WILSON AUDIO WATT System 8 User manual

WA T T / P u p p y S y s t e m 8 O w n e r ’ s M a n u a l

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Wilson Audio® is a registered trademark of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.
Cub®, Sophia®, WATT/Puppy®, MAXX®, and Alexandria® are 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 Market-
ing Department. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
Current Revision 1.8. 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 transmit-
ted 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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TAble O f C OnTenTS
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Section 1 – i nY our r oom ������������������������������������������������ 7
Section 1 � 1 - r oom A couSticS �������������������������������������� 9
Final l istening R oom s etup ( V oicing)�������������������������� 9
Zone o F n eutRality ������������������������������������������������ 9
Section 1 � 2 - r oom r eflectionS ���������������������������������� 11
slap e cho���������������������������������������������������������� 11
standing W a V e s ��������������������������������������������������� 14
comb F ilteR e FFect����������������������������������������������� 15
Section 1 � 3 - r eSonAnceS������������������������������������������� 16
stRuctuRal R esonance������������������������������������������� 16
Volume R esonance ������������������������������������������������ 16
Section 1 � 4 - Y our r oom ������������������������������������������� 17
Room s hapes ������������������������������������������������������ 17
W a t t / p uppy s ystem 8 i na d edicated h ome t heateR � � � � � � 1 9
speakeR p lacement V eRsus l istening p osition �������������� 19
speakeR o Rientation ��������������������������������������������� 20
summaRy ������������������������������������������������������������ 21
Section 2 – u ncrAting Your W At t / P uPPYS�������������������������� 23
Section 2 � 1 - u ncrAting the W At t / P uPPY S YStem 8 ���������� 25
initial c heck ������������������������������������������������������ 25
uncRating the p uppy ��������������������������������������������� 25
uncRating the Watt ��������������������������������������������� 26
Section 2 � 2 - c r A t e c ontent c heckliSt ������������������������� 26
Watt 8������������������������������������������������������������� 26
puppy 8������������������������������������������������������������� 27
Section 3 – A SSembling Y our W A t t / P uPPYS ������������������������ 29

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Section 3 � 1 – i nitiAl A SSemblY ������������������������������������ 31
pRepaRation �������������������������������������������������������� 31
W a t t a ssembly ��������������������������������������������������� 31
mounting the W a t t o n the p uppy ����������������������������� 32
puppy t ail c onnection ������������������������������������������ 35
Section 4 – f iniShing u P������������������������������������������������ 37
Section 4 � 1 – f inAl S etuP ������������������������������������������ 39
puppy p a W s �������������������������������������������������������� 39
spike/ d iode a ssembly �������������������������������������������� 39
installation p RoceduRe ������������������������������������������ 41
leVeling the W a t t / p uppy ��������������������������������������� 41
RemoVing the p RotectiVe F ilm ���������������������������������� 42
Section 5 – c Are o f W A t t / P uPPY S YStem 8 ����������������������� 45
Section 5 � 0 – c Are o f the f iniSh ��������������������������������� 47
dusting the W a t t / p uppys �������������������������������������� 47
caRe o F the g Rilles���������������������������������������������� 48
bReak-i n p eRiod ��������������������������������������������������� 48
Section 5 � 1 – e ncloSure t echnologY ���������������������������� 49
mateRials ���������������������������������������������������������� 49
adhesiVe ������������������������������������������������������������ 49
Section 5 � 2 – D ePth o f D eSign ������������������������������������ 50
Section 6 – t roubleShooting ������������������������������������������ 53
Section 7 – S YStem S PecificAtionS ����������������������������������� 59
W A t t / P uPPY S YStem 8 D imenSionS �������������������������������� 62
Section 8 – P roPAgAtion D e l A Y t AbleS ������������������������������ 65

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Section 9 – W ArrAntY i nformAtion ����������������������������������� 69
Section 9 � 0 - W ArrAntY i nformAtion ����������������������������� 71
limited W aRRanty ������������������������������������������������� 71
conditions ��������������������������������������������������������� 71
Remedy�������������������������������������������������������������� 72
WaRRanty l imited t o o Riginal p uRchaseR �������������������� 72
demonstRation e quipment ��������������������������������������� 73
miscellaneous����������������������������������������������������� 73

