WILSON AUDIO Sophia Series 3 Owner's manual

Sophia Series 3 Owner’s Manual

S o p h i a S e r i e S 3 o w n e r ’ S M a n u a l

2

Wilson Audio Specialties

Wilson Audio

®

is a registered trademark of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.

Sophia

®

, WATT/Puppy

®

, MAXX®, Duette

®

, X-1 Grand SLAMM

®

, and Alexandria

®

a r e

registered trademarks of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.

WilsonGloss™, Duette™, WATCH Center™, WATCH Surround™, and WATCH Dog™

are trademarks of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.

This manual was produced by the Wilson Audio Engineering and the Sales and Mar-

keting Department. The information contained herein is subject to change without

notice. Current Revision 1.0. If you are in need of a more recent manual, please

contact your dealer.

The information in this manual is the sole property of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.

Any reproduction, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of

Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc., is prohibited. No material contained herein may be

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose,

without the express written permission of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.

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Wilson Audio Specialties

T a b l e o f C o n T e n T S

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S e c t i o n 1 – i n t r o d u c t i o n � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 7

S e c t i o n 1 � 1 – S o p h i a ® S e r i e S 3 i n t r o d u c t i o n � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 9

A l l - n e w A r c h i t e c t u r e w i t h n e w M i d r A n g e e n c l o s u r e M A t e r i A l � � � � � 9

r e v i s e d c r o s s o v e r � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 0

c r o s s o v e r A n d r e s i s t o r A c c e s s P A n e l � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 1

n e w M i d r A n g e d r i v e r � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 1

n e w t w e e t e r � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 1

n e w w o o f e r � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 2

S e c t i o n 2 – i n Y o u r r o o m � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 3

S e c t i o n 2 � 1 – t h e W i l S o n a u d i o S e t u p p r o c e d u r e � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 5

f i n A l l i s t e n i n g r o o M s e t u P ( v o i c i n g ) � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 5

Z o n e o f n e u t r A l i t y : M A i n l e f t A n d r i g h t c h A n n e l � � � � � � � � � 1 5

S e c t i o n 2 � 2 – r o o m a c o u S t i c S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 7

s l A P e c h o � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1 7

s t A n d i n g w A v e s � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 0

c o M b f i l t e r e f f e c t � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 1

S e c t i o n 2 � 3 – r e S o n a n c e S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 2

s t r u c t u r A l r e s o n A n c e � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 2

v o l u M e r e s o n A n c e � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 2

S e c t i o n 2 � 4 – Y o u r r o o m � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 3

r o o M s h A P e s � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 3

s P e A k e r P l A c e M e n t v e r s u s l i s t e n i n g P o s i t i o n � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 5

s P e A k e r o r i e n t A t i o n � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 5

S e c t i o n 3 – u n c r a t i n g Y o u r S o p h i a S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 7

S e c t i o n 3 � 1 – u n c r a t i n g t h e S o p h i a S e r i e S 3 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 9

i n i t i A l c h e c k � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 9

S o p h i a S e r i e S 3 o w n e r ’ S M a n u a l

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Wilson Audio Specialties

u n c r A t i n g t h e s o P h i A � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 9

S e c t i o n 3 � 2 – c r a t e c o n t e n t c h e c k l i S t � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 0

S e c t i o n 4 – F i n a l S e t u p � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 3

S e c t i o n 4 � 1 – F i n a l S e t u p � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 5

P r e P A r A t i o n � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 5

S e c t i o n 4 � 2 – S o p h i a S p i k e S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 5

A s s e M b l y � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 5

S e c t i o n 4 � 3 – W i r i n g a t t a c h m e n t S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 6

S e c t i o n 4 � 4 – r e m o v i n g t h e p r o t e c t i v e F i l m � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 7

S e c t i o n 4 � 5 – r e S i S t o r S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 7

w o o f e r d A M P i n g ( Q ) r e s i s t o r � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 8

S e c t i o n 5 – c a r e o F t h e S o p h i a � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 9

S e c t i o n 5 � 1 – c a r e o F t h e F i n i S h � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 1

d u s t i n g t h e s o P h i A s � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 1

c A r e o f t h e g r i l l e s � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 2

b r e A k - i n P e r i o d � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 2

