Owner’s Manual Wisdom Audio System Controller SC-1
WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.
Important Safety Instructions Please read all instructions and precautions carefully and completely before operating your Wisdom Audio equipment. 1. Read these instructions. 2. Keep these instructions. 3. Heed all warnings. 4. Follow all instructions. 5. Do not use this equipment near water. 6. Clean only with a dry cloth. 7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. 8.
Table of Contents Important Safety Instructions..........................................................................3 Unpacking the SC-1.........................................................................................6 Warm up/break-in period........................................................................................6 Placement Considerations................................................................................7 Ventilation.................................................
Audyssey MultEQ® Pro...................................................................................31 Launching MultEQ Pro.........................................................................................31 Room Calibration..........................................................................................31 MultEQ Pro Welcome screen.........................................................................32 Multi-Zone Setup (part 2)...........................................................
Unpacking the SC-1 Please exercise caution when unpacking your new Wisdom Audio SC-1 to ensure that you do not strain yourself. Caution! Do not attempt to lift your SC-1 while bending or twisting from the waist. Use your legs for lifting, not your back. Always stand as straight as possible and keep the SC-1 close to your body. After unpacking your SC-1, keep all packing materials for future transport.
Placement Considerations PRECAUTION For your protection, review “Important Safety Instructions” and “Operating Voltage” before you install your SC-1. Note that adequate clearance for the AC cord and connecting signal cables must be left behind your SC-1. We suggest leaving at least six inches (15 cm) of free space behind your SC-1 so all cables have sufficient room to bend without crimping or undue strain.
Operating Voltage For compatibility with existing household outlets, a standard three prong, 15 ampere plug is provided on the removable, IEC-standard AC mains cable. The Wisdom Audio SC-1 may be set for 100-120V or 200V-240V AC mains operation. Outside the United States, and depending on local electrical codes and regulations, the AC mains cord may need to be replaced with one that conforms to local plug/outlet standards. The operating voltage of the SC-1 may not be changed by the user.
Special Design Features Advanced Room Correction Multiple Setup Memories Audyssey MultEQ® XT is a room equalization solution that calibrates any audio system so that it can achieve optimum performance for every listener in a large listening area. MultEQ® XT captures acoustical information at multiple locations throughout a listening area in both the time and frequency domains. It uses a sophisticated clustering algorithm to combine this information so that acoustical problems are accurately analyzed.
Since each channel of the amplifier is delivering current into its load only over a limited range of frequencies, several forms of distortion are reduced as compared to each channel handling the full range of musical information. The SC-1 supports up to a “7.3 channel” system, meaning that up to seven main speakers can be supported (all of which are biamplified), plus up to three independent subwoofer channels. All of these outputs benefit from room correction, described above.
Front Panel 1 Power Switch and Indicator The SC-1 features a sculpted front panel that conceals two switches under the flexible ends of the middle section. On the left side, gently pressing the end of the center section will engage a microswitch under the face of the SC-1, which will in turn toggle the unit between operate and standby modes. The international symbol for power is inscribed in this location to designate its purpose.
These three LEDs indicate which of the three setup memories is currently active. They also serve to indicate that the unit is powered up and operating normally. (When the unit is in standby, only the amber standby LED on the left side of the front panel is lit; the blue memory LEDs are off.
R L C SL SR SBL SBR Sub1 Sub2 Sub3 INPUT CAUTION--RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK--DO NOT OPEN ON/OFF Please refer to owner's manual for fuse replacement Manufactured under license from Audyssey Laboratories. U.S. and n patents pending. HIGH OUT MultEQ XT is a trademark of Audyssey Laboratories. SUB OUTS O 100-120V, 50-60 Hz, @ < 0.5A FUSE REPLACEMENT O 200-240V, 50-60 Hz, @ < 0.
