Von Schweikert VR-2 Owners manual

Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

VR-2

Instructions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNPACKING ………………………………………………………………………………PAGE 2
BREAK-IN………………………………………………………………………………… PAGE 2
INITIAL SETUP……………………………………………………………………………PAGE 3
ROOM CONFIGURATION………………………………………………………………. PAGE 3
WIRING…………………………………………………………………………………… PAGE 5
BI-AMPING……………………………………………………………………………….. PAGE 5
PLACEMENT………………………………………………………………………………PAGE 6
PINK NOISE TEST FOR FOCUS………………………………………………………… PAGE 7
REAR AMBIENCE DRIVER…………………………………………………………….. PAGE 8
WOOFER TUNING/BASS RESPONSE ADJUSTMENTS………………………………. PAGE 8
STANDING WAVES ………………………………………………………………………PAGE 9
TUNING WOOFERS FOR TUBE AMPS………………………………………………… PAGE 10
LACK OF BASS……………………………………………………………………………PAGE 10
LEAD TRAP………………………………………………………………………………..PAGE 11
TROUBLE SHOOTING…………………………………………………………………… PAGE 11
ROOM PROBLEMS AND TREATMENT………………………………………………...PAGE 12
CARE FOR THE FINISH…………………………………………………………………. PAGE 13
WARRANTY……………………………………………………………………………….PAGE 13

INTRODUCTION

hank you for investing in a Virtual Reality speaker system designed by Von Schweikert
Audio. Used properly, the VR-2 will give you many wonderful years of exciting musical

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instructions thoroughly. Although the VR series may appear to be conventional speakers, they have
been designed to work with the listening room. Being a Room Interactive design, there are certain
setup procedures that must be followed. The VR series are engineered to replicate the recording
microphone’s signal in reverse, allowing the original soundfield to be recreated in your home. This
technology is proprietary and will allow the full emotional content of the original performance to be
heard by listeners anywhere in the room. Please see our White Paper for more technical information
on the design. As with all high tech designs, there must be a commitment from the user to fully
utilize this product. The following instructions will enable you to achieve world-class sound.

reproduction, closer to the emotional truth of the composer, performer, and producer’s intent.
In order to fully benefit from the VR-2's powerful magic, please read the following

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Please read the following instructions regarding setup, as imaging and bass response must be
optimized to your particular room. Since there exists no standard listening room dimensions or
reflective/absorptive standards, each setup will be different. A thorough break-in must be conducted
in order to realize the full benefits of the VR’s transparency and imaging accuracy, and several
experiments with placement must be undertaken. In situations where these instructions are not
followed, you may not achieve the ultimate sound the VR-2 can offer. Although the VR series retail
at very reasonable price points, they are capable of world-class performance, far exceeding
conventional designs. However, optimum performance is only attainable by using the following
instructions!

UNPACKING

Please unpack the VRs on a rug, making sure to avoid scratching your hands or the finish on the
staples. Please note that the spikes are wrapped up in a cardboard package.

Do not install spikes at this time however, since you will be moving the speakers around
extensively while determining the correct place in the room for final installation.

When unpacking the VRs, please note any hidden shipping damage. If you find damage, please
notify the freight company who will then send an inspector. Do not discard the boxes or otherwise
alter the contents, as the inspector will want to see the damage as you found it. Since Von
Schweikert Audio has no control over the shipping companies or their damage claim policies, it is
imperative that you follow the instructions from the freight company agent explicitly. Additionally,
please retain all packing materials for later use in the event of a move.

BREAK-IN

The VRs use proprietary drivers custom made for this system. Raw drivers are broken in for roughly
100 hours at considerable volume to reach suspension behavior’s “steady state” prior to actual
loudspeaker development. By contrast, production units receive only a few minutes of break-in for
test purposes. Since the fluidity and dynamic range of the speaker depends on free movement, you
may notice a slight “brightness” or mechanical “heaviness” to the sound for the first 20 hours. The
sound engineered into the VRs will take approximately 80-100 hours to achieve, so we recommend
that you not make critical judgements of their sound until break-in is accomplished. Complete break­in occurs after 400 hours. Break-in is best done by playing loud music or a break-in disc for several
days straight.

Note that it may take several months or longer to break the speakers in if only quiet music is

played at background levels.

