Wharfedale Pro WLA-25 Guide

www.wharfedalepro.com
OPERATING MANUAL AND USER GUIDE
WLA-25 & WLA-25SUB
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Contents
IMPORTANT WARNINGS & SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS..................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................. 2
FEATURES.......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
SPLAY ANGLES.................................................................................................................................................................. 4
LEVEL TAPERING .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
FLEXIBLE ARRAYS ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
OPTIMISED GROUND STACKING..................................................................................................................................... 6
AIR ABSORPTION .............................................................................................................................................................. 6
AIR ABSORPTION .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
WLA-25/WLA25SUB FLY FRAME ...................................................................................................................................... 8
DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS-WLA-25 ................................................................................................................................. 9
DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS-WLA-25SUB........................................................................................................................ 10
DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS-WLA-25 FLYFRAME ........................................................................................................... 11
DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS-WLA-25SUB FLYFRAME.................................................................................................... 12
SPECIFICATION ............................................................................................................................................................... 13
WHARFEDALE PRO LIMITED WARRANTY .................................................................................................................... 14
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IMPORTANT WARNINGS & SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
• Read these instructions
• Follow these instructions
• Keep these instructions for future reference
• Heed all warnings
• Do not use this system near moisture or water
• Clean only with a dry cloth
• Install in accordance with these Wharfedale Pro operating instructions
• Followthemanufacturer’soperatinginstructionsforallperipheraldevicessuchasampliersandprocessors
• Do not install near heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves or any other apparatus that produces heat (for
examplelightingsystemsandampliers)
• UseonlyaccessoriesspeciedorsuppliedbyWharfedalePro
• Donotuseshieldedmicrophone/instrumentcablestoconnectampliersandspeakers,useonlyapprovedspeaker
cableswithproperconnectors
• Usecautionwithplacementandoperationofthisspeakersystem,permanenthearingdamagecanbecausedby
prolonged exposure to excessive sound pressure levels
• Referallservicingtoqualiedprofessionals.Servicingisrequiredwhentheloudspeakerhasbeen damagedinany
way,suchasimpactdamage,liquidingressorforeignobjectdamage.Inadditiontheloudspeakershouldbereferred
toqualiedservicepersonnelifthereisanykindofmalfunction.
Rigging,suspendingandmountingshouldonlybeattemptedbyexperiencequaliedprofessionals.Incorrectusagecan
resultindamagetoequipmentandproperty,injuryandevendeath.Undernocircumstancesshouldyouattempttorig,
suspendormountthesespeakersunlessyouarefullyqualiedandcertiedtodosobyrelevantlocal,stateandnational
authorities.Ifyouarenotproperlyqualiedordonotknowofpertinentregulationsconsultqualiedpersonnelforadvice.
Consultastructuralengineerbeforesuspendingaspeakersystemandensurethatthetotalweightofyoursystemcan
beheldbythetrussormountingsurface.
Inspectallmountinghardwarebeforeyourlinearrayisflown.Ifthereisanydamageordistortiontoanymounting
hardwaredonotythearrayuntilanydamagedhardwareisrepairedorreplaced.OnlyuseWharfedaleProsupplied
QuickreleasePins,contactyourWharfedaleProDistributorifanyquickreleasepinsarelostordamaged.
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Designed for the most demanding concert and installation audio professionals, the WLA-25 system sets new standards
for astonishing acoustical performance in a compact size.
Line arrays are increasingly employed in a wider range of venues and applications. Frequently these venues have height
or sightline restrictions that limit the placement and size of the array. Rising fuel costs are putting pressure on touring
system providers to downsize their transportation requirements. At the same time, client and audience expectations for
audioperformancehasneverbeenhigher.Tomeettheseneeds,WharfedaleProembarkedonaprogramtodevelopthe
mostcompact,highestoutputlinearrayspeakersystemavailable.
Each WLA-25 element uses a pair of high-power, 5” low-frequency drivers. Both cover low frequencies while only one
extends into the mid range, thus maintaining horizontal dispersion control at a crossover. High frequencies are handled
byapremium1.7”diaphragm,neodymiumcompressiondriver,100°x10°multipleaperturediffractionwaveguide.This
createsawidecoveragewithasuperbstereoimageandallowsformorediverseplacement.
Thewaveguideexitextendsnearlytothetopandbottomoftheenclosuretocreateacontinuousacousticalsourcewith
minimaldiscontinuitiesbetweenadjacentelementsresultingingreatlyreduceddestructiveinteraction.
Premiummaterialsareusedthroughoutthesystem.The enclosureisconstructedofBalticbirchplywoodandcoated
inanenvironmentallyfriendly, waterbornepolymernishthatiseldrepairable.Tokeep the weighttoaminimumand
preventrust,suspensionttingsaremadeofaluminium.
Anelegantlysimple3-pointsuspensionsystemcombinedwithlightweight,compactsizeandexcellenthandling
ergonomicsmeanthataonepersoncrewcaneasilydeployanarray.AsingleWLA-25arrayyframesuspendsupto
twelvelinearrayelementsoruptotwelvelinearrayelements plus onesubwoofer.TheWLA-25systemisequallyat
homeintheairorground-stacked.
