Von Schweikert Audio

Von Schweikert Audio<= /o:p>

Visiun Universal Center Speaker

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Visiun Signature Model

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<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> ~ Instruction Manual ~

Thank you for purchasing = the Visiun Universal Center Speaker from Von Schweikert Audio, the leader in loudspeaker engineering. The Visiun is a full range speaker system with the highest level of “vocal intelligibility” on the market. In addition, the extremely high power handling and transparent clari= ty far surpass the standards set by existing “consumer” products, since the Visiun is built to laboratory-grade specifications and exceeds the standards set by any other speaker of its type.

UNIVERSAL USE

The Visiun driver and crossover system is matched to Von Schweikert VR-4 series of speakers (regardless of age or version number), while the Signature version’s drivers = and crossovers are matched to our VR-5, 7, 9, 10, and 11 models. However, since many audiophiles us= e main speakers that do not have a matching center speaker available, we have desi= gned the Visiun models to be adjusta= ble for use with any speaker on the market.&nb= sp; As is commonly known to transducer engineers, the most significant sonic difference between different brands of speaker systems is their tonal (or spectral) balance. The controls on the Visiun can also be used to compensate for differing boundary situations caused by placement.

Although you may find tha= t the Visiun exceeds the clarity and tra= nsient response of your main (non-VS) speaker system, including electrostatic or ribbon speakers, the sonic improvements inherent in the Visiun will not distract you from the movie experience, quite t= he contrary! As long as you “re-voice” (adjust) the sound of the Visiun to match the sound of your main speakers, using the pink noise signal from your home theater processor, you will enjoy true coherence with the Visiun and your main speakers during a movie or multi-channel musical performance.

BINDING POST CONNECTIONS<= /p>

Connect your amplifier to= the binding posts on the rear of the Visiun, noting that the positive wire (+) = is located on the Right side of pair and the negative (-) is the Left binding post, seen from the rear. The binding posts will accept spade lugs, bare wire, banana plugs, or a “ring” connector. Make sure your amplifier is turned off while = you make the connection, since many amplifiers will blow an internal fuse if you accidentally touch the wires together. We don’t recommend using spade lugs with wire that is so heavy that the spade lugs continue to fall off the posts, so you might want to try using an alternative type of connector or perhaps supporting the heavy speaker cable from underneath.

PLACEMENT AND BOUNDARY REFLECTIONS

We find that customers wi= ll use their center channel speaker mounted on a low floor stand when using a projection video monitor, or they will place the center speaker inside a wa= ll unit if the décor demands.

Stand Mount:&n= bsp; Although VSA does not make a stand for the Visiun, Sound Anchor builds an adjustable stand for this t= ype of placement. The height= of the stand should keep the Visi= un from blocking the projection screen, and a slight tilt-back will ensure that the sound reaches the listener’s ears. Note that the Time Aligned fr= ont baffle is slanted upwards as well.&nb= sp; If you place the Visiun close to the rear wall, you may experie= nce a slight bass boost; this can be compensated by adjustment of the Voic= ing Controls, see below. See= our website for recommended stands and their manufacturers.
Cabinet Mount: If you are planning on installing the Visiun inside a cabine= t, such as large entertainment wall unit, there are two effects that you = will encounter:

A. Destructive resonance caused by the hollow chamber of the wall unit/equipment cabinet when excited by the center speaker. To eliminate this, completel= y fill the cabinet space surrounding the Visiun with fiberglass, acoustic foam, or Dacron.
B. The second effect you will need to compensate for will be the bass boost, more scientifically called “boundary gain.” This can easily be eliminate= d by increasing the gain of the Midrange and Tweeter controls, see more below.

CRT DISTORTION CAUSED BY = SPEAKER MAGNETS

As it is designed to be u= sed with either flat panel or front projection video monitors, the Visiun is unshielded. If you wish to use the Visiun with a conventional “picture tube” type of monitor, place the unit at least two feet from the tube. Note that there is no practical me= thod to shield the Visiun from warping a CRT picture tube, since the high performance drivers are not available in the shielded mode.

