C E N T R E C H A N N E L L O U D S P E A K E R
a dedicated centre channel to compliment the entire Geometry Series
shares in common with the flagship Cardinal
state-of-the-art Wilson Benesch drive technology
hand built, bespoke finish
British high end audio
Built to match the style and performance of the Geometry Series speakers; the Fulcrum 650 offers the Home Cinema Enthusiast the power and accuracy of the new Geometry Drive Technologies. Beautifully crafted and hand built in Britain, the Fulcrum seamlessly blends into the electric sound-stage, presenting clear dialogue and a powerful soundtrack immersing the you in the movie experience like never before.
Housing two Tactic-II Drive Units, flanked by a single Semisphere Tweeter, the power of the small cabinet is phenomenal. When one considers that typically 80% of the energy being delivered in any Cinema system is the work of the Centre channel, then it goes without saying that the strength of any system is only as strong as the performance of its centre.
The structural engineering in the Fulcrum is taken directly from the Geometry philosophy. The huge volume of air afforded by the A.C.T. Monocoque, Carbon Fibre shell structure ensures that each Tactic-II drive unit will deliver on its promise while achieving the lowest possible level of noise. Sound propagation will remain stealthy and virtually diffraction free. Immersed in real sound, the listener can lose themselves in the Soundtrack of the cinema like never before.
Built to match the style and performance of the Geometry Series speakers; the Fulcrum 650 offers the Home Cinema Enthusiast the power and accuracy of the new Geometry Drive Technologies. Beautifully crafted and hand built in Britain, the Fulcrum seamlessly blends into the electric sound-stage, presenting clear dialogue and a powerful soundtrack immersing the you in the movie experience like never before.
Housing two Tactic-II Drive Units, flanked by a single Semisphere Tweeter, the power of the small cabinet is phenomenal. When one considers that typically 80% of the energy being delivered in any Cinema system is the work of the Centre channel, then it goes without saying that the strength of any system is only as strong as the performance of its centre.
The structural engineering in the Fulcrum is taken directly from the Geometry philosophy. The huge volume of air afforded by the A.C.T. Monocoque, Carbon Fibre shell structure ensures that each Tactic-II drive unit will deliver on its promise while achieving the lowest possible level of noise. Sound propagation will remain stealthy and virtually diffraction free. Immersed in real sound, the listener can lose themselves in the Soundtrack of the cinema like never before.
Technology
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Tactic II driver
S.M.A.R.T. Research funding of £130,000 kick started the Bishop Project in 1999. This Public funding from the UK Government established the company as a manufacturer of novel high performance technologies. Over the last 16 years, on going research and development has enabled Tactic II to be realised. The ultimate loudspeaker demands that every drive unit has completely unique parameters. This exacting science sees 35 precisely defined versions of the Tactic II. Nothing is ordinary about a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker.
Semisphere tweeter
The science of carbon fibre is just one small element of the materials science that has been developed in Sheffield but it is one that has taught us a great deal especially where vibrational energy is concerned. One of the most important lessons has been that strength is nothing without the control of damping. Even the stiffest materials can be excited by sound that is audible or perceptible. From this knowledge came the worlds first hybrid tweeter dome featuring carbon fibre and a soft dome. This is just one element of the radically different and superb sounding Semisphere tweeter. We believe that unlike most tweeters today the Semisphere can be appreciated for hour after hour without any fatigue.
Port tubes
Like a fine watch the components from which it is manufactured are celebrated rather than hidden in a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker. Precision machined details like the alloy external port tubes bear witness to the engineers attention to detail that the brand is recognised for. It is another novel facet that underlines our perspective of what High End audio is all about the benefits of small improvements in every detail in this case the small benefit enables that little extra air that would normally be robbed from the precious internal air volume of the cabinet. It might appear to be a huge amount of additional work to achieve such a small incremental gain but for Wilson Benesch this is how the difference is realised
A.C.T. monocoque
If the sophisticated A.C.T. monocoque structure was judged by purely engineering function, it would lay claim to being one of the worlds lightest, stiffest and most highly damped structures ever manufactured. In terms of energy damping and therefore signal to noise ratio, it would exceed with consummate ease the traditional conventional materials typically seen in loudspeaker design to date.