INTRODUCTION
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WLA-25
High sensitivity, Full Horn Loaded design
120WRMS/240WProgram/480WPeakPowerHandling
Dual 5” woofer, 1.5” voice coils
1x1” exit HF compression driver
1.7 “ Titanium diaphragm, neodymium magnet compression driver
100°x10°degreeconstant-directivityhorn
NominalPassiveCrossoverNetwork
Front hinged rigging system
Captiverigginghardwarewithtetheredquickreleasepins
Comprehensiveadjustablesplayangles
Integral,sideplateadjustableriggingsystem,verticalsplayadjustablein1°incrementsfrom0°-10°
TrapezoidBalticbirchplywoodenclosure
2xParallelSpeakonInputs
Constant directivity waveguides
Blackandwhitepaintnish
WLA-25SUB
700WRMS/1400WProgram/2800WPeakpowerhandling
Roadtoughmodularsubwoofersystem
Dual 10” woofer, 2.5” voice coil
Nominal Impedance 4 Ohm
Stronginternalbracingpreventsbasslossanddistortionfromenclosure,vibrationandresonance
2xParallelSpeakonInputs
Blackandwhitepaintnish
FEATURES
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TheWLAcanbeconfiguredwithseveraldifferentsplayangles.Thesplayanglesdeterminetheamountofoverlap
betweentheindividualunits.Thisisusedtodeterminetheamountofsummationor‘throw’forseparatesectionsof
thearray.Asthesplayanglebetweenboxesincreasesthesummationdecreasesbutthespectralvariancedueto
interactionsbetweentheelementsisalsodecreased.
Formanyvenuesagoodcompromisebetweenthrowandspectralvariancecanbereachedbyvaryingthesplayangle
acrossthelengthofthearray.Byvaryingtheangularseparationalongthelengthofthearray,abalancecanbemetfor
therequiredcoverage.Smallersplayanglesprovidehigher summationtocovermoredistantseatingandbleachers.
Larger splay angles provide lower summation with reduced spectral variance for close seating. Used correctly this can
provide even coverage over long distances.
EachgroupofloudspeakerswithdifferentsplayanglewillrequireaseparatechannelofamplicationanddifferentEQ
settings.Thisisduetothedifferentsummationeffectsbydifferingsplayangles.
SPLAY ANGLES
Taperingthelevelofenclosureshasabeamsteeringeffectwhichcanbeusedintheconjunctionwithangularseparation
betweenelements.Thebeamwillbesteeredawayfromthe‘on-axis’centrelineofarraytowardthecabsbeingdriven
atthehighestlevel.Theextentofthebeamsteeringeffectdependsonthelengthofthearrayandtheleveldifference
betweenthetopandthebottomofthearray.Thistechniqueallowsyoutofurthertailortheverticalcoveragetodifferently
shapedvenues,reducingthelevelvariancebetweenthefrontandrearofthevenue.
Ideallythelevelofeachenclosureistaperedgradually(e.g.0.5dBor1dBperelement).Thismeansyouwillrequire
anamplierchannelperelementinpassive mode,ortwoamplierchannelsperelementin bi-ampmode.Groupsof
elementscanbetaperedinpairsormore,althoughamoregradualtaperwillgiveyousmootherverticalpatterncontrol.
LEVEL TAPERING
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FLEXIBLE ARRAYS
ArrayscanbeassembledusingonlyWLA-25linearraymodulesorwithWLA-25SUBSubwoofersatthetopofthearray.
TheWLA-25SUBFlyFrameallowsforaWLA-25SUBsubwoofertobeusedatthetopofthearray.TheWLA-25SUBFly
Frame supports up to 12 x WLA-25 modules and 1 x WLA-25SUB with a safety factor of 12.
ArrayscanbeassembledusingonlyWLA-25linearraymodules.ThesmallerWLA-25FlyFramesupportsupto12x
WLA-25 modules with a safety factor of 12.
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Thehighfrequencyperformanceofthemediumandlongthrowsectionsofthelinearraywillbelimitedbyairabsorption.
Asthedistancefromthesourceincreases,themidandhighfrequencieswillbereduced.Theamountofabsorptionata
given frequency is function of pressure, temperature and relative humidity. By far the most important factor is the relative
humidity,althoughtemperaturedoeshaveasignicanteffect.
Toachieveminimalspectralvarianceacrossthecoverageofthearray,thegroupsofloudspeakerscoveringthemiddleto
rearofthevenuewillrequireequalizationtocompensateforthiseffect.Airabsorptionisdifculttopredictwithanygreat
accuracy,andinanycasetherelativehumidityofthevenueislikelytochangewhentheaudiencearriveortheweather
changes. It is important that the venue is monitored during the event as the equalization applied during the design stage
withanemptyvenuemaynotbesuitableduringtheevent.
Asageneralguide,boostabove8kHzforalongthrowgroupofloudspeakersand12kHzforamediumthrowgroupof
loudspeakers.
The chart overleaf shows attenuation in dB/m for a given frequency and humidity. It is important to note that the effects of
airattenuationarelinear,unlikethelevelofattenuationfromdistancefromtheinversesquarelaw.Forexample,at100m
asourcewouldbe40dBdowncomparedtoit’sSPLat1m.Assuming50%relativehumidityand20°thelevelat10kHz
willbeanadditional16dBbelowthis(approximately56dBdown).
AIR ABSORPTION
OPTIMISED GROUND STACKING
WLA-25riggingdoublesupasanoptimizedgroundstackingsystem,usingtheWLA-25SUBsubwooferasabase.Arrays
ofWLA-25linearrayelementscanbeaimeddownwardsbyasmuchas10°tocoveraudienceareasclosetoastage,as
wellasupwardbyasmuchas10°inordertobettercoverdistantbalconyseatingareas.
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AIR ABSORPTION
TheWLA-25hasinternalcrossovers.TheinternalcrossoveroftheWLA-25loudspeakerdividestheaudiosignalintothe
separate frequency ranges for each driver.
TheWLA-25SUBsubwoofersdonothaveinternalcrossovers.Thisfunctionmustbesuppliedbyexternalelectronic
devices such as the Wharfedale Pro Versadrive series or LMX-204.
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