Soundstream Tarantula Amplifier Series Programming manual

Owner´s Manual

and

Installation Guide

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 Shop

Installation Date

C A U T I O N !

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

Features

Tarantula Diagram

Balanced/Unbalanced Inputs

Wiring

Installation and Mounting

Crossover Adjustments

Hawkins Bass Control™ Theory and Use

Level Setting

Power Supply Programming

Troubleshooting Chart

Sample System

Protection Circuitry

Very Serious Warnings

Service

Specifications

p 4 -5

p 6 - 7

p 8

p 9

p 10

p 11

p 12 ~ 13

p 14

p 15

p 16

p 17

p 18

FEATURES

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.

STACT™(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-harmonic 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.

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.

Tone Sweep Calibration Routine Automatically configures and optimizes the power supply to the

connected speaker load.

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.

Continuously Variable Crossover Networks 24 dB/octave low pass crossovers variable from 35 Hz to

500k Hz with a range selection switch.

Input Level Indicator A three colored LED that provides visual confirmation of the amplifier’s input level

sensitivity setting.

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.

Large Mouth Bass Remote subwoofer volume control built into the amplifier

FEATURES

Output Phase Switch O-180 degree phase control switch.

Fan Cooling With thermally sensitive speed control.

Differentially Balanced RCA Input Eliminates ground loop related noise in the audio signal.

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.

RCA Line Output Provides a full range signal output to drive other amplifiers.

Wire Connections Power and ground connections accept 1\0 gauge cable, while the speaker

connections utilize dual 4 gauge connections.

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.

Symmetrical Discrete Balanced Class A Drive Boards Auto-adjust for linear performance while driving

low impedance loads.

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.

Chassisink™ All transistors are ideally located and sandwiched between the circuit board and the

heatsink to provide cool efficient amplifier operation.

Dynamically Optimized Power Grid™ Power grid is evenly distributed between primary and secondary

power supplies, providing greater dynamics and improved RF filtering.

TARANTULA DIAGRAM

KEY TO CALLOUTS

1. Input Level LED -Warns of the onset of clipping.

2. Amplifier Clip LED - Indicates clipped amplifier output.

3. Left Channel Balanced/ Unbalanced Input Switch -Select ‘Balanced’ to use the 6-pin balanced

signal input. Select ‘Unbalanced’ to use the RCA signal inputs.

4. Right Channel Balanced/ Unbalanced Input Switch- Select ‘Balanced’ to use the 6-pin balanced

signal input. Select ‘Unbalanced’ to use the RCA signal inputs.

5. Input Level- Input level control.

6. 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.

7. Hawkins/Subsonic Frequency Adjustment- Frequency adjustment control for the Hawkins Bass

Control or the Subsonic filter.

8. 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 selects 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 0 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 batteryís positive terminal.

22. Positive Speaker Terminals - Positive 4 gauge speaker connection.

BALANCED/ UNBALANCED 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 balanced

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.

NOTE: The pin configuration shown in the diagram is the view looking into the

Balanced input jack on the amplifier.

WIRING

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 ìRemoteî 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.

INSTALLATION AND MOUNTING

Amplifier Location

The Tarantula amplifier employs highly efficient 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

a. Using the amplifier as a template, mark the cut out on the mounting surface.

b. Remove the amplifier and cut out the hole to mount the amplifier.

c. Secure the amplifier to the mounting surface using the supplied hardware.

Wiring

a. Run and connect the audio signal and remote turn-on cables to the amplifier from the source unit.

b. 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.

d. Secure the ground cable to a solid chassis ground on the vehicle. It may be necessary to sand paint

down to raw metal for a good connection.

e. Double check each and every connection!

f. Reconnect the fuse or circuit breaker.

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.

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