Audiopipe AQX-1600.1, AQX-1000.1 Owners Manual

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Congratulations!
Thank you for purchasing an Audiopipe Hi-Performance Amplifier.

Audiopipe amplifiers are conservatively rated and produce more power per channel than others in
there class. Manufactured to the highest standards of quality and reliability to deliver years of
listening enjoyment.

Audiopipe SOLID CONSTRUCTION for SOUND Car Audio Systems.

Warning

We build all Audiopipe products to play at high volumes for extended periods of time.
Your ears however are not designed for high volume listening. This product can easily generate
volumes that can permanently damage your hearing. We urge you to limit your exposure to very
high volume sound.
You may also find your state has laws governing the volume of an audio system in a car. Please
be aware of all local and state laws in your area.
A properly tuned and operated audio system will deliver years of enjoyment when used properly.

Installation Instructions

Audiopipe AQX Series Amplifiers are designed for easy installation in your vehicle. To ensure proper
operation of your new purchase, please follow the suggestions we have listed below:

Warning

Please check the suitability of the installation location before you begin. Do not cut any of the car's
structure. Pay close attention to what is behind the panels or carpet. Often the manufacturer will
hide wires, computers or other electronic devices in the exact areas you wish to install in.

If you do not have experience with automotive electrical and mechanical systems contact a
professional installer. Paying a qualified installer is almost always cheaper than paying a dealership
to repair your car.

Locating the Amplifier

The amplifiers must be securely mounted to a slid surface. Please select a dry location in the trunk
or passenger compartment only. Do not mount the amplifier to any area that may have excess
vibration (like the subwoofer box). Position the amplifier in an area that receives sufficient airflow
for proper heat dissipation.

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Supplying Enough Power

The Laws of Nature

Your amplifier does NOT make power. It converts power, or current, from your cars electrical system
and turns it into a high power musical energy. If the amplifier can't get all the power it needs, it will
not produce its full output. Your Audiiopipe amplifier will produce full output for longer than other
amplifiers on the market today. If the Voltage or Current drops too low even our amplifiers will drop
below their rated output. Make sure your vehicle charging system is in good working order. Any
Hi-performance audio amplifier will increase the demand on your alternator and battery. If you are
unsure have your charging system tested by a professional technician.

The Ground!!!

Warning: Read this carefully
The ground wire should be connected directly to the chassis of your vehicle. Find a clear location
close to the amplifier and remove all paint and sound deadener. Use a #10 or larger screw to secure
it. Never use seat belt bolts for grounding.

Remember, the ground must carry the same high current as the positive power wire. It is recommended
in high power application that you upgrade your vehicles factory battery ground lead to frame and
engine grounding points to ensure the best possible circuit to allow you to receive all of the power
benefits you new amplifier has to offer.

To reduce the risk of noise, run all signal cable from any vehicle or power supply wiring.

Running the Cables

Carefully run the power and signal cables through the passenger compartment of the vehicles.
Always make sure to use an insulated grommet to prevent the power wire from shorting when
passing any cables thru a metal panel and to reduce the risk of fire. Always use the proper size
power wiring when installing your new amplifier. Depending on the size of your amplifier a 4 gauge
or larger wire should be used for power and ground connections. It is also advised and recommended
that a fuse be installed on the power wire within 18 inches of the batter or power source for safety.

Setting the Gains

So you're worried that your 4 Volt output head unit will be too much for the Audiopipe's 2.5 Volt
input stage.

Don't Be

Audiopipe Amplifiers input stage is rated to 2.5 volts RMS @ 1KHz without clipping.
Music is very dynamic. Nothing like a 1KHz test tone. It would be rare to see a peak as high as a
test tone. Furthermore, your head unit produces its output at full volume but when you tune your
system you always set the head unit to 70% of maximum volume.

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Input Section

Because of the wide range of head unit output configurations all Audiopipe amplifiers have an
adjustable input sensitivity or 'Gain". The gain is not a volume or a power limiting control like a
throttle. It makes the amp more sensitive to input from the stereo. With the gain up the amp will
reach full output at a lower volume setting on the deck. At higher gain settings the amp also becomes
more sensitive to noise from the car's electrical system. Try to run the gain at the lowest setting
possible for your system.

There is no correct gain setting. Because speakers require
different power demands to reach the same output, the gains
most often need to be used to compensate for these
differences. If you tried to set all the gains at half way you
would probably find the system didn't sound very good. using
good judgment and listening carefully to each speaker is still
the best way to tune a system.

Crossover Controls

A crossover is a device that removes unwanted frequencies
from a speaker or amplifier. A tweeter can easily be destroyed
by bass notes if they are not filtered out. Likewise a subwoofer
will not sound natural if it is playing midrange notes. A
crossover removes these sounds from the speaker. As you
might guess, careful adjustment is need to ensure that all
the speakers are playing the right sounds and that you are
left with no "holes" or low spots in the frequency response.

