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User Guide
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To the owner
We would like to thank you for investing
in a Wilson Benesch Loudspeaker.
Please return your completed Guarantee
Registration Card or use the electronic
registration within two weeks of purchase.
For electronic registration please refer to
the Wilson Benesch web site to take
advantage of the Customer Guarantee
Registration. You can access the
registration area via the ‘Owners Section’
on the ‘Home Page’ of:
www.wilson-benesch.com
The purchase of a Wilson Benesch
loudspeaker is merely the beginning of a
long term relationship. The Wilson
Benesch Square Series loudspeakers are
guaranteed for two years.
The guarantee on
this product is non transferable and cannot
be transferred to a second owner.
To the music connoisseur
The Wilson Benesch badge denotes more
than just a loudspeaker. The company has
earned a global reputation that is second
to none in the field of high performance
sound reproduction. Uniquely, this
reputation has been won largely through
word of mouth. Behind every design, is a
creative strength that has won critical
acclaim and countless awards.
You now own a product that will provide
year after year of pleasure for the owner,
and all who come across it within the
comfort and security of your own home.
The care and attention offered by the
Wilson Benesch dealer network matches
the high quality systems that we
manufacture. Should you require any
further advice about cables, room sighting,
upgrades or any other matters relating to
audio or AV systems, then the dealers are
more than able to respond to and deal
effectively with any of these concerns.
Unpacking and set up
instruction
Important Points before Setting
up
During installation two or more people
will be required, as the speakers are quite
heavy. Never attempt to unpack or install
the speakers without assistance as this
could result in damage to the speaker or
personal injury.
Please observe normal procedures for
lifting and correct posture when handling
the speakers. Soft fabric gloves are
recommended to prevent damage to the
high quality finish. Also, it is strongly
recommended that all watches and
jewellery be removed prior to unpacking.
Patient and careful setting is essential to
obtaining the maximum performance
from this system.
• Move the speaker within its packaging
to the intended listening position. For
further information on positioning,
see the Loudspeaker Positioning
section below.
• Making sure the top of the box has
been fully opened and the hardware
pack has been removed.
• The speaker is now ready to be
removed from the box. Have an
assistant help you lift the speaker clear
of all the packaging. Stand the speaker
on the floor, taking care not to
damage the foot. The protective
polythene bag can be slippery, so great
care must be taken at this stage.
• Once both speakers have been stood
up, the bags can be removed and the
packaging stored for future use, as it is
essential for shipping the system
safely.
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Wilson Benesch is distributed by the
world’s finest distributors and dealers, if
you have any problems they should be
able to help you.
You can also contact our customer care
service by e-mail at any time.
The subject of room
acoustics
Acoustics is a complex subject and this
text should be treated for what it is, a
simple but for some, informative guide.
For a more in-depth understanding you
would need to refer to a whole range of
texts on the subject. The most important
outcome of this should be the greater
appreciation of the role, played by the
room on the overall sound of the audio
system.
The air contained within the room is the
link between the output of the
loudspeaker and your ear. How air
behaves is dependent upon the attributes
or character of the room. It follows that a
better understanding of basic acoustics
and what facets cause the most influence
in the room will assist in making decisions
about the way in which the room and
subsequently the system can be improved.
Room types fall between two extremes. A
room can be “dead” on the one hand
(full of highly energy absorbent materials
and complex diffusing structures) or very
“lively” on the other (few reflective
surfaces and a high proportion of very
reflective, hard, non absorbent surfaces).
As so often is the case, a balance of
materials is commonly preferable to one
extreme or the other. The correct balance
is the goal for the end user.
Room attributes which can be
easily changed
The contents of the room impact greatly
upon its overall acoustic character. As you
would expect, hard surfaces like glass and
concrete tend to reflect a broad band of
acoustic energy. Complimentary materials
that are soft and thick in section such as
heavy natural fibre curtains will tend to
absorb a broad band of frequencies.
What are Standing waves?
Sound waves reflecting between two
parallel walls set up resonance modes
when one half, or a whole multiple of
one-half, the wavelength of the sound
wave is equal to the distance between
the walls.
These resonance modes are referred to as
“standing waves”. In loudspeakers with
parallel walls these waves will cause
distortions. The standing waves in your
room will distort the frequency response
of your system sympathetically boosting
certain frequencies.
