Genesis Stereo 100

12th January 2008 Adam Rayner

A two channel amplifier housed in a highly polished Aluminium extrusion, with a quoted output of two by fifty watts RMS. It has an adjustable sensitivity control and a highpass and lowpass filter with adjustable crossover points. To use the device full range the pushbutton crossover switch is set to highpass and the crossover set down to 20Hz.
It has an extra live output on the power connection system to run a cooling fan and has the Gold plated RCA connections on the side of the amplifier. Supplied with an individually signed test certificate, manual and pack of fixings and wire crimps of high quality and Allen keys for terminals.
– Class AB
– 2 x 50w RMS @ 4 Ohms (test certificate shows 95/94w @ 0.1% dist.)
– 2 x 100w RMS @ 2 Ohms. (test certificate shows 147/148w @ 0.1% dist.)
– 1 x 200w RMS @ 4 Ohms bridged (test certificate shows 301w @ 0.1% dist.)
– Highly polished Aluminium heatsink
– Bigger than 8Ga. Power Terminals with Allen headed grub screw bare wire socket connection
– Dedicated fan power output for cooling
– Speaker wire connection by Allen headed grub screw bare wire sockets
– 12dB per Octave high/low pass crossovers
– Crossover controlled by HPF in/out switch
– High Pass Filter 20Hz to 200Hz
– Low Pass Filter 50Hz to 200Hz
– Adjustable input sensitivity 0.3V to 5.0V
– Stereo, Mono & Trimode operation
– Frequency response 20Hz to 20kHz
– Signal to Noise Ratio tested @ >105dB (only quoted as >100dB on specification)
– Fuse Rating 25A x1
– HxWxD(mm) 62 x 200 x 210mm
Review by Adam Rayner
A True Classic item in the UK panoply of the best kit around. This amplifier is the first serious Genesis (there is a Stereo 60 Model and the lesser specc’d Profile range) and has been pretty much the same since the quote I wrote for Max Power which is used on their site! It has a perfectly mad extra amount of power versus the claimed specification and has nearly twice the wellie it says it has. Genesis call this ‘Genesis Watts’ as so many others are Hogwash Watts. And Genesis Watts are as pure as the driven snow.
The amplifier’s packaging makes you realise it is posh end stuff and the package of bits it arrives with includes some quality wire terminations. The crossovers are cleverly arranged with a simple highpass or lowpass button and the fact that the highpass one can be adjusted all the way down to the bottom of the music. This can also act as a bass filter for a seriously fullrange speaker system. So you could set it way down at 40Hz and use the amplifier to run some potent front speakers. I described it as a building block of great quality back then and it most certainly still is.
I connected it to the Daiwa 30A laboratory power supply and then plugged in the Clarion HX D2 exotic imported CD headunit with the insane 112dB signal to noise ration and posh Burr brown bits in its insides.
It was New Year’s Day and I had previously used the Clarion to power the PowerBass monster amplifier on the second battery-based test rig to possibly blow up a top-quality Kenwood woofer which despite costing ï¿½500 retail (ulp!) is not rated that far into four figures in watts. I’m worried about the subwoofer still but not as concerned as I was to check the exotic Clarion was OK. Connected to some Bowers & Wilkins LM1 nearfield monitors via the Genesis Stereo 100 it was awesome.
The fact that they are an eight Ohm product so only to be able to draw fifty true watts from the amplifier, it was amazing. I ripped open a ‘Spirit of Sound’ CD I had been given by Focal and played some tracks. It was just my kind of music and for half an hour I sat transfixed with feet tapping, hairs in various places on body standing on end and then shimmers of bristly goose bumps flowed up and down my arms. As far as ‘Captain I detect an Emotional Response!’ was concerned I was there in lumps. I had to apologise to my family for disappearing. I had only wanted to verify no fault and had sat and listened as well.
This amp was able to allow both the sheer delights of the fabulously well recorded and produced selected music tracks and the gorgeous and clever electronics within the state of the art headunit to shine through. It is a straight wire with gain, just with pettier connections and I’m keeping it! It is to become the Talk Audio Reference Headunit test amplifier and all that come to be tested will be played through it! If a headunit sounds good, we will be able to tell through this baby. It’s been built into my desk and they will have to fight me to get it back.
Heartily, unreservedly labelled as a Talk Audio Best Buy and by best we mean BEST not just ‘best bargain’.
Overall 9.2
Sound Quality 10
Power Output 10
Features 8
Build Quality 10
Value For Money 8