Wisdom AUDIO SYSTEM CONTROLLER SC-1, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...Owner s Manual Wisdom Audio System Controller SC 1 ...

Page 2: ...U S and foreign pat ents pending Audyssey Audyssey Labs are trademarks of Audyssey Laboratories MultEQ XT is a registered trademark of Audyssey Laboratories Note This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential ...

Page 3: ...he power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs convenience receptacles and the point where they exit from the ap paratus 11 Only use attachments accessories specified by the manufacturer 12 Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long peri ods of time 13 Refer all servicing to qualified personnel Servicing is required when the ap paratus has been damag...

Page 4: ...mplifiers 16 Remote turn on tip polarity 17 Introduction to Room Acoustics 20 Start With the Room 20 Rigid Walls 20 Main Speaker Placement 21 Subwoofer Placement 22 Room Treatment 22 Professional Acoustic Design 23 References 23 Getting Ready to Calibrate 24 System Connections 24 Overview of the Process 24 Before Calibration 25 During Calibration 25 Wisdom System Configuration 26 Connecting the PC...

Page 5: ...tup part 2 35 Zone Configuration 35 Room Dimensions 36 Equipment Info 37 Measurement 37 Microphone position 37 Measuring additional positions 38 Detection Results 39 Target Sound Options 41 Disconnect the microphone 42 Save Results 43 Advanced Calibration Tip 43 Calibration Completed 45 Care Maintenance 47 North American Warranty 48 Five Year Warranty 48 Obtaining Service 49 Specifications 50 Dime...

Page 6: ...fully inspect your SC 1 for possible damage due to shipping If you discover any contact your Wisdom Audio dealer immediately Warm up break in period Although your Wisdom Audio SC 1 delivers outstanding performance straight out of the box you should expect to hear it continue to improve as it reaches its normal operating temperatures and its various components break in It has been our experience th...

Page 7: ...e unit completely resulting in effective disconnection of the SC 1 from the AC mains You might think of this as a vacation switch should you wish to turn off your system completely when you will be away from home for a prolonged period of time Just remember to turn it back on again when you return Ventilation Your Wisdom Audio SC 1 contains many active devices and a great deal of signal processing...

Page 8: ...ug outlet standards The operating voltage of the SC 1 may not be changed by the user Your SC 1 has been preset at the factory for the voltage of the country for which it was built If you move to a country with a different AC mains voltage please contact your local Wisdom Audio distributor or Wisdom Audio for assistance Caution Always make sure the SC 1 is set for the correct voltage before connect...

Page 9: ...ements Only you and your dealer can decide whether you would benefit from taking advantage of any of these possibilities Most people obtain everything they need from a single setup but having the flexibility to address unusual circumstances can be invaluable Bi or Tri amplification People who have wanted to extract the highest performance from their systems have known for a long time that driving ...

Page 10: ...escribed above System Specific EQ Wisdom Audio speakers deliver extraordinary performance from slim elegant enclosures However we cannot cheat the rules of physics Delivering powerful bass from such small enclosures places unusual demands on both the woofers and the amplifiers used to drive them Specifically equalization is used to compensate for the unusually small enclo sure volume behind the wo...

Page 11: ... lit to indicate both power and which setup memory is being used If all the LEDS are off no power is being supplied to the unit The SC 1 requires several seconds to boot up when coming out of stand by The amber LED flashes during this startup process turning off when it is complete One of the Setup Memory LEDs will turn on at this point to indicate which memory is active Finally if the SC 1 detect...

Page 12: ...s allows you to easily hear only what the room correction software is doing for your system You can cycle through the available memories and bypass mode by press ing the Setup Calibration Switch to the right of these indicators See 3 below In addition there is one special case During room correction calibration only all three LEDs will be on and the LED for the setup memory you are working on will...

Page 13: ...nd three independent subwoofer channels controlled by the SC 1 These ten bal anced audio inputs accept signals from a preamplifier processor with balanced outputs via high quality XLR connectors The pin assignments of these XLR type female input connectors are 2 1 3 Pin 1 Chassis ground Pin 2 Signal non inverting Pin 3 Signal inverting Connector ground lug chassis ground These pin assignments are ...