W i l s o n A u d i o S p e c i a l t i e s

S e c t i o n 1 – I n Y o u r R o o m

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Section 1.1 - Room Acoustics
You are surely excited about setting up your WATT/Puppy® System 8 loudspeak-
ers and doing some listening, 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 a speaker system its size, the WATT/Puppy System 8 is unmatched in its abil-
ity to reproduce the musical event. It is truly state of the art. However, room acoustics
and boundary interactions affect the sound of a loudspeaker to such a large degree that
poor setup can seriously 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 System 8, 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.
Zone of Neutrality
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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your WATT/Puppys. Speaking in a moderately loud voice and at a con-
stant 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, the zone in most rooms 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 inner 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
procedure as above, begin moving into the room toward the opposite
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sidewall, progressing between the two pieces of tape. As above, listen
for the point in the room where your voice transitions from bass-heavy
and diffuse to neutral. Mark this point with tape. Continue your progres-
sion 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 lo-
cated 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 proce-
dure for the other loudspeaker, you will now have two rectangles, one on the floor on
either side of the room.
Section 1.2 - Room Reflections
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 WATT/Puppys.
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
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over time. You can test for slap echo in any room by clapping your hands sharply in
the middle of the room and listening for the characteristic sound of the echo in the
midrange. 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
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-
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figure 1 - common room reflection ProblemS

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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
• Cork panels
• 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 can render reproduced sound that is
lacking in musical involvement and “aliveness.”
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
the warmth region. Do not use diffusers on the wall behind the speakers or on the
sidewalls directly beside the speakers. It is our experience that all of these room treat-

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ment 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 ac-
cording 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 pri-
marily 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-
structed of concrete or brick. These materials trap the bass in the room unless it is al-
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In general, placement of the speaker in a corner will excite the maximal number
of standing waves in a room and is to be avoided for most direct radiator, full-range
loudspeaker systems. Some benefit is achieved by placing the stereo pair of loudspeak-
ers slightly asymmetrically in the listening room. This is so the standing waves caused
by the distance between one speaker and its adjacent walls and floors are not the same
as the standing wave frequencies excited by the dimensions in the other channel.
Comb Filter Effect
The “comb filter” effect is a special type of standing wave noticeable primarily at
higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths.
Acoustical comb filtering occurs when sound from a single source, such as a loud-
speaker, is directed toward a microphone or listener from a distance. The first sound
to reach the microphone is the direct sound, followed by a delayed, reflected sound.
At certain frequencies, cancellation occurs because the reflected sound lags in phase
relative to the direct sound. This cancellation is most apparent where the two frequen-
cies are 180 degrees out of phase. Further, there is augmentation at other frequencies
where the direct and the reflected sounds arrive in phase. Because it is a function of
wavelength, the comb filter effect will notch out portions of the audio spectrum at lin-
early spaced intervals. Subjectively, comb filter effect evidences itself as follows:
• Added roughness to the sound
• Reduction of harmonic richness
• Smearing of lateral soundstage image focus and placement
Comb filter effects are often caused by side wall reflections. They are best con-
trolled by very careful speaker placement and by the judicious placement of Illbruck
Sonex® or air duct panels applied to that part of the wall where the reflection occurs.
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Section 1.3 - Resonances
Resonance in listening rooms is generally caused by two sources:
• Structures within the listening room.
• The volume of air itself within the listening room.
Structural Resonance
Structural resonances are familiar to most people as buzzes and rattles, but this
type of resonance usually only occurs at extremely high volume levels and is usually
masked by the music. In many wood frame rooms the most common type of structural
resonance problem is “booming” of walls and floors. You can test for these very easily
by tapping the wall with the palm of your hand or stomping on the floor. Most rooms
exhibit mid-bass “boom” when struck. The loudspeaker playing in the room also ex-
cites these resonances. To give you an idea of what the perfect wall would sound like,
imagine rapping your hand against the side of a mountain. Structural wall resonances
generally occur in the low to mid-bass frequencies and add a false fullness to the ton-
al balance. They, too, are more prominent at louder levels, but their contribution to
the sound of the speaker is more progressive. Rattling windows, picture frames, lamp
shades, etc., can generally be silenced with small pieces of caulk or with blocks of felt.
However, short of actually adding additional layers of sheet rock to flimsy walls, there
is little that can be done to eliminate wall resonances.
Volume Resonance
The physical dimensions and volume of air in a room will also support standing
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rooms will resonate at a lower frequency and have more complex (better) modal distri-
butions than will smaller rooms. Volume resonances, wall panel resonances, and low
frequency standing waves combine to form a low frequency coloration in the sound. At
its worst, it is a grossly exaggerated fullness, which tends to obscure detail and distort
the natural tonal balance of the speaker system.
Occasionally, however, there is just enough resonance to give a little added
warmth to the sound – an addition some listeners prefer. Careful placement of loud-
speakers in the room can dramatically reduce the speakers’ destructive interaction with
low frequency modes. ASC Tube Traps™ are effective in reducing some of this low
frequency room coloration. Custom designed bass traps, such as perforated Helmholtz
resonators, provide the greatest degree of low frequency control.
Section 1.4 - Your Room
Room Shapes
Standing waves are pressure waves propagated by the interaction of sound and op-
posing parallel walls. This interaction creates patterns of low and high acoustical pres-
sure zones that accentuate and attenuate particular frequencies. Those frequencies are
dependent on room size and dimension.
There are three basic shapes for most rooms: square, rectangular, and L-shaped
(see Figure 2).
A perfectly square room is the most difficult room in which to set up speakers.
By virtue of its shape, a square room is the perfect medium for building and sustain-
ing standing waves. These rooms heavily influence the music played by loudspeakers,
greatly diminishing the listening experience.
Long, narrow, rectangular rooms also pose their own special acoustical problems
for speaker setup. They have the ability to create several standing wave nodes, which

