Owner´s Manual and Installation Guide
Contents
1. p10 Crossover Adjustments p11 Hawkins Bass Control Theory and Use p12 13 Level Setting 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 p14 Power Supply Programming p15 MOUNDS SMO rr n tede dd raa p15 Sample System 16 Protection 17 Very Setiols a Bj ica p17 Service p17 SPENN sk a p 18 __ ATIRA e RUBI Rapid Use Branched Impulse This new proprietary power supply topology eliminates power sags during low frequency reproduction by rapidly increasing the duty cycle stabilizing the power supply and allowing it to deliver the power required when reproducing low frequencies Also greater reserve gate power is stored for low voltage conditions that occur during extreme conditions e STACTTM STabilized Apex Current Topology Reduces power supply stress by 50 In The STACT design inversion is done at the power amplifier drive stage Since the fully symmetrical power amplifier produces no even har2. Tarantula RNY Owner s Manual and Installation Guide lt li CONGRATULATIONS You now own the Limited Edition Tarantula Amplifier the product of an uncompromising design and engineering philosophy Your Soundstream Tarantula will outperform any other amplifier in the world To maximize the performance of your system we recommend that you thoroughly acquaint yourself with its capabilities and features Please retain this manual and your sales receipt for future reference Soundstream amplifiers are the result of American innovation and the highest quality control standards When properly installed they will provide you with many years of listening pleasure Should your amplifier ever need service or replacement due to theft please record the following information which will help protect your investment Serial Dealer s Name Date of Purchase Installation Installation Date oo oo M J A CAUTION Prolonged listening at extremely high levels may result in hearing loss Even though your new Soundstream Tarantula amplifier sounds better than anything you ve ever heard exercise caution to prevent hearing damage TABLE OF CONTENTS E ar th en Se NIE a ad A u ta p4 5 Tar ntula Daa p6 7 Balanced Unbalanced Inputs p8 WINING ME E S A E ehe E ee p9 Installation and Mounting
3. A MIRA e Output Phase Switch O 180 degree phase control switch e Fan Cooling With thermally sensitive speed control e Differentially Balanced RCA Input Eliminates ground loop related noise in the audio signal e Fully Balanced 6 pin DIN Input For professional quality performance and noise cancellation The 6 pin DIN plug carries signal information for left and right channels audio ground and 15Vdc to operate the Soundstream BLT BLT4 Balanced Line Transmitters and Balanced X 0 crossover e RCA Line Output Provides a full range signal output to drive other amplifiers e Wire Connections Power and ground connections accept 110 gauge cable while the speaker connections utilize dual 4 gauge connections e Harmonic Bass Alignment The 2nd and 3rd order harmonic peaks are critically aligned to fundamental peaks at low frequencies This produces tighter more accurate bass reproduction e Symmetrical Discrete Balanced Class A Drive Boards Auto adjust for linear performance while driving low impedance loads e Drive Delay II Amplifier section powers up 2 to 3 seconds after the power supply eliminating turn on pops Turn off process is reversed amplifier section turns off first followed by the power supply e Chassisink All transistors are ideally located and sandwiched between the circuit board and the heatsink to provide cool efficient amplifier operation e Dynamically Optimized Power Grid Power grid is evenly distrib
4. control switch to HAWKINS BASS CONTROL 3 While listening to music with strong bass content at a moderate level slowly adjust frequency control clockwise Listen for a reduction of bass response Now rotate frequency control slightly backwards This serves the purpose of removing the subsonic bass energy With Soundstream s Hawkins Bass Control the boost and frequency control can provide virtually any combination of boost and cut to suit your designs So Hawkins Bass Control can provide the tailoring needed for any type of assisted design and any woofer in any type of installation The shaded area below shows the Hawkins Bass Control adjustments crossover range switch and frequency as they appear on the control panel of the amplifier SUBSONIC HAWKINS FREQ FREQ RANGE ooo E 13 30 O 9 35 135 HIGH 30 70 en 500 2 LEVEL SETTING The input level is adjusted by means of the input level control located on the control panel of the amplifier This is a unique dual stage circuit that adjusts both level and gain This topology maintains better S N Ratio even when using sources with minimal output In the ideal situation all components in the audio system reach maximum undistorted output at the same time If you send a distorted signal to an amplifier it is simply going or crossover begins to distort before you have maximum output from the amplifier By setting all components to reach clipping at the sa