Page 14: ...portion of the audio spectrum and must be connected to the amplifiers that drive the planar magnetic panels The pin assignments of this XLR type male output connector are 2 1 3 Pin 1 Chassis ground Pin 2 Signal non inverting Pin 3 Signal inverting Connector ground lug chassis ground These pin assignments are consistent with the standards adopted by the Audio Engineering Society Refer to the operat...

Page 15: ...apter used to convert from balanced to single ended must float Pin 3 the inverted signal This can easily be checked with an ohmmeter the impedance be tween Pin 3 and either the center pin or the shield skirt on the RCA should be infinite Tying the output of Pin 3 to ground as some adapters do will compromise the performance of the SC 1 Should you need them prop erly wired adapters are available fr...

Page 16: ...SC 1 All basic operational modes are supported operate standby selecting setup memories When the SC 1 is first powered up it will identify itself to the control system via the RS 232 port sending either Wisdom Audio SC 1 or Wisdom Audio SC 1 Ready ERROR depending on whether there is at least one setup memory that has been calibrated and is available for use For proper operation at least one setup ...

Page 17: ...isy chaining of this turn on signal with other components such as amplifiers The remote trigger input will be operated by any positive polarity DC signal between 3 20 volts only a few milliamps are required with tip po larity as shown below Remote turn on tip polarity Input Signal 3 20 volts less than 10 mA Output Signal 12 volts 100 mA The DC Trigger Input has priority over the front panel switch...

Page 18: ...o ensure that all AC plugs for the equipment in the system be wired so as to ensure proper AC polarity Doing so will mini mize noise in the system In the U S a simple AC mains tester found at any hardware store can test to ensure that your electrical outlets are wired properly Elsewhere in the world for example in European Union countries the AC mains plugs themselves are not always polarized Your...

Page 19: ...19 5 Pull out the red fuse block and check both fuses If either is blown please contact your local Wisdom Audio dealer or Wisdom Audio for service ...

Page 20: ...0 would be quite poor since the dimensions are all divisible by a length of 4 and 16 is also multiple of 8 By contrast a room whose dimensions are 9 by 16 by 29 would be much better since none of the dimensions are mathematically related to one another There are infinite variations on this idea If you have the flexibility to choose or modify your room dimensions to avoid such problems do so Either...

Page 21: ...d them and placing them at odd frac tions of the room s dimensions e g fractions in which the denominator is an odd number like 1 3 2 5 2 7 etc But nothing replaces your experience in your room combined with your deal er s experience in a variety of rooms Playing pink noise through the woofer sections of your Wisdom Audio speakers with the mi crophone at the listening position and prior to doing a...

Page 22: ...ve the luxury of doing so this simple placement strategy can reduce the size of the room s response irregulari ties from 20 decibels down to perhaps as little as 6 8 decibels Reducing the room s inherent problems to this degree is a huge advantage It allows the SC 1 to put its considerable abilities to work on perfecting your sys tem s response rather than on trying to perform major corrective sur...

Page 23: ...directly A well designed room is also quieter and more comfortable It can easily become a favorite retreat for peace and rejuvenation If you decide to investigate the possibility of improving your room with the help of a professional it is important to find someone who focuses on domestic residential spaces Most acousticians are trained to deal with large spaces air ports auditoriums lobbies in co...

Page 24: ...A series amplifiers the amplifiers will turn on auto matically in series one after another after short delays See Rear Panel item 7 Overview of the Process Your Wisdom Audio SC 1 must be set up by your dealer who has the requisite equipment and software on a laptop computer Briefly the process is as follows 1 Using the Wisdom Audio supplied System Configuration software configure the SC 1 to match...

Page 25: ... sort of Auto Standby or sleep mode that turns the power to the subwoofer off after it does not receive any signal for some period of time please disable this mode for the duration of the calibration Doing so will ensure that the subwoofer is always on and always outputting a signal which is important when taking accurate measurements During Calibration Audyssey MultEQ XT Room Correction performs ...

Page 26: ...C on which is installed the WisdomSysConfig and Audyssey MultEQ Pro software Note that the SC 1 must be allowed to finish its startup process before connecting it to the PC via USB Launch the WisdomSysConfig application You should see a splash screen for a few seconds that looks like the following Wisdom System Configuration If the connection between the PC and the SC 1 is not made for any reason ...