Classical music played quietly does not contain enough bass or dynamics (in most cases) to do a
proper job, so we suggest using a CD player on repeat, using a loud rock album or break-in CD as
the source. Please make sure that the amplifier does not go into clipping, though, as the heat
generated may damage the drivers over a period of time. (Clipping sounds like buzzing or
harshness). If the sound is “clean”, however, you can put 200 watts of music power into the VR-2's
over a long period of time without any damage.

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INITIAL SETUP

Please do not install the spikes or lead shot until the proper placement has been determined. You will
be moving the speakers several times in order to listen to different aspects of the optimization, and
the spikes will only make the movement more difficult. Since the spikes tighten the bass
dramatically and also increase the image focus, do not worry unduly about these two parameters
until later in the setup process. Without the spikes, the bass may be too “thick” and the image will
not be as tightly focused, but this is temporary. Without the lead shot, you may hear slight midrange
resonances and too much midbass, but do not worry about these colorations, as they will disappear
with the addition of the lead at a later time. Also, turn off the rear ambience driver counter­clockwise until the setup is complete. Please refer to the section regarding the REAR AMBIENCE
DRIVER.

STARTING LOCATION

There are a number of considerations regarding initial placement, particularly involving bass
response and basic imaging. In general, bass response is strengthened when the speakers are placed
close to the rear or side walls, while imaging is enhanced by pulling the speakers further into the
room, away from walls. With your VR loudspeakers and the following suggestions you will be able
to achieve both deep and powerful bass and an open sound stage.

ROOM CONFIGURATIONS: If you have a room with fairly rectangular dimensions, you can place
the speakers on either the long or short wall. If your room is cubic, you will have far better results
placing the speakers diagonally. See next section.

ON LONG WALL: Placing the speakers on the long wall enables you to achieve a very large and
wide sound stage. In fact, using an equilateral triangle as your starting point, you can space the
speakers as far apart as the listening distance, even if this is 15 feet. Since the VR's have very wide
dispersion, there will be no hole in the middle effect. Place the speakers about 2-5ft from the rear
wall, with this distance being the bass optimizer. If you wish to achieve more depth, move them
further into the room. If you wish more bass, place them either closer to the rear wall or closer to the
side walls.

*Note: Do not use the same distance from the rear wall and side wall, as this distance will
result in too much boost at this wavelength. Stagger this distance by 40-70%.

Do not toe the speakers in at first, place them parallel to the side walls. In general, the sound stage
will be constrained to the distance between the speakers, so if you have the VR's only six feet apart,
you will hear a small sound stage. Since there will be a lot of overlap between the left and right
channels, the center image will be very dense and monophonic. To correct for this, separate the
speakers further; 8 feet to 12 feet apart is not too much in a large room, but remember, the spread
depends on the listening distance. If you have to spread the speakers well apart but can’t sit far
enough back due to furniture and cosmetic considerations, you may have to toe the speakers in, with
the tweeters aimed directly at your ears.

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ON SHORT WALL: Placing the speakers on the short wall and sitting far back in the long end of the
room may give you a concert hall experience if your room is large. Long reverberation times due to
long distances from boundaries can impart a ‘grand’ sense of scale with classical music, although
smaller rooms might curtail this effect somewhat. Also, too much boundary reflection will result in
echoes that may interfere with the direct sound and blur imaging somewhat. If you suspect this
condition, clap your hands while standing at the speaker position. If you hear distinct echoes, you
will have to treat the room with specialized tuning products from Michael Green, RPG, ASC tube
traps, Sonex foam panels, and the like. If decorating is a consideration, try using rugs hanging on the
side walls at the first reflection point, and behind the speakers, directly in the center. Your dealer can
recommend tuning products he/she carries and may be able to install them. If your dealer does not
offer this service, call the above mentioned tuning companies for further information.

CUBIC ROOM DIAGONAL LOCATION: Rooms with mathematically repeating dimensions (like 16
x 16 x 8', for instance) will have a midbass/lower midrange ‘loading’ effect due to the similar ratios
of boundary distances. In this case, it will help to locate one speaker on each side of a corner and fire
the speakers diagonally into the room. Note that you will also need to place your listening chair at a
diagonal position as well, at an equilateral triangulated distance. Diagonal placement is an extreme
measure but may be necessary if you wish to achieve the ultimate in accurate frequency response.
Diagonal placement will prevent a portion of the standing wave energy from boosting certain
frequencies, since the reflection patterns are broken up in this configuration. The distances to each
side wall is critical, and experimentation will be required with placement of not only the speakers
themselves, but also your seating position and wall treatment. It may be necessary to use absorptive
or dispersive devices on the wall to ameliorate the wall reflections that may cause tonal imbalances
or imaging confusion. See your dealer.