Bass Boost

This amp has a fully adjustable bass boost. Both the
frequency and the level of the boost are adjustable. Start
with a small increase in the level control. Then "sweep" the
frequency up and down. Listen carefully for an improvement
in the sound of the bass. If you do not hear any improvement
then the woofer does not need any boost. Use Bass Boost
carefully. The demands on power output are tremendous.
Try to minimize the use by changing woofer position or the
enclosure size.

Subsonic Filter

A subsonic filter acts like a crossover but at very low
frequencies. It remotes sound that is so low the speaker
cannot reproduce it. You see the cone moving but hear no
sound. This can be very hard on your woofer especially at
high power. If you are using a ported subwoofer enclosure
at high power you should use a Subsonic Filter to limit cone
movement at very low frequencies.

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Speaker Outputs

This amplifier is a mono design. Meaning it has only one channel. It is equipped with a single large
block terminal for speaker connection. Make this connection carefully and neatly. If the wires ever
come in contact with each other the amplifier will go into protection.

know your total ohm load before you make any connections.

Note the ohm load switch. Use the 2 ohm position for any
load over 2 ohms. For any load under 2 ohms switch to the

1 ohm mode.

Bridging

Bridging is a way to combine the power of two channels into one. When you wire the amp bridged
you have a higher voltage differential between + and -. That means MORE POWER.

If you have two identical, properly designed mono amplifiers (They can not be a stereo amp that
bridged internally) you can bridge them together to create one channel.

Run a jumper wire between the negative (-) speaker

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output of the two amps. Use the same gauge speaker
wire you used to connect the speaker.

Run a speaker wire from amplifier 1 (Normal) positive

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(+) output to the woofer +.

Run a speaker wire from amplifier 2 (Slave) positive (+)

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output to the woofer -.

When you finished it should look like this.

Warning

When bridging any amp or amps, each channel sees half the ohm load. 4 ohms bridged is the same
as 2 ohms stereo. 1 ohm bridged is equal to 1/2 ohm stereo. Check the compatibility of your woofers
and amplifier before you begin.

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Bridging Cont.

For bridging to work both amplifiers must be playing exactly the same signal at exactly the same
output level. To make this easier we have added a "Slave In" and "Slave Out" to this amp. When
you use Slave In all the gain and crossovers are bypassed. This eliminates all the complicated
tuning needed to match each amp.

When bridging two amps, one amp will act as the positive output and the other will act as the
negative output. The negative amp will need to play "out of phase" from the positive amp. Imagine
it like this. The positive amp is pushing the woofer and the negative amp is pulling. You can do this
by changing the "Phase" switch to "OUT".

Please see the switch setting below.

Amp 1 (NORMAL)

Set the load switch to the correct location for your woofers.

4 ohm bridged set to TWO
2 ohm bridged set to ONE

Set the phase to "IN"

Run a mono RCA cable to "SLAVE OUT"

Amp 2 (SLAVE)

Set the load switch to the correct location for your woofers.

4 ohm bridged set to TWO
2 ohm bridged set to ONE

Set the phase to "OUT"

Run a mono RCA cable to 'SLAVE IN"

1. Disconnect the negative cable from the car battery. Tape up the end so it is isolated from the
battery.

2.

Run the power wire (4 AWG min.) from the battery to the amplifier. Plan this part of the
installation carefully. This cable will carry very high current. if it should short to the body and
it is not properly fused it could catch fire.

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Connect the power wire to the battery using a fuse capable of the total current load of all
amplifiers connected. Don't install the fuse yet. Wait until the end. Locate the fuse as close
as possible to the battery. If the fuse is further than 18 inches (wire length) from the battery
you should reevaluate the wire and fuse placement.

Find the closest clear metal area to the amp for ground. Sand, grind or scrape all paint and
undercoating from the body and screw the ground securely to the body.

It is advisable to test the ground with an ohmmeter between the ground cable and
the negative battery cable to insure a good low resistance connection. Some alloys
used in modern cars do not offer the best ground. If you believe this the case consult
with the vehicle manufacturer.

Run the speaker wire to the speakers. It is advised that you leave some extra wire at this point.
You can "clean it up" later.

If you haven't already done so, mount the amp now.
Connect the power and ground to the amplifier.

Only after this step should you install the fuse at the battery.

Connect the remote wire from the head unit to the amplifier. Now is good time to turn on the
amp for the first time. Make sure it turns on the properly and does not go into into protect.

Connect the speaker wire to the amp and speakers (make sure the amp is off first). Make sure

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the polarity (+ and -) is correct.

Connect the RCA's to the amp.

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Double check the amplifier controls at this time. Make sure everything is set correctly for your

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system.

Now you're ready to play it for the first time. It is best to leave the gain all the way down at first.

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Start with the head unit volume low and work your way up.

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Now you can tune the amp. Take your time and make only one adjustment at a time. It may
take some time to get the system fully adjusted. During this time the amp is drawing current
from the battery. You should check the battery voltage from time and re-charge it if it gets low.
Battery voltage can affect the way the amplifier performs.

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You're done. Now have fun.

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