Page 27: ...is screen to change the basic system configuration you can click the Previous button on the third and second screens to return or click directly on the appro priate tab 6 x Phantom A special case exists in this menu system that being the 6 x Phantom system configurations This is intended to describe the case of what amounts to a 7 x system minus its center channel This configuration may be used in...

Page 28: ...ro about which channels of hardware are going to be used You will finish the process of defining which channels are used for which speaker and which zones later when you get to MultEQ Pro Speaker Selection The second tab provides visual confirmation that the basic system description you selected is appropriate and a graphic way to tell the SC 1 which loudspeak ers you are using on each channel Fol...

Page 29: ...dom Audio does not manufac ture in ceiling speakers In this case select the Generic speaker type for those locations and connect the High Pass outputs of the SC 1 for those channels to the amplifier used to drive the non Sage speakers The Low Pass outputs will be deactivated for Generic single amplified speakers and a full range signal will instead be routed out the High Pass outputs A GenSW optio...

Page 30: ...in the area labeled High Crossover Volume Trim See below Note that you will see fewer trims if you are using fewer than seven main channels Room Calibration tab The SC 1 itself provides a high resolution measurement system used in the MultEQ Pro calibration process Without getting too far ahead of ourselves since we have not yet discussed MultEQ Pro the idea is to take three measurements of what i...

Page 31: ...usly set up a 6 3 Phantom system intending to use the SC 1 to provide three different 2 1 channel zones The number of zones shown on this tab varies depending on how many speakers have been defined You may create either mono or stereo subwoofer channels to complement your main speakers up to the hardware limit of a total of 7 3 channels as an ex ample you could use the SC 1 as a three way stereo c...

Page 32: ...r granted in surround sys tems when using a stereo preamp instead All these values should be left at 0 0 if you do have a surround processor in the system All such adjustments should be made in only one place doing them in two places would ensure confusion and a poor result MultEQ Pro will provide you with recommended settings after taking all your measurements After the calibration process in Mul...

Page 33: ...s a thorough knowledge of the Audyssey MultEQ Pro software Additional information about its recommended use and detailed explanations of the technology is available in the Audyssey MultEQ Pro User Guide for the Sound Equalizer Moving to the right side of the Room Calibration screen select the EQ 1 radio button and click the Launch Room Calibration button Room Calibration Doing so will launch MultE...

Page 34: ...nce feedback may result that could potentially damage your loudspeakers Click the right facing triangle to move to the Job Information screen Job Information Complete the form above and several to come so as to document the installa tion properly and then move on to the measurements of your room ...

Page 35: ... in Zone 1 as shown below Zone Configuration The Zone Configuration screen allows you to reassign specific channels to either a second or a third zone using the radio buttons and pulldown menus In this case for example you might put channels 5 6 and 9 into Zone 2 This would give you a 5 1 system for your main theater that uses the Left Center Right and Surround outputs along with Subwoofer 1 while...

Page 36: ...figuration and then set up as fol lows Zone 1 Left Right Subwoofer1 Zone 2 Left Surround Right Surround Subwoofer 2 Zone 3 Left Back Right Back Subwoofer 3 Using the 6 3 Phantom option skips the Center channel entirely which is sim pler when trying to remember which channel is being used in which room Room Dimensions Providing the information on the room dimensions can be done in either English or...

Page 37: ...ose to the microphone as possible e g the shortest cable length Use any additional XLR cables between the mic preamp and the SC 1 where they will carry the line level signal Microphone position Place the microphone in a vertical position with the capsule pointing directly at the ceiling for all room measurements Make sure there are no nearby obstruc tions or large reflecting surfaces artwork court...

Page 38: ...ord the room response to the test signal The first Position 1 measurement must be located at the primary listening posi tion as this is the measurement that establishes both distance and level settings for your surround processor Place the microphone s tip at a location halfway between where the primary listener s ears would be pointing at the ceiling Click the Measure button Each speaker will be ...

Page 39: ...ions one thousand measurements are being made Ten speakers times ten locations times ten chirps per speaker is 1000 measure ments This is far more data than any human technician could master and allows the SC 1 to do a far better job of ascertaining what problems are most characteristic of the room rather than idiosyncratic to a single microphone loca tion Click the forward right pointing triangle...

