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Flawed? Wilson's Aspherical Propagation Delay

Greetings,

I've always wondered about this...

Recently I read an interview with Alon Wolf who stated that separating drivers into boxes that are adjustable would not work for him because the crossover would need to be reworked or adjusted.

Wilson is proud of their adjustable cabinets in their upper models, but I'm wondering how, in technical terms, they avoid phase and time errors and as Alon pointed out, how the crossover deals with the drivers in different locations and different angles?

I've heard Wilsons set up before and there is a distinct advantage to the adjustable enclosures when they are setup optimally for the listener's height and distance from the loudspeakers, but is there a shortcoming or compromise in doing so?
hce4

Showing 2 responses by audiokinesis

audiokinesis
2,714 posts
 
If the wavelengths at the crossover frequency are long relative to the adjustments that are made, the effect on system phase response will be negligible. Also, the adjustments may well be restoring ideal geometry for listening positions that are not at the height and distance the speaker was optimized for. I'm gonna side with Wilson on this one.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer
audiokinesis
2,714 posts
 
Designing decent user-adjustable crossovers would be a lot more complex than it sounds. Adjusting the array to restore the correct speakers-to-listener geometry makes a lot more sense to me.

The dowsides are greater diffraction, as Shadorne noted, along with higher cost, greater dependence on trained professionals for initial setup, and introduction of the opportunity to screw things up.

Duke
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