FLOORING: If you have a hardwood floor, there is the possibility that vibration and resonance will
be transferred to the floor, which will then act as a passive radiator. The floor resonance will sound
like extra midbass is being added to the sound, and will smear the bass notes as well, since the floor
will vibrate long after the woofers stop moving. On bare hardwood floors, it will be necessary to
decouple the speakers with rubber decoupling feet, supplied, or products such as Sorbothane pucks
from Audioquest, Vibrapods, or even rubber balls. The use of cones or spikes with discs, even if
made from carbon fiber, will result in some transmission to the wood floor, and is only
recommended on carpeted floors. In two story homes with wood floors on the second floor, we have
noticed a tendency for the floor to absorb deep bass due to sympathetic resonance. In this case, the
speaker will sound like it does not have bass, so the cure would be to either move the speakers closer
to a boundary where the floor is not flexing as much or to decouple the speaker completely from the
floor. That can be accomplished by making a platform from wood filled with sand, or using a granite
base several inches thick. In addition to the induced resonance, there will be upper frequency
reflections that will affect the midrange/tweeter balance, usually boosting the treble/upper midrange
and destroying the image solidity. Installing a small rug in between the speakers and the listening
chair will normally correct this problem.

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CARPETED FLOORS, WOOD OR CONCRETE: Using the spikes after break-in and correct
placement will tighten up the bass and lock in the soundstage. Make sure that you level the speakers
so they don’t rock, and use the locking nuts to make sure the spikes won’t vibrate loose.

WIRING

The best sound staging and transparency from the VR-2 results from bi-wiring the speakers, but if a
bi-wire set of cables is not initially available, use the supplied jumper plates. Connect the cables to
the upper binding posts for best sound quality.

*If you connect the main cable to the woofer and then use the jumper upwards to the tweeter,
you will be able to hear a slight loss of clarity, since there will now be two connections in the
signal path instead of just one to the high resolution tweeter.

Also, make sure that you make a very tight connection between the binding post and the spade lugs
on the cables. A loose connection will be apparent as a loss of depth and sweetness. Use a contact
enhancing fluid once a month on all RCA plugs and binding posts for best results. There will be
attendant increases in sweetness, air, soundstage depth, and smoothness equal to an upgrade in
cables, but at far less cost.

Although we have tried almost ten different brands and types of speaker cables, we can only give
general recommendations due to the fact that the driving amplifier has as much to do with the type
of desired wire as the speakers. Since there are hundreds, if not thousands of available amp/wire
combinations, we are not in the position of having heard these combinations.

However, in general, stranded wire usually has a softer, fuller sound, while solid core wire has
tighter bass and leaner highs. You can use these traits to “tune” the overall sound of your
system.

Please use your VR dealer’s expertise when selecting wires and cables, as he has the experience with
both the speakers and different amplifiers and can help you make an intelligent selection.

BI-AMPING THE VR-2: If the tightest bass is desired, use a solid state amplifier on the woofer
modules. If you value “image float” and liquid-sounding midrange/treble response, use a tube
amplifier on the tweeters. You will not need an outboard crossover, since the crossovers in the
speakers will still continue to work. Although it is true that louder output can be obtained by high­pass filtering the tube amp, the loss of transparency is usually not worth it, and the clean volume
obtainable without a high-pass crossover will be usually satisfying for anyone but a metal head.
(Note: if you are a metal head, welcome to high-end audio!) You will need a preamp that has twin
outputs, but if you have only one set, use high quality Y-jacks available from your high-end dealer.
Balancing of the volume levels when using amps with different input sensitivities can be
accomplished by outboard level controls available from your dealer at very modest cost. If the
amplifiers have input sensitivities that are fairly close, even if they are different brands, there will be
no need for level controls.

VERTICAL BI-AMPING: If two stereo amplifiers of the same brand and model are available, try
using this method of wiring. One channel will drive the woofer module, while the other channel of

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the same amplifier will drive the tweeters. This wiring may sound much better than simply switching
the amp to the mono-block “bridged” mode.

HORIZONTAL BI-AMPING: If two different stereo amps are available, one amp can drive the
woofers and the other amp, perhaps of lower power, can drive the tweeters. This works well with
large solid-state amps driving the woofers, with a smaller tube amp driving the upper end. We have
heard of systems with 200 watts per channel on the woofers, with 20-30 watts per channel of tube
power driving the tweeters. This may seem like an imbalance, but since the most power is needed to
drive the woofers, it may work very well!