Page 40: ... each of your speakers Depending on your preamplifier processor follow one of the below three steps 1 If your preamplifier processor allows for individual speaker cross over settings use the crossover frequency suggested for each speaker 2 If your preamplifier processor pairs the crossover settings for your front and surround speakers then using the drop down menus on the MultEQ Pro find the highe...

Page 41: ...result you would like to hear after MultEQ Pro has finished calculating the corrections needed to get you there The four curves are used as follows The Flat curve creates equalization filters that correct the re sponse to flat from the low frequency cutoff point that MultEQ Pro has determined to the upper frequency limit of the tweeters This setting must be used in a THX system in order to allow T...

Page 42: ...d HF Rolloff is usually the more desirable target and EQ 3 might include the Gaming curve for your XBox or Playstation 3 exploits or simply when you would like a little more perceived weight in your music Accessing these settings can even be fully automated by means of a home automation controller Crestron AMX Control4 etc via the RS 232 port on the rear panel of the SC 1 Disconnect the microphone...

Page 43: ...me automation system You can also view the before and after results in your default browser by click ing on the View Results button This page can also be printed out for sub sequent review and comparison with other setup memories you may elect to calibrate Advanced Calibration Tip The View Results button can be an invaluable tool for diagnosing unusual room and or equipment problems Get in the hab...

Page 44: ...sults button To keep things simple the microphone was never moved not recommended for normal calibrations First up is an L75i system with the HF Trim untouched at 0 0 dB You can see that the planar section is significantly louder overall than the woofer section MultEQ respects what it interprets as a low frequency roll off and there is little energy below about 150 Hz This manual suggests an HF Tr...

Page 45: ... the microphone around as you normally do so as to give the system more information about what is going on in the room In fact the same speaker in the same position but with a total of ten measurements in the room looks like this Giving MultEQ Pro more information about what is happening in the room really does improve its ability to correct for room problems Calibration Completed Congratulations ...

Page 46: ...Config exe If you would like to calibrate another setup memory select the next one in order e g EQ 2 after you have saved EQ 1 and repeat the MultEQ Pro por tion of the setup process This allows you to take advantage of multiple target curves or different seating arrangements or different acoustic conditions such as having heavy drapes open or closed ...

Page 47: ...ol and a soft cloth Dampen the cloth with alcohol first and then lightly clean the surface of the SC 1 with the cloth Do not use excessive amounts of alcohol that might drip off the cloth and into the SC 1 Caution At no time should liquid cleaners be applied directly to the SC 1 as direct application of liquids may result in damage to electronic components within the unit ...

Page 48: ...ng the factory prior to shipping the component The factory will pay for return shipping charges only in the event that the component is found to be defective as mentioned above There are other stipulations that may apply to shipping charges There is no other express warranty on this component Neither this warranty nor any other warranty express or implied including any implied warranties of mer ch...

Page 49: ...rve to verify warranty status Please in clude it with the unit when it is brought in for warranty service This step is not necessary if the warranty is registered at the time of purchase Another reason to register your purchase at http www wisdomaudio com registration Warning All returned units must be packaged in their original packaging and the proper return authorization numbers must be marked ...

Page 50: ... rms Maximum input voltage 2 5V rms Power consumption 33W Thermal load 2 BTU minute DC trigger input sensitivity 3 20V 10 mA DC trigger output signal 12V 100 mA Mains voltage ranges 100 120V or 200 240V Overall dimensions See Dimensions Shipping weight 34 lbs 15 4 kg For more information see your Wisdom Audio dealer or contact Wisdom Audio 1572 College Parkway Suite 164 Carson City NV 89706 www wi...

Page 51: ...9 4 cm 17 43 2 cm 33 4 8 57 cm 11 4 3 2 cm 33 8 8 6 cm 11 4 3 2 cm 167 8 42 9 cm 13 33 cm 135 8 34 7 cm 5 8 1 7 cm 3 8 95 cm 17 43 2 cm 135 8 34 7 cm 33 8 8 6 cm 3 8 95 cm 33 4 8 57 cm 111 8 28 3 cm 11 4 3 2 cm 11 4 3 2 cm ...

Page 52: ...udio Inc All rights reserved Printed in U S A Wisdom Audio 1572 College Parkway Suite 164 Carson City Nevada 89706 USA Telephone 775 887 8850 Fax 775 887 8820 http www wisdomaudio com is a registered trademark of Wisdom Audio Inc ...