HIGH INTEGRITY STAND
Speaker stands can be regarded as an integral part of a loudspeaker system since attaching an enclosure to a stand couples the two in terms of energy transfer. As such, the Fulcrum can be supplied with a high integrity stand
The Fulcrum stand comprises an x-shaped laser cut steel top, elegantly designed to interface with the curved underside of the cabinet. The top attaches to the stand post, an extruded aluminium construction housing the Fulcrum wiring and bi-wireable terminal plate. At the base of the stand is a high-mass laser cut steel foot that ensures stability. Three precision machined spikes couple the Fulcrum stand to the floor, with the two adjustable rear spikes providing pitch and tilt adjustment. For use on hard floors, the stand can be supplied with in-house machined floor protectors.
silk black
white gloss
oak satin
natural cherry satin
zebrano gloss
birdseye maple gloss
red birdseye gloss
red tulip gloss
burr walnut gloss
walnut gloss
ebonised walnut gloss
regal silver
black titanium
Front
Side
Back
Drivers
construction
Measurements
DimensionS
Finishes
1 x 25mm ( 1") Wilson Benesch Semisphere tweeter
1 x 170mm (7") Wilson Benesch Tactic II mid-range drive unit
1 x 170mm (7") Wilson Benesch Tactic II bass drive unit
Poly-alloy hybrid construction
High performance carbon composite A.C.T. monocoque
Mid-range ported enclosure
Bass ported enclosure
2.5-way stand mounted monitor
Impedance: 6Ω nominal / 4Ω minimal
Sensitivity: 89dB at 1 metre on-axis, 2.83V input
Frequency response: 40Hz - 30KHz +/- 2dB on-axis
Minimum amplification power recommendation: 100 W / channel
Crossover frequency: 500Hz / 5kHz
Height: 250mm (9.8") / 850mm (33.5") with stand
Width: 610mm (24")
Depth: 310mm (12.2")
Volume: 25L
Weight per channel: 21kg (46.3 lbs) / 33kg (72.8 lbs) with stand
Anodised black baffle
High gloss satin weave carbon fibre cabinet
High gloss black acrylic ends
Satin black stand
Bespoke cheek options - see FINISHES above
Wilson Benesch Ltd | Falcon House | Limestone Cottage Lane | Sheffield | United Kingdom | T +44 (0)114 285 2656
Designed and Built by Wilson Benesch 2019 | All rights reserved
Built to match the style and performance of the Geometry Series speakers; the Fulcrum offers the Home Cinema Enthusiast the power and accuracy of the Geometry Drive Technologies.
centre channel LOUDSPEAKER
Built to match the style and performance of the Geometry Series speakers; the Fulcrum 650 offers the Home Cinema Enthusiast the power and accuracy of the new Geometry Drive Technologies. Beautifully crafted and hand built in Britain, the Fulcrum seamlessly blends into the electric sound-stage, presenting clear dialogue and a powerful soundtrack immersing the you in the movie experience like never before.
Housing two Tactic-II Drive Units, flanked by a single Semisphere Tweeter, the power of the small cabinet is phenomenal. When one considers that typically 80% of the energy being delivered in any Cinema system is the work of the Centre channel, then it goes without saying that the strength of any system is only as strong as the performance of its centre.
TACTIC II DRIVE UNIT
There are no transient delays in nature – when a singer sings, or a drummer strikes you hear the sound almost instantly. But when a drive unit tries to replicate this sound from a recording, the transient response time, although minute, is easily detected by the ear and the brain. When designing a drive unit, it is critical to reduce the transient response time as much as possible. Any delay, informs the brain that what is being listened to is in fact a recording and not a real human voice or instrument.
Wilson Benesch developed the original Tactic drive unit and subsequent Tactic II drive unit around this philosophy. We employed a light cone material, with phenomenally powerful NdFeB Rare Earth Magnets, with a highly evolved motor geometry to optimise flux. The result was a dynamic drive unit that could excurse through the in and out range of its movement during use very quickly and under a high degree of control. The original Tactic design was described as “lightning fast” in the first test reviews.
SEMISPHERE TWEETER
Designed and manufactured in house, the Semisphere has been developed to match the Tactic II Drive Unit, creating seamless integration across the mid-high frequency band. At the heart of the Semisphere is the Silk-Carbon Hybrid Dome. The hybrid dome tweeter, retains the natural sound of a soft dome tweeter, remaining free from sibilance. However the addition of carbon fibre through a proprietary technique, allows the Semisphere to remain flat through the frequency range to 30kHz.
