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

Thank 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 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

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.

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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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World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

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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