During calibration, the Left input (in the top left corner as seen from behind the unit) is also used by your installer for connecting the output of the calibrated microphone that measures the room’s response. Caution! Do not connect the calibrated microphone to the Left input input of the SC-1 until instructed to do so a part of the MultEQ® Pro software application.
3 7 Channel Low (Woofer) Output These seven balanced audio outputs carry the room-corrected “low pass” portion of the audio spectrum, and must be connected to the amplifiers that drive the woofer sections of the loudspeakers.
erly wired adapters are available from Wisdom Audio for an additional charge. 5 USB Port This USB port is used by your installer to connect a Windows-compatible PC for setup and calibration. It provides two-way communication between the SC-1 and the computer that is used for adjusting the many parameters of the system controller. 6 RS232 Interface The RS232 interface allows an external control system such as AMX, Control4, Crestron, or Savant to control the SC-1.
– 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. Therefore, if a trigger voltage is present at this input connector, the unit will be forced on and the front panel switch will be ignored. When the voltage transitions from high to low (off), the unit will go into standby.
We recommend that care be taken to ensure that all AC plugs for the equipment in the system be wired so as to ensure proper AC polarity. Doing so will minimize 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.
Introduction to Room Acoustics Wisdom Audio believes in equalization. Assume for a moment that you had a “perfect” loudspeaker: as soon as you place it in your room, its perfection is gone. In fact, even good rooms often introduce deviations of 20 dB to the response of the system. It seems strange to us to worry about tenths-of-a-decibel differences between one component and another when there are 10-20 dB problems right there in the room with you. At the same time, room equalization is not a panacea.
benefit (when done properly) of providing outstanding acoustic isolation from adjacent spaces as well as superb bass reproduction. This approach goes well beyond the scope of an owner’s manual; if you are interested, you should contact a professional acoustician who has specialized in domestic listening room design. Main Speaker Placement Within the room itself, placement of the speakers and the listener will have a profound effect on the performance of the system, particularly below 300 Hz or so.
are all behind the listeners, creating a big “hole” in the soundfield between the front and the back.) a 7.2 channel system layout Subwoofer Placement Subwoofers offer somewhat greater flexibility in placement, since the frequencies they reproduce are not readily localizable by the human ear. This is due to the fact that the wavelengths they reproduce are more than ten feet (3 meters) long, but our ears are located only about 6-7 inches (≈ 17 cm) apart.
tion of any speaker is a first reflection point. Concentrate on those for the Left and Right speakers first. If you can, arrange to apply either absorption or diffusion at these eight points (don’t forget the wall behind you). Absorption can be as simple as heavy, insulated drapes; diffusion can be provided by a well-stocked bookcase with books of varied sizes. Alternatively, you can buy purpose-designed room treatments (some sources listed under References, below).
Getting Ready to Calibrate System Connections Before you start to calibrate your SC-1, double-check the connections: • All the balanced outputs of your preamp/processor to the corresponding Main Inputs of the SC-1. • All the corresponding balanced High Outputs of the SC-1 to the amplifier channels that are driving the planar (high frequency) sections of your Wisdom Audio loudspeakers.
Caution! Do NOT connect the output of the microphone to the SC-1 until the software explicitly instructs you to do so in the calibration process. Connecting the microphone with the SC-1 and amplifiers on at the wrong time can cause dangerous feedback that may damage your loudspeakers. Before Calibration Any subwoofer low-pass filter (crossover) should be defeated, or set to the THX setting. Sometimes subwoofers have a special input that bypasses any internal crossover, often called the “LFE input.
Wisdom System Configuration Connecting the PC Important: Turn on both your PC and the SC-1. Wait approximately thirty seconds for the SC-1 to finish its startup routines, and for as long as it takes for Windows to completely start up. Do not connect the the PC to the SC-1 until both are fully “on” (meaning neither Off nor in Standby). Also, do not Shut Down your PC while its USB cable is still connected to the SC-1.
