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F/X®Wireless Surround
T E C H N I C A L B R I E F
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F/X Wireless Surround
1
2
Rear
4
3
Top
T E C H N I C A L B R I E F
SPECIFICATIONS
Active Speaker System
• 1 - 5 1/4" Dynamic Balance®woofer
• 4 - 2 1/2" full range Dynamic Balance drivers
• 3 position room selection switch
• AC mains switch
• In line power supply
• System power uutput - 120 Watts with DSP
• System frequency response: 48 Hz - 20 kHz
• 2.4GHz wireless transmission
• 50" transmission distance in-room
• Wireless scan button
• Energy Star rated
• 9" AC cord with in line power supply
Dimensions:
• 8 1/8" H x 19 1/2" W x 7 3/4" D
(20.6cm H x 49.5cm W x 19.6cm D)
Wireless Transmitter:
• 1 pair line level L/R Surround inputs
• 1 pair line level L/R Surround Back inputs
• 1 pair speaker level L/R Surround inputs
• 1 pair speaker level L/R Surround Back inputs
• Wireless scan button
• Adjustable external antenna
• Wall outlet power supply
Dimensions:
• 1 - 1/2'' H x 7" W x 3 13/32" D
(3.8cm H x 17.8cm W x 8.6cm
Design Goals
For many people, setting up a high performance component audio home theater
system presents several major obstacles. These include running and hiding wires
round the listening room, the cosmetic impact from 2 to 4 discrete speaker enclo-
a
sures placed in the room and ensuring their correct placement. While there are
several wireless products currently available, they’re either wireless amplifiers
that still use hard-wired speakers, or they’re individual powered speakers. Neither
of these products solve the issue of added clutter or difficulty of placement.
®
The Polk
F/X Wireless Surround addresses all of these issues with a simple and
elegant single in-room wireless speaker system that can easily be placed on the
floor, table or shelf behind the listening area. Through Polk Audio’s proprietary
Controlled Dispersion Array
™
(CDA) technology, the FX Wireless Surround creates
a convincing 5.1 channel or 7.1 channel surround sound stage. In addition Polk
Digital Logic
™
technology allows for three discrete placement options without
sacrificing performance.
While the vast majority of today’s surround sound receivers are equipped with
discrete line level 5.1 or 7.1 outputs, there are legacy products that are not so
configured. Polk’s F/X Wireless Surround transmitter incorporates both line
level and speaker levels surround and surround inputs.
SYSTEM HOOK-UP & CALIBRATION
Transmitter:
Place the transmitter in the proper proximity to the receiver or preamp based on
cable length (there are two 5' RCA cables supplied). We do not recommend placing
the transmitter directly on top of the receiver or DVD player. Connect the power
supply and plug into a convenient outlet. The LED will glow RED until a connection
with the speaker has been established. Connect either 5.1 or 7.1 line level surround outputs from the receiver or preamp to the corresponding inputs on the
transmitter box.
Included Accessories
• Two pairs of 5' long male to male RCA cables
Other Information
• Total weight: 18 lbs (8.2kg)
• Finish: black pica
• MSRP: $399.95
Transmitter Inputs
1. Audio Inputs—Line level and speaker level.
This is where you connect your transmitter to
your receiver or processor. You may make either
speaker level or line level connections, but
never make both connections at the same time.
2. Power Connection—The transmitter power
supply is connected here.
3. Power LED—Shines blue to indicate
the transmitter is active and connected
successfully to the loudspeaker. Shines red
to indicate the transmitter and loudspeaker
have failed to establish a wireless connection.
4. Scan—Push this button to re-establish the
communication link between the transmitter
and loudspeaker.
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F/X Wireless Surround
T E C H N I C A L B R I E F
SPEAKER SYSTEM
Place the long axis of the F/X Wireless Surround loudspeaker behind the listening area. The amplifier input has arrows indicating proper left/right channel orientation.
The F/X Wireless Surround can be placed either on the floor, on a table or on a shelf. Due to the unique properties of Controlled Dispersion Array, the speaker can still
operate with a solid surface several feet above it, providing there is ample open area to either side of the speaker transducer array located at each end of the curved
baffle. Connect the in line power supply and turn on the AC mains. Press the room position button to select floor, table or shelf depending upon you desired location.
The orange LED will switch accordingly. Now push the scan button. The scan LED will go from red to blue once a connection with the transmitter has been established.
NOTE: The system employs a sleep function if there is no signal present after several minutes; once a signal is detected, the system will reconnect.
F/X Wireless Surround Controls
1. Power LED—Shines blue when the
speaker is on, red when in stand-by.
2. Room Position Button—This button sets
the equalization for the F/X Wireless Surround
based on its location, either on the floor, on a
table or on a shelf. An LED indicates which
location is chosen.
