Berlin Studio Owners Talk Monitoring

Berlin, Germany (May 21, 2025)—Berlin, Germany-based studio and music production house jay jay, founded by longtime collaborators Jared Meier-Klodt and Johannes Stegemann, has added a pair of Genelec 8351B coaxial monitors and GLM calibration software.

With a background that spans agency work and academic training, Meier-Klodt and Stegemann launched jay jay in 2017 to pursue a more narrative approach to music production. “We aim to create tracks that don’t really sound like your regular advertising music,” Meier-Klodt explains. “The next step is to shape the music to support the story’s key moments and emotional beats.”

This philosophy has guided the development of jay jay’s dedicated Berlin studio, where the pair’s sound has has been used on campaigns for major brands including BMW, Under Armour, Vinted and Volkswagen. When selecting a monitoring solution, they visited local dealer JustMusic before working closely with Eric Horstmann at Genelec’s Berlin Experience Centre to evaluate the best model for their needs.

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Their listening tests with Genelec’s 8351B from The Ones coaxial series proved decisive. “There are some records that reveal different details depending on what you listen on,” Stegemann notes. “With the 8351s, we could hear things we hadn’t heard before, like the room tone and tape hiss on ‘Friday Morning’ by Khruangbin. The soundstage and detail were just better.”

The 8351B’s combination of extended low-frequency performance and precise imaging made it the ideal choice for jay jay’s studio. “We wanted something with depth and openness—monitors that could deliver bass without needing a sub,” says Meier-Klodt. “The 8351B is the perfect mix of openness and bass.”

Initially using the monitors without calibration, the pair later introduced GLM software to fine-tune the setup for multiple listening positions. “GLM is a huge factor because rooms are never perfect,” says Stegemann. “We now have three optimized positions: our main production desk, the client couch and a standing position for when we’re playing instruments. It’s seamless.”

Since calibrating the system, both founders say they’ve noticed an improvement in mix clarity and consistency. Stegemann says, “There’s nothing more satisfying than catching a subtle hiss or artifact. It’s a good tool to make sure there’s nothing going on that you don’t want.”