Wharfedale Pro LX-E Series Speakers User Manual

Pro LX-E Series Speakers
User Manual

LX & LX-E SERIES MULTIPURPOSE LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEMS
LX-12, LX12M, LX15, LX15M, LX-215 full range multipurpose loudspeaker systems
LX-15B, LX-18B, LX-18MB, and LX218B subwoofers
LX-12E, LX12ME, LX15E, LX15ME, LX-215E full range multipurpose loudspeaker systems
LX-15BE, LX-18BE, LX-18MBE, LX218BE subwoofers

Declaration of Conformity
The following apparatus is manufactured in China by Wharfedale International Limited of IAG House, Sovereign Court, Ermine Business Park, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29  6XU and conforms to the protection requirements of the European Electromagnetic Compatibility Standards and Directives relevant to Domestic Electrical Equipment. The apparatus is designed and constructed such that electromagnetic disturbances generated do not exceed levels allowing radio and telecommunications equipment and other apparatus to operate as intended, and, the apparatus has an adequate level of intrinsic immunity to electromagnetic disturbance to enable operation as specified and intended.
Details of the Apparatus: Wharfedale Pro Loudspeaker
Model Number: LX12,LX12M, LX15, LX15M, LX215, LX15B, LX18B, LX18MB, LX218B, LX12E,LX12ME, LX15E, LX15ME, LX215E, LX15BE, LX18BE, LX18MBE,  LX218BE

Welcome

Thank you for choosing a Wharfedale Pro Loudspeaker for your application. Since 1932, Wharfedale Loudspeakers have been at the forefront of loudspeaker technology. Our innovative designs combined with over seventy years of manufacturing audio systems make Wharfedale Pro products second to none.
Every component of every loudspeaker is designed and made in our own factories. We control all the variables to make sure every finished product complies with our standard of excellence.
We put in a lifetime of experience – you get out a lifetime of performance.

The LX Series

The LX(E) series from Wharfedale Professional is a range of high-powered, high-performance trapezoidal enclosures capable of extremely high sound pressure levels and exceptional sonic quality, with a wide dynamic range and bandwidth. Exceptional features of the series include the large elliptical waveguide which provides superior control over  HF coverage, with reduced distortion, greater output, and smoother frequency response; the use of a cast frame, and large voice coil woofers for sustained output capability and minimal power compression under extended high power use. The LX Series is also available as an ‘E’ version, the difference between the LX and LX-E are as follows:
LX: Enclosure is built from a combination of particle and MDF with a black carpet finish
LX – E: Enclosure is built from plywood with a black painted finish. LX12-E and LX15-E feature 12 x M10 rigging points
LX218-E: Four castors for easy transportation (LX218 has no castors)
LX15B and LX18B feature crossover and high pass output for full-range enclosures.

Features:

• Proprietary designed, high efficiency, high power Wharfedale Pro full-range drive units

• 50mm Titanium compression driver

• Elliptical Waveguide Technology

• Sophisticated crossover design enables smooth power and frequency response control through the crossover region.

• Speakon™ connectors

• Protective full steel 1.5mm grille

• High power output and low distortion

• Trapezoidal array design

• Pole mount socket (LX12, LX15, LX15B, LX18B, LX18MB) for portable sound system use

• PRO-TECH™ Integral High-Frequency Driver Overload protection*

• PRO-TECH™: The LX & LX-E series speakers are equipped with The PRO-TECH™ System – a dynamic tweeter protection circuit, composed of an accurate and sensitive protection lamp. When high signal levels are present that may pose a dangerous overload for the tweeter coil the protection circuit will act immediately to limit the power sent to the transducer.

Unpacking

All Wharfedale products are fully tested and inspected before leaving the factory. After unpacking your loudspeaker please inspect it for any physical damage. In the unlikely event of damage caused in transit please contact your Wharfedale dealer immediately so that a written claim for damages can be made.
Please retain the shipping carton and all packing materials in case the unit needs to be returned.

Cables and connections

All Wharfedale LX loudspeakers are fitted with a pair of 4-pole Neutrik Speakon™ Connectors. The two connectors on each loudspeaker are wired in parallel allowing two cabinets to be wired together from a single amplifier. When choosing a speaker cable a professional grade of cable with an overall round sheath will be harder wearing and easier  to handle than hi-fi figure- of-eight cables. Cables should always be coiled freely and not coiled over the hand and elbow which forces the conductors to twist within the outer sheath making the cable difficult to handle. Speaker leads should be made with a minimum of 2.5mm CSA (12 gauge) cable. However, for cable runs over 50m a minimum of  4mm (10 gauge) cable should be used.