PLACEMENT

The VR's are Room Interactive, meaning that the VRs were designed to work in an average listening
room, not an anechoic chamber. Speakers that measure very good in an anechoic chamber will
usually sound too bass heavy and directional when placed in a room due to boundary effects and
room gain in the bass region. The bass response of the room (boundary gain) has been factored into
the VRs, along with the reflective nature of boundary surfaces such as wood, plaster, glass, and so
forth. Since the VRs are quasi-omnidirectional transducers, designed to be the inverse of the
recording microphone, their sound output will react with the listening room in a positive manner
only if properly placed. There are two components of sound that reach the listener’s ears:

1. The direct arrival, or initial wavelaunch of the speaker itself;

2. The secondary waves that are reflected from the room’s boundary surfaces.
The reflected sound is delayed according to the distances involved from the speaker to the
boundaries, then back to the listener. It is important for the reflected sound-field to integrate
properly with the initial wavelaunch, since out-of-phase reflections will interfere with both flat
frequency response and image focus. It is not difficult to determine where the best placement will be
in any given room, since you will be using a pink noise listening test discussed later. See Pink Noise
Test.

In every room, there will usually be more than one magic spot for the VRs to sound their best.
However, finding those spots is not intuitive, due to the nature of reverberation characteristics and
room dimensions, which vary enormously from room to room. The VRs, being Virtual Reality
simulators, are designed to load the room very similarly to the way a live instrument would load the
room. Only in this way can your ear/brain hearing mechanism be lulled into believing that you could
be listening to an actual performance, and not simply ‘canned’ sound. If you had a grand piano at the
end of the room where the speakers are playing, it would involve the entire room with semi­omnidirectional sound, and your ear/brain hearing mechanism will clearly know this. The VR
Virtual Reality design will simulate this huge soundfield, with its involving depth and
dimensionality. However, correct placement is required to achieve the best possible sound quality.
Amazingly, moving the speaker only a few inches can make the difference between good sound and
great sound.

FOCAL POINT OF ARRAY: Since the VR-2 is Quasi-Time Aligned by use of the specialized Global
Axis Integration Network

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crossover circuit and thus results in a focused phase-array driver

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complement, there is an optimum seating distance. If you must situate the speakers close together,
with a close listening position for near field applications, such as in a recording studio, you may
have to toe the speakers in towards you slightly. In order to find the focus point of the array, use the
following technique:

PINK NOISE LISTENING TEST FOR FOCUS: Play a pink noise source such as a CD with test
tones or an FM tuner set between stations (with muting turned off). You will notice one of two sonic
effects when listening to pink noise:

1. If you are in the focal point of the array, you will hear a “ball” of noise that appears to float
between the speakers. Although noise will appear to emanate from the speakers themselves, the
center image will be stronger, with a slightly different tone quality to the phantom center image. The
sound from the speakers themselves will seem slightly detached from the pink noise ball, and
slightly softer in volume level. The center “ball” of sound will be very strong, and you will be able
to detect that the “ball” of sound is round, with depth to the image. This is a ‘locked in’ image with
correct focus.

2. If you are not sitting in the focal point, the noise will be diffuse, without a center image. Although
you will hear some pink noise coming from the center, it will sound as diffuse as the sound coming
from the speakers themselves. Even though the speakers will image music when set up like this, the
imaging will be diffuse and not very focused. There won’t be enough ‘body’ to the images, and it
will be hard to hear space between the instruments. There is a distinct lack of image focus in this
situation.

To find the focal point of the VR system, move forwards and backwards slowly while listening to
the pink noise ‘ball’. You can either rock in your listening seat, or move back and forth by several
feet if you are way out of the equilateral triangle (using a director’s chair for this works great). If
you have a fixed seating position that can not be moved due to furniture considerations, you will
have to move the speakers either closer together, or further apart, depending on the strength of the
pink noise ‘ball’. If the speakers are closer together than 8 feet, try spreading them further apart.

*Note: if the speakers can not be separated more than a few feet due to room considerations,
as in a video application, it may be necessary to toe the speakers outwards.

