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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 con-
tact 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. There is no “perfect” position that will solve all problems, but finding the 
best compromise will make it easier to solve the remaining problems with the 
SC-1.

Your Wisdom Audio dealer can help you with optimizing your speaker place-
ment, which is never quite as simple as it seems it should be. The characteristics 
you should listen for are several:

Left & Right Speakers

Goal #1: Stable, 3-dimensional stereo imaging 

 

This usually requires reasonable symmetry within the room, and a bit of space 
between the speakers and adjacent side walls (to minimize the adverse effects 
of early first reflections). Mono (correlated) pink noise can help here, though it 
does not replace listening to music. With pink noise playing in both speakers, 
you should hear a tightly-defined little “ball” of pink noise floating in space ex-
actly halfway between the speakers.

Goal #2: Smooth, consistent bass

 

Oft-cited rules of thumb for smoother bass reproduction include both “placing 
the speakers at different distances from the side walls vs. the wall behind them,” 
and “placing them at ‘odd fractions’ of the room’s dimensions” (e.g., fractions 
in which the denominator is an odd number, like 

1

3

2

5

2

7

, etc.). But nothing 

replaces your experience in your room, combined with your dealer’s experi-
ence in a variety of rooms. Playing pink noise through the woofer sections of 
your Wisdom Audio speakers (with the microphone at the listening position, and 
prior to doing any equalization) and watching the results on a Real Time Ana-
lyzer (RTA) will let you see the results of your labors.

Center Channel

Center channel height

 

Once you have a solid stereo image up front (when listening only to the Left and 
the Right speakers), you need a center channel speaker for multichannel repro-
duction. It should be centered between the Left and Right, and centered on the 
screen’s location, preferably at the same height as the Left and Right speakers. 
This presents an obvious problem: you cannot place a speaker in front of your 
television screen. 

Ideally, a center channel speaker would be behind an acoustically transparent 
front projection screen and would match the Left and Right speakers. Doing so 
would ensure the best possible consistency of tonal balance, image height, and 
dynamic capabilities for the critical center channel. 

Another way to achieve similar results without relying on an acoustically trans-
parent front projection screen is to use a total of four front speakers: 

•  two widely-spaced P48 speakers handle the Left and Right channels;
•  two P48 speakers closely flanking the screen both play the (mono) 

center channel signal.

Summary of Contents for Saga C38i

Page 1: ...Owner s Manual Sage P48 P38m P38i Biamplified Planar Magnetic Hybrid Loudspeakers ...

Page 2: ...dem 8 Making the P48 Connections 10 Unpacking Installing the P38m 11 Mounting the P38m on the wall 11 Unpacking Installing the P38i 13 Installing the P38i in the wall 13 Room Acoustics Placement 15 Start With the Room 15 Rigid Walls 15 Speaker Placement 16 Left Right Speakers 16 Center Channel 16 Surround Speakers 17 Subwoofer Placement 17 Room Treatment 18 Professional Acoustic Design 18 Referenc...

Page 3: ......

Page 4: ...the other manuals SC 1 SA series amplifiers to understand the system s full capabilities Your Sage P48 loudspeakers are specifically designed to avoid the compromises inherent in conventional speaker designs The active crossover and room cor rection circuitry in the SC 1 is essential to the speakers proper operation In ad dition the SA series amplifiers are specifically designed to meet the needs ...

Page 5: ... of the most remarkable things about the sound of well designed planar magnetic speakers is their lack of thermal or dynamic compression There are several reasons for this The lightweight diaphragm responds quickly to even the smallest signals yet is robust enough to handle enormous ones The fact that heat does not build up in the voice coil as it does in conventional dynamic drivers means that th...

Page 6: ...peaker design that goes something like this deep bass small enclosure or high sensitivity pick two out of the three No one can cheat the laws of physics If you want deep bass from a small box you will need to make up for the small size with equalization and extra power Fortunately our system design comes to the rescue The system design includes both the SC 1 System Controller which serves as an ac...

Page 7: ...rate amplifiers for the woofer and the planar sections of each loudspeaker Since each channel of the amplifier is delivering current into its load only over a limited range of frequencies several forms of distortion are reduced as com pared to each channel handling the full range of musical information Moreover since each amplifier is direct connected to the driver for which it is respon sible the...

Page 8: ...m to the speaker using the four bolts found in the riser at the bottom of the speaker tower These bolts should be snug do not over tighten You will feel when firm metal to metal contact is made Do not tighten more than 1 8 of a turn beyond the point of initial snug metal to metal contact We do not recommend removing the grille on your new loudspeakers The grille is an integral part of the design m...

Page 9: ... tighten the black nuts that secure the spikes they may rattle a bit when playing music or movies This rattling can sound like speaker distortion Fortunately a quick tightening of the lock nuts on the spikes will eliminate the problem After you have determined the final locations of the P48 speakers enlist the assistance of a friend to safely tip the speaker to provide better access to the adjusta...

Page 10: ...the term loop resistance If this figure is at or below 0 07 ohms you are in good shape For the purposes of this manual we will assume that you have already con nected the SC 1 System Controller as per the instructions found in its manual As such you should have signal coming from your source component s to a preamp processor and then on to the SC 1 following the SC 1 the signal is split into low a...

