Wilson Audio WATT Series 7 - Manual (Page 44)

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The WATT/ Puppy System 7s were designed to be aimed at the listener, which
means that they will be toed-in prominently rather than facing straight ahead. The illus-
trations to follow will give examples of many common scenarios to assist you in the set
up procedure.
The effect of room placement of the performance of the WATT is illustrated in
figures 10, 11, and 12.
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Figure 10 examples 1A and 1B and table 4 compare the performance of cor-
ner situated WATTs vs WATTs which are placed out in the room away from walls, but
which are not toed-in. Placement of any direct full-range radiator loudspeaker in the
corner results in numerous performance compromises. In one respect, however, corner
placement of the speaker excels, and that is in low frequency augmentation. Looking
at the tonal balance characteristic of the corner situated WATTs we can see an elevated
lower midrange through mid bass region, the expected effect of corner loading, coupled
with a gradual roll-off of the upper octaves, the result of any sound absorbing materials
on adjacent walls, and the off-axis listening position.
The corner placed speakers are also significantly further away from the listener
than the speakers in example 1B. By its very nature, sound, when traveling through air,
loses low-level detail with distance. Ideally, therefore, the listener should sit as close to
the speakers as is comfortable. Moving the speakers out into the room at least three feet
from the rear wall, and at least two feet from the side walls, provides a fairly dramatic
level of improvement of sound staging performance and overall mid and upper octave
balance. But still the example shows the speakers not toed in. The WATTs are designed
for maximum phase coherence and pulse replication accuracy when they are aimed di-
rectly at the listener or microphone.
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