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The MTM array is rightly famous for a large sweet spot and it was confirmed once more but I also had the clear impression that the G7.1f was designed to minimize side-wall reflections. Imaging was surprisingly easy to set and focus. Despite Franck Tchang's magic, my room is not perfect yet and still retains hints of its original midrange compression (but far less than when I started). The Genesis could not completely avoid it but seemed far less susceptible than the FJ OMs or even Rogers LS 3/5as.That's really great news. It means positioning and optimization will be easy in most rooms, even small and challenging ones like mine.

Clarity
I confessed already that metal drivers and I never really got along but the G7.1f did offer some very convincing arguments in their favor. Exchanging emails with a French friend technically far more inclined and knowledgeable, I got the distinct impression that they are more ways to mess up metallic drivers than to get them right yet when everything clicks, the sound is distortion free, fast, articulate and very detailed -exactly what I heard with the Genesis.


These qualities translate into many desirable traits: a superbly broad and deep soundstage, imaging that is very precise without being surgical, extreme resolution without harshness and good resilience at low level listening. It's a very pure window as far removed from the Rogers LS 3/5a as possible and far more in line with the very latest Martin-Logans that finally got the cone / panel transition right yet not exactly identical. The electrostatic panels still have a slight advantage in tonal density (everything being relative of course since their density is nowhere near what a large paper cone delivers).
Pull any recording with good imaging and ambiance from your collection like the recently reviewed Concerti Grossi by Nicola Fiorenza and the G7.1f will position all instruments perfectly in relief and texture as long as that information was captured on the disc. If there is a second very compelling argument in favor of the Genesis speakers, it is their uncanny ability to organize and sort even the most complex of orchestral soundscapes.
Coming from paper drivers, at first the presentation will look tremendously tidy and organized but may also seem a bit sterile or lifeless. You absolutely must let the listener 'break in' to realize that what has gone missing is in part speaker distortion. Once gone, you can hear
much deeper into the mix and identify instruments with far more precision. It is a learning exercise. If you favor paper tone like me, it won't come easy or instantly but over time new layers of complexity begin to appear in the music that you had not suspected. Once you get there, you'll fully enjoy the qualities the G7.1f brings to the table. In all fairness, the Genesis G7.1f gets most the audiophile qualities and attributes like imaging, transparency and low distortion just right. Everything falls into place just where it should and sounds as it should. But does it really?


Honesty.
This section was by far the hardest to write as I did not intend to be overly critical of the speakers. In more ways than not, they were very enjoyable. But they are very honest and too much so at times. They offer a very transparent window on the recording and that means the good and the bad, beauty and warts. It is especially true in the critical midrange which is lean, clear and deeply resolved but in and of itself adds no texture or density whatever. If it's on the disc, great. If not and your upfront gear doesn't work any expansive magic, then you are simply out of luck.


Far too many recordings available today (especially CDs) are threadbare when it comes to harmonic complexity and instrumental timbres. If you do not maximize harmonic retrieval ahead of the G7.1f, you better like your music as is for better or worse. The very low level of distortion which is the G7.1f's greatest asset also becomes its greatest liability if the rest of the gear, recording or listener aren't up for such blatant honesty.
In my review of Esoteric's C03 preamplifier, I stated how the combination with the G7.1f and GR360 was not lucky. Actually, I was both right and wrong. All three components present a very low level of distortion and thus, a pure window on the recorded signal. On the 20% of very well recorded CDs and SACDs in my collection, the end result was absolutely fantastic, allowing a quite unique perspective on those discs once the burden of distortion had been lifted. No, it still was no live concert but the insight into the recorded event was truly spectacular. On Mozart's Chamber Sonatas by the London Baroque [HM 501137], one can hear the attacks on the gut strings of the period instruments and the air flow out of the organ pipes as though standing in the midst of the orchestra. But CDs of this quality are rare.
For the other 80%, the combination fared far less favorably. Take for example Karl Maria von Weber's Freischütz directed by Keilberth in 1958. It is one of the most beautifully intense versions of this opera which is typically considered the first romantic opera ever composed. Alas, this 80's release is harmonically pretty bland and threadbare. It's not poorly recorded per se but certainly afflicted by the lack of tone density of early digital releases. With the C03, GR360 and G7.1f, I could see into the stage as never before but I saw through the singers and spotted some seriously emaciated lungs. That wasn't exactly my idea of a good time. I need more meat on the bones, more blood in the flesh to fully draw me into a performance.


Thankfully NAT Audio's Symmetrical preamp with its six tubes per side stood by. Switching preamplifiers brought this music back to life. It added enough harmonic complexity and tonal enhancements to return original colors and relief. The NAT preamplifier didn't sacrifice transparency or imaging but offered just the right tonal reinforcement to create a system that was far more enjoyable over a broader range of recordings. Attacks were a little less sharp and bass lost some marginal depth and control but the overall gains far exceeded the losses.

Yet even this tonal preamp giant could not prevent Richter's piano in Beethoven's Appassionata [RCA 82876-59421-2] from sounding more metallic than strictly desirable. A lot of the wooden harmonics clearly reproduced by the Zu Essence or FJ OM were missing with the G7.1f. This reinforced the lack of punch already described and might explain why piano sounded less full than I am used to. While this more metallic presentation might have been truer to what actually is on the CD, it certainly did not make it any more enjoyable.
All this is to say that I would not recommend a full transistor system ahead of the G7.1f. It's because of the partial tonal anemia you'd likely run into. Neither can you get away with a
cheap and rotund tube preamplifier. That would ruin the transparency and balance of the G7.1f. You need one of those rare pieces that marry tube density with a sprinter's reflexes and the precision of a Swiss chronograph. Preamplifiers like the ModWright LS 36.5 come to mind and the NAT Symmetrical which is made of a very similar yet denser cloth. Genesis also recommends the Melody P1688 Signature as a very good match and I would bet that some of the newer designs by Nagra would also be excellent but at a significantly higher price point. [Thorens' TEP 3800 also comes to mind - Ed.]