Speakon Pin Assignment

1+Full Range +
1–Full Range –
2+ No Connection
2– No Connection

Amplification & Power Handling

Wharfedale Pro loudspeakers should be driven by professional quality amplifiers capable of providing adequate headroom when operating at high levels. A low-powered amplifier with insufficient drive capability will not allow the full performance of the loudspeaker to be realized. A low-powered amplifier is also more likely to be driven into a clip and damage your loudspeakers.
Amplifier clipping commonly occurs when amplifiers are used that are too small for the loudspeakers. If these amplifiers are driven beyond their maximum recommended limit the output from the amplifier is clipped. If a clipped signal is fed to a loudspeaker, it will not only detract from the sound quality but can cause permanent damage. [Clipped waveforms tend to heat up the speaker voice coil while driving it out of the magnetic gap resulting in the loudspeaker overheating and failing]. Some amplifiers have a soft clip function which helps to round off the edges of clipped waveforms. However, an external limiter, or crossover with limiting built-in, will stop amplifier clipping and ensure long life from your enclosures. [Note: Limiters must be adjusted to suit amplifier sensitivity. Refer to limiter or crossover manufacturer’s literature.]

Equalization

Wharfedale LX(E) loudspeakers are designed to have a flat frequency response that does not require any equalization to compensate for design inadequacies.
Only need small levels of equalization may be needed to compensate for difficult acoustic environments. Over equalization can reduce system headroom, and introduce phase distortion resulting in more problems than it cures. If equalization is required then it should be applied gently and smoothly using a professional quality graphic or parametric equalizer.

Arraying – LX (E)

When building arrays of loudspeaker cabinets it is important that the coverage patterns of each loudspeaker do not overlap each other. This creates an effect known as comb- filtering resulting in an uneven frequency response that varies as you move around the room. It is much better to point each loudspeaker to a different area of the room rather than to face them all the same way.
To create a seamless wide (130 degree) horizontal coverage using two LX -E cabinets they should be arranged as shown below with an angle of approximately 50 degrees between the cabinets. By placing the cabinets as shown minimal dispersion pattern overlap is achieved, guaranteeing an even frequency response throughout the listening area. It is also possible to stack the cabinets vertically where greater vertical dispersion is required.

Rigging

The installation of Wharfedale Pro loudspeakers should only be carried out by fully qualified installers, in accordance with all the required safety codes and standards that are applied at the place of installation.
Whenever a Wharfedale Pro loudspeaker is fixed in an installation the installer must ensure that the fixing method used is capable of safely and securely supporting the load.  Secure fixings to the building structure are vital. Seek help from architects, structural engineers, or other specialists if in any doubt.
As a minimum safety requirement the industry design standard of 5:1 is recommended. Therefore to suspend a 20kg loudspeaker the suspension method must be rated for at least 100kg, (5 times 20kg). This applies to static systems only. In addition to the primary fixing method a secondary “safety” fixing should also be employed should the first fixing fail.

WARNING: As the legal requirements for flying change from country to country, please consult your local safety standards office before installing any product. We also recommend that you thoroughly check any laws and bylaws prior to commencing work.
The Wharfedale LX12-E and LX-15E loudspeakers are fitted with M10 flying inserts. One of the simplest and most reliable methods of flying a loudspeaker cabinet is to use eyebolts screwed into these M10 inserts. Various types of eyebolts are available but for the purposes of suspending a loudspeaker cabinet on only a forged shoulder eyebolt with the product, traceability should be considered. Always use eyebolts according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Specifications