Basic System Description screen The screen above allows you to configure the SC-1 for the number and nature of the channels in your system. Select the appropriate configuration from the dropdown menu, wherein the normal conventions are used to describe the system, e.g., a “5.1 Multichannel” system includes left, center, right, two surround channels, and a “0.1” subwoofer channel.
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 screen provides visual confirmation that the basic system description you selected is appropriate, and a graphic way to tell the SC-1 which loudspeakers you are using on each channel. Follow the on-screen instructions, as shown below.
While you should always use Wisdom Audio speakers when possible (since the SC-1 is specifically designed to support them), a “Generic” speaker model is provided in case you need to integrate non-Sage speakers into the system. For example, you may have a situation in which architectural constraints mandate in-ceiling speakers for the surround channels. Wisdom Audio does not manufacture in-ceiling speakers.
Room Calibration screen The pink noise used by surround processors to adjust the relative volume between channels can be used for this purpose. Alternatively, you could use a test disc that had the appropriate pink noise signals, such as the 5.1 Audio Toolkit DVD (http://www.audiotoolkit.com/). Simply turn off the power amplifiers that drive the planar magnetic sections, and turn on the noise sequencer.
Using identical amps 30 If you use the same amplifiers (or amps that have identical input sensitivities and gain) for both the woofer and planar sections, then the only difference that needs to be accounted for is the difference in sensitivity in the speaker sections themselves. Those figures are supplied in the table below.
Audyssey MultEQ® Pro Launching MultEQ Pro Note: At this point, the SC-1 knows all the critical information about the associated equipment with which it is working, except for the most important component of all: your listening room. Your installer has been trained and has 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.
MultEQ Pro Welcome screen Warning! Do not connect the microphone to the SC-1 at this time, since feedback may result that could potentially damage your loudspeakers. Click the right-facing triangle to move to the product selection screen, where the installer can select the Wisdom Audio SC-1 from a list of the various Audyssey™-compatible equipment that his MultEQ® Pro installation knows about.
The Zone Configuration screen allows your installer to reassign specific channels to either a second or a third zone, using the radio buttons and pulldown menus. In this case, for example, your installer might change channels 5 and 6 to Left and Right, respectively, and 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 the second zone utilized the “Back” channels and Subwoofer 2.
tion screen, the signal path in the SC-1 that could otherwise cause feedback is disabled.
Equipment Info Measurement The Measurement screen is where MultEQ® Pro collects the data it requires for accurate room correction. At this point, your installer will connect an XLR cable between the mic preamplifier LINE OUT connector and the Left input of the SC-1 (the top-left corner as seen from behind). The mic preamp should be placed as close to the microphone as possible (e.g., the shortest cable length).
phone was calibrated at “grazing incidence” and should point to the ceiling, not at any of the speakers. • Make the room as quiet as possible. Background noise can disrupt the room measurements. Close windows, silence cell phones, televisions, radios, air conditioners, fluorescent lights, home appliances, light dimmers, or other devices.
Note: Measuring some distant corner where no one would be listening, or close to a room boundary such as a wall or floor, is actually counterproductive. It will compromise the quality of the resulting room correction. A minimum of three measurements must be taken before the application will allow you to move on to the next step. Up to 32 measurements may be taken, although most rooms can be characterized quite well with 7-10 measurements (depending on the size of the listening area).
Distance can be displayed in feet, in milliseconds, or in meters (cycle among these choices by clicking the blue underlined column label). Which one is best depends on the information your surround processor’s menu system needs. Use the appropriate value to set the distance (delay) in the preamp/processor. Note: The distance measurement returned by Audyssey MultEQ Pro when using Wisdom Audio’s unique Regenerative Transmission Line™ (RTL™) subwoofers is often inaccurate.