When placing the speakers further apart than 8 feet, try toeing them in towards you, listening for the
‘ball’ to lock in. It really helps to have two people moving the speakers while you sit in the listening
position, giving them orders. Toe-in is often critical, with only 1" movements being very apparent.
When you have found the correct spacing and listening distance, you will immediately know it, since
the image lock-in is very obvious. The pink noise will become a very strong ‘ball’ of sound, just
floating in between the speakers. Keep moving the speakers until you hear this ball of sound. As you
move the speakers either closer together or further apart, and experiment with toe-in, you will hear
changes that enable you to know if you are headed in the right direction. It isn’t really difficult, it’s
fun. Of course, experimenting with several types of placement schemes is valuable, for it will teach
you how the speakers indirect with your particular room. Only by careful experimentation will you
find that ‘magic’ spot for your new VR-2 speaker system.

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REAR AMBIENCE DRIVER ADJUSTMENT: The VR design has a rear-firing ambience driver that
adds depth enhancement and 360-degree timbre fill-in. When breaking in the speakers, leave the
Spatial Dimension Control all the way up in order to break-in the driver fully. However, when
optimizing the imaging using the pink noise test documented above, turn the ambience driver off by
rotating the control fully counter-clockwise. Once the speaker location has been determined, it is
time to add some rear ambience. While listening to a variety of naturally recorded music, dial in
successively more ambience, listening carefully to the change. If your rear wall behind the speakers
is highly reflective, only a little ambience will be necessary if the speakers are fairly close to the
wall (set control between 6:00 and 9:00 as referenced to a clock face). In some situations, where the
rear wall is highly reflective and the driving amp/cables are somewhat overly detailed, it may be
possible that no rear fill is necessary nor desirable. If you hear ‘brightness’ creep into the overall
balance, it may be time to back off on the Spatial Dimension Control. In a room that’s fairly dead,
with soft sounding gear, it may be necessary to use the Spatial Dimension control fully on.

BASS RESPONSE TUNING

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Since enclosed rooms will affect the bass response due to
standing wave formation, a woofer tuning feature has been designed into the VR series of speakers,
accomplished by the addition of more Dacron stuffing. Deep bass in the 20-30Hz range is highly
desirable in a reference speaker design, since hall reverberation at low frequencies is a sonic clue to
both depth and hall size. Classical music simply sounds anemic and artificial without deep bass. In
addition, the wide dynamic range found in pop and jazz recordings depends on bass ‘slam’ and
efficiency at low frequencies in order to sound like a live bass instrument such as bass guitar,
synthesizer, bass drums, and upright string bass. For this reason, a hybrid triple-chambered
transmission line/bass reflex system was engineered which exhibits both deep bass and fast transient
response, with a strong emphasis on tight bass. Although it is true that the measured transient
response of a sealed woofer system has less ringing than hollow cavity bass reflex cabinets (the VR
design is 100% stuffed), the trapped rear wave of sealed enclosures results in low efficiency, while
the compressed air load results in sluggish transient attack. For this reason, transmission line loading
has much appeal and makes more engineering sense, since both deep bass and fast transient response
(resulting in “tight” sound) are optimized at the same time. Bass reflex systems, however, which are
"hollow" (lacking 100% stuffing fill), have an unpleasant ‘hangover’ due to cavity resonance. This
problem has been eliminated in the VR design by the utilization of a high stuffing density. This
technique does not work well with standard reflex woofers, nor conventional Theile/Small tuning
alignments. The resistive damping in the form of acoustic foam and Dacron fill must be
compensated in both the driver design and the cabinet tuning ‘alignment’. All VR Series use custom
designed drivers with very high magnetic damping (low Qes) and stiff suspensions (high Qms). The
tuning ratio is derived from a proprietary over damped Theile/Small alignment with a total Q of less
than 0.6, while the woofers themselves have a total Q below 0.3. By using an over damped
alignment, maximum tightness is assured due to oversized magnets, stiff suspensions, over-volumed
enclosures, and a low tuning frequency. In addition, the midbass rise normally associated with dual
woofer formats has been eliminated by the use of Zobel conjugate networks in the VR-2 woofer
crossover. The inductor coils used at extremely low frequencies have to be massive to avoid

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saturation and hence are quite expensive and difficult to design. However, the extremely clean bass
response of the VR series is the direct result of engineering taken to the extreme.

GENERAL TUNING INFORMATION: Both the volume level of the bass and the frequency
response of the woofer system can be altered easily by several methods in order to equalize the
room’s influence on the bass response. Although the VR bass systems measure ruler flat in larger
rooms that have good dimensional ratios, (using both gated sine wave and maximum length
sequence FFT signals), smaller rooms tend to have bass anomalies and overloading problems with
low frequencies due to the long wavelengths involved.