Carton dimensions mm
H| 677| 460| 753| 535
W Front/Rear| 461/297| 654/654| 535/349| 722/722
D| 432| 468| 488| 511
Product dimensions mm
H| 630| 618| 700| 686.
W Front/Rear| 396/269| 426/426| 470/319| 500/500
D| 396| 450| 450| 493
Weight Net standard/E version| 26.5/27.8KG| 21.5/22.5KG| 33.5/34.6KG| 28.4/29.5KG
Weight Gross standard/E version| 28.1/30.4KG| 23.1/25.1KG| 35.7/38.3KG| 30.6/32.9KG
L F driver size – inches| 12″| 12″| 15″| 15″
HF SECTION:
Coil size mm/inches| 50/2″| 50/2″| 50/2″| sow
Exit size mm/inches| 35/1.4″| 35/1.4′| 35/1.4″| 35/1.4″
HF Diaphragm matl| titanium| titanium| titanium| titanium
HF Horn Type| elliptical| elliptical| elliptical| elliptical
HF Protect Type| bulb| bulb| bulb| bulb
CROSSOVER SECTION:
Crossover Frequency| 1.8k| 1.8k| 1.8k| 1.8k
System Fb| 50Hz| 60Hz| 40Hz| 55Hz
Hi-Pass Out| | –| –| –
Finish LX| Black carpet| Black carpet| Black carpet| Black carpet
Finish LX-E| Black Paint| Black Paint| Black Paint| Black Paint
Construction material LX| MDF/Particle| MDF/Particle| MDF/Particle| MDF/Particle
Construction material LX-E| 15mm plywood| 15mm plywood| 15mm plywood| 15mm plywood
Handles qty| 2| 2| 2| 2
Rigging| 12 x M10 flying inserts (LX-12E only)| –| 12 x M10 flying inserts LX- 15E only)| –
Grille| 1.5mm full steel| 1.5mm full steel| 1.5mm full steel| 1.5mm full steel
Stand adaptor| yes| no| yes| no
Input connector| | | |
Speakon N NL4 type| 2| 2| 2| 2
Castors| no| no| no| no
LX-215(E)| LX-15B(E)| LX-18B(E)| LX-18MB(E)| LX218B(E)
---|---|---|---|---
Quasi 3-way| subwoofer| subwoofer| subwoofer| subwoofer
| | | |
40-20kHz| 42-170kHz| 38-150kHz| 38-1.5kHz| 30-1.5kHz
| 42-2kHz (LX-15BE)| 38-1.5kHz (LX-18BE)| |
101dB| 98dB| 99dB| 99dB| 100dB
–| –| –| –|
–| –| –| –|
| | | |
700| 700| 800| 800| 1600
1400| 1400| 1600| 1600| 3200
2800| 2800| 3200| 3200| 6400
135dB| 132dB| 134dB| 134dB| 138dB
4Q| 4 or 8f2| 4 or 8f2| 4 or 8f2| an
| | | |
1193| 668| 768| 600| 594
570/385| 535/302| 635/365| 581/581| 1142/1142
500| 590| 690| 686| 686
| | | |
1138| 615| 715| 545| 541
506/356| 470/275| 570/336| 545/545| 1041/1041
461| 559| 652| 650| 650
59.0/60.6KG| 33.5/35.6KG| 45.5/47.9KG| 39.0/40.4KG| 67.5/70.8KG
63.2/66.8KG| 36.3/40.1KG| 48.7/52.9KG| 42.2/44.6KG| 74.4/78.9KG
15″| 15″| 18″| 18″| 18″
| | | |
50/2″| –| –| –|
35/1.4″| –| –| |
titanium| –| –| |
elliptical| –| –| –|
bulb| –| –| |
| | | |
1.8k| 170Hz(LX-15B only)| 150Hz(LX18B only)| –|
40Hz| 42Hz| 38Hz| 38Hz| 30Hz
–| 120Hz(LX-15B only)| 120Hz(LX-18B only)| –| –
Black carpet| Black carpet| Black carpet| Black carpet| Black carpet
Black Paint| Black Paint| Black Paint| Black Paint| Black Paint
MDF/Partido| MDF/Particle| MDF/Particle| MDF/Particle| MDF/Particle
18mm plywood| 18mm plywood| 18mm plywood| 18mm plywood| 18mm plywood
3| 2| 4| 2| 4
–| –| –| –| –
1.5mm full steel| 1.5mm full steel| 1.5mm full steel| 1.5mm full steel| 1.5mm full steel
no| yes| yes| yes| yes
| | | |
2| 2| 2| 2| 2
2| no| no| no| 4 (LX218E only)

LX/E Connection

Wharfedale Pro Limited Warranty*

Wharfedale LX (E) Series loudspeaker systems are warranted to the original end purchaser against manufacturing or materials defects for a period of three years from the original date of purchase. Faults arising from misuse, unauthorized modifications, or accidents are not covered under this warranty. No other warranty is expressed or implied.
In the event of a malfunction, contact your authorized Wharfedale Pro dealer or distributor for information.
*Be aware that warranty details may differ from country to country. Contact your dealer or distributor for information. These terms do not infringe on your statutory rights.

Parts and accessories

|
---|---
|
|

Wharfedale International Limited, IAG House, Sovereign Court, Ermine Business Park, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 6XU, England
Email: sales@iaguk.com

www.wharfedalepro.com
Wharfedale Pro reserves the right to alter or improve specifications without notice.
All rights reserved © 2004 Wharfedale International Limited

Read User Manual Online (PDF format)

Read User Manual Online (PDF format)  >>

Download This Manual (PDF format)

Download this manual  >>