3. Scan—Push this button should it become
necessary to re-establish the “communication” link between the transmitter and the
loudspeaker.
SYSTEM CALIBRATION
Gain:
1. Surround Channel gain should be set so that the sound level matches or slightly exceeds the sound
levels of the front stage.
2. Surround Back should be set to match the gain setting so determined for the Surround Channels.
Example: If +3dB is the appropriate Surround channel setting, the Surround Back should also be set to +3dB.
4. Wireless LED—Shines blue to indicate
the transmitter and loudspeaker are
connected wirelessly. Flashes blue/red
when loudspeaker and transmitter are
connecting and shines red when loudspeaker
and transmitter are not connected.
5. Power Connection—The loudspeaker
power supply is connected here.
6. AC Mains––The AC Mains Switch turns
the loudspeaker on and off, though you
may leave the switch turned on all the time.
7. Speaker Orientation––Indicates orientation
of left and right channels. Be sure to position
the speaker accordingly.
Distance to listener:
To calibrate distance with the F/X Wireless Surround you will need to determine 2 things.
1. For Surround distance simply measure the approximate distance from the speaker system to nearest side walls.
2. For Surround back measure the distance from the speaker system to the listening position.
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F/X Wireless Surround
D
A
B
D
T E C H N I C A L B R I E F
SET UP IN SYMMETRICAL ROOMS
Table 1
Symmetrical Room: Surround Right
and Surround Left Speaker Distance
Example:
Table 1 shows that Surround Left and
Surround Right delay should be set to 30'
for a 20' wide symmetrical room when the
F/X Wireless Surround is placed 2' behind
the listening area.
Loudspeaker Distance In Feet Behind Listening Area (D)
oom
R
Width
2
0
1
12 26 27 30
5
1
20
(ft)
5
2
30 35 36 37
0
4
5
2
8
2
30
3
3
0
4
8 1
6
2
9
2
31 33
3
3
0
4
6
9
2
1
3
5
3
2
4
Figure 1
CENTER
HANNEL
C
EFT
L
CHANNEL
F/X WIRELESS SURROUND
IGHT
R
CHANNEL
SUB
SET UP IN NON-SYMMETRICAL ROOMS.
In accordance with Figure 2, measure A and B, the distances between the loudspeaker cabinet and the left and right side walls respectively. Now refer to the table
below to determine the appropriate distance settings for Surround Left and Surround Right channels.
Table 2
Non-Symmetrical Room: Surround
Right and Surround Left Speaker Distance
Example: The F/X Surround speaker is placed
8" behind the listening area of a non-symmetrical
room. The loudspeaker is 12' from the left
side wall (A = 12') and 8' from the right
side wall (B = 8'). From Table 2, set Surround
Left distance to be 33' and Surround Right
to be 29'.
Distance
from side
Loudspeaker Distance In Feet Behind Listening Area (D)
2
5 25 26 29
8 28
12 32
wall
(A or B)
15 35 36 37
20 40 40 42
25 45 45 46
8 16
29 (SL)
33 (SR)
31
34
NOTE: If your room’s dimensions and loudspeaker placement falls between or beyond the room width and/or placement distance values in Tables 1 or 2, then you
may interpolate from the tables accordingly.
Figure 2
EFT
L
HANNEL
C
F/X WIRELESS SURROUND
CENTER
HANNEL
C
R
HANNEL
C
IGHT
UB
S
NOTE: Some home theater receivers require setting speaker delay in milliseconds rather than speaker distance in feet. If you have such a receiver, you may read the
values in Tables 1 and 2 as time delay in milliseconds.
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Enclosure:
The Polk Audio F/X Wireless Surround is a tri-chamber design that individually isolates left channel, right channel and the ported woofer sections. The cabinet is constructed of 3/4" MDF for rock solid density and extreme rigidity. The grille is made
from a acoustically optimized high impact perforated metal grille to protect the
drivers when placed on the floor.
Port Design:
With the aid of computer modeling, Polk Engineers optimized a single floor-firing
flared J-Port enclosure. This design helped optimize laminar air flow out of the
port, where turbulence can result in audible port noise (chuffing) and loss of bass
detail and definition. The downward firing location of a J-Port system takes advantage of the increased bass gain when placed on a floor, table or shelf.
Speaker Complement
The 4 - 2 1/2" drivers and 5 1/4" woofer incorporate Polk Audio’s Dynamic Balance
technology to minimize modal resonances for more natural midrange and low frequency reproduction. The drivers feature a neodymium magnet with doped cellulose cone and surround for optimum motor-strength-to-mass ratio in order to
achieve smooth extended frequency response to 20 kHz. The long throw woofer
features a 1 1/4" voice coil that employs a massive 40oz ferrite magnet structure
for great low-frequency impact and punch.
