Audio Control THREE.2 In-Dash Owner's Manual

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Making Good Sound Better

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

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Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

System Controller, Precision Equalizer,

Crossover with Auxiliary Inputs

In-Dash

THREE.2

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Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

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In-Dash

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THREE.2

Owner’s Enjoyment Manual

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Table Of Contents

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

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

A Guided Tour of the THREE.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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

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

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

Audio Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Level Matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Adjusting the equalizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Crossover Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of a truly unique

and versatile product, the AudioControl THREE.2, the latest
and greatest in the family of AudioControl in-dash signal
processors. More than just an equalizer, the THREE.2 is a
complete system controller/pre-amp, just like you find in the
best audiophile home sound systems. The THREE.2 not only
improves the sound quality and performance of any ampli­fied car audio system but, it provides you with an audiophile
quality 24dB/octave electronic crossover. This new THREE.2
expands your system choices by providing dual Auxiliary
Inputs. Now you can plug a friend’s iPod into your system at
any time. No fuss, no muss. The THREE.2 is the ideal com­bination of features and improved performance for any car
audio enthusiast, regardless of whether you are a dyed in the
wool sound-off competitor or you just want to crank your
system up until the nearby buildings shake.

It’s all about sound quality and choice…yours.

The THREE.2 will let you tune your system to

what you like, and use whatever source you want

to use…when you want to use it. In the words
of Mel Brooks “It’s good to be the King”

Now sit back and grab a home brew

and peruse through this Enjoyment

Manual for the THREE.2 in-dash

equalizer.

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Features of the THREE.2

• Stereo graphic equalization

• Front and Rear, Dual Auxiliary inputs

• Para-BASS® low frequency contouring

• Selectable Cool Blue or Hot Red back-lighting

• 24dB/Octave Linkwitz Riley crossover

• Pre-amp gain of 20dB

• Line driver: 13 volts peak output

• Subwoofer level control

• High headroom PWM switching power supply

• Master volume and fader control

• LED Voltage Indicator

QUICK INSTALLATION INFO

For those of you who are short on time and brimming with
confidence, or caffeine for that matter, refer to pages 8 to 13 (Fig­ures 6, 7, 8 and 9). As a matter of reference the THREE.2 is shipped
in the following configuration:

Shipped Option Page
Main Input Unbalanced Balanced 6

Aux Inputs Balanced Unbalanced 6

Ground Isolation Isolated 200 ohm or Ground 7

Input Gain Unity 0 to +20dB 7

Crossover frequency 90 Hz 30Hz - 3500Hz 7

Illumination Color Cool Blue Hot Red 7

AudioControl builds high performance, technical products
and we invest considerable time training with our dealers to get
the maximum performance from each product. That is why we
recommend that you consider having your authorized Audio­Control dealer install your THREE.2. In fact, if he or she installs
your THREE.2, we will extend your warranty to an unbelievable
5 years parts and labor. Should you opt to install the THREE.2 on
your own, we will warranty it for 1 year parts and labor.

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THREE.2

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FEATURES AND HIGHLIGHTS

The following section will tell you about all of the nifty
features of your THREE.2. Knowing these features will help
you maximize the performance of your THREE.2 in-dash pre­amp/equalizer/crossover. You will also score points with your
fellow autosound buddies.

Graphic Stereo Equalization: The THREE.2 turns
the dashboard of your car into a mini-mixing board, just like
that in a recording studio. The THREE.2 has three frequency
controls set at 125Hz, 1.25KHz, and 10KHz respectively. The
frequencies were selected to provide you with a just enough
control to make dramatic improvements in any system.

Para-BASS®: You want bass, we got bass. This specially
designed equalizer 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 control for bass
just doesn’t cut it. It’s like painting a picture with only one
color…BORING!

Input Selection: The THREE.2 provides a “Main” RCA
input on the back panel of the unit. It also provides two
choices for an Auxiliary input. One is on the back panel for a

permanent Aux-in, and the other is located on the front pan­el. If you just want to be able to plug an iPod in on occasion,
then you can use the front panel 1/8” input. Also, the THREE.2
Aux-ins have been optimized with extra gain to compensate
for weak signals from iPods and other MP3 players.

24dB/Octave Linkwitz Riley Crossover: What is

the benefit of fine tuning your system if you cannot accu­rately route the proper frequencies to the proper amplifier
channels? The programmable audiophile crossover in the
THREE.2 is the same crossover in many other award winning
AudioControl components. Know who else gives you a 24dB
Linkwitz-Riley in their in-dash EQ? Nobody! This is also a far
cry from the wimpy crossovers that find their way into some
amplifiers these days.

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

plifiers require a high voltage input signal (generally 2 to 5
volts) to operate with maximum dynamic range and the best
signal-to-noise ratio. On the other hand, typical source units
only produce 1 to 2 volts, if your lucky. In a system where
the source unit is located in the front of the car and the
amplifier(s) are located in the rear, the length of the connect­ing cables can have an negative impact on the strength of the
signal. The THREE.2 includes a line driver that takes the weak

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output voltage of a head unit and increases it 20dB (up to 13
volts peak) and then delivers it downstream to the amplifier
inputs.

Master Volume: The THREE.2 has a big 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.

Subwoofer Level Control: Need a little more bass to
impress your buddies? Or maybe you want to tone it down so
you don’t scare off your date. Whatever the case, the THREE.2
has a subwoofer output level control that allows you to
balance the amount of signal that goes to your subwoofer
outputs.

Fader Control: The THREE.2 has 4 output channels and
a fader control to allow for easy balancing between the front
and rear speakers.

AudioControl’s Bulletproof Reliability. That’s
right, your AudioControl THREE.2 comes with a full 5 year
parts and labor warranty when it is installed by an authorized
United States AudioControl dealer. These seasoned pro’s 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 are “good with electron­ics” and choose to install it yourself, your THREE.2 still has
a 1 year parts and labor warranty. To activate your warranty,
just go on-line to audiocontrolregistration.com and fill out
the requested information Also, save your invoice or sales slip
as proof of purchase. Not only is this necessary for warranty
purposes, it’s also important if the unforeseen disappearance
of your THREE.2 should happen while you are socializing at
the local espresso and salmon bar. Insurance companies have
very little imagination.

Illumination: The THREE.2 illuminates so you can see

what your doing at night with either Cool Blue or Hot Red
back-lighting. You get to pick the color that fits you best.