The Mezzo was formulated and engineered with a specific function in mind: a loudspeaker endowed with a nearly identical sonic signature to Wilson's Sasha W/P©, but in a low-profile package.
OVERVIEW
Mezzo is only the latest product from the Wilson Special Applications Engineering Team ™. This group of products recognizes there are situations where the typical floorstanding loudspeaker fails to adequately meet needs that fall outside the typical listening room/home theater environments.
Wilson has a long and storied history of developing products for specific applications. The first product to fit that definition was the Wilson Audio Tiny Tot, or WATT©. Long before it became the mid and upper range part of the venerable WATT/Puppy© combo (the best selling over $10k loudspeaker in audio history), it was originally designed as a portable location monitor. The WATT played a significant role in the series of audiophile-quality records Dave engineered in the mid-nineteen-eighties. The WATT's original heritage was thereafter evident by the machined aluminum handle that traversed the rear blades, a safe and convenient way for Dave to carry the monitor to and from recording locales.
When used as a center channel, Mezzo seamlessly matches the acoustic signature of Wilson's remarkable Sasha. Indeed, the Mezzo features a driver complement nearly identical to the Sasha, the exception being the midrange driver, which is borrowed from the legendary Alexandria X-2©. The Mezzo also provides an unprecedented level of musical accuracy in music systems and home theaters where its low-profile form solves architectural challenges, such as in those installations where a tall loudspeaker would block wall-to- wall cinema screens, the view afforded by large windows, or would obstruct wall-hanging artwork. Whether it is used as a center channel in conjunction with Sasha, MAXX, or Alexandria, or as a main loudspeaker, Mezzo matches the tonal beauty, dynamic speed, tonal sophistication, resolution, and sense of "thereness" that are hallmarks of Sasha W/P.
FEATURES
With the advent of Wilson’s Convergent Synergy tweeter in the Alexandria XLF, the Alexia, and now the Sasha W/P Series-2, it quickly became apparent that a Convergent Synergy tweeter version of the Mezzo was needed.
Wilson Audio’s Convergent Synergy tweeter was originally developed for the Alexandria XLF. During the development of the Convergent Synergy tweeter, Dave and the engineers tested a wide spectrum of tweeters fabricated with exotic materials such as diamond and beryllium. Each have their own unique qualities and virtues. Many exhibit flat frequency response, or are extended several octaves above the audible bandwidth. But none matched the dynamic contrast and harmonic expression of Wilson’s existing titanium design. But most importantly, none of them were an ideal match to our midrange driver.
Dave began a renewed quest for an improved tweeter that culminated in a proprietary Wilson design for the Alexandria XLF. Wilson’s tweeter, which was named Convergent Synergy, rejects exotic materials in favor of a uniquely constructed silk dome design that better meets all of Dave’s musical design goals. With the Convergent Synergy driver, Dave’s design requirement of ultra-low distortion and very robust power handling down in the lower part of its range are beautifully met.
These qualities converge with a much higher resonant frequency and flatter frequency response when compared to the original inverted titanium design. Wilson’s Convergent Synergy tweeter is extremely linear. It crosses over synergistically to Wilson’s midrange driver. The noise floor is lower than the titanium driver it replaces.
The Convergent Synergy tweeter’s acoustic and mechanical demands are somewhat different from the titanium tweeter it replaces. Using the latest version of Wilson’s proprietary composite, X-material, Wilson’s engineers designed an all new tweeter module. The module is extremely inert and non-resonant. It also accounts for the Convergent Synergy tweeter’s dispersion characteristics. Great care was taken to address diffractiona type of time-domain distortion that results from reflections off the speaker cabinet. The shape of the module is emblematic of this effort, as is the shape and material of the energy-absorbing pad that surrounds the tweeter.
In the main module, Mezzo Convergent Synergy’s two woofers are mounted horizontally flanking the midrange driver. Achieving near perfect driver-alignment at the listening position requires the adjustability of the tweeter by changing its relative position in relation to the midrange and woofer drivers, such that all drivers’ acoustic centers are equidistant from the listener. The tweeter module is adjustable via a provided chart according to ear height and listening distanceand for a variety of Mezzo Convergent Synergy installation strategies. The Mezzo Convergent Synergy version accounts for the time-domain differences in the new tweeter, and has unique adjustment scheme. Whether the Mezzo Convergent Synergy is installed directly on the floor, on one-of-two custom designed stands, or in custom cabinets, the Mezzo’s drivers can be properly aligned to accommodate these scenarios.
