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Z-SP SERIES Owner’s Manual Before operating the unit, please read this manual throughly and retain it for future reference.
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(Knowledge from doing) There is absolutely no substitute for experience; that is a simple fact of life. Another simple fact is that ZAPCO has, for over forty years, been the leader in defining quality standards for the car audio industry.
The birth of the Zapco SP amplifiers In 2012 Zapco introduced the new Z-Series of SQ amps. These amps were not conceived so much by our engineers, as by input from audiophiles and car sound fanatics around the world.
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In most amplifiers all these preamp controls give you more versatility but they also rob you of signal quality. But in the Zapco Z-Series SP amps, even with crossovers and bass boost you get over 103dB signal to noise ratio, less than 0.1% THD, and greater than 60dB channel separation.
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• Insulator with 70% less thermal resistance of MICA for faster heat transfer • Proprietary RCA connectors with extra heavy plating soldered directly on the PCB (Zapco design) with 6 ground lugs on each, for an absolutely secure mount • Balanced and differential inputs with one tenth the normal resistance •...
Before you start your installation ZAPCO highly recommends that a fuse or circuit breaker be placed within 18" of the battery. Although you will add a fuse or fuse block near the amplifier it is still a possibility that a pinched power wire between the component fuse and the battery could result in a short, or even a fire.
For example, the power end of the Z-150.6 SP below has (of course) speaker connections for six channels. One model, the Z-150.2 SP has on-board fuses, while all other models will require and in-line fuse with a rating as in the specifications page at the end of this manual.
Some words about Power and Ground Note: The second most common cause of underperforming amplifiers is insufficient power current or a pour power connection. The most common cause of underperforming amplifiers is insufficient ground current or a bad ground connection. 12-volt current: Battery Power works only if it travels in a complete circuit from the battery positive terminal to the battery negative terminal.
Mounting your Z-Series SP amplifier Mounting your Zapco amplifier is easy. Just keep in mind a few guidelines: • The amplifier can be mounted in any direction, on wood, metal, or carpet •...
We look first at the stereo (2-Channel) amps. The 550 watt (Bridged @ 4Ω) Z-150.2 SP and the 1400 watt (bridged @ 4Ω) Z-400.2 SP, since they share exactly the same functions and controls.
Z-150.4 SP Input Ends The Z-150.4 SP is the 4Ch amp and has the same basic controls and features as the 2Ch amps but adapted for 4-channel use. • The front channels do not have a low pass filter as they will be used either full range or for mids/highs or even tweeters •...
Z-150.6 SP Input Ends The Z-150.6 SP is the 6-Channel SP amp and it also has the same basic controls and features as the other amps but has been adapted for 6-channel use. • The channels 1/2 do not have a low-pass filter as they will be used either full range or for mids/highs so there is only high pass here •...
(Ch1) positive and the right channel (Ch2) negative, as indicated on the chassis by the speaker terminals Z-150.2 SP / Z-400.2 SP Speaker Wiring Stereo Mode • Commonly a pair of full range speakers with x10 swt. off (out or x1 position) and HPF set between 70Hz ~ 100Hz to protect the speakers from deep bass •...
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4Ω ~ 8Ω 3Ch Mode It is possible to run the 2Ch amps in “3-Channel” mode by running a pair of speakers for the mids and highs on left and right channels, and at the same time run a woofer bridged between the L+ and R- terminals as shown. However, since each channel will see 1/2 the impedance of the woofer you must use a woofer of no less than 4Ω.
Z-150.4 SP Speaker Wiring Standard 4Ch Mode The Z-150.4 SP four channel amplifier is virtually two 2Ch amps in one chassis and each set of four speaker terminal can be used exactly as you would use a 2Ch amp. The advantage of a four channel amp is primarily the saving of space (and a little money).
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4Ch 2-Way Mode With the unique features of the Z-Series amplifiers you can also use the Z-150.4 SP to drive a 2-way system with the front channels for highs and the fear channels for lows. The unique crossover will let you separate high and low like most 4Ch amps, but with the added range provided by the multiplier (x10) switch you can actually have a tweeter crossover as high as 5,000Hz on the front channels.
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2-Way w/Bridged Mono Sub A similar setup uses a pair of full-range speakers with a mono subwoofer. • Front filter is set to HPF, the Multiplier is off (out), HP frequency is set just above the bottom of the full-range speaker's frequency range, where you will also set the woofer crossover •...
Z-150.6 SP Speaker Wiring Please read the spacial note about Channel 5 at pag. 1. The printing on the end plate is correct for + and - . While gold is normally the + terminal, some amps have left the factory with the colors reversed.
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A One-Amp, Active 3-way System The Z-150.6 SP is a superbly versatile piece of gear. With the crossover features of this amp you can run a completely active 3-way system. You can run it as Tweeter , midrange, bass. You can also ruin it as tweeter, band-passed mid-range, and band passed mid-bass and then use a separate subwoofer amp.
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High Power 2-way System The system below provides plenty of power for a 2-way active system with even the lowest efficiency front speaker system. Each speaker has 550 watts RMS @ 4Ω • Since all speakers are being bridged, they must all be minimum 4Ω ~ 8Ω impedance •...
Technical Specifications Z-150.2 SP Z-400.2 SP Power @ 4Ω: 2 x 165 watts Power @ 4Ω: 2 x 440 watts Power @ 2Ω: 2 x 275 watts Power @ 2Ω: 2 x 700 watts Power @ 4Ω Bridged: 1 x 550 watts Power @ 4Ω...
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