Cadence ZRS C8 User Manual

ZRS C8 QUICK INSTALLATION GUIDE

REMOTE TURN-ON

FROM HEAD UNIT

100 AMP FUSE

We have spared no expense in designing these amplifiers, creating the most rugged,
reliable, powerful and best performing amplifiers. In fact we are so sure of the quality we
backup every ZRS Seriesamplifier with our exclusive two-year warranty which exemplifies
our commitment to excellence in car audio musical reproduction. (See enclosed warranty
card for details.)

Please read this installation guide carefully for proper use of your Cadence power amplifier.
Should you need technical assistance during or after your installation please call our
technical-line between 9:30 am and 5:00 PM EST at 732/370-5400. Read this entire guide
fully before attempting your installation.

WARNING: BE AWARE! Use of this amplifier at extreme high volumes for extended
periods of time may cause hearing loss and or hearing damage. During periods of
prolonged high volume levels it is recommended that you use ear safety devices. Playing
Cadence amplifiers at high volume levels while driving will impair your ability to hear
necessary traffic sounds. While driving always keep your sound volume at reasonable
levels. We at Cadence want you listening for many years to come.

When installing the amplifier, secure it tightly. An unmounted amplifier in your car can cause
serious injury to passengers and damage to your vehicle if it is set in motion by an abrupt
driving maneuver or short stop.

We suggest you construct a Red wiring harness with 2 additional fuse. One fuse should be
located near the car battery. This fuse near the battery offers protection against damage
from short circuits to the car chassis between the battery and the amplifier. A second fuse
closer to the amplifier offers additional safety to the amplifier itself. This fused red power
wire should be attached to the amplifier power terminal marked 12V+.

The wire harness should be made of primary cable of at least 4 gauge. The harness should
terminate