S e c t i o n 5 � 2 – e n c l o S u r e t e c h n o l o g Y � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 2

M A t e r i A l s � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 2

A d h e s i v e � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 3

S e c t i o n 5 � 3 – d e p t h o F d e S i g n � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 3

S e c t i o n 6 – t r o u b l e S h o o t i n g � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 5

S e c t i o n 6 – t r o u b l e S h o o t i n g � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4 7

S e c t i o n 7 – S Y S t e m S p e c i F i c a t i o n S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 1

S e c t i o n 7 � 1 – S p e c i F i c a t i o n S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 3

S e c t i o n 7 � 2 – S o p h i a d i m e n S i o n S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 4

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T a b l e o f C o n T e n T S

S e c t i o n 7 � 3 – i m p e d a n c e c u r v e � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 5

S e c t i o n 8 – W a r r a n t Y i n F o r m a t i o n � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 7

S e c t i o n 8 – W a r r a n t Y d e t a i l S � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 9

l i M i t e d w A r r A n t y � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 9

c o n d i t i o n s � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 9

r e M e d y � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6 0

w A r r A n t y l i M i t e d t o o r i g i n A l P u r c h A s e r � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6 0

d e M o n s t r A t i o n e Q u i P M e n t � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6 1

M i s c e l l A n e o u s � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6 1

Wilson Audio Specialties

Section 1 – Introduction

S o p h i a S e r i e S 3 o w n e r ’ S M a n u a l

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S e C T i o n 1 . 1 – S o p h i a ® S e r i e S 3 i n T r o d u C T i o n

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Section 1.1 – Sophia® Series 3 Introduction

Since her initial release, Sophia has changed the way many music lovers think of high-end loud-

speakers – and Wilson Audio. Sophia challenged the idea that some audio qualities are, by their very

nature, mutually exclusive: high resolution and musicality, very wide bandwidth and a relatively compact

enclosure, large dynamic swings and a load almost any amp can drive. A designer had to choose; he

could include one of these qualities, but this meant omitting or at least compromising the other. And yet

Sophia possesses each of these qualities in nearly equal measure.

Perhaps because of this unusual combination of virtues, Sophia, in both Series 1

and 2 iterations, has attracted an almost cult following since her introduction in 2003.

When the decision was made to upgrade Sophia to Series 3, the primary engineering

goal was to preserve the qualities that endeared Sophia to so many music lovers. The

team had advanced the art of music reproduction in the Alexandria Series 2, MAXX

Series 3, and in the all-new Sasha W/P with a variety of new technologies developed

for those projects. In order to employ the same technical improvements in Sophia, it

became clear early on that it would be necessary to design an all-new loudspeaker. At

the same time, it was critical to Dave that he honor, preserve, and (ideally) build upon

those qualities that clearly define Sophia’s character.

The result of those efforts is the Sophia Series 3.

All-new Architecture with new Midrange Enclosure Material

When it comes to a loudspeaker’s architectural design, Wilson’s philosophy is driven by the notion

that a loudspeaker’s form is inextricably tied to its function. The unique physical features of correct propa-

gation delay and lowering enclosure panel resonances have for decades now given Wilson loudspeak-

ers their look. Arguably, there is a form of beauty singular to the congruent interplay of technology and

aesthetic ideals.

With Sophia, the primary engineering goal was to further reduce the already very low resonant

enclosure. To this end, the X-material enclosure panels of the upper and lower modules are thicker. A new

S o p h i a S e r i e S 3 o w n e r ’ S M a n u a l

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internal bracing strategy, which now includes X-material, also contributes to Sophia’s performance by

lowering resonance-borne colorations in its enclosure panels.

Additionally, the Sophia Series 3 joins Sasha W/P in its use of Wilson’s latest pro-

prietary composite – S-Material. Used in the mid/tweeter baffle of the Sophia Series 3,

S-Material dramatically reduces measurable and audible noise. S-Material is combined

with X-Material to form an extremely inert and low-resonance enclosure.