Built around the dome is a combination of highly engineered components, which have been precision machined in house at Wilson Benesch. At the front a curved front plate creates the ideal launch surface for high frequency sound. To the rear of this is a complex motor front and rear plate that hold a ring of six powerful rare earth magnets. The design allows optimal venting and allows the Semisphere to remain cool during extended use.
PORT TUBES
Like a fine watch the components from which it is manufactured are celebrated rather than hidden in a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker. Precision machined details like the alloy external port tubes bear witness to the engineers attention to detail that the brand is recognised for. It is another novel facet that underlines our perspective of what High End audio is all about the benefits of small improvements in every detail in this case the small benefit enables that little extra air that would normally be robbed from the precious internal air volume of the cabinet. It might appear to be a huge amount of additional work to achieve such a small incremental gain but for Wilson Benesch this is how the difference is realised.
A.C.T. MONOCOQUE
A sophisticated three-layer composite structure comprised of carbon fibre, high compression blast core and glass fibre. In terms of energy damping and therefore signal-to-noise ratio, the A.C.T. Monocoque exceeds with consummate ease the materials traditionally used in loudspeaker design.
Wilson Benesch have optimised the A.C.T. Monocoque by creating a curved form. The geometric form of the cabinet negates standing waves by reducing the number of flat surfaces on the loudspeaker surface. Thus any sound waves interacting with the surface of the A.C.T. Monocoque are diffracted across a wide angle and thus diminished. As a result such distortions are impossible for the ear to detect, allowing the loudspeaker to disappear within the listening space; stealth like the loudspeaker creates a wide open and life like soundstage.
CABINET CONSTRUCTION
Speaker stands can be regarded as an integral part of a loudspeaker system since attaching an enclosure to a stand couples the two in terms of energy transfer. As such, the Fulcrum can be supplied with a high integrity stand
The Fulcrum stand comprises an x-shaped laser cut steel top, elegantly designed to interface with the curved underside of the cabinet. The top attaches to the stand post, an extruded aluminium construction housing the Fulcrum wiring and bi-wireable terminal plate. At the base of the stand is a high-mass laser cut steel foot that ensures stability. Three precision machined spikes couple the Fulcrum stand to the floor, with the two adjustable rear spikes providing pitch and tilt adjustment. For use on hard floors, the stand can be supplied with in-house machined floor protectors.
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Technology
TITANIUM
REGAL SILVER
WHITE GLOSS
BLACK SATIN
OAK SATIN
NATURAL CHERRY SATIN
ZEBRANO GLOSS
WALNUT GLOSS
EBONISED WALNUT GLOSS
RED TULIP GLOSS
RED BIRDS EYE GLOSS
BIRDS EYE MAPLE GLOSS
BURR WALNUT GLOSS
FINISHES
FRONT
SIDE
BACK
DRIVERS
CONSTRUCTION
MEASUREMENTS
DIMENSIONS
FINISHES
1 x 25mm ( 1") Wilson Benesch Semisphere tweeter
1 x 170mm (7") Wilson Benesch Tactic II mid-range drive unit
1 x 170mm (7") Wilson Benesch Tactic II bass drive unit
Poly-alloy hybrid construction
High performance carbon composite A.C.T. monocoque
Mid-range ported enclosure
Bass ported enclosure
2.5-way stand mounted monitor
Impedance: 6Ω nominal / 4Ω minimal
Sensitivity: 89dB at 1 metre on-axis, 2.83V input
Frequency response: 40Hz - 30KHz +/- 2dB on-axis
Minimum amplification power recommendation: 100 W / channel
Crossover frequency: 500Hz / 5kHz
Height: 250mm (9.8") / 850mm (33.5") with stand
Width: 610mm (24")
Depth: 310mm (12.2")
Volume: 25L
Weight per channel: 21kg (46.3 lbs) / 33kg (72.8 lbs) with stand
Anodised black baffle
High gloss satin weave carbon fibre cabinet
High gloss black acrylic ends
Satin black stand
Bespoke cheek options - see FINISHES above
Gloss: Piano Black, White, Zebrano, Birds Eye Maple, Red Birds Eye, Red Tulip, Walnut, Burr Walnut and Ebonised Walnut
Satin: Oak and Natural Cherry
SPECIFICATIONS
GALLERY
Click an image and then swipe to view the gallery
Wilson Benesch Ltd | Falcon House | Limestone Cottage Lane | Sheffield | United Kingdom | T +44 (0)114 285 2656
Designed and built by Wilson Benesch 2019 | All rights reserved