SONIC ADJUSTMENTS

BASS

There are twin “pre= ssure release” ports at the rear of the Visiun to enable fast transient response. Note that these ports are NOT bass reflex ports, since hollow “bass reflex” designs add unacceptab= le resonance effects to the upper bass and lower midrange frequencies. Our tuning is of the “aperiodic” family; i.e., a highly damped “pressure release” system to reduce the air pressure in the cabinet, enabling deeper bass than a sealed box can produce along with faster transient respo= nse speed.

At the factory, we have s= tuffed the woofer chambers completely full= of Dacron to eliminate cavity resonance and increase bass transient speed a= nd vocal clarity. The VisiunR= 17;s high degree of bass damping enables the Visiun to be used inside a wall unit or close to a wall without boosting the vocal range handled by the woofers to an unacceptable level.

Howeve= r, please note that the boundary gain caused by the equipment cabinet or wall proximity will result in a higher v= olume level of deep and mid bass that may overshadow the midrange and tweeter; this effect can be corrected by increasing the level of the midrange and tweeter; see MIDRANGE= AND TWEETER ADJUSTMENTS below.

TO INCREASE BASS POWER

Please note that the port= s were not designed to increase the volume level of the bass, but can = be adjusted to do so, if you adjus= t the internal stuffing that controls the port efficiency. We are blocking the ports from ins= ide the cabinet with Dacron stuffing to reduce unwanted resonances and distorti= on, which also enables the Visiun t= o be used inside a cabinet or close to the wall. You may experience a loss of bass = when placing the Visiun out into the= room, but this is easily adjusted: =

If you need bass reinforcement due to “fr= ee field” placement, (i.e., placement far from the wall), you can increase the bass power by removing some of the port stuffing. If you want more bass, remove= a baseball- sized piece of Dacron from the inside of the woofer chamber directly behind the port with long-nose pliers or salad tongs. Do this equally on both woofer ports.
Please play a few musical or movie clips to determine if the bass response is now sufficient. If you need more bass power, don’t be afraid to remove even more Dacron, since the internal walls of the Visiun are lined with acoustic foam to prevent bass “hangover” in the event of complete stuffing removal.

If you later change your system around and need= the original (tighter) bass damping, just replace the Dacron through the p= ort hole and you’ll be back to the original sound.

MIDRANGE

If you have mounted the Visiun inside a wall unit and need= to increase the volume level of the vocal range to balance the bass which has = now gotten louder due to the cabinet’s “boundary effect” load= ing, simply turn the knob marked “MIDRANGE” to the right, past 12:00 o’clock (which is the factory “flat” setting position). You may have to set this knob to 1= , 2 or 3:00 o’clock depending on the situation.

If your main speaker has = more midrange response than the “stock” midrange setting on the Visiun’s midrange control, increase the Visiun’s mid= range control until you hear the same type of vocal balance as you hear with your main speaker (unless your main speaker does not have a good midrange balanc= e to begin with! In this case, two “wrongs won’t make a right”= so go with the best sonic setting on the Visiun to enjoy the better midrange clarity).

PINK NOISE TEST

You can set the midrange = and tweeter controls by listening to music or voices, but the best bet is to use the Pink Noise Generator on your 5.1 channel processor or all-in- one recei= ver to adjust the midrange and tweeter controls.

            <= /span>Note: Pink Noise sounds like a waterfall or rain, and it is used for sound equalization since it

contai= ns all frequencies from deep bass to high treble (20Hz to 20kHz). When the woofer, midrange, and tre= ble frequencies are level in balance, the Pink Noise will sound “continuous” without any particular range sticking out. For instance, if you have too much midrange, the overall spectral balance may sound too forward or “honky” so you will need to turn down the MIDRANGE control until this range sounds no louder or softer than the bass range.