Target Sound Options Once the room measurements are completed, MultEQ® Pro calculates an equalization filter for each loudspeaker channel, including the subwoofer(s). The role of these filters is to achieve a particular frequency response within the entire listening area for each loudspeaker. This curve is determined based on several acoustical and program material considerations and is called a target or calibration curve.
boost in the bottom octave before you get too carried away with this setting. • The SMPTE 202M curve is also known as the “X-curve” and is an international standard for the high frequency roll-off applied in a typical 500-seat movie theater. It is appropriate for professional mixing spaces and dubbing stages that must be calibrated for film sound postproduction. It can also be used in extremely large playback spaces (room volume greater than 5000 cu. ft.
Save Results Once the software finishes calculating the optimal correction filters for the target curve you have selected, you will be presented with the Save Results screen shown above. If you would like to audition the new correction without overwriting anything that may already exist in the EQ setup memory you have selected (e.g., EQ 1), click the Transfer to SC-1 button.
the midrange and treble regions is a powerful tool that allows you to “home in” on a good setting that is specific to the room at hand prior to MultEQ Pro doing the finer adjustments. As an example, we have seen rooms that worked perfectly at the recommended starting setting of a –9 dB HF Trim for the L75i, and another room that required only –2 dB for the exact same speaker. (This was a traveling demo system one of our salespeople was taking from one dealer showroom to the next.
This response would blend nicely with a subwoofer, crossing over at 50 Hz. So, from these quick measurements you can see that an HF Trim of about -5.0 dB is best suited to this particular room. The final performance will be improved by moving the microphone around as you normally do, so as to give the system more information about what is going on in the room.
You can use the close box shown at the top right corner of the screen (shown above) to exit MultEQ® Pro, returning you to the last page of WisdomSystemConfig.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 portion of the setup process.
Care & Maintenance To remove dust from the cabinet of your SC-1, use a feather duster or a lint-free soft cloth. To remove dirt and fingerprints, we recommend isopropyl alcohol 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.
North American Warranty Five Year Warranty When purchased from and installed by an authorized Wisdom Audio dealer, Wisdom Audio® electronic products are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use for a period of five years from the original date of purchase. During the warranty period, any Wisdom Audio component exhibiting defects in materials and/or workmanship will be repaired or replaced, at our option, without charge for either parts or labor, at our factory.
Obtaining Service We take great pride in our dealers. Experience, dedication, and integrity make these professionals ideally suited to assist with our customers’ service needs. If your Wisdom Audio component must be serviced, please contact your dealer. Your dealer will then decide whether the problem can be remedied locally, or whether to contact Wisdom Audio for further service information or parts, or to obtain a Return Authorization.
Specifications All specifications are subject to change at any time, in order to improve the product. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Signal to Noise ratio: Input impedance: Output impedance: Recommended minimum load impedance: Maximum output voltage: Maximum input voltage: Power consumption: Thermal load: DC trigger input sensitivity: DC trigger output signal: Mains voltage ranges: Overall dimensions: Shipping weight: –110 dB (ref 2.5V rms A-wtd.) 25 kΩ (balanced) 50 Ω 600 Ω 2.5V rms 2.
Dimensions 17" (43.2 cm) 33⁄8" (8.6 cm) 33⁄4" (8.57 cm) 3 ⁄8" (.95 cm) 151⁄2" (39.4 cm) 11⁄4" (3.2 cm) 11⁄4" (3.2 cm) 167⁄8" (42.9 cm) 13" (33 cm) 135⁄8" (34.7 cm) 5 ⁄8" (1.7 cm) 17" (43.2 cm) 135⁄8" (34.7 cm) 33⁄8" (8.6 cm) 33⁄4" (8.57 cm) 3 ⁄8" (.95 cm) 111⁄8" (28.3 cm) 11⁄4" (3.2 cm) 11⁄4" (3.
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is a registered trademark of Wisdom Audio, Inc. Wisdom Audio 1572 College Parkway, Suite 164 Carson City, Nevada 89706 USA Telephone: 775.887.8850 Fax: 775.887.8820 WSC1OM-1.6 © 3/2010 Wisdom Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