5. ATIONS 4 Ohm Mono 4 Ohm Mono 2 Ohm Mono Maximum 12 6Vdc 14 4 Vdc 14 4 Rated Output Tarantula pm BE o T H E lt 0 3 Signal to Noise Ratio gt 90 dB Frequency 20Hz 0 5dB to 500 Hz 3 dB Damping gt 200 input Sensitivity 300mV to 5 0V Input Impedance 10k Ohms Specifications _ 24dB octave Low Pass filter adjustable from 35 to 135 Hz lower setting 24 dB octave Low Pass filter adjustable from 135 to 500 Hz higher setting AMET Sid Filter No boost 12 dB octave High Pass filter from 13 to 30 Hz O to 9dB boost Boost and Subsonic filter variable from 30 to 70 Hz Dimensions W x D x H Tarantula 19 0 X 14 X 5 5 SOUNDS SOUNDSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES 1550 Maple Avenue Montebello CA90640 U S A Phone 323 722 3333 fax 323 722 1122
6. ain power fuse and the following circuits Under Over battery input voltage between 8 5Vdc and 17 0Vdc Speaker Output Protection Ground Fault Differential Variable speed fan cooling with smart power supply thermal roll back Temporary over temperature shutdown with high speed fan cooling MAETTTOMEWARNINGS IMPORTANT VER Y If you experience blown main powers supply fuses it is likely that the amplifier is seeing a dead short either in the speaker wire or in the speaker itself Rectity the problem before blowing multiple fuses DO NOT increase valuse beyond the origianl fuse value Doing so will void your warranty and may damage your amplifier IMPORTANT VERY VERY When the signal is being greatly amplified care must be taken while handling the speaker leads which may present potentially lethal voltages possibly exceeding 100Vrms at clip SERVICE aa Your Soundstream Tarantula is protected by a limited warranty If an authorized dealer installs the amplifier it is under warranty for a period of three years a consumer installed unit is warrantied for a period of one year Please read the enclosed warranty card for more details and be sure to send it in NOTE ABOUT THE LIMITED WARRANTY If the handles or the top of the amplifier are removed for any reason the warranty will be void There are no user serviceable parts in the amplifier this eliminates the need to ever open the top of the unit 17 SPECIFIC
7. alanced and unbalanced inputs For the best S N Ratio we recommend that the input level control be set as far down as possible rotated counterclockwise while maintaining an acceptable level of output Using the Unbalanced RCA Input When using the unbalanced RCA input the RIGHT channel input signal switch MUST be in the UNBAL position Also when first installing the amplifier using this input configuration we suggest that the left channel input signal switch be in the UNBAL position as well If you experience alternator whine or other installation noise with both switches in the UNBAL position try moving the LEFT channel input signal switch to the BAL position This should remove any system noise due to the installation Using the Balanced Input When using the balanced B pin DIN audio input the switches MUST be in the BAL position Also we recommend that when using this input configuration the input level control be set to the minimum position rotated counterclockwise The system gain should then be adjusted on the BLT Balanced Line Transmitter or other balanced line audio source Advantages of using Balanced Inputs 1 Improved Signal to Noise Ratio SIN Ratio 2 Excellent noise cancellation characteristics 3 Immune to noise radiated in the car audio environment BALANCED 15 Volts 15 Volts Left Signal Right Signal Left Signal Right Signal Shield NOTE The