STANDING WAVE PHENOMENA: Standing waves are dips and peaks in the bass response caused
by the interaction of the initial woofer's signal and consequent room boundary reflections. Although
many people have heard the term, many don’t actually know what causes standing waves and what
to do about them. Since all speaker systems radiate bass almost omni-directionally, there are many
path lengths that the waves take before arriving at the listening position. Although the first arriving
bass wave will have flat frequency response, fractions of a second later the same waves have
bounced off of the front wall, rear wall, side walls, and the floor. These reflections both reinforce
and cancel the original direct wave, depending on the wave length vs. the path length. If the path
length is an even multiple of the direct wave at any one given frequency, the reflection will reinforce
the first wave since it will be mathematically additive and will cause a peak in the response at this
frequency. However, if the path length is such that the reflected wave is out of phase with the main
wave, there will be a cancellation in the frequency response. Researchers have found that the dips
and peaks in the response can be very powerful, with 18dB variances across the bass range.

If a sine wave generator is set to any low frequency, a listener can walk around the room, finding
that every foot or two, there is either flat response, a peak, or a dip. By walking around the room,
you can ‘map’ the response, finding the places where the pressure alternates from high to low. These
alternating pressure zones are a natural part of room acoustics and must be dealt with by correct
speaker placement.

THEORY OF RECIPROCITY REGARDING BASS RESPONSE: Since standing waves are not easily
amenable to correction by equalizing the speaker passively, it is necessary to place both the speakers
and listener/s in neutral zones. According to the mathematics of the pressure zones, the flattest
response occurs when both the speakers and listener are at opposing ends of the room, directly
against the wall surfaces. Since against-the- wall placement is not a prime location for soundstage
‘openness’ and imaging focus, we recommend placing the speakers out into the room, at least 12"
from the back wall to start. Then, playing a repeating bass line, walk around the room in the general
vicinity of the intended listening position. If you find that the smoothest bass response does not
occur where you would like to place the listening seat, you can use the Law of Reciprocity to find
the optimum spot. The physics of bass response are the same for the listener or the speaker when
interchanged. That means that you can place one speaker where you wish to sit, then play the
repeating bass line, and then walk around on the other side of the room where you want to place the
speakers. When you find a neutral zone, where the bass is not too loud nor too soft, that’s where you
place that particular speaker. Next, do the other side in the same manner. Make sure you use a

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variety of recordings, since it is possible to optimize the placement accidentally for only one
frequency range!

TOO MUCH BASS OVERALL: If the entire bass range is too loud, move the speakers away from
the room boundaries or move your listening seat. If you wish to reduce the speaker’s bass output,
purchase Dacron Polyfill from the local five and dime store or sewing shop. It is a synthetic cotton
in appearance and is used for pillow stuffing. Simply place a handful of the Dacron in each vent
tube; this will lower the efficiency of the vent tuning. If the bass is still too loud overall, place
another handful in each vent. If the low frequency range has come into proper balance, stop there. If
you have lost the deepest octave, you can push the Dacron into the enclosure instead of leaving it in
the vent tube proper. Next, see page 10 for instructions on filling the Lead Trap to reduce cabinet
resonance and excess midbass response.

BASS RESPONSE TUNING FOR TUBE AMPLIFIERS: Since tube amplifiers have “air and
liquidity” in the mid and treble ranges, many audiophiles use them. However, the saturation, back
EMF, and transient response delays of all output transformers will cause sluggish bass response
which can be heard when using any speaker that has response below 50Hz. The deep bass can be
tightened considerably by the addition of several handfuls of Dacron in each vent that is then pushed
into the enclosure with a broomstick. The stuffing can be done gradually, but if the bass become
‘too’ tight, it is a simple matter to remove the excess Dacron by reaching in and pulling some of the
Dacron back out. (It takes a small hand to fit into the vent tube). It is entirely possible to tighten the
VR-2 's bass response to a degree not heard with other speaker systems.

Try using solid core wire on the woofer modules when using tube amplifiers if you are
trying to tighten up the bass, since stranded wire will emphasize the bass fullness you are
trying to equalize.

The best possible bass response is obtained from high current solid state amplifiers, making bi­amping the ideal choice for the critical audiophile who wishes to have the best sound in every part of
the frequency range. See the section above regarding bi-amping.

