Installing Wilson WAMM & D'Agostino Relentless
Paragon started-off 2019 with the particularly ambitious installation of Wilson Audio WAMM Loudspeakers and Dan D’Agostino Relentless Monoblock Amplifiers. Other equipment in the install included: Wilson Subsonic Subwoofers, Clearaudio Master Innovation Turntable with Goldfinger Cartridge, dCS Vivaldi One Player, racking by HRS, and Magnum Opus cabling by Transparent.
The install was a challenge for a number of reasons. First, the sheer weight of the equipment is staggering. A pair of Relentless amplifiers exceeds 1,000 pounds, as do the custom-built HRS Relentless amp stands. The Wilson WAMM loudspeakers weigh-in at nearly 2,000 pounds per pair. Clearaudio’s Master Innovation is roughly 200 pounds.
For anyone keeping track, that’s over 4,000 pounds of equipment so far! For the floor to support such a burden, it was necessary for the homeowner to have the floors reinforced before the install. Electrical work also had to be done to accommodate the 240 voltage needed to power the Relentless amps.
With help from Bill Peugh, the WAMM portion of the install followed Wilson Audio’s W.A.S.P protocol (Wilson Audio Speaker Placement). This method involves identifying “zones of neutrality” versus “zones of interaction,” followed by a meticulous process of grading the sound and then making small adjustments based on those grades.
With this room, the install team had to account for not only the walls behind the equipment, but also the void of the fireplace in the middle. The placement of the Subsonic subwoofers changed slightly to accommodate this.
The room where the install was performed is actually a temporary space; a dedicated listening room is being built elsewhere in the home. Along with the floors and the electrical, the Paragon team had to perform the placement and setup in a room that was much longer than it is wide. What this means is that the space between the speakers and the audience is only about 11 feet. The exceptional flexibility of the Wilson WAMM (Wilson Audio Modular Monitor) becomes evident in an install with these space constraints. The adjustability of the time domain is precise down to five-millionths of a second for any installation — accuracy before only achievable in the theoretical domain.
his was a mammoth install for the Paragon team, and if this is the temporary space, we can't wait to see what the client has planned for the dedicated listening room coming soon. Contact Paragon today for help planning the room of YOUR dreams!