8. circuitry a custom engineered heatsink and a unique Chassisink construction to maintain lower operating temperatures Additional cooling may be required if the amplifier is located in a tightly confined area or when driving especially low impedance loads at extremely high levels When mounting the amplifier it should be securely mounted to a panel in the vehicle or an amp board or rack that is securely mounted to the vehicle The mounting location should be either in the passenger compartment or in the trunk of the vehicle away from moisture stray or moving objects and major electrical components To provide adequate ventilation mount the amplifier so that there are at least four inches of freely circulating air above it and at the intake vents on each side of the amplifier Mounting The Amplifier Using the amplifier as a template mark the cut out on the mounting surface Remove the amplifier and cut out the hole to mount the amplifier c Secure the amplifier to the mounting surface using the supplied hardware ov Wiring Run and connect the audio signal and remote turn on cables to the amplifier from the source unit Carefully run the positive cable from the amplifier to a fuse or circuit breaker within 18 of the battery c Connect the fuse or circuit breaker lead to the battery Leave the circuit breaker off or the fuse out until everything is bolted down Secure the ground cable to a solid chassis ground on the vehicle It may be
9. from 135 to 500 Hz The shaded area below shows the frequency and range adjustments as they appear on the control panel of the amplifier SUBSONIC m LOW PASS HAWKINS FREQ FREQ RANGE 00 9135 135 LOW HIGH Go 20 130 500 Hz Hz 11 CONTROL THEORY AND USE Hawkins Bass Control parametric is a unique subwoofer control circuit included with the Tarantula amplifier lt is capable of removing subsonic energy in program material while boosting subwoofer frequencies The circuit consists of two controls One adjusts the frequency of operation and the other adjusts the range of boost With both controls adjusted fully counterclockwise no boost is applied and the amplifier is flat in response down to 20 Hz The frequency control Hz adjusts the starting point of the subsonic filter On the Tarantula the high pass filter has two frequency ranges When the bass control switch is set to SUBSONIC the high pass filter frequency can be adjusted from 13 Hz up to a maximum of 30 Hz In this setting no boost Q control is available This control is useful for setting the lowest frequency that your subwoofer will see When the bass control switch is set to HAWKINS BASS CONTROL the high pass filter frequency can be adjusted from 30 Hz to a maximum of 70 Hz In this setting there is an available boost control of O to 90B Fig 2 Variable High Pass so The Boost control adj
10. me time you can maximize the output of your system For the Tarantula follow these steps for setting the input levels 1 Turn the amplifier s input level to minimum position counterclockwise 2 Setthe source unit volume to approximately 3 4 of full volume 3 While playing dynamic source material slowly increase the amplifier s input level until a near maximum undistorted level is heard in the system This can be visually verified by the input level indicator TheO input level light has three levels of indication Green normal Amber 1 OdB below clipping Red near clipping The clipping indicator on the top of the amplifier will let you know when the output of the amplifier is reaching its maximum level and has begun to clip The shaded area below shows the input and output clip indicators Large Mouth Bass switch and input level as they appear on the control panel of the amplifier UNBAL BAL UNBAL BAL LEVEL ao B B 2 INPUT AMP LEVEL CLIP LEFT RIGHT 3V te S ESUPPLY PROGRAMMING Go to next speaker load power level Momentary Press 4 OHM Red less than half second 2 OHM Amber 1 OHM Green Hold and Release Automatically set the power level by more than second running the speaker load calibration routine hi 4SHOOTING CHART 4 ohm Blip Thermal Rollback 2 ohm On 0 1 sec Off 1 9 sec 11 ohm Under Over Battery Input voltage Fast Blink On 0 05 sec Off 0 1
