Von Schweikert VR-5-HSE Owners manual

Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

VR-5 HSE

Instructions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNPACKING............................................................................................................................................. PAGE 2

BREAK-IN............................................................................................................................................. ... PAGE 2

INITIAL SETUP........................................................................................................................................ PAGE 2

ROOM CONFIGURATION....................................................................................................................... PAGE 3

WIRING..................................................................................................................................................... PAGE 4

BI-AMPING............................................................................................................................................... PAGE 4

PLACEMENT............................................................................................................................................ PAGE 5

PINK NOISE TEST FOR FOCUS.............................................................................................................. PAGE 6

REAR AMBIENCE DRIVER..................................................................................................................... PAGE 6

WOOFER TUNING/BASS RESPONSE ADJUSTMENTS........................................................................ PAGE 7

STANDING WAVES................................................................................................................................. PAGE 7

TUNING WOOFERS FOR TUBE AMPS.................................................................................................. PAGE 8

LACK OF BASS....................................................................................................................................... PAGE 9

TROUBLE SHOOTING............................................................................................................................ PAGE 9

ROOM PROBLEMS AND TREATMENT................................................................................................ PAGE 10

CARE FOR THE FINISH.......................................................................................................................... PAGE 10

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for investing in a Virtual Reality speaker system designed by Von Schweikert Audio. Used properly, th e
VR-5 HSE 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-5s 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 which
must be followed. The VR series is 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.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please read the following instructions regarding setup, as imaging and bass response must be
optimized to your particular room. Since there is 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 VRs 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-5 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!

930 Armorlite Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069

1

Ph [phone] Fax [phone]

E-mail:[e-mail]

~ Website:www.vonschweikert.com

Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

SHIPPING DAMAGE

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 even t 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 12 to 24 hours of break-in. 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 break-in occurs after 400
hours. Break-in is best done by playing loud music or a break-in disc for several days straight. We suggest placing
the speakers face to face, with one speaker system wired out of phase. Quilts may be placed over the speakers to
reduce the radiated sound. This trick will cancel a lot of the sound that may disturb others. However, please make
sure that you are not driving the amplifier into clipping or distorting the speakerC it is difficult to hear distortion
when quilts are used.

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 up to 200 watts of music
power (peaks) into the VR-5s over a long period of time without any damage.

INITIAL SETUP

Please do not install the spikes 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 sp ikes 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 these effects will be eliminated after break-in, correct placement, and use of
the spikes. Also, turn off the rear ambience drivers by rotating their volume controls counter-clockwise until the
setup is complete. Please refer to the section regarding the REAR AMBIENCE DRIVER.

930 Armorlite Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069

Ph [phone] Fax [phone]

E-mail:[e-mail]

2

~ Website:www.vonschweikert.com

Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

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 VRs have very wide dispersion, th ere will be no hole in the middle effect.
Place the speakers about 1-2ft 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 th e VRs 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 not 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.

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

930 Armorlite Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069

Ph [phone] Fax [phone]

E-mail:[e-mail]

3

~ Website:www.vonschweikert.com

Von Schweikert Audio

World Class Reference Speaker Systems for Music and Film

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 which may cause tonal imbalances or imaging confusion. See your dealer.

FLOORING: If you have a hardwood floor, (especially without carpeting), 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 such as Sorbothane (Audioquest), Soft Shoes (McCormack), or even rubber balls. The use of cones
or spikes 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
which will affect the midrange/tweeter balance, usually boosting the treble/upper midrange and destroying the image
solidity. If you have hardwood floors, installing a thick rug in between the speakers and the listening chair will
normally correct this problem.

CARPETED FLOORS: 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 do not rock, and use the locking nuts to make sure the
spikes will not vibrate loose.

WIRING

The best sound staging and transparency from the VR-5 HSE results from bi-wiring the speakers, but if a biwire set
is not initially available, connect the main speaker wire to the upper midrange/tweeter inputs then run a jumper
downwards to the woofer inputs. A 6" jumper wire can be connected between the upper and lower posts. However,
we recommend using this only as a temporary solution, since we designed the speakers expressly to be bi-wired.

*If you connect the main cable to the wo ofer and then use a jumper upw ards to the M/T, 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 o f 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. 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.

930 Armorlite Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069

Ph [phone] Fax [phone]

E-mail:[e-mail]

4

~ Website:www.vonschweikert.com