The form of any Wilson Loudspeaker, its industrial design, is invariably the physical manifestation of a specific function.
The angled front baffle evoke the Mezzo's low profile architecture. The Mezzo's angled front baffle more correctly aligns the drivers for coherence in the time domain, presenting the listener with a detailed and transparent soundstage of proper width and depth.
The midrange baffle of the enclosure's baffle is made from S-material, Wilson Audio.s newest proprietary composite. First used in the midrange baffle in Sasha W/P, S-material provides a near perfect balance between resonance control and the preservation of midrange beauty.
The adjustable tweeter module ensures accurate group delay correction for a variety of installations, preserving delicate transient information and tonal beauty.
Adjustable tweeter module design allows for optimization of Mezzo's array geometry specifically addressing the challenges of a low-profile loudspeaker. Achieving near perfect driver-alignment at the listening position requires the adjustment of the tweeter by changing its relative position in relation to the midrange and woofer drivers, such that all of the drivers' acoustic centers are equidistant from the listener. The tweeter module is adjustable via a provided chart according to ear height and listening distance.and for a variety of Mezzo installation strategies. Whether the Mezzo is installed directly on the floor, on one-of-two custom designed stands, or in custom cabinets, the Mezzo's drivers can be properly aligned to accommodate these scenarios.
The Mezzo crossover features technology adapted from the Sasha W/P, which in turn found it genesis in the Series 2 Alexandria and the MAXX Series 3. The goal was to reduce propagation-delay "jitter" noise generated as a result interactions between the different crossovers. Mezzo's overall resolution, intertransient silence, dynamic speed and nuance are nearly identical to the Sasha W/P.
S-material is a relatively new Wilson enclosure composite designed in conjunction with the Sasha W/P. The Mezzo's S-material front baffle reduces measurable and audible noise and coloration in the critical midrange. Wilson's proprietary X-material is used in the balance of the enclosure walls, continuing Wilson's practice of building ultra-low resonance cabinets.
The Mezzo is available with two stands. The Hourglass Stand features a solid front plinth, which allows for 2pi Steradian support of the midrange and woofer drivers, resulting in more linear and impactful performance in the upper bass and lower midrange. The second optional stand features a pedestal that can be customized for different heights.
The tweeter, which finds its origins in the Sasha W/P, uses advanced technology and material in the area behind the diaphragm. All tweeter diaphragms are partially acoustically transparent. Any out phase or time-delayed reflections that make their way out of the front of the diaphragm is heard and measured as noise and distortion. The Mezzo tweeter employs proprietary materials in combination with proven mechanical configurations that effectively reduce these time delayed reflections behind the inverted dome, preventing them from subsequently corrupting the primary wave. As with Sasha, the Mezzo tweeter excels in all areas of high-frequency performance: clarity, dynamic expression, sweetness of tone, and resolution. It is an excellent companion for the proprietary Wilson midrange driver. The resulting fabric of tonal beauty woven by these two drivers is both seamless and complete.richly portraying instruments as they are heard in life.
The success of any great loudspeaker design begins in the critical midrange. Mezzo sources its midrange driver directly from the groundbreaking Wilson Alexandria Series-2. When designing this midrange driver, Dave wanted the bandwidth to be as broad as possible so as to reveal the true tonal density and color of musical instruments. But perhaps this driver's most far-reaching achievement is its ability to start and stop nearly instantaneously. Mezzo's unrivaled ability to reproduce the subtle dynamic shading and low-level reflections that we recognize from live music are in large measure made possible by the Wilson midrange driver.
The woofers are also identical to the units used in the Sasha W/P. The speed, dynamic alacrity, and tunefulness that are all distinctive features of the Sasha are in evidence here in similar proportions.
SPECIFICATIONS
• Woofers: Two - 8 inch (20.32 cm)
• Midrange: One - 7 inch (17.78 cm)
• Tweeter: One - 1 inch inverted dome (2.54 cm)
• Sensitivity: 96 dB @ 1 watt @ one meter @ 1 kHz
• Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms, 2.8 ohms minimum @ 98 Hz
• Frequency Response: +/- 3 dB 20 Hz - 22.5 kHz Room Average Response
• Minimum Amplifier Power: 25 watts per channel
• Overall Dimensions: Height 17.375 inches (44.13 cm) Width 29.5 inches (74.93 cm) Depth 20.875 inches (52.06 cm)
• Approx. System Product Weight: 159 lbs (71.21 kg)
• Total Approx. System Shipping Weight: 250 lbs (113.40 kg)
