USING WiSA
Introduction
WiSA, which stands for Wireless Speaker and Audio, is an audio standard that wirelessly transmits multichannel, high-definition audio to loudspeakers. It supports up to eight channels of uncompressed digital audio at 96kHz, 24bit resolution.
The SC15 Prisma MK2 includes built-in support for WiSA, allowing you to deliver a stereo audio signal to loudspeakers without the need for the usual loudspeaker cables.
The audio is transmitted using the license-free 5 GHz band, and it avoids interference by using dynamic frequency selection (DFS) to change channels when necessary.
This page describes how to set up WiSA speakers for use with the SC15 Prisma MK2 using either the SC15 settings menus, or the Primare App.
Communication
The communication between the SC15 and WiSA speakers is at 96kHz, 24 bits. Other sample rates up to and including 192kHz are converted to 96kHz. WiSA can only convert sample rates up to 192kHz 24bit. Sample rates above 192kHz will be silent on WiSA, but audible on the analogue RCA output.
WiSA does not support DSD format, so it is converted to PCM before being output; however, DSD format from the USB-B PC/MAC input will be silent on WiSA speakers, but audible on the analogue RCA output.
Speaker types
WiSA speakers can be labelled in the WiSA software, and sometimes on the physical speaker itself, with one of the labels: FR (front right), C (centre), FL (front left), SR (surround right), SL (surround left), SBR (surround back right), SBL (surround back left), or SUB (subwoofer).
Unlabelled speakers are not preprogrammed to any channel and need to be assigned to a channel.
In the SC15 a speaker labelled as FR will pair as Right (R), a speaker labelled as SUB will pair as Sub (S), and all other speakers including unlabelled speakers will pair as Left (L). You can change these pairings as described below.
Switching on
If the WiSA module is ON in the Speaker Settings menu the WiSA module will always start up when you turn the SC15 on, and the display will show:
WiSA Initiating
Please wait…
It will then connect to the associated speakers. The display will show if your unit was unable to find any of your previously associated speakers.
WiSA will be shown in the display once the WiSA module is on and has found and connected to WiSA speakers.
Setting up WiSA from the SC15 Settings menu
We recommend that you connect your WiSA speakers before you do the SC15 Prisma MK2 setup.
To set up one R and one L speaker
If you have one speaker labelled FL and one labelled FR they will be associated correctly automatically with the following procedure:
- Make sure all your speakers are turned on and in associate mode, usually indicated by a flashing light on the speaker.
- Press and hold the SPS (Speaker Pairing System) button on the back panel of the SC15 for three seconds.
The display will show:
Scanning for WiSA speakers
This will turn on the WiSA module and add all available WiSA speakers.
It will then show a notification of all the speakers it found:
1 R output is associated
1 L output is associated
Your speakers are now set up to the SC15 and ready to play.
To set up two unlabelled speakers
If you have two unlabelled speakers they will both pair as L speakers. You then need to change the association of the Right speaker as follows:
- Make sure only the speaker you want to use as the Right speaker is turned on and in associate mode, usually indicated by a flashing light on the speaker.
- Press and hold the SPS (Speaker Pairing System) button on the back panel of the SC15 for three seconds.
The display will show:
Scanning for WiSA speakers
It will then show a notification of all the speakers it found:
0 R output is associated
1 L output is associated
- Go to the option ASSOCIATED WISA SPEAKERS in the WISA SETTINGS menu and change the associated speaker to Right.
- Turn on the speaker you want to use as the Left speaker and make sure it is in associate mode, usually indicated by a flashing light on the speaker.
- Select the ADD SPEAKER option in the WISA SETTINGS menu.
The notification should now show the additional entry:
1 R output is associated
1 L output is associated
Your speakers are now set up to the SC15 and ready to play.
To set up 2-way speakers
Some makes of speakers, called “2-way speakers”, will appear as two WiSA devices per speaker:
2 R output is associated
2 L output is associated
- Identify which of the two devices should play as Right and configure them appropriately.
