Audio Control FOUR.1i User manual

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Owner's Enjoyment

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makinggoodstereo soundbetter®

®making good stereo sound better®

22410 70th Avenue West • Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 • Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

In-Dash Equalizer and Pre-Amp Line Driver

In-Dash

FOUR.1Etm

In-Dash

FOUR.1E

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

Table of Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Features and Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

A Guided Tour of the FOUR.1i. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Placement and Mounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Power Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Audio Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Level Matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Adjusting The Equalizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of a truly unique

and versatile product, the AudioControl FOUR.1i(pro-

nounced Four Point One Eye) in-dash equalizer/line driver.

This product improves the sound quality and performance of

any amplified car stereo system. Our world famous, award-

winning trunk mount equalizers are adjusted and then

stashed away, while the FOUR.1iis for the car audio enthusi-

ast and the perpetual tweaker.

Ever wonder who would buy that lime green Plymouth

station wagon you saw sitting in the car lot? It was built

with somebody in mind. Music is the same way. People have

different tastes and opinions about the music they listen to.

(i.e., Barry Manilow and The Beasty Boys). The

FOUR.1iwill let you tune your system to what

you like, similar to what a recording engineer

does in the studio.

Now sit back and grab a double tall

latté and peruse this Enjoyment Manual

for the FOUR.1I in-dash equalizer.

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

Features of the FOUR.1E:

• Stereo graphic equalization

• Para-BASS low frequency controls

• Pre-amp gain of 20dB

• Line driver: 13 volts peak output

• Balanced differential inputs and outputs

• High-headroom PWM switching power supply

• Main and auxiliary switchable inputs

• Switchable backlighting color (amber/green)

• Master volume and fader control

• Selectable ground isolation

• Optimum voltage LED

QUICK INSTALLATION INFO

For those of you who are short on time and brimming

with confidence, or caffeine for that matter, refer to pages 10

and 11 (Figures 6, 7, & 8). As a matter of reference the FOUR.1i

is shipped in the following configuration:

Shipped Option Page #

Illumination Green Amber 7

Inputs Balanced Unbalanced 6

Outputs Unbalanced Balanced 7

Ground Isolation Isolated 200ohm or

Ground 7

Input Gain 0dB 0dB to +20dB 11

It is important to know that we recommend that you

allow your authorized AudioControl dealer to install your

FOUR.1i. When they install your FOUR.1i, we will warranty

your FOUR.1ifor an unbelievable 5 years parts and labor.

Should you opt to install the FOUR.1ion your own, the

warranty is for 1 year.

In-Dash

FOUR.1E

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

Pre-Amp Line Driver: Talk about your ironies. To

operate with maximum dynamic range and the best signal-

to-noise ratio amplifiers require a high voltage input signal

(generally 2 to 5 volts) . On the other hand, typical source

units only put out 1 to 2 volts, (if you’re lucky!) In a system

where the source unit is located in the front of the car and

the amplifiers are located in the rear, the length of the

connecting cables will also cut the strength of the signal.

The FOUR.1iincludes a line driver that takes the weak

output voltage of a head unit and increases it up to 20dB (up

to 13 volts peak) and then delivers it downstream to the

amplifier inputs.

Auxiliary Input: The FOUR.1ihas an “AUX” switch

on the front to allow you to switch back and forth between

sources.

If you are thinking about adding a video system, or even

that extra compact disc player or DVD player, the FOUR.1i

makes hook-up a snap!

FEATURES AND HIGHLIGHTS

This section will tell you about all of the nifty features of

your FOUR.1i. Knowing these features will help you maxi-

mize the performance of your FOUR.1iin-dash equalizer as

well as making you the “Big Cheese” with your autosound

buddies.

Graphic Stereo Equalization: The FOUR.1iturns the

dashboard of your car into a mini-mixing board, just like

those in a recording studio. The FOUR.1ihas four frequency

controls set at 8000Hz, 2000Hz, 500Hz, and 125Hz. These

controls will make dramatic improvements in any system.

Para-BASS: You want bass, we’ve got bass. This spe-

cially designed parametric control lets you adapt the bass

response of any system to your listening desire. Given all of

the various types of music combined with numerous

possible bass response anomalies in every vehicle, a single

equalization control for bass just doesn’t cut it. It’s like

painting a picture with only one color . . . BORING!

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

Master Volume:

The FOUR.1ihas its own master volume KNOB (no

annoying up & down switches for us) to control the signal

output to the amplifiers. Raise the volume level on your

source units to their maximum and you will never need to

touch them again.

Fader Control:

For easy balancing between the front and rear speakers the

FOUR.1ihas four output channels and a fader control.

Balanced Inputs & Outputs: The FOUR.1iuses a

unique balanced differential input circuit that helps cancel

any noise that radiates into the signal path between the

source unit and your FOUR.1i. The FOUR.1ithen sends this

balanced signal downstream to another processor or ampli-

fier that has balanced inputs (blatant plug for AudioControl

products) which will keep it noise-free.

Figure 1: Balanced Inputs

The Most Important Feature Of All:

Reliability. That’s right, your AudioControl FOUR.1icomes

with a full 5 year parts and labor warranty when it is in-

stalled by an authorized United States AudioControl dealer.

These seasoned pros have the training and the equipment to

take care of the job quickly and not leave your dashboard

looking like swiss cheese. Keep in mind that if you or your

friends who are “good with electronics” choose to install it,

your FOUR.1istill has a 1 year parts and labor warranty.

To activate your warranty, you need to FILL OUT AND

SEND IN YOUR WARRANTY CARD! Also, save your invoice

or sales slip as proof of purchase. Not only are these neces-

sary for warranty purposes, they are also important if the

unforeseen disappearance of your FOUR.1ishould happen

while you are socializing at the local espresso and

salmon bar. Insurance companies have

very little imagination.