LACK OF APPARENT BASS: In some rooms, especially those with ‘soft’ walls such as wallboard
over studs, and open floor plans, it is possible to ‘lose’ bass response. Also, when sitting in a ‘null’,
it is possible to perceive, incorrectly, that there is a loss of bass power. In these cases, it will be
necessary to move either the speaker position or the listening position in order to optimize the
response. By playing a recording with a repeating bass line, try walking around the room until you
find the places where there is apparent bass. It will be necessary, in some cases, to reposition the
speakers in order to allow the room to boost the bass by using the natural ‘gain’ of the boundary
reflections. Simply move the speakers closer to the rear wall or side wall in small increments until
the bass sounds right.

LEAD TRAP

The VR-2 has a special compartment at the bottom of the cabinet, hidden by the removable bottom
plinth. This compartment was designed to be filled with lead shot in order to damp spurious cabinet

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resonances. Bass and lower midrange frequencies will be tightened when the Lead Trap is filled, as
the movement of the damping particles adsorbs vibration. We have found that two 25 lb bags of
lead shot from a gun or sporting goods store is sufficient to fill the cavities in both speakers (the lead
will not completely fill the chamber, it takes around 180 lbs to fill both chambers, but that may be
excessive).

• Place the VR-2 upside down on a soft surface, such as a towel, and remove the bottom plinth.

• Poor approximately 25-50 lbs of lead into the opening. Shake the speaker until the lead

settles.

• Replace the door and plinth and you're done. Note that the midbass/lower midrange

frequency bands are now cleaner and tighter.

ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT

The VR Series is far more transparent than any other competing design, including electrostatics. (If
you don’t believe this, put any electrostatic next to a VR and use a transparent switching device such
as a copper knife switch to directly compare the sound of the VR to the electrostatic. Make sure that
you use the same channel, since the electronics may have a large difference in sound between the
channels, and the same brand of cable. It may be necessary to use a metal film resistor to equalize
the sensitivity of the louder speaker in order to make a fair test). Since the VR design is quite
transparent, lacking audible coloration and distortion, it is necessary to use neutral sounding
equipment available to drive the VR-2s. This does not mean you must purchase the most expensive
gear, just good sounding electronics, especially in the front end. Many digital products have limited
depth and excess treble brightness caused by overemphasis of harmonic structure. The VRs will
enable you to easily hear the differences between cables, interconnects, and recordings.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

Your VR dealer should have the necessary resources to investigate any problems you may
experience when setting up a world- class reference system. However, if you find that you need
specialized help, either in acoustical or electronic interactions, please don’t hesitate to contact the
factory. Call [phone] and ask for Customer Service. A qualified engineer will be there to
assist you with any problems you are experiencing.

BRIGHTNESS: A very common problem is brightness, and is wrongly attributed to the speakers
since they are the apparent source of all sound. Some of the causes of brightness are:

1. Powerline Noise. Can be ameliorated with a proper line conditioner.

2. Cable Resonance. Too many brands of different cables which interact improperly. Switch
interconnects, including the digital cable, to a different brand.

3. Digital Noise. Use a powerline filter on DAC
digital noise bleeding into the preamp, so don’t put the preamp on the same filter as the DAC.

4. Lack of Proper Break-in. Please break speakers in 100 hours with

5. Source Material. Unfortunately, most commercial CD’s are bright! Try using the Green Felt Pen
and the Bedini Clarifier. Make sure you clean the CD’s and don’t allow them to get scratched.

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only. Many times the harshness is created by

loud music.

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Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

6. Transistor Sound. Older transistor gear is bright and lacks depth. Invest in newer gear.

7. Dirty Connections. Proper maintenance of a system requires cleaning of all RCA connectors once
a month; don’t forget to clean the AC plug prongs. Tube sockets and pins need to be cleaned as well,
and is a source of ‘tube glare’, along with tube deterioration itself. See your dealer for cleaners.

8. Cold Equipment. The entire system must be left on (excluding tube amplifiers) continuously for
best sound quality. Cold equipment, especially transistor preamps and DAC’s, sound thin, sterile,
and lack depth or dimension. Cold transistor amplifiers sound harsh, lacking depth. Most experts
recommend leaving the equipment on to avoid the damage associated with cold turn-on, since the
most wear to the electronic components in an amplifier results from the inrush of current from the
wall into a cold part. Once the unit is left on, the voltages and temperatures stabilize, resulting in
better sound and component life. The electric bill will not reflect a huge price difference, as
electronics at idle do not use much electricity (other than Class A amplifiers and tube amps).

