Wilson Audio Mezzo Convergent Synergy - Manual (Page 25)

obvious interaction with the opposite wall in front of you and mark this point
with tape. The four pieces of tape now form a rectangle that establishes the
Zone of Neutrality for the loudspeaker located on that side of the room. Us-
ing the four marks as your guide, tape an outline to define the boundaries of
the rectangle.
6. Repeat this process for each speaker location individually. These are your
Zones of Neutrality, one for each channel.
Theoretically, the Zone of Neutrality for any room runs like a path, parallel to the
walls all around the room. Adjacent to very large windows and open doors, the outer edge
of the Zone of Neutrality moves closer to the wall and becomes wider. If you were to ex-
tend the inner and outer boundaries of the Zone for the sidewalls and the front wall (be-
hind the speakers), they would intersect. After you complete this procedure for the other
loudspeaker, you will now have two rectangles, one on the floor on either side of the room.
Section 3.2—Room Acoustics
Note: The following section contains general information on room acoustics and loud-
speaker/room interaction. The concepts outlined below are equally relevant when deal-
ing with multi-channel audio or home theater. The careful application of these concepts,
as you evaluate the acoustical characteristics of your own room configuration, will al-
low you to optimize the performance of your Mezzo Convergent Synergy.
Slap Echo
Probably the most obnoxious form of reflection is called “slap echo.” With slap-echo,
primarily midrange and high frequency sounds reflect off of two parallel hard surfaces. The
sound literally reverberates back and forth until it is finally dissipated over time. You can
test for slap echo in any room by clapping your hands sharply in the middle of the room
and listening for the characteristic sound of the echo in the midrange. Slap echo destroys
the sound quality of a stereo system in two ways:
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