In-Dash

FOUR.1E

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

4. Volume: Because the FOUR.1iis a pre-amp unit, it

serves as the main control unit in the audio system. It has a

master volume control that controls the output to all of the

amplifiers. Turn the volume control of your source unit all

the way up and deliver maximum voltage to the FOUR.1i.

Better signal-to-noise ratio and maximum SPL !

5. Fader: The fader control will allow you to fade the

signal level back and forth between front and rear amplifier

channels. This means you can have front and rear fading

even though your source unit only has two-channel outputs.

A GUIDED TOUR OF THE FOUR.1E

1. Graphic Equalization Bands: Four stereo con-

trols centered at 125Hz, 500Hz, 2KHz, and 8KHz with 12dB of

cut or boost. These controls should be used to tweak your

system, depending upon your mood.

2. Para-BASS Controls: Two simple controls allow for

killer bass tweaking. The sweep knob selects the center

frequency, between 40 and 80Hz. The gain knob provides

12dB of boost or cut, centered at the sweep frequency.

3. Auxiliary Inputs: The FOUR.1ihas an auxiliary

input to hook up a second source unit, like an outboard

video system or even a factory radio. The input is activated

by the left most switch located on the front faceplate.

12435

Figure 2: Front View of FOUR.1i

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

6. Power Connections: This nifty connector is a god-

send to anyone who has tried to wire up their gear with their

head crammed under the dash. You can wire up the power,

ground, remote turn-on, and illumination from the conve-

nience of the driver’s seat and then casually plug it in the back

of your FOUR.1i.

7. Input Jacks: The FOUR.1ihas two sets of inputs,

MAIN and AUX. The main inputs should get their

signals from the main source unit/head unit. The

auxiliary inputs should get their signals from a second-

ary source such as a video player, a DVD player, or a

kitchen appliance.

8. Balanced Input Selector: Located under

the cover and behind the Main and Aux input RCA

connectors are jumpers that allow you to utilize or

bypass the balanced input circuitry. Although it is

shipped in the balanced mode, which is best, it may be

necessary to change this depending upon the configura-

tion of the components you use. To change this, move

the appropriate jumper on the 3-pin header.

Figure 3: Top View of FOUR.1i

In-Dash

FOUR.1E

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

9. Input Gain Control: These potentiometers are

used to increase the amount of signal voltage to your power

amplifiers. With these controls you can provide up to 13

volts (peak) to your amplifier’s inputs. Check with your

amplifier manufacturer’s specs to determine exactly how

much voltage they can really handle. If you are using

AudioControl components after your FOUR.1i, they can

handle the maximum output of the FOUR.1i. More info on

this in the section on “Level Matching” - page 11.

10. Output Jacks: Next to the inputs are the outputs

which should be connected to the front and rear amplifiers,

if applicable. A pair of EQLs and a 3XS would work wonder-

fully here.

11. Balanced Output Selector: This control allows

you to send either a balanced or an unbalanced signal

downstream to the next component in line. If the next

component in line has balanced inputs (like most AudioCon-

trol products) the signal will be protected from radiated

noise (up to 55db).

12. Illumination Selection: These jumpers let you

change the backlight illumination to green or amber. Given

our devotion to protect the rainforest, we have shipped the

FOUR.1iin the green mode.

13. Ground Isolation Selector: This feature allows

you to change the power supply ground for different sys-

tems. When the FOUR.1iis shipped from the factory, the

selector is in the fully isolated position (which is generally

the best). Alas, not every manufacturer (or installer) devotes

so much time into getting their grounds right. Therefore, we

have provided other ground isolation options to help if you

have ground loop noise (alternator whine) in your system.

Experiment with different settings if you run into this type

of problem. To change the settings, turn the system off,

carefully move the black jumper from the center two pins

(Isolated) and move it to either the top two pins (Ground) or

the bottom two pins (200ohm).

If you don’t feel comfortable with everything you have

read up to this point, run, don’t walk, to your nearest autho-

rized AudioControl dealer and have them install it. Life is

too short to be tearing your hair out over your car audio

system.

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

INSTALLING YOUR

FOUR.1EIN-DASH EQUALIZER

Having absorbed everything in the manual up to this

point, you probably know we endorse having a professional

install your FOUR.1i. Above and beyond having all of the

appropriate technical know-how and experience, they have

lots of cool tools.

If you are still with us and are feeling confident, then

read on. . .

A. Placement and Mounting the FOUR.1E

A. In-Dash Equalizer

Placement: By definition, the FOUR.1iin-dash equal-

izer was designed to be installed in or near the dashboard of

most cars. However, if you are a building a real trick system,

like with a separate audio system in the front and rear of a

vehicle, the FOUR.1iis an ideal pre-amp control that can be

mounted in the front and/or the rear of the vehicle.

Mounting: The FOUR.1iis flexible enough to mount

almost anywhere, although somewhere on the dash or in a

center console is the most logical. You will want to be able to

access it while you are sitting in the driver’s seat of your

vehicle. The FOUR.1ican be physically mounted almost

anywhere in a vehicle, although we recommend that you

avoid hot spots like the firewall, engine compartment, or tail

pipe. The mounting location must also be safe from water

seepage or areas with bad seals (rubber gaskets, not sleek

furry mammals who eat salmon). If there are old water

stains, stay away.

We have also provided brackets to allow you to mount

the FOUR.1ichassis under the dashboard or glovebox. The

screw holes on the FOUR.1ichassis also allow for easy

installation underneath a radio or with a dash kit. It is of

utmost importance to mount the FOUR.1isecurely to avoid

any undue stress or breakage from acceleration, braking or

crashing.

Figure 4: FOUR.1i with mounting brackets

Table of contents

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