Revised Crossover

In his earliest commercial designs, David Wilson recognized and uniquely addressed the re-

lationship between the mechanical alignment of a loudspeaker’s drivers and its time-domain per-

formance. Since that time, Dave and his engineers have worked to discover additional sources of

time-domain distortion. During the development of the original Alexandria, Wilson found that the

interaction between the high- and low-pass lters created a specic type of time-domain-generated

noise, which he dubbed “crossover jitter.” In each successive design project, Wilson has worked to

substantially reduce crossover jitter along with its deleterious audible effects. Continuous renements

in crossover topologies and specic component choices are made in large part with this in mind. The

latest beneciary of this cumulative design approach is now the Sophia Series 3.

Lowering jitter-induced noise and distortion in the Sophia Series 3 allowed Dave, in turn,

hear deeper into the loudspeaker. Problems previously obscured by noise were now clearly

audible. Thus, reducing crossover jitter not only improved expected areas (lower noise floor and

less grain structure), it also facilitated enhancements in other performance categories as well.

Midrange beauty and musicality, already a strong point of Sophia, are noticeably improved in

the Series 3. These traditional strengths are further enhanced by a greater transparency, spacial

resolution, bass linearity and dynamics, and midrange clarity. Instrument texture and timbre are

more convincingly rendered and complete. Details masked by low-level noise in the prior ver-

sions now effortlessly surface from a black background.

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S e C T i o n 1 . 1 – S o p h i a ® S e r i e S 3 i n T r o d u C T i o n

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Wilson Audio Specialties

Crossover and Resistor Access Panel

The crossover access panel formerly located on the bottom of the Sophia has been

moved to the rear of the enclosure. This provides much easier access to the user-service-

able resistors.

New Midrange Driver

When it came to choosing a midrange driver, Dave and the engineers focused on using

proven tools. Sophia Series 3 features a simplified version of the remarkable Wilson Audio cel-

lulose/paper pulp composite midrange driver first developed for the Alexandria X-2 Series 2

and since implemented in the MAXX Series 3 and Sasha W/P.

New Tweeter

A great deal of confusion remains in the market place as to what technical quali-

ties are important to musically authentic high-frequency performance. While other

manufacturers pursue dubious performance parameters such as ultra-wide bandwidth or

exotic – and exotically expensive – materials, Wilson continues to focus on those tech-

nologies that truly contribute to better performance. Sophia Series 3 sources its tweeter

from MAXX Series 3 and Sasha W/P. This proven design is slightly more efficient than

the tweeter it replaces. It is also more expressive of both large and small scale dynam-

ics. Most importantly, it is better suited and matched to the Wilson midrange driver.

Additionally, aspects of diffraction and noise are more effectively ameliorated

in this tweeter. All tweeter diaphragms are partially acoustically transparent. Any out

phase or time-delayed reflections that make their way out of the front of the diaphragm

is heard and measured as noise and distortion. Wilson’s tweeter topology dramatically

reduces this distortion. Proprietary materials in combination with proprietary mechani-

cal configurations are extremely effective at reducing these time-delayed reflections

behind the inverted dome, preventing them from corrupting the primary wave. This

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Fi gu re 1 – Watch center channel

reduces measurable and audible in-band “noise” heard as artificial texture or grain.

Sweet, delicate highs were already a hallmark of Sophia. The Series 3 tweeter builds on

these strengths greater air, sweetness, and resolution. Highs emerge from a silent back-

ground, free of spurious grain and texture.

New Woofer

The proprietary Sophia woofer, which debuted in the Series 1, has been worked over

with special attention to the driver’s frame and motor. The Sophia Series 3 woofer features a

magnet structure twice the size of the earlier woofer. The goal was to retain the tunefulness

of the original design, and increase the overall impact, speed, agility, and linearity of the

bass. The new woofer also has much greater tonal shading and nuance.

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Section 2 – In Your Room

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S e C T i o n 2 . 1 – T h e w i l S o n a u d i o S e T u p p r o C e d u r e

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Section 2.1 – The Wilson Audio Setup Procedure

You are surely excited about setting up your Sophia Series 3 and doing some lis-

tening, but before you begin, we would like to discuss some of the important room

acoustical information that will help you set up your loudspeakers properly.

