WILSON AUDIO Mezzo User manual

Mezzo Owner’s Manual

Wilson Audio® is a registered trademark of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.
Sophia®, Sasha®, MAXX®, Alexandria®, WAMM®, X-1 Grand SLAMM®, and
WATCH® are registered trademarks of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.
Wilson Audio Duette™, Mezzo™, WilsonGloss™, WATCH Center™, WATCH Sur-
round™, 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 Departments. 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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CONTENTS
MEZZO OWNER’S M ANUAL .................................................... 1
SECTION 1—INTRODUCTION .................................................. 7
SECTION 1.1—MEZZO I NTRODUCTION ................................... 9
AMONG THE TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS O F THE M EZZO: ............ 10
MORE O N P ROPAGATION DELAY ..................................... 11
SECTION 2—UNCRATING YOUR MEZZO .................................... 15
SECTION 2.1—UNCRATING THE M EZZO ................................ 17
INITIAL C HECK ...................................................... 17
UNCRATING THE M EZZO ............................................. 17
SECTION 2.2—CR A T E C ONTENT C HECKLIST ........................... 17
MEZZO CR A T E ....................................................... 18
MEZZO S T A N D B O X ................................................. 19
SECTION 3—IN Y OUR R OOM ............................................... 21
SECTION 3.1—TH E W ILSON AUDIO SETUP P ROCEDURE .............. 23
FINAL L ISTENING R OOM S ETUP (VOICING) ......................... 23
ZONE O F NEUTRALITY: MAIN L EFT AND R IGHT CHANNEL ......... 23
SECTION 3.2—ROOM ACOUSTICS ...................................... 25
SLAP E CHO .......................................................... 25
STANDING WA V E S ................................................... 27
COMB F ILTER E FFECT ............................................... 29
SECTION 3.3—RESONANCES ............................................ 29
STRUCTURAL R ESONANCE ........................................... 30
VOLUME R ESONANCE ................................................ 30
SECTION 3.4—YOUR ROOM ............................................. 31
TABLE O FC ONTENTS
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ROOM S HAPES ...................................................... 31
SPEAKER P LACEMENT V ERSUS L ISTENING P OSITION .............. 32
SPEAKER ORIENTATION ............................................. 33
CENTER C HANNEL ................................................... 33
SURROUND C HANNEL ................................................ 34
WATCH DO G AND THOR’S H AMMER P ASSIVE S UBWOOFERS ..... 35
SECTION 4—INITIAL S ETUP ................................................ 37
S ECTION 4.1—FINAL S ETUP ........................................... 39
PREPARATION ........................................................ 39
SECTION 4.2—MEZZO SPIKES .......................................... 39
ASSEMBLY ........................................................... 40
SECTION 4.3—MEASURED LISTENING POSITION ...................... 41
ROOM S ETUP ........................................................ 41
MEZZO C ONFIGURATIONS ........................................... 42
SECTION 4.4—SETUP #1 MEZZO O N F LOOR .......................... 43
SECTION 4.5—SETUP #2 MEZZO O N A S T A N D ........................ 44
TH E H OURGLASS S T A N D ............................................ 46
SECTION 4.6—SE T U P #3 MEZZO O N C USTOM ST A N D O R SHELF ... 47
SECTION 4.7—CONNECTING S PEAKER T O A MPLIFIER ................. 48
SPEAKER C ABLES ................................................... 48
SP A D E L UGS ......................................................... 49
CONNECTION O F THE M EZZO T O THE P OWER A MPLIFIER .......... 50
MEZZO S ETUP COMPLETED ......................................... 50
SECTION 5—TUNING AND V OICING ........................................ 53
SECTION 5.1—FINAL T UNING AND V OICING .......................... 55
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SECTION 5.2—LEFT AND R IGHT C HANNELS ........................... 55
DETERMINING F RONT T O B ACK DISTANCE ......................... 56
DETERMINING S IDE T O S IDE DISTANCE ............................ 57
SECTION 5.3—INTEGRATING THE M EZZO INTO S URROUND S YSTEM . . 5 8
INTEGRATING THE M EZZO ........................................... 58
IMAGE H EIGHT ....................................................... 59
MEZZO R OTATION ................................................... 59
RESETTING THE P ROPAGATION D E L A Y CORRECTION (PDC) ....... 60
INTEGRATING THE WATCH SURROUND C HANNELS ................ 60
INTEGRATING THE P ASSIVE WATCH DO G O R THOR’S HAMMER . . 6 1
SECTION 6—CARE O F THE F INISH ......................................... 63
SECTION 6.1—CARE O F THE F INISH ................................... 65
DUSTING THE M EZZO ............................................... 65
CARE O F THE GRILLS ............................................... 65
BREAK-I N P ERIOD ................................................... 66
SECTION 6.2—ENCLOSURE T ECHNOLOGY .............................. 66
MATERIALS .......................................................... 66
ADHESIVE ............................................................ 67
SECTION 6.3—DEPTH O F DESIGN ...................................... 67
SECTION 7—TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................... 69
SECTION 7.1—TROUBLESHOOTING:..................................... 71
SECTION 8—REPAIR P ROCEDURES ......................................... 75
SECTION 8.1—REPAIR P ROCEDURES ................................... 77
REPLACING A N O PEN R ESISTOR .................................... 77
REPLACING A B A D DRIVER ......................................... 78
TABLE O FC ONTENTS
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SECTION 9—SPECIFICATIONS .............................................. 81
SECTION 9.1—MEZZO SPECIFICATIONS ................................ 83
SECTION 9.2—MEZZO DIMENSIONS .................................... 84
SECTION 9.3—MEZZO H OURGLASS S T A N D DIMENSIONS .............. 85
SECTION 9.4—MEZZO O N H OURGLASS S T A N D DIMENSIONS .......... 86
SECTION 9.5—MEZZO O N C OLUMN S T A N D DIMENSIONS .............. 87
SECTION 9.5—MEZZO I MPEDANCE C U R V E ............................. 88
SECTION 10—TWEETER ALIGNMENT T ABLES ............................. 89
TABLE 1—FO R P LACEMENT O N F LOOR ................................. 91
TABLE 2—FO R P LACEMENT O N S T A N D ................................. 92
SECTION 11—WARRANTY INFORMATION ................................... 93
SECTION 12.1—WARRANTY I NFORMATION ............................. 95
LIMITED W ARRANTY ................................................. 95
CONDITIONS ......................................................... 95
REMEDY .............................................................. 96
WARRANTY L IMITED T O ORIGINAL P URCHASER .................... 96
DEMONSTRATION E QUIPMENT ....................................... 97
MISCELLANEOUS ..................................................... 97
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Section 1—Introduction