Page 11: ... be up when installed on the wall Note that for horizontal center channel speakers this means the bracket is pulled across the narrow di mension of the speaker Please note that this guide assumes the wall surface is flat If not shims must be applied to the rear of the mounting bracket so that the mounting bracket is uniformly secured to the wall and flat not distorted The mounting steps are as fol...

Page 12: ...nd low pass speaker cables to the rear mounted connectors Pay close attention to connect the correct wires high and low pass to their respective speaker connectors while attending to proper polarity 7 Fix the speaker into the mounting bracket end clips and press down until you hear the speaker lock into the mounting bracket clips When properly in place it will snap into position and remain held qu...

Page 13: ...itself Installing the P38i in the wall 1 Determine the area for the speaker installation and locate the cutout guide using push pins to secure it in place Ensure that the template is plumb using a bubble level or similar Note Make cer tain that there are no studs plumbing or electrical conduit in the intended area behind the wall before you begin marking and cut ting 2 Trace the outer perimeter of...

Page 14: ...wall connect both high and low pass speaker cables to the two con nectors at the end of the back box paying attention to assign the correct band pass and polarity to their respective speaker connec tors 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 Do not over torque or strip these screws ...

Page 15: ... 20 would be quite poor since the dimensions are all divisible by a length of 4 and 16 is also multiple of 8 By contrast a room whose dimensions are 9 by 16 by 29 would be much better since none of the dimensions are mathematically related to one another There are infinite variations on this idea If you have the flexibility to choose or modify your room dimensions to avoid such problems do so Eith...

Page 16: ...h placing the speakers at different distances from the side walls vs the wall behind them and placing them at odd fractions of the room s dimensions e g fractions in which the denominator is an odd number like 1 3 2 5 2 7 etc But nothing replaces your experience in your room combined with your dealer s experi ence in a variety of rooms Playing pink noise through the woofer sections of your Wisdom ...

Page 17: ...ndustry stan dards and ensures that you hear what was intended from a spatial placement point of view Too often the surround speakers are all behind the listeners cre ating a big hole in the soundfield between the front and the back L R C Sub 1 Sub 2 Ls Rs Rb Lb 22 30 90 110 135 150 0 a 7 2 channel system layout One possible exception to these guidelines if you have a THX certified pro cessor and ...

Page 18: ...e strongest arguments for the tall line source loud speakers that Wisdom Audio builds This leaves you with eight first reflections that you should consider minimizing somehow These points are easily found by having an assistant slide a small mirror along the four walls of the room while you sit at the listening position Any place on the wall where you can see a re flection of any speaker is a firs...

Page 19: ...g that he she can help you find such a pro fessional References Books on Acoustics The Master Handbook of Acoustics F Alton Everest TAB Books Sound Reproduction The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Dr Floyd Toole Focal Press Suppliers of Acoustic Treatments Acoustic Innovations http www acousticinnovations com Acoustic Sciences Corporation http www acousticsciences com Ec...

Page 20: ...listening area is optimized rather than optimizing only one location at the expense of others 3 Select an appropriate target Large and small rooms have intrinsically different traits The room correc tion software allows for these characteristics to be taken into account for superior results 4 Calculate the necessary room correction The software then uses the power of the PC to calculate the correc...

Page 21: ...for the cloth to be wet merely damp is better In the case of stubborn or grimy substances that do not come off the textured surfaces easily use a clean plain pink eraser such as you might give your child for school work to remove the dirt Then finish with a soft cloth lightly damp ened with alcohol as outlined above Never attempt to clean the drivers themselves Caution Do not touch the surface of ...

Page 22: ...press warranty on this loudspeaker Neither this warranty nor any other warranty express or implied including any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness shall extend beyond the warranty period No respon sibility is assumed for any incidental or consequential damages Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts and other states do not allow the exclusion or li...

Page 23: ...ir the difficulty as quickly as possible A copy of the original bill of sale will serve to verify warranty status Please in clude it with the unit when it is brought in for warranty service Warning All returned units must be packaged in their original packaging and the proper return authorization numbers must be marked on the outer carton for identification Shipping the unit in improper packaging ...

Page 24: ... 91 dB 1w 1m Power handling peak 1000w Dimensions see appropriate Dimensions drawings on next several pages Shipping weight each P48 tower 58 lbs 26 kg Shipping weight a pair of P48 bases 18 lbs 8 kg Shipping weight each P38m 39 lbs 18 kg Shipping weight each P38i 37 lbs 27 kg For more information see your Wisdom Audio dealer or contact Wisdom Audio 1572 College Parkway Suite 164 Carson City NV 89...

Page 25: ...25 P48 Dimensions ...

Page 26: ...26 P38m Dimensions ...

Page 27: ...27 P38i Dimensions ...

Page 28: ...28 Notes ...

Page 29: ...29 ...

Page 30: ... Audio Inc All rights reserved Printed in U S A Wisdom Audio 1572 College Parkway Suite 164 Carson City Nevada 89706 USA Telephone 775 887 8850 Fax 775 887 8820 WISDOM and the stylized W are registered trademarks of Wisdom Audio ...

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