Final Listening Room Setup (Voicing)

For Sophia Series 3’s size and single-module configuration, it is unmatched in its

ability to reproduce the musical event. However, room acoustics and boundary interac-

tions affect the sound of a loudspeaker to such a large degree that poor setup can seri-

ously degrade your enjoyment of even the finest loudspeaker.

Therefore, we offer the following section, which will present some guidelines on

room acoustics and their interactions with loudspeakers. While we will also outline

some detailed suggestions on the setup of the Sophia Series 3, we strongly suggest that

you have your local Wilson Audio dealer perform the final speaker “voicing” with you.

Wilson dealers are specially trained in setting up Wilson loudspeakers and will ensure

that you realize the full value of your purchase. What follows is an outline of the Wil-

son Audio Setup Procedure (WASP). When carefully followed, the process has proven to

be the most effective method for setting up Wilson loudspeakers.

Zone of Neutrality: Main Left and Right Channel

The “Zone of Neutrality” is an area in your room where the speakers will sound

most natural. This location is where the speakers interact the least with adjacent room

boundaries. It is important to have a clear working space while determining the Zone

of Neutrality.

The following is a simple method to locate the Zone of Neutrality within your lis-

tening environment:

1. Stand against the wall BEHIND the location where you intend to position

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Fi gu re 6 – po Wer a nd Stand bY SWit ch eS

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your loudspeakers. Speaking in a moderately loud voice and at a constant

volume, project your voice out into the room. Your voice will have an

overly heavy, “chesty” quality because of your proximity to the rear wall.

2. While speaking, slowly move out into the room, progressing in a direc-

tion parallel to the sidewall. It is helpful to have another listener seated

in the listening position to assist you during this process. Listen to how

your voice “frees up” from the added bass energy imparted by the rear

wall boundary. Also notice that your voice is quite spatially diffuse (to

your assistant, your voice will sound spatially large and difficult to local-

ize) as you begin to ease away from the rear wall.

3. At some point during your progression forward into the room, you will

observe a sonic transition in your voice; it will sound more tonally cor-

rect and less spatially diffuse (your assistant can now precisely localize

the exact origin of your voice). When you hear this transition, you have

entered the inner edge of the Zone of Neutrality. Place a piece of tape on

the floor to mark this location. Although it will vary from room to room,

in most rooms the zone begins between two and a half to three feet from

the rear wall.

4. Continue to walk slowly away from the rear wall. After some distance,

usually one to two feet past the first piece of tape, you will begin to hear

your voice lose focus and appear to reflect (echo) in front of you. This is

caused by the return of the room’s boundary contribution; your voice is

now interacting with the opposite wall. At the point where you begin to

hear the reflected sound of your voice, you have reached the outer edge

of the Zone of Neutrality. Place a piece of tape on the floor and mark this

location. The distance between the “inner” and “outer” edge tape marks

is usually between eight inches (for small, interactive rooms) and three

feet (for large, more neutral rooms).

5. Now position yourself against the side wall perpendicular to the intended

speaker location. Stand between the two tape marks. Using the same pro-

cedure as above, begin moving into the room toward the opposite side-

wall, progressing between the two pieces of tape. As above, listen for the

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point in the room where your voice transitions from bass-heavy and dif-

fuse to neutral. Mark this point with tape. Continue your progression until

there is an obvious interaction with the opposite wall in front of you and

mark this point with tape. The four pieces of tape now form a rectangle

that establishes the Zone of Neutrality for the loudspeaker located on that

side of the room. Using the four marks as your guide, tape an outline to

define the boundaries of the rectangle.

6. Repeat this process for each speaker location individually. These are your

Zones of Neutrality, one for each channel.

Theoretically, the Zone of Neutrality for any room runs like a path, parallel to the

walls all around the room. Adjacent to very large windows and open doors, the outer

edge of the Zone of Neutrality moves closer to the wall and becomes wider. If you were

to extend the inner and outer boundaries of the Zone for the sidewalls and the front

wall (behind the speakers), they would intersect. After you complete this procedure for

the other loudspeaker, you will now have two rectangles, one on the floor on either

side of the room.