9. Too Much Rear Ambience Driver Level. Turn down the rear driver if system is too bright.

ROOM PROBLEMS AND TREATMENT: BOOMY BASS, HARSH HIGHS. Not many audiophiles
realize how important their room acoustics are to the overall soundfield. No matter how good the
speaker system and driving electronics, the room will have great influence over the final sound,
whether for better or worse! Rooms can add or subtract bass response, but correct tuning and
placement can ameliorate these problems. See BASS TUNING section above. Harsh highs can be
created by echoes resulting from large wall surfaces with unbroken surfaces. If you can hear any
echo when clapping your hands, you will need to use some room treatment products.

Many books have been written about room acoustics, and there is not enough space in this manual to
give detailed information on how to do it right. However, the general rule is to use 50%
absorptive/50% reflective ratios when covering the room’s surfaces, such as carpeting, drapes,
stuffed furniture, bookshelves filled with books, records, etc. It is helpful to damp the first reflection
points, which are the boundary surfaces halfway between the listener and the speaker cabinets. This
includes the ceiling, walls, and floor. Hard plaster ceilings will reflect treble energy back down
towards the listener, and should be treated with acoustic tiles (the soft and porous type) or damping
pads made from foam or fiberglass. The walls can have a decorator rug, drapes, or diffusers at the
first reflection point, and the floor can use carpeting. We have used plants and trees to diffuse the
echo in our very large sound room, and found that this works better than simply absorbing the high
frequency reverberation. Some of these diffusion devices are made by Acoustic Sciences
Corporation (ASC), Echo Busters and Michael Green, RPG, and others.

One last thing: if your VR speaker system does not elicit goose bumps, your set-up is not
optimized!

CARE FOR THE FINISH: Only Windex and a soft cloth should be used to remove fingerprints from
the veneer. Spray the cleaner on the rag before wiping and don’t touch the drivers (raw speakers).
Wax is not necessary and will attract dust. To clean the fabric grill, use a soft brush. Don’t use any
type of liquid cleaner as spotting will occur, and don’t use paper towels, as they will shed lint.

WARRANTY

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Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

Your Von Schweikert VR-2 speaker system is warrantied to play for 10 years from date of purchase
without failure, and will most likely last your lifetime. We will pay for parts and labor for any
factory defect during this warranty period, not including burnt voice coils due to amplifier clipping,
abuse, or cosmetic damage caused by conditions not under our control. We will repair any damage
to the speaker at a modest cost if your speakers are not covered by the factory warranty. All returned
speakers must be shipped in the original container prepaid, and we will cover the cost of return
shipping. All speakers must have an RA so please call in advance.

SPECIFICATIONS

Woofer System: Twin 6.5” Extreme-duty drivers with aerospace composite cones and long-throw
Low Distortion Motors, shielded for video use.

Twin Crossover Bass System: Lower woofer operates up to 200 Hz, while the bass/mid woofer
operates up to 2.2 kHz. This eliminates the midrange coloration encountered in twin midrange
systems.

Cabinet Design: Triple-chambered transmission line with front vent.

Damping System: Resonance-trap provided for addition of lead shot. 10 to 25 lbs (4.5 to 11.4 kgs)

of shot can be added to stabilize the sound.

Frequency Range: 25 Hz to 20 kHz (-2dB).

Tweeter: Composite 1” dome, silk laminated with two polymer resin coats; long throw design using

Low Distortion Motors, shielded for video use and Ferrofluid liquid cooled.

Crossover Points: 200 Hz, 2.2 kHz.

Crossover Type: Global Axis Integration Network for accurate off-axis frequency response and

consistent phase.

Impedance: 8 ohms nom. (7-20 ohms).

Sensitivity: 87.5 dB anechoic (90 dB in room with boundary boost).

Ambience Retrieval System: 1” soft dome mid/tweeter with rear-firing wave-guide, Dimension

Control for level.

Input Terminals: Twin sets of rhodium plated five-way binding posts. Jumper straps provided for
non bi-wire cables.

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Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

Power Rating: 20 watts min., 200 watts maximum peak r.m.s.

Dimensions: 40” (102 cm) H x 8” (20.3 cm) W x 16” (40.7 cm) D

Weight: 66 lbs (30 kgs) ea.

Warranty: Ten Years excluding abuse or burnt voice coils due to amp clipping.

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