Owner’s Manual Sage P48, P38m, P38i Biamplified Planar Magnetic Hybrid Loudspeakers
Table of Contents Introduction.....................................................................................................4 About this manual...................................................................................................4 Please register your system.....................................................................................4 Description......................................................................................................5 Planar magnetic panels.........
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 Sage 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.
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. This is comparable to the simple test loads that amplifier companies use when measuring their amplifiers to show how terrific they are. As such, you can be assured that your amplifiers will sound and work their best.
to be unusually rugged. Everything about the woofers has been optimized for their intended application, which involves reproducing powerful, dynamic bass from an extremely small enclosure. Designed for biamplification People who have wanted to extract the highest performance from their systems have known for a long time that driving each section of the speaker directly and separately yields the finest results.
Unpacking & Setting Up the P48 The Wisdom Audio Sage P48 freestanding speaker is a substantial piece of equipment. Please exercise caution when unpacking your P48 to ensure that you do not strain yourself from its (perhaps unexpected) weight. Caution! Do not attempt to lift your P48 by yourself. Unpacking these speakers is easy for two people, but it is unwise for a single person to attempt doing so. Do not attempt to lift your P48 while bending or twisting from the waist.
Wisdom Audio spikes are reversible for use on either hard or carpeted floors. The sharp end of the spike is designed to penetrate the carpeting and couple to the floor beneath, for excellent stability and improved sound. When on tile or hardwood floors, however, use the blunt end of the spike instead to avoid floor damage. In either case, you can adjust the height of the individual spikes to compensate for slightly uneven floors.
Making the P48 Connections As with any system, you should make changes to the connections only when the power is turned off to avoid any chance of inadvertently causing a problem (such as a short-circuit). Two sets of speaker wires are required for each Sage P48 loudspeaker: one for the woofer (low pass) section, and a separate one for the planar magnetic (high pass) section that handles the midrange and treble.
Unpacking & Installing the P38m The Wisdom Audio Sage P38m on-wall speaker is a substantial piece of equipment. Please exercise caution when unpacking your P38m to ensure that you do not strain yourself from its (perhaps unexpected) weight. Caution! Do not attempt to lift your P38m by yourself. Unpacking these speakers is easy for two people, but it is unwise for a single person to attempt doing so. Do not attempt to lift your P38m while bending or twisting from the waist.
b. To “set” the clamp behind the drywall, place the mounting screw into the anchor and push or tap firmly until approximately 1” (2.5 cm) of screw is protruding (do not rotate). Then remove the screw. Repeat for each anchor location. c. Rotate the mounting bracket back over the E-Z Toggles, insert the screw and continue to turn until fastened tightly. The screw stops when the toggle bar secures itself against the opposite side of the drywall (inside the wall). Repeat for each anchor location. 5.
Unpacking & Installing the P38i Your new Wisdom Audio Sage P38i in-wall speaker is a substantial piece of equipment. Please exercise caution when unpacking your P38i to ensure that you do not strain yourself from its (perhaps unexpected) weight. Caution! Do not attempt to lift your P38i by yourself. Unpacking these speakers is easy for two people, but it is unwise for a single person to attempt doing so. Do not attempt to lift your P38i while bending or twisting from the waist.
mounted in the bezel and grille assembly at this time. They can be mounted later, after all the paint is dry. 8. Using assistance to hold the speaker modules away from the wall, connect both high and low pass speaker cables to the two connectors at the end of the back box, paying attention to assign the correct band-pass and polarity to their respective speaker connectors. 9. Insert the speaker/back box assembly into the Uni-Grip frame and attach using the supplied Allen head screws and 3/32” drill bit.
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 often introduce deviations of 20 dB to the response of the system. It seems strange to us to worry about tenths-of-a-decibel differences between one component and another when there are 10-20 dB problems right there in the room with you. At the same time, room equalization is not a panacea.
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. Speaker Placement Within the room itself, placement of the speakers and the listener will have a profound effect on the performance of the system, particularly below 300 Hz or so.
This approach creates a stunningly convincing “phantom” center image that appears to emerge directly from the center of the picture, while allowing you to use any display device you choose. 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. Moreover, the optimum placement is usually centered on each of the four walls.
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 P48, 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 P48 with the cloth. Do not use excessive amounts of alcohol—there is no need for the cloth to be wet; merely damp is better.
North American Warranty Normal Twenty Year Warranty Harsh Condition Use 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 twenty years from the original date of purchase. The Sage Series loudspeakers are designed for installation and operation in environmentally controlled conditions, such as are found in normal residential environments.
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.
Specifications All specifications are subject to change at any time, in order to improve the product. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Frequency response: 40Hz – 20 kHz ± 2dB relative to the target curve Impedance, planar section: 4 ohms Impedance, woofer section: 4 ohms nominal, 2.5 ohms minimum Sensitivity, planar section: 91 dB/1w/1m Power handling, peak: >1000w Dimensions see appropriate Dimensions drawings on next several pages Shipping weight, each P48 tower: 58 lbs.
P48 Dimensions 25
P38m Dimensions 26
P38i Dimensions 27
Notes 28
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 P48OM-1.01 30 © 10/2008 Wisdom Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