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will have different standing wave
frequency exaggerations depend-
ing on where you are sitting. Addi-
tionally, these long rooms are often
quite lean in the bass near the cen-
ter of the room. Rectangular rooms
are still preferred to square rooms
because, by having two sets of dis-
similar length walls, standing waves
are not as strongly reinforced and
will dissipate more quickly than in
a square room. In these rooms, the
preferred speaker position for spa-
tial placement and midrange resolu-
tion would be on the longer walls.
Bass response would be reinforced
by speaker placement on the short
walls.
In many cases, L-shaped rooms
(See Figure 2) offer the best envi-
ronment for speaker setup. Ideally,
speakers should be set up along the
primary (longest) leg of the room.
They should fire from the end of the
leg (short wall) toward the L, or they
should be along the longest wall. In
this way, both speakers are firing the
figure 2 - PoSSible louDSPeAker PlAcement Within
VAriouS room ShAPeS

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same distance to the back wall. The asymmetry of the walls in L-shaped rooms resists
the buildup of standing waves (see Figure 2).
WATT/Puppy System 8 In A Dedicated Home Theater
Home theaters can be organized many different ways. Some use rows of couches.
Others use rows of multiple chairs.
In addition to watching movies, most users want to listen to two-channel music at
the highest quality possible. It is desirable, therefore, to choose a single optimum seat-
ing position in a home theater and build the rest of the seating positions around this
position.
If your optimum position is located on a couch, you should center the loudspeak-
ers on the center position of the couch.
If the seating area consists of multiple rows of chairs, the second row should be
optimized for the best sound quality. Odd numbers of chairs arranged in rows work
best as this will allow a single chair to be positioned in the center. This approach will
also provide the best overall sound for the greatest number of seats.
Speaker Placement Versus Listening Position
The location of your listening position is as important as the careful setup of your
WATT/Puppy speakers. The listening position should ideally be no more than 1.1 to
1.25 times the distance between the tweeters on each speaker. Therefore, in a long,
rectangular room of 12’ x 18’, if the speaker tweeters are going to be 9’ apart, you
should be sitting 9’11’’ to 11’3’’ from the speaker. This would be more than halfway
down the long axis of the room.
Many people place the speakers on one end and sit at the other end of the room.
This approach will not yield the finest sound. Carefully consider your listening posi-
tion. Our experience has shown that any listening position that places your head clos-
er than 14” from a room boundary will diminish the sonic results of your listening.
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Decide where you want your favorite listening position to be. Please remember
that your WATT/Puppys will fill almost any room with the most beautiful sound avail-
able. Because the propagation delay is adjustable on the WATT/Puppys, if you take
care in placing your new speakers, you will optimize System 8’s performance in your
room.
Speaker Orientation
Speaker placement and orientation are two of the most important considerations
in obtaining superior sound. The first thing you need to do is eliminate the sidewalls
as a sonic influence in your system. Speakers placed too close to the sidewalls will
suffer from a strong primary reflection. This can cause out-of-phase cancellations, or
comb filtering, which will cancel some frequencies and change the tonal balance of the
music. The Wilson Audio Setup Procedure (Section 1.1) is the best method with which
to position your loudspeakers. Start with the speakers about 18” from each wall and,
if you need to move them relative to the side wall, move them away from the wall, not
closer.
A very important aspect of speaker placement is how far from the back wall to
place the speakers. The closer a loudspeaker is to the back wall, the more pronounced
the low bass energy and centering of the image will be. However, this comes at a defi-
nite reduction in stage size and bloom as well as a deterioration of upper bass quality.
You must find the proper balance of these two factors, but remember, if you are partial
to bass response or air and bloom, do not overcompensate your adjustments to maxi-
mize these effects. Overcompensated systems are sometimes pleasing in the short-term,
but long-term satisfaction is always achieved through proper balance.
The WATT/Puppy System 8 is designed for maximum phase coherence and pulse
replication accuracy when each speaker is aimed directly at the listener or micro-
phone. Thus, your WATT/Puppy should be “toed in.” In other words, the listener, when
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