Emeryville, CA-based Ex'pression College for Digital Arts, one of the world's leading educational institutions for digital arts, has purchased six 8020.LSETM Espresso 5.1 monitoring systems from Genelec, the world's longstanding leader in active surround monitoring systems.

These systems are being installed in six new classroom/laboratory spaces, recently added as part of an expansion of the school's main campus. The Cutting Edge Audio & Video Group, based in San Francisco, sold the Genelec 8020.LSE Espresso 5.1 systems.

The college's six new audio postproduction suites were brought online in late September. They are being used to teach audio post and qualify students for Pro Tools' 210P Certified Operator Post Production classification. The small size of the suites - about 10 x 10 feet - is designed to mimic the types of post suites found in project-type studios and corporate facilities, as well as game-audio design applications.

"Ex'pression already has excellent audio post labs that represent the large and mid-sized environments found in post production," says John Scanlon, Director of Sound Arts at the school. "The Genelec Espresso 5.1 system worked perfectly for this sized room, in terms of both the size of the monitor and the sound quality. They'll be used for teaching and for students' final projects in both stereo and 5.1 surround. We have other Genelec speakers in our school, and we've always been pleased with the quality of the sound they provide." Jeff Briss, Partner at the Cutting Edge Audio & Video Group, adds, "For the school, the 8020.LSE offers tremendous performance relative to its size and cost," he explains. "The speakers can be configured in a variety of ways, including mounted on stands, giving the school flexibility in how it configures its classrooms. And the 7050B sub sounds great. It's a very cost-effective and powerful system."

The 8020.LSE Espresso system consists of five Genelec 8020A two way, bi-amplified active monitors matched with the new Genelec 7050B LSE Series Active Subwoofer, which employs Genelec's proprietary Laminar Spiral EnclosureTM (LSE) technology. As a result of this unique technology, the compact 7050B extends the LF response down to 25 Hz with amazing bass articulation. Like all Genelec LSE active subwoofers, the 7050B features extremely low distortion and outstanding accuracy. It's designed to complement Genelec's 8020A active monitors in stereo and surround applications and is part of Genelec's revolutionary 8000 MDETM (Minimum Diffraction EnclosureTM) Series, which takes a new approach to enclosure design, driver technology and active electronics.