- Likewise, identify which of the two devices should play as Left and and configure them appropriately.
Your speakers are now set up to the SC15 and ready to play.
Setting up WiSA using the Primare App
You can also set up your WiSA speakers using the Primare App. We recommend that you connect your WiSA speakers before you do the SC15 Prisma MK2 setup.
- Select the SETTINGS panel.
- Expand the Speaker settings section of the menu.
- Select the WiSA Settings option.
The WiSA settings screen is displayed:
The following options are available:
| Option | Description |
| WiSA module | Enables or disables the WiSA module. |
| WiSA network | Enables or disables the WiSA network. |
| Add WiSA speakers | Allows you to add speakers to your WiSA network. |
| Dismiss WiSA speakers | Removes all associated speakers from your WiSA network. |
| WiSA speaker configuration | Allows you to change speaker positions, subwoofer polarity, levels, crossover, and distance. |
To enable or disable the WiSA module or network
- Press WiSA module or WiSA network if you want to disable or enable the module and/or network.
To add or remove WiSA speakers
- Press Add WiSA speakers or Dismiss WiSA speakers to add or remove speakers from your configuration.
- To dismiss a single speaker press Dismiss speaker when configuring the speaker.
To configure the WiSA speakers
- Press WiSA speaker configuration to configure the speakers in your configuration.
The following instructions are displayed:
The following screen then represents each of the speakers in your configuration:
To identify each speaker
- Press and hold the speaker symbol; a sound will be played through that speaker to identify it.
To change the position of a speaker
- Drag the speaker’s icon and drop it into the new position.
For example, you can move the Right speaker and position it in the Left position.
To adjust the speaker levels
- Press the Speaker levels button.
- Press the head icon at the listening position, and then select the speaker you want to adjust:
Noise will be produced from that speaker.
- Adjust the level with + and – buttons.
- Press Finished to save the changes when you’ve finished.
To configure the subwoofer
If you have a subwoofer in your system, click its icon on the WiSA configuration screen.
The following screen lets you set the low pass filter, distance, and polarity:
- Press Lowpass to select the low pass filter from a pop-up menu.
- Press Distance to set the distance from the listening position to the speaker, in metres:
- Press Polarity to set the polarity, choosing the setting that produces the best sound.
- Press Finished to save the changes when you’ve finished.
Troubleshooting
WiSA module does not start up.
- Go to WISA SETTINGS in the GENERAL SETTINGS menu and make sure the WiSA module is on.
Unable to connect to speakers
- Make sure your speakers are WiSA certified.
- Make sure your speakers are connected to power.
- Make sure your speakers are in associate mode.
- Select ADD SPEAKERS.
If above does not help and you are unable to find any speaker please contact a Primare store for service support.
If your device finds some but not all of the speakers
Please contact you speaker manufacturer for support.
Speakers are very quiet
If you feel that you need to turn up the volume a lot for your speaker to output any sound, your speaker may be missing WiSA certified firmware. Please contact your speaker manufacturer for support.
No sound from associated speakers
- Make sure the speaker is associated to your device.
- Make sure your Primare device is not muted
- Make sure WISA MODULE is set to ON and WISA NETWORK is set to ON.
- Make sure the ANALOG OUTPUT setting is set to PRE (LINE mutes the WiSA output).
- Make sure the SPEAKER MUTE setting is set to OFF (ON mutes the WiSA output).
If there is still no sound out:
- Make sure that your Primare device outputs sound both on analog and digital out.
Please note that when playing on the PC/MAC input, if you play a sample rate above 192kHz the sound will not be output on WiSA.
If there is no sound from the digital output please contact your local Primare store for service support.
Product is stuck in “WiSA initiating please wait…”
Please contact your local Primare store for service support.
To move a loudspeaker between WiSA networks
- Dismiss the speaker from the WiSA network, and then add it to the second network.