If a certain standing wave frequency is
acoustically isolated from its modal
neighbours, its effect is more likely to be
audible and problematic. This can
compromise the accuracy of any
loudspeaker.
Middle and High Frequency
Room Characteristics
The middle and high frequencies are
affected more by room contents rather
than room shape. The surfaces and how
they reflect, absorb or diffuse the acoustic
energy will tend to describe the “sound”
of a room. Like all energy, acoustic energy
cannot be destroyed; it can only be
converted into something else or
reflected. The shape of the surface will
determine how it is reflected and the
material will determine whether it is
absorbed. All rooms have a particular
sound, and to appreciate what influences
are present in your room you should be
aware of how the objects in your room
will respond to sound.
Sound waves behave in the same way as
light waves or "rays" and so imagine the
driver to be a floodlight.
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Reflection: acoustic energy is not
converted but reflected in an orderly,
predictable fashion.
Diffusion: acoustic energy is dispersed in
a random and or disordered fashion.
Absorption: acoustic energy is converted
into kinetic energy or heat. All or a
majority of the sound energy is "soaked
up" or disposed of by the object surface
or room boundary.
Bi-Amping
The power that is delivered to your
loudspeakers will have a direct effect upon
the sound of your loudspeakers. You
should select the best that you can afford.
Separating the systems will deliver benefits
that can easily be detected. We would not
recommend using different amplifiers on
different drivers.
Bi-Wiring
Improvements can be heard through
separating the energy from each filter in
the crossover. Cables vary in construction
but a good quality cable should be low in
impedance, inductance and capacitance.
Do not use cables, which act as additional
crossover components. Experimentation
is crucial in this situation and a cable that
works well in one situation / room / with
a given amplifier, may not always perform
as well when one of these variables are
changed.
Two channel loudspeaker
positioning
There are no objective criteria that can be
used to state precisely where loudspeakers
should be positioned. Should any
individual or company suggest that there
is, they should be regarded as special
people and treated with a great deal of
caution. In the global scenario, our
loudspeakers are driven by unique systems
that are selected by the owner because of
particular virtues. Every listening room is
as individual and unique in character as
the owner. Compound this complex
picture with the combination of different
equipment. Consider the changeability of
Rooms: If the room is dressed with
heavy curtains simply changing the
curtains position can alter the whole
balance of the system. The only rule is
that there are no rules. Like producing
good wine, it is the goal that is the only
guide. The owner is the pivot in this
subtle balancing act.
The goal of high performance audio
systems is accurate reproduction. The
information, be it in groove or pit format
should be transcribed, amplified and
converted back into sound energy without
the additional views of the audio
equipment designer being combined with
that translation process.
In order to make the task of positioning
the loudspeakers less complex we would
like to make the following suggestions.
That most valuable commodity, time, is
the most important ingredient in this
process. Be prepared to make small
changes over longer periods of time.
Select four musical passages that you are
familiar with, that can fulfil the following
tests.
• They should all be stereo recordings.
• Select one with a distinctive and easily
heard human voice. Spoken voice is
ideal.
• Select one passage with a full
orchestra like The Pines of Rome.
• Select one that is very emotional for
you.
• Select one that has a strong rhythm as
in the case of dance music.
You should appraise the performance of
the loudspeakers according to your needs
based upon the tests above.
Cinema Systems
There is no industry standard for the
positioning of speakers for home cinema,
but there are some facts that should be
considered when creating such a dedicated
environment.
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• Tactic® drive units are not shielded
and should not be placed within
750mm of a television (cathode ray
tubes). All Wilson Benesch speakers
should be over one metre from any
television.
• The angle from the screen should
ideally be between 110 and 130
degrees.
• The loudspeakers should be identical.
However Wilson Benesch
loudspeakers use identical drive units
and tweeters, so it is possible for the
system to be comprised of more
powerful channels at the front of the
room and smaller systems being
exploited for the surrounding field.
• The Centre channel is a critical
component in any quality cinema
system. It handles more than dialogue,
which the ear is very sensitive to, as
we are all very familiar with what the
human voice should sound like.
• All Wilson Benesch loudspeakers can
be classified as full range systems.
• Configure the subwoofer just for LFE.