11. monic distortion itself and all preamplifier circuitry is run completely inphase no even harmonic distortion phase reversal occurs and power is better distributed throughout the amplifier e Advanced Trident Protection Topology Protects against potential harm damage in the following situations 1 Output Protection against short circuits or improper loads 2 Voltage Inconsistencies protects against ground fault speaker shorts to vehicle chassis and an under over voltage condition on the battery input 3 Thermal Protection puts the amplifier into thermal rollback or shuts the amplifier down in extreme thermal conditions e Tone Sweep Calibration Routine Automatically configures and optimizes the power supply to the connected speaker load e Hawkins Bass Control Provides a focused parametric subwoofer boost 0 to 9 dB between 13 70 Hz and routes otherwise wasted amplifier power back to the audible bandwidth e Continuously Variable Crossover Networks 24 dB octave low pass crossovers variable from 35 Hz to 500k Hz with a range selection switch e Input Level Indicator A three colored LED that provides visual confirmation of the amplifier s input level sensitivity setting e Output Clipping Indicators Indicates clipping on the output stage of the amplifier Monitoring the clipping indicators allows the user to achieve maximum SPL without clipping the amplifier e Large Mouth Bass Remote subwoofer volume control built into the amplifier
12. necessary to sand paint down to raw metal for a good connection Double check each and every connection Reconnect the fuse or circuit breaker ov o Power Up Power up the system there may be a 2 3 second delay from the time the source unit is turned on to the time that the amplifier turns on which is normal Once the amplifier LED is on and the source unit is playing you should have sound coming from the speakers ANI ENTAUM ADJUSTMENTS The Tarantula amplifier incorporates two separate electronic crossovers A 12dB octave Subsonic filter and an on board 24 dB octave electronic low pass crossover with full range RCA outputs to drive an external amplifier No external electronic crossover is required when operating this amplifier Subsonic The Subsonic filter allows the amplifier to focus all of its energy where it is needed most Adjust the filter to the tuning frequency of a ported box and increases in output will be noticed immediately The Subsonic filter is variable from 13 to 30 Hz The shaded area below shows the frequency and range adjustments as they appear on the control panel of the amplifier SUBSONIC LOW PASS HAWKINS FREQ FREQ RANGE 9 35 135 LOW HIGH ur 500 7 Low Pass The Low Pass filter is variable from 35 to 500 Hz which is divided into two separate ranges Low and High The Low range will yield a frequency range from 35 to 135 Hz while the High is
13. pin configuration shown in the diagram is the view looking into the Balanced input jack on the amplifier co AMUN Power and Ground To ensure maximum output from your Tarantula amplifier use high quality Lowpass power and ground cables and connections The Tarantula amplifier will accept up to 1 0 gauge power and ground cables Circuit Breakers and Fuses External Like all audio components the Tarantula amplifier must be fused near the battery A 300 amp fuse or circuit breaker must be located within 18 of the battery This will prevent a fire in the event of a shorted cable Internal The Tarantula amplifier is fused with a 300 amp blade type ANC fuse In the event of a blown power supply fuse replace with the correct value fuse Never replace the fuse with a higher value than what is supplied This may result in amplifier damage and will void the warranty Remote Turn On Connect the turn on lead from the source unit to the IRemotei input on the amplifier When 12 volts is received the amplifier will turn on Signal Cable Depending on your application you may use either the DIN audio balanced signal cable or standard RCA cables to drive your Tarantula amplifier Speaker Cable The Tarantula will accept up to a 4 gauge speaker cable Use high quality flexible multi strand cable for best performance and longevity Nye AND MOUNTING Amplifier Location The Tarantula amplifier employs highly efficient
14. s power level or when pushed and held for a short time then released the amplifier auto adjust to the speaker load 12 Phase Switch Adjusts the speaker phase to either O or 180 degrees 13 Power LED Indicates amplifier power see chart on page 16 14 Status LED Indicates amplifier status thermal short circuit etc 15 RCA Inputs Right and Left channel RCA inputs 16 Balanced Signal Input Connector 6 pin balanced input connector for use with the Soundstream BLT BLT4 Balanced Line Transmitter 17 RCA Line Outputs Right and Left channel RCA fullrange outputs 18 Negative Speaker Terminals Negative 4 gauge speaker connection 19 GND Main ground connection Bolt to a clean chassis point in the vehicle 20 Remote Remote turn on input from the head unit Accepts 12V 21 12V Connect to a fuse or circuit breaker then to the batteryis positive terminal 22 Positive Speaker Terminals Positive 4 gauge speaker connection C A al o N AT AUNBALANCED INPUTS The Tarantula has the ability to accept either a standard unbalanced RCA signal input or a balanced Pro Audio style input signals with the use of the Soundstream BLT Balanced Line Transmitter or some other balanced line audio source Before installing your system you should decide upon which signal type you wish to run The Tarantula s signal input accepts a wide range of input level from 300mV to 5 0V for both b