Amplifier features:
The F/X Wireless Surround incorporates a 120 Watt multi-channel class D digital
amplifier with DSP for both frequency optimization, delay and overload protection.
An external power supply with a 9' power cord is provided.
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F/X Wireless Surround
TECHNOLOGIES
The Polk Audio F/X Wireless Surround uses the
following proprietary Polk technologies:
Dynamic Balance
In 1988, Polk Audio embarked on a long-term research project in partnership with
Johns Hopkins University. The result was a full-field heterodyning laser interferometer system capable of revealing the microscopic details of entire vibrating surfaces (such as a loudspeaker cone) in real-time. This research tool enabled us to
view and analyze the entire vibrating surface of a driver or tweeter. In particular,
we were able to see and understand the resonance that develops on loudspeaker
cones as they move. Modal resonance is a major cause of frequency response
aberrations and other distortions in loudspeakers.
Our new understanding of how resonance develops on speaker components led us
to develop a design technique called Dynamic Balance. Dynamic Balance uses an
analysis of the entire electro-acoustic and mechanical systems to select composite materials and geometry that reduce resonance. The resulting drive units have
unusual clarity, detail and extension.
T E C H N I C A L B R I E F
placement locations. HRTFs, an important topic within the realm of psycho
acoustical research, describe how we locate sound sources on the basis of their
perceived frequency response. By embedding magnitude response shaping that
reflects ratios of certain HRTFs, Polk’s F/X Wireless Surround relocates sound
sources from the speaker’s actual position in the room to appropriately elevated
lateral virtual locations. The net result is an exciting surround experience that simply must be experienced to be fully appreciated.
The dual speaker arrays in the F/X Wireless Surround are oriented towards sidewalls and laterally radiate “narrow” beams of sound. For purposes of properly
reproducing the Surround channels, the dual element arrays operate out of phase.
This creates acoustic nulls — areas in front of and behind the speaker where
sound radiation is greatly reduced relative to lateral acoustic output. The result is
an immersive, spacious surround effect dominated by diffuse lateral reflections,
as opposed to direct sound from the enclosure that would otherwise dictate the
perceived location of the sound source.
Matthew Polk and university researcher
inside laser interferometer lab.
Laser interferometer
images showing
resonance on
peaker cones.
Klippel Optimization:
By using a state-of-the-art Klippel Distortion Analyzer, Polk engineers were able
to optimize the woofer’s motor structure, voice coil alignment and suspension
for the best possible performance even at extreme listening levels.
Controlled Dispersion Array
Controlled Dispersion Array technology was developed especially for the
F/X Wireless Surround. Tightly grouped arrays of discrete electrodynamic trans-
ducers, in combination with phase and/or amplitude tapering, produce a radiation
pattern characterized by narrow, steered beams. CDA permits the F/X to project
sound towards reflective surfaces to produce an enveloping, spacious sound field
rich with the spatial cues required for proper localization of surround sound
effects. Further, Polk’s pioneering analysis of head related transfer functions
(HTRF) permits the F/X Wireless surround to perform optimally over a range of
To create rear surround effects associated with the dedicated Surround Back
channels of 7.1 program material, we’ve attenuated the Surround Back channels’
gain and added extra latency to ensure that Surround channel spatial cues precede in-phase SB output. This helps to preserve surround channel spaciousness,
which would be lost if surround back effects were too loud or preceded surround
channel spatial cues. In accordance with an accepted principle of psychoacoustics,
first arriving sound waves determine the perceived location of a
sound source.
Polk Digital Logic
Polk Digital Logic (PDL) is a suite of sophisticated audio processing tools that Polk
uses to create the desired end-result acoustic frequency response shapes that
reflect the appropriate Head Related Transfer Functions (HRTF) ratios for three discrete placement options: Floor, table and shelf. That PDL has been developed to
manipulate not only magnitude response shapes but also the phase and temporal
aspects of multichannel sound reproduction means that the F/X Wireless Surround
can reproduce not only the two discrete Surround channels associated with 5.1
systems but also 7.1 systems’ Surround Back channels. To that end, we’ve attenuated the Surround Back channels’ gain, added extra latency and manipulated interchannel phase to ensure that Surround channel spatial cues precede phase-coherent SB output. That SB channels are reproduced in-phase means that appropriately strong localization cues emerge from the rear of listening area, as intended
for SB effects, but without compromising Surround channel spaciousness. With
regard to the temporal aspects of multi-channel surround sound reproduction, that
first arriving sound waves determine the perceived location of a sound source, (in
accordance with an accepted principle of psychoacoustics), means that SB channels must be substantially delayed in order to preserve the spaciousness afforded
by room-reflection dominated Surround channel reproduction.
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5601 Metro Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215 USA
Phone: 800-377-7655 Fax: 410-764-5266
www.polkaudio.com
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