Spikes
The spikes are supplied installed with
some systems and so great care should be
taken when handling these systems. By
careful tests you can adjust the speaker
both in terms of toe in, and in terms of
angle of position, should you wish to align
the speaker you should arrange for an
assistant to assist in this task. The position
of the tweeter has been designed to
function best for listeners seated in
conventional relaxed seating positions. If
required, for other situations such as
listeners on higher seating or standing, the
speakers can be tilted back so as to incline
the tweeter.
Magnet Precautions
The motors used in all Wilson Benesch
speakers are built from the most powerful
magnetic material in the world, Nd.Fe.B.
Do not bring any metallic objects or
sensitive electronic, electro magnetic or
mechanical systems into close proximity
of these devices, this includes pace makers
or other critical devices. The company
cannot accept responsibility for any
damage or injury caused to any such
systems as a result of accidental
exposure. Extreme care must be taken
with all Wilson Benesch Isobaric
speakers as the Tactic® motor is
exposed in these systems.
Terminals
Wilson Benesch recommends the use of
8mm Ring or Spade Connector cable
terminations. A spanner is provided to nip
up the gold plated nuts, but be careful.
Please do not over tighten the terminals.
The terminals also allow the use of banana
plugs.
Running In (70 hrs)
Like anything of good quality a period of
running in tends to see improvements in
performance. The speaker cabinet requires
time to settle in to its surroundings.
Climatic and humidity variations will take
time to adjust to, and until such
adjustments have been made the speaker
will not perform at its best. The drivers
require time to bed in physically, and relax
materially. The carbon panels actually
improve in structural integrity as they age.
The quality of the sound that you hear
when you first use your Wilson Benesch
speakers, will improve quite significantly
over time, though the change will not be
instantly perceptible. Allow at least
seventy hours of running in before
making any subject judgements of the
speakers performance.
Surface Finish
The natural wood components are
manufactured using real-wood veneers.
They will darken over time and,
depending on the climatic and heating
conditions will stress relieve. This is a
natural phenomenon that may cause slight
changes in the dimensions of the wood.
These are typically imperceptible.
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The Square
Series
Square One
Square Two
Centre Square
The Centre Square was conceived from the Torus Project. The work on structural borne
vibration that was done during this project provided a fresh view on cabinet design with MDF.
Although we regard M.D.F. as a soft material, it should be appreciated that the side walls of the
cabinet are enhanced by steel or alloy plates, and damped by glossy polymers, in order to
ameliorate these structural borne artefacts. The principal innovation in the Square design is the
A.B.R. (assisted Bass Radiator). Of course this is not new. The A.B.R. has been used many times
before, in previous designs in order to boost low frequency output, in the same way that the port
does. However, in the Square, the principal role of this component is to convert unwanted
negative energy from the back of the drive unit into heat. Unlike every other loudspeaker to date,
the back wall of the Square is in fact designed to flex. By absolving the rear wall of much of its
structural responsibility, the communication of structural borne vibration is significantly reduced.
The A.B.R. does provide some bass re-enforcement also, but as you can appreciate in the Wilson
Benesch A.B.R., the function is more complex. We believe that this is the first loudspeaker to
function in this way.
All the components other than the cabinet are taken directly from the Odyssey Series of
loudspeakers. They are State of The Art elements that are manufactured by Wilson Benesch, and
hand assembled, before being soldered into the loudspeaker. The ability to combine Square
loudspeakers with other Wilson Benesch designs is axiomatic, as all the drivers including the
tweeter are identical. Subsequently the system can be expanded or adapted to any conceivable
situation, whether it is a reference two channel system or cinema surround field system.
As in the Odyssey Series, great care is taken to ensure that the phase response characteristics are
as pure as possible. Few companies have the ability to fine tune every single facet of the design,
to achieve the exact component for each design objective. Our manufacturing capability, allows
us the luxury of incremental improvement, and an obsessive pursuit of the simple as opposed to
the complex solution. The Square is an excellent example of this reductionist philosophy.
All systems can be single or bi wired or to provide even greater control bi-amping techniques can
be used.
