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DLS SOUND HANDBOOK - INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
We have made this handbook as a small help for
thoose who want to do a first class car sound instal-
lation.
This book advices the reader in matters concerning
amplifier and speaker installation and wiring, passive
crossovers, cable choice and different bass box
constructions. Information about DLS products can
also be found on our Internet WEB-site www.dls.se
DLS SOUND PHILOSOPHY
DLS sound philosophy is based upon providing
equipment that will accurately and faithfully reproduce
all kinds of music without distortion and colouration.
The sound reproduction must be natural, the
soundstage well imaged and stable even when the
tweeters are mounted apart from the bass/midrange
elements.
If you close your eyes the sound should be as close
as possible to the real. You should be able to
experience the sound as it is in the concert hall or on
a rock concert. Every instrument and singer should
be on it´s correct place on the stage. To achieve this
you need a good front stage image and to do such
an installation is not easy. DLS amplifiers and spea-
ker systems will help you to achive a sound as good
as possible, but you also have to do a correct instal-
lation if you want a perfect result. This book will give
you hints about doing a good installation.
DLS lay a great job in developing and refining the
different products in order to give the market the best
Car-Hi-Fi products possible to the worlds most
demanding listeners.
DLS AMPLIFIER PHILOSOPHY
A wellknown french sound philosopher, Jean Hiraga,
said regarding home Hi-Fi: A good sound starts in
the mains plug and then through the AC/DC-
converter, which must be oversized.
The same is valid for Car Hi-Fi, the amplifier must at
all occasions have enough power to make a good
job. Remember to use well oversized cables from
the battery to the amplifier. It is also essential that
the DC/DC-converter is well oversized to make it
distribute enough power to the amplifiers final stage
when it´s needed, otherwise both the dynamics and
the good sound will be lost. The amplifier will sound
"tired" and the sound will be strained. The bass will
lack the real "bass-kick" and the treble becomes sharp
instead of soft and airy.
The built-in amplifers in most CD:s and stereo casette
players can´t stand up to these demands. To achieve
a good sound it´s necessary to install an external
high quality amplifier.
AMPLIFIER CLASSES
Depending upon the construction, amplifiers are
divided into different classes, there are class A, AB,
B or C. The characteristic mark for a class A amplifier
is the lack of switching noise distortion, which the
other types have. The class A amplifier also has a
higher idle current, but instead it creates a much bet-
ter resoulution and dynamics. For home use the class
A amplifiers are not very common, many people think
they are only for sound connoisseurs and Hi-Fi
entusiasts.Powers from 2x15 up to 2x50 Watts are
common on these types, no high power, but instead
real good AC/DC-converters with reliable power
resources.
The most common amplifier type is class AB.
Now you can also find class "D" amplifiers. Class D
amplifiers process the signal in a digital way and this
gives the amplifier a high efficiency. A normal class
AB amplifier has an efficiency of around 50%. This
means that a 500 watt amplifier will take up to a 1000
watts from the battery and 50% of it will be transfor-
med to heat. The power transistors must work very
hard and will get very hot. A class D amplifier has an
efficiency of 80-90%. and the heat dissipation is much
lower. The power consumption is also much lower.
The disadvantage of a class D amplifier is the higher
distorsion and it is also difficult to make it work over
the entire audiable frequency range. Class D
amplifiers are normally used only as subwoofer
amplifiers with limited frequency range.
DLS AMPLIFIERS 2007:
DLS amplifiers in ULTIMATE series work in class
AB. In order to minimize the transient distorsion the
final stage uses accurately matched transistor
These are the ULTIMATE-series models:
A2 - The Mid Stereo
A3 - The Twin Mono
A4 - The Big Four
A5 - The Big Five
A6 - The Mono Amp
A7 - The Big Five
TA2 - Tube amplifier
The Reference amplifiers are also working in class
AB.
These are the Reference-series models:
RA10, RA20, RA25, RA30, RA40 & RA50.
These are the Performance-series models:
CA12, CA22, CA23, CA31, CA41, CA51, CAD11 &
CAD15.
CAT31-24 is a CA31 for 24 Volt use.
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