TWEETER

The Visiun’s Dual Ring Radiator tweeter is one of the world’s finest sounding high frequency drivers, with very smooth and clean response up to 40kHz (flat to 20kHz). If you hear any distortion or glar= e in the high frequencies, the problem is either lack of adequate speaker break-= in or glare generated somewhere upstream in your system. Whatever may be the case, if you h= ear an excess of high frequencies, you will need to turn down the TWEETER level control lower than the 12:00 o’clock flat setting to reduce listener fatigue. When listening to Pi= nk Noise, you will find that an excess of treble from the tweeter will cause t= he sound to become thin and bass-shy. After you have gotten past the break-in period, you may need to increase the level.

MAINTENANCE OF CONTROL POTENTIOMETERS

Since there are moving pa= rts inside the controls, the surfaces of the electrical contacts are mechanical= ly spring loaded to make contact. In order to clean the dust from the wiper and coil inside, please rotate the control pots several times (10 works well) back and forth rapidly from full= on to full off, when the speaker is not playing. This will mechanically clean the m= oving parts, preventing noise. After several years of use, it may be necessary to remove the screws holding the Input Terminal, to get at the rear of the control pot bodies. You will see cooling vents at the = rear of the housing, and Contact Cleaner, available at Radio Shack and other electronic stores, can be sprayed inside the vents to chemically clean the moving parts.

CLEANING OF THE B-17 NON-REFLECTIVE FINISH

To prevent light reflecti= on from the screen and projector, we have painted the Visiun with a military-grade non-reflective coating that feels = like velvet fabric. To clean the d= ust from this coating, use a slightly damp towel and rub very gently. DO NOT USE PAPER TOWELS, AS THE LINT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE. Also, do not use any type of wax, solvent or other cleaning fluid except = for plain water.

BREAK-IN

The woofers, midrange and= tweeter require at least 100 hours of continuous playing before the suspensions break in, and many critical liste= ners will notice that the sound will improve until 300 hours have passed. Note that the drivers used in the = Visiun are among the world’s finest and are extremely clear and low in distortion; any harshness or other midrange/tweeter problem will be caused by bright soundtracks and/or cold electronics.

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VISIUN SPECIFICATIONS=

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: In wall unit or close to rear wall: 38Hz-20kHz (+/-3dB). In= free air, 50Hz-20kHz.

IMPEDANCE: 8 Ohms nominal, 4 Ohms minimum. MAKE CERTAIN YOUR AMP IS RATED AT 4 OHMS.

BASS LO= ADING: Pressure release system with 100% acoustic fill (aperiodic loading) using a double- chambered cabinet made from 1" MDF with 1" acoustic foam/= felt lining.   The aperiodic pressure release design enables deep bass without resonance or boom.



BASS DRIVERS: 2 pcs - 7" cast frame Low Distortion aluminum-coned woof= ers with phase plug,

long-throw design, high temperature voice coils, Low Distor= tion Motor, and butyl rubber surrounds.

MIDRANGE DRIVER: 1 pc - 7" cast frame L= ow Distortion midrange driver with Aerogel composite cone and edge-wound ribbon voice coil. This driver has the highest Force Factor of any driver available!

TWEETER: 1 pc - 1.5" silk dome Dual Ring Radiator, Ferrofluid cooling and Low Distortion motor.

CONTROLS: Midrange and Tweeter potentiometers, s= et at 200Hz to2kHz and 2kHz to 20kHz.

DRIVER CONFIGURATION: Time Aligned by use of mechanical tilt-back.

CROSSOV= ER: Global Axis Integration Network design= , with 200Hz and 2kHz crossover points.

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SENSITIVITY: 90dB @ one watt/one meter measured = in room with boundary gain (87dB in free air).

POWER HANDLING: 50 watts min., 200 watts input power, 500 watts peak (above 80Hz).

WARRANTY: Ten years parts and labor, excluding abuse. Note that burned voice= coils caused by amplifier

clipping is not covered under warranty!

WEIGHT: 54 lbs., 74 lbs. in carton.

DIMENSIONS: 28" Wide x 14" Deep x 15&q= uot; High

Von Schweikert Audio

930 Armorlite Drive= , San Marcos= , CA 92069

Phone (760) 410-1650        =             &nb= sp; FAX (760) 410-1655

E-mail: albert@vonschweikert.com        =         www.Vspeakers.com