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Square One
Technical specifications
Square One
Description 2 way, true linear phase, boundary located, stand mounted monitor
Drive units 1 x 170mm (7 in) Wilson Benesch Tactic MID bass units
1 x 25mm (1 in) Soft dome, hand painted silk, ultra linear Wilson
Benesch specification tweeter
Low frequency
loading Assisted Bass Radiator
Frequency range -6dB at 58Hz and 30kHz
-3dB at 65Hz and 25kHz
Frequency response 58Hz to 24kHz +- 2dB on axis
Sensitivity 87dB spl at 1metre on axis. 2.83V input
Impedance 6 Ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum
Crossover
Second order tweeter Selected polypropylene
capacitors and air cored inductors are used
throughout
Crossover
frequencies Tweeter 5kHz
Internal wiring Multi stranded, silver plated copper, PTFE jacketed cable harnesses
Soldered connections throughout
Shortpath P.C.B. design
Links supplied for single or bi-wire applications
Input connections Bi-wireable, in-house machined rhodium plated copper alloy terminals
Power handling 200W peak unclipped programme
Maximum spl 108dB at 1 metre
Dimensions Height 325mm
Width 200mm
Depth 285mm
Internal volume 10.5 litres
Weight 15kg With Stand 22kg
Finishes available
High Build Piano Black Gloss, Burr Walnut Gloss, Maple Satin, Stained
Cherry Gloss, White Gloss
Stand Black
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Square Two
Technical specifications
Square Two
Description 2 way, true linear phase, boundary located, floor standing
Drive units 1 x 170mm (7 in) Wilson Benesch Tactic MID bass units
1 x 25mm (1 in) Soft dome, hand painted silk, ultra linear Wilson
Benesch specification tweeter
Low frequency
loading
Assisted Bass Radiator and precision vented foot port
Frequency range -6dB at 50Hz and 30kHz
-3dB at 55Hz and 25kHz
Frequency response 40Hz to 24kHz +- 2dB on axis
Sensitivity 87dB spl at 1metre on axis. 2.83V input
Impedance 6 Ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum
Crossover Second order tweeter Selected polypropylene capacitors and air cored
inductors are used throughout
Crossover
frequencies
Tweeter 5kHz
Internal wiring Multi stranded, silver plated copper, PTFE jacketed cable harnesses
Soldered connections throughout. Shortpath P.C.B. design. Links
supplied for single or bi-wire applications
Input connections Bi-wireable, in-house machined rhodium plated alloy terminals
Power handling 200W peak unclipped programme
Maximum spl 108dB at 1 metre
Dimensions Height 975mm
Width 200mm
Depth 255mm
Internal volume 34 litres
Weight 24kg
Finishes available
High Build Piano Black Gloss, Burr Walnut Gloss, Maple Satin, Stained
Cherry Gloss, White Gloss
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Centre Square
Technical specifications
Centre
Description 2.5 way, true linear phase, boundary located, integral stand mounted
monitor
Drive units 1 x 170mm (7 in) Wilson Benesch Tactic Isobaric bass unit
1 x 170mm (7 in) Wilson Benesch Tactic bass / mid range unit
1 x 25mm (1 in) Soft dome, hand painted silk, ultra linear Wilson
Benesch specification tweeter
Low frequency
loading
Double chamber, differential reflex tuning
Frequency range -6dB at 48Hz and 30kHz
-3dB at 50Hz and 25kHz
Frequency response 50Hz to 24kHz +- 2dB on axis
Sensitivity 878dB spl at 1metre on axis. 2.83V input
Impedance 6 Ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum
Crossover First order bass roll-off
First order tweeter crossover
Selected polypropylene capacitors and air cored inductors are used
throughout
Crossover
frequencies
Bass 500Hz
Tweeter 5kHz
Internal wiring Multi stranded, silver plated copper, PTFE jacketed cable harnesses
Soldered connections throughout
Shortpath P.C.B. design
Links supplied for single or bi-wire applications
Input connections Bi-wireable, in-house machined rhodium plated alloy terminals
Power handling 200W peak unclipped programme
Maximum spl 111dB at 1 metre
Dimensions Height 210mm
Width 790mm
Length 200mm
Internal volume 14 litres
Weight 22kg With Stand 34kg
Finishes available
High Build Piano Black Gloss, Burr Walnut Gloss, Maple Satin, Stained
Cherry Gloss, White Gloss
Stands Black
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