15. sec Medium Blink h NOTE At low signal levels the INPUT LEVEL LED is variable green in color With greater signal level the INPUT LEVEL LED begins to appear amber approximately 10dB below amplifier output clip e With extreme signal levels the INPUT LEVEL LED snaps red within 0 5dB of amp output clip Amplifier output clipping can be identified by a solid red AMP CLIP LED The 1 ohm power level is not a recommended set up for full power output at times of reduced volume the 1 ohm power level can be used with actual 2 or 4ohm speaker loads to save energy draw from the vehicleis electrical system i e extend battery life Over Temperature Ground Fault Tun On Off 15 ME 5 2 channels of full range input into the Tarantula 1 channel of output to 4 dual voice coil SPL 1705 Full range output to an external amplifier driving satellite speakers une outs ada LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT BLA 1990 eg o Head Unit To Chassis Remote Batter mo Ground Turn on MAXI FUSE 22 BRIDGED Battery E i Speaker 4 SPL 170 each speaker wired to 8 ohms 16 dn OREO Fe CIRCUITRY Your Tarantula is protected against both overheating and short circuits by means of a m
16. usts the level applied at the set RR V c frequency Z ii This is adjustable from flat O dB to 9dB See figure 1 Fig 3 Variable Boost When the Boost is set to 0 Hawkins acts as a subsonic filter only See figure 2 The simple act of removing potentially harmful low frequencies can improve system 4 output by as much as 3 dB See figure 3 Application Subwoofers in general have excellent power handling characteristics over their operational bandwidth This FEM d Jj Ri bandwidth is determined by many factors including driver SA design and enclosure type It is possible to overdrive any 1 subwoofer by sending powerful signals outside of its _ _ operational bandwidth These potentially damaging signals AH be removed by adding a subsonic filter Figure 4 shows the E effectiveness of the Hawkins Bass Control on woofer excursion tt 10 Frequency Hz 50 100 200 in a vented enclosure The woofer travels 7 5 mm at 10 Hz With Hawkins Bass Control properly adjusted this excursion Fig 4 Limited Excursion can be reduced to less than 1 mm This is of great benefit to lowering woofer distortion and increasing output Adjustment An easy method of optimizing your existing subwoofer enclosure with Hawkins Hz control is as follows assuming the audio system is already turned on 1 Adjust frequency and boost control to full counterclockwise position 2 Set the bass
17. uted between primary and secondary power supplies providing greater dynamics and improved FF filtering TARANTULA DIAGRAM Top View arantu INPUTS 1 LEFT RIGHT BLA REMOTE POWER KEY TO CALLOUTS 1 Input Level LED Warns of the onset of clipping 2 Amplifier Clip LED Indicates clipped amplifier output Left Channel Balanced Unbalanced Input Switch Select Balanced to use the 6 pin balanced signal input Select Unbalanced to use the RCA signal inputs Right Channel Balanced Unbalanced Input Switch Select Balanced to use the 6 pin balanced signal input Select Unbalanced to use the RCA signal inputs Input Level Input level control Hawkins Bass Control Subsonic Switch Select SUBSONIC to engage the Subsonic filter between 13 Hz and 30 Hz with no boost Select Hawkins Bass Control to engage the Subsonic filter between30 Hz and 70 Hz with an adjustable boost determined with the Q boost control Hawkins Subsonic Frequency Adjustment Frequency adjustment control for the Hawkins Bass Control or the Subsonic filter Hawkins Bass Control Boost Adjustment Varies from 0 to 9dB of boost when the Hawkins Bass Control circuit is engaged 9 Low Pass Filter Adjustment Frequency adjustment for the low pass filter 10 Low Pass Filter Range Switch Frequency range selection for the low pass filter 11 Power Calibration Switch Push button switch that select
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