Section 1.1—Mezzo Introduction
From all of us at Wilson Audio Specialties—thank you for purchasing the Mezzo loud-
speaker. The information contained within the pages of this manual will inform and instruct
on the proper assembly, set up, and long term care of your Mezzo.
The Mezzo was formulated and engineered with a specific function in mind: a loud-
speaker endowed with similar authority and dynamic range as Wilson’s Sasha W/P, MAXX®,
and even the Alexandria® X-2. When used as a center channel, Mezzo seamlessly matches
the acoustic signature of Wilson’s larger loudspeakers – whether the main left/right speak-
ers are Sashas, MAXXs, or two more Mezzos. The Mezzo also provides an unprecedented
level of musical accuracy in music systems and home theaters where its low-profile form
solves architectural challenges, such as in those installations where a tall loudspeaker
would block the view afforded by large windows, or would obstruct wall-hanging artwork.
Whether it is used as a center channel or as a main loudspeaker, Mezzo matches the tonal
beauty, dynamic speed, tonal sophistication, resolution, and sense of “thereness” of its
taller Wilson brethren.
The Mezzo
™was formulated and engineered with a specific function in mind: a
loudspeaker endowed with a nearly identical sonic signature to Wilson’s Sasha W/P®,
but in a low-profile package. When used as a center channel, Mezzo seamlessly matches
the acoustic signature of Wilson’s vaunted Sasha. Indeed, the Mezzo features a driver
complement identical to the Sasha, with the exception of the midrange driver, which is
borrowed from the legendary Alexandria X-2®. The Mezzo also provides an unprece-
dented level of musical accuracy in music systems and home theaters where its low-profile
form solves architectural challenges, such as in those installations where a tall loudspeaker
would block wall-too-wall cinema screens, the view afforded by large windows, or would
obstruct wall-hanging artwork. Whether it is used as a center channel in conjunction with
Sasha, MAXX, or Alexandria, or as a main loudspeaker, Mezzo matches the tonal beauty,
SECTION 1.1—MEZZO I NTRODUCTION
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dynamic speed, tonal sophistication, resolution, and sense of “thereness” that are hall-
marks of Sasha W/P.
Among the technical innovations of the Mezzo:
• The Mezzo sources its midrange driver directly from the ground-breaking
Wilson Alexandria Series-2. With this midrange driver, Dave and the Wil-
son engineers set out to redefine what was possible in cone midrange
technology—and to capture certain qualities of live music heretofore not
achieved in any other design. Their efforts were rewarded. The result was
the Wilson midrange driver. One has to hear the clarity, tonal density and
truthfulness, and dynamic clarity to appreciate the resulting vast improve-
ment in midrange over other designs.
• The tweeter, sourced directly from the Sasha W/P, uses advanced technol-
ogy and material in the area behind the diaphragm. All tweeter diaphragms
are partially acoustically transparent. Any out phase or time-delayed re-
flections that make their way out of the front of the diaphragm is heard and
measured as noise and distortion. The Mezzo tweeter employs proprietary
materials in combination with proven mechanical configurations that ef-
fectively reduce these time-delayed reflections behind the inverted dome,
preventing them from subsequently corrupting the primary wave. As with
Sasha, the Mezzo tweeter excels in all areas of high-frequency perfor-
mance: clarity, dynamic expression, sweetness of tone, and resolution. It
is an excellent companion for the proprietary Wilson midrange driver. The
resulting fabric of tonal beauty woven by these two drivers is both seam-
less and complete—richly portraying instruments as they are heard in life.
• Sasha W/P woofer. The Mezzo sources its woofer directly from the Sasha
W/P. The speed, dynamic alacrity, and tunefulness that are all distinctive
features of the Sasha are in evidence here in similar proportions.
• Adjustable tweeter module design and array geometry designed to address
the challenges of a low-profile loudspeaker. In the main module, Mez-
zo’s two woofers are mounted horizontally, flanking the midrange driver.
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