac or PC. GLM’s reference microphone kit allows the user’s acoustic environment to be analyzed, after which GLM’s AutoCal feature optimizes each Smart Active Monitor for level, distance delay, subwoofer crossover phase and room response equalization, with the option of further fine tuning by the user. By minimizing the room’s influence on the sound, Smart Active Monitors deliver an unrivalled reference, with excellent translation between rooms. Visit Genelec on social media: https://www.facebook.com/Genelec https://www.linkedin.com/company/genelec-oy https://www.instagram.com/Genelec_oy/ https://x.com/Genelec https://www.tiktok.com/@genelec_oy Other brand and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. —For more information on the complete range of Genelec Active Monitoring Systems, contact: Genelec Inc., 7 Tech Circle, Natick, MA 01760. Tel: (508) 652-0900; Web: http://www.genelec.com/.