Audio Control FOUR.1i Owner's Manual

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FOUR.1i

In-Dash

In-Dash Equalizer and Pre-Amp Line Driver

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

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making good stereo sound better

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22410 70th Avenue West • Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 • Phone [phone] • Fax [phone]

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Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

FOUR.1i

tm

In-Dash

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 (pro­nounced 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, award­winning trunk mount equalizers are adjusted and then
stashed away, while the FOUR.1i is for the car audio enthusi­ast 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.1i will 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

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Features of the FOUR.1i:

• 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.1i for an unbelievable 5 years parts and labor.
Should you opt to install the FOUR.1i on your own, the
warranty is for 1 year.

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Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

FOUR.1i

tm

In-Dash

FEATURES AND HIGHLIGHTS

This section will tell you about all of the nifty features of
your FOUR.1i. Knowing these features will help you maxi­mize the performance of your FOUR.1i in-dash equalizer as
well as making you the “Big Cheese” with your autosound
buddies.

Graphic Stereo Equalization: The FOUR.1i turns the
dashboard of your car into a mini-mixing board, just like
those in a recording studio. The FOUR.1i has 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 spe­cially 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!

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

operate with maximum dynamic range and the best signal­to-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.1i includes 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.1i has 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!

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Master Volume:

The FOUR.1i has 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.1i has four output channels and a fader control.

Balanced Inputs & Outputs: The FOUR.1i uses 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.1i then sends this
balanced signal downstream to another processor or ampli­fier 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.1i comes
with a full 5 year parts and labor warranty when it is in­stalled 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.1i still 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 neces­sary for warranty purposes, they are also important if the
unforeseen disappearance of your FOUR.1i should happen
while you are socializing at the local espresso and
salmon bar. Insurance companies have
very little imagination.

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Owner’s Enjoyment Manual