Owner’s Manual Wisdom Series LS3i & LS4i Biamplified Planar Magnetic Loudspeaker
Table of Contents Introduction.....................................................................................................4 About this manual...................................................................................................4 Description......................................................................................................5 Planar magnetic panels...........................................................................................5 Free from compression.........
Introduction Congratulations on purchasing your Wisdom Audio system. It incorporates many design features designed to give you decades of pleasure and performance. Many of these design choices are uncommon among loudspeaker manufacturers, and bear some explanation. See the following section entitled “Description” for more information. Our unique driver designs and our emphasis on achieving real-world performance account for the “system” approach taken.
Description Your Wisdom Series loudspeakers take advantage of several critical technologies to deliver a level of performance that has never been available in a loudspeaker that intruded so modestly on your living space. In fact, this level of performance has rarely been attained, regardless of the space and budget at one’s disposal. Since most of these technologies cannot readily be found elsewhere, we will take the time to describe them in more detail than would be necessary for more conventional designs.
The excellent heat dissipation of these drivers makes them remarkably reliable. Planar magnetic speakers can handle a great deal of power without undue stress or audible strain. In fact, for a given size, they can handle many times the power of a traditional dynamic driver. Easy on amplifiers Because the conductor is essentially a long, thin wire, it presents a purely resistive load to the amplifier.
To achieve this highly desirable line source behavior, it is essential to have a tall and slim driver. (Simply stacking multiple “cone & dome” high frequency drivers does not create a proper line source. Instead, it creates a series of point sources which end up interfering with each other.) With Wisdom Audio’s planar magnetic technology, it becomes possible to have drivers that are extremely tall and slim.
and sophisticated room correction to minimize distortions introduced by the room itself. The goal is simple: to achieve consistently excellent results in the real world of the owner’s home. After all, that’s all that really matters.
Un-crating & Installing the LS3i/LS4i Your new Wisdom Audio Wisdom Series LS3i or LS4i in-wall speaker is a substantial piece of equipment. Please exercise caution when unpacking it to ensure that you do not strain yourself from its (perhaps unexpected) weight. Caution! Do not attempt to un-crate your Wisdom Series speakers by yourself. Unpacking these speakers is a job for multiple, trained installers. It is unwise for a single person even to attempt doing so.
Each speaker has a flange running around the speaker that makes it a simple matter to screw it to studs (via the predrilled and countersunk holes). The face of the speaker and its flange are 5/8” thick, a standard thickness for wall construction materials, which can butt up to the edge of the speaker to form a smooth surface. The connections to the speaker may be made either before or after the speaker is screwed to the wall that has been framed for it.
Room Acoustics & Placement Wisdom Audio believes in equalization. Assume for a moment that you had a “perfect” loudspeaker: as soon as you place it in your room, its perfection is gone. In fact, even good rooms can introduce deviations of 20 dB to the response of the system. This is particularly true in the bottom two octaves, where a subwoofer operates.
The ultimate in dedicated listening room construction involves the design and construction of floating walls, ceiling and floor. This approach yields the added benefit (when done properly) of providing outstanding acoustic isolation from adjacent spaces as well as superb bass reproduction. This approach goes well beyond the scope of an owner’s manual; if you are interested, you should contact a professional acoustician who has specialized in this sort of domestic room design.
a center image where it belongs. f course, if people are sitting well off to one side in the room, the image tends to fall into the nearest speaker. Failing an acoustically transparent screen or a phantom center channel approach, the important thing is to match the tonal and dynamic capabilities of the Left and Right speakers while minimizing the change in image height as a sound is panned across the front stage.
most likely to suffer from the response irregularities introduced by the room itself, operating as they do below approximately 80 Hz in most systems. Recent research into the behavior of rooms as a function of speaker placement has concluded that — if you have the freedom to do so — there are significant advantages to placing several smaller subwoofers around the room, rather than relying on a single large woofer.
ditoriums, lobbies in commercial buildings, etc. The problems seen in “small” rooms (residential spaces) are quite different, and outside the experience of most acousticians. Find someone who specializes in and has a great deal of experience designing home studios, home theaters, and the like. Your Wisdom Audio dealer may be such a person; failing that, he/she can help you find such a professional. References Books on Acoustics: The Master Handbook of Acoustics, F.
Optimizing the System A Wisdom Audio loudspeaker system is just that: a system, designed to provide the highest calibre of performance, in the widest variety of possible settings. As such, simply connecting all the wires does not mean the system is optimized. The SC-1 System Controller manual has the pertinent details on precisely how to use it to optimize the performance of the system. For the purposes of this manual, a quick overview of the process is sufficient. 1.
Care & Maintenance To remove dust from the cabinet of your LS4i, use a feather duster or a lint-free soft cloth. To remove stubborn dirt and fingerprints, we recommend isopropyl alcohol and a soft cloth. Lightly dampen the cloth with alcohol first and then clean the surface of the LS4i with the cloth. Do not use excessive amounts of alcohol—there is no need for the cloth to be wet; merely damp is better. Never attempt to clean the drivers themselves.
North American Warranty Standard Warranty When purchased from and installed by an authorized Wisdom Audio dealer, Wisdom Audio® loudspeakers are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use for a period of five years from the original date of purchase. Furthermore, the transducers (“drivers”) in your Wisdom Audio speakers are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use for a period of twenty years from the original date of purchase.
Obtaining Service We take great pride in our dealers. Experience, dedication, and integrity make these professionals ideally suited to assist with our customers’ service needs. If your Wisdom Audio loudspeaker must be serviced, please contact your dealer. Your dealer will then decide whether the problem can be remedied locally, or whether to contact Wisdom Audio for further service information or parts, or to obtain a Return Authorization.
LS4i Specifications All specifications are subject to change at any time, in order to improve the product. ■ Frequency response: 80Hz – 20 kHz ± 2dB relative to the target curve ■ Impedance, tweeter section: 4.25Ω resistive ■ Impedance, midbass/midrange section: 4.25Ω resistive ■ Sensitivity: 100 dB/2.83 V/1m ■ Power handling, peak: >5000w ■ Dimensions see Dimensions drawings ■ Dimensions of LS4i shipping crate) 92” x 31” x 23” 233 cm x 79 cm x 59 cm ■ Shipping weight: 425 lbs.
LS3i Specifications All specifications are subject to change at any time, in order to improve the product. ■ Frequency response: 80Hz – 20 kHz ± 2dB relative to the target curve ■ Impedance, tweeter section: 5.6Ω resistive ■ Impedance, midbass/midrange section: 5.6Ω resistive ■ Sensitivity: 98 dB/2.83 V/1m ■ Power handling, peak: >5000w ■ Dimensions see Dimensions drawings ■ Dimensions of LS3i shipping crate) 72” x 31” x 23” 183 cm x 79 cm x 59 cm ■ LS3i Shipping weight: 345 lbs.
LS4i Dimensions 22
LS3i Dimensions 23
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WISDOM and the stylized W are registered trademarks of Wisdom Audio. Wisdom Audio 1572 College Parkway, Suite 164 Carson City, Nevada 89706 USA Telephone: 775.887.8850 Fax: 775.887.8820 www.wisdomaudio.com LSiOM-1.0 26 © 3/2014 Wisdom Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