Section 2.2 – Room Acoustics

Note: The following section contains general information on room acoustics and loud-

speaker/room interaction. The concepts outlined below are equally relevant when

dealing with multi-channel audio or home theater. The careful application of these

concepts, as you evaluate the acoustical characteristics of your own room configura-

tion, will allow you to optimize the performance of your Sophia Series 3.

Slap Echo

Probably the most obnoxious form of reflection is called “slap echo.” With slap-

echo, primarily midrange and high frequency sounds reflect off of two parallel hard

surfaces. The sound literally reverberates back and forth until it is finally dissipated

over time. You can test for slap echo in any room by clapping your hands sharply in the

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middle of the room and listening for the characteristic sound of the echo in the mid-

range. Slap echo destroys the sound quality of a stereo system in two ways:

• It adds harshness to the upper midrange and treble by storing time-domain

smearing energy.

• It destroys the delicate phase relationships, which help to establish an ac-

curate soundstage.

Slap echo (see Figure 1) is a common acoustical problem in the typical domestic

Fi gu re 1: com mon roo m reF le ction problemS

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listening room because most of these rooms have walls with a hard, reflective nature,

only occasionally interrupted by curtains, wall art, or drapes. The best (but least prac-

tical) solution to eliminate slap echo is nonparallel walls. This is because, rather than

support slap-echo, nonparallel walls allow the sound to diffuse. This approach can be

accounted for during the construction process. For existing rooms, slap echo can also

be controlled entirely by the application of absorptive materials to the hard surfaces.

These are absorptive materials that can be used to ameliorate slap echo:

• Illbruck Sonex®

• Air duct board

• Large ceiling to floor drapes

• Carpeting to wall surfaces

In many domestic listening environments, heavy stuffed furnishings reduce slap

echo somewhat. Unfortunately, their effectiveness is not predictable. Diffusers are

sometimes also used to very good subjective effect, particularly in quite large rooms.

Sound absorbent materials such as described above will alter the tonal characteristic

of the room by making it sound “deader,” less “bright and alive,” and “quieter.” These

changes usually make the room more pleasant for conversation, but sometimes render

it too dull in the high frequencies to be musically involving. Soundtrack effects will be

more localized. However, over-damping the room skews the tonal balance unnaturally

toward the bass, and also compresses dynamics, robing the system of musical life ex-

citement.

Diffusers, on the other hand, do not affect the tonal balance characteristic of the

room as much. Placed properly, diffusers create a smoother and more open sound.

Some diffusers, due to their construction, create narrow midrange peaks and suck out

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the warmth region. Do not use diffusers on the wall behind the speakers or on the side-

walls directly beside the speakers. It is our experience that all of these room treatment

devices should be used judiciously.

Standing Waves

Another type of reflection phenomenon is “standing waves.” Standing waves cause

the unnatural boosting or accentuation of certain frequencies, typically in the bass, to

be found at certain discreet locations in the room. These locations differ according to

room dimension and size. A room generating severe standing waves creates difficulty in

setup. In these rooms, the speaker will sound radically different as it is moved around.

The effects of standing waves on a loudspeaker’s performance are primarily in the areas

listed.

• Tonal balance

• Resolution of low-level detail

• Soundstaging

Standing waves are more difficult to correct than slap echo because they tend to

occur at a lower frequency. Absorbent materials, such as Illbruck Sonex®, are ineffec-

tive at controlling reflections in the bass region. Moving speakers about slightly in the

room is, for most people, their only control over standing waves. Sometimes a change

of placement of as little as two or three inches can dramatically alter the tonal balance

of a small system.

Fortunately, minor low frequency standing waves are well controlled by position-

ing ASC Tube Traps™ in the corners of the room. Very serious low frequency accentua-

tion usually requires a custom-designed bass trap system.

Low frequency standing waves can be particularly troublesome in rooms con-

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WILSON AUDIO Sophia Series 3 Owner's manual

WILSON AUDIO Sophia Series 3 Owner's manual

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