The Wilson Audio Modular Monitor (WAMM) was Dave Wilson’s first Loudspeaker. Many considered it a statement product, but Dave's original focus was to find, and ultimately create, the ideal reference tool that can be tuned and configured to the environment.

One WAMM channel consists of two  6½' towers. One contains subwoofers which operate below 55Hz. The other is a set of full-range arrays. The lower portion is the midbass module. Above this, is a machined unit consisting of two midrange modules, one placed below and one above an electrostatic high-frequency module.  The system also includes an electronic crossover and an equalizer.

Time Domain & Alignment

During Dave Wilson's earlier experiments with creating a movable mechanism to align a module with the time domain, he kept coming back to this idea—there was a direct correlation between the acoustic center of the driver and knowing where and when the sound from each of the drivers arrived at his listening  position. With a microphone placed at his listening position, he began running full-bandwidth pulses through the modules. He could see how the pulses varied in arrival time by observing the different transient blips produced by each module. The transient peaks were displayed horizontally (the axis representing time) in his oscilloscope. As he moved the module, the blip it produced moved in relationship to the other pulses, which were, in turn, generated by each of the other modules. He experimented by moving the modules until all of the pulses aligned on the scope. Sure enough, he could immediately hear a substantial improvement in the sound. 

After further experimentation, Dave realized he had discovered a straightforward method to measure the accuracy of loudspeakers within the parameter of the time domain. More importantly, his technique revealed driver misalignments at the position that mattered most—at the listener’s ears. 

WAMM Series 3A Technical Specifications

Released: 1983   
Retired: 1987

Drivers

Midrange Modules
2 - 4 1/2 inch Drivers
Midrange Modules
2 - 1 inch Cloth Dome
Electrostatic Module
Electrostatic High-Frequency Arry (15 Panels)
Lower Module
2 - 7 inch x 9 inch
Woofer
1 - 18 inch

Measurements

Impedance
Full-Range Array: 4 ohms
Impedance
Subwoofer Tower: 16 ohms
Frequency Response
-3 dB @ 17 Hz and 30,000 Hz (Adjustable)
Sensitivity
2.83 V. input at 300 Hz centered pink noise yields 96 dB @ 1 meter
Minimum Amplification
20 Watts

Dimensions

Main Array Tower Height
78 inches
Width
18 3/4 inches
Depth
31 3/4 inches
Main Array Tower Weight
193 lbs.
Subwoofer Tower Height
78 inches
Width
24 inches
Depth
15 inches
Subwoofer Tower Weight
182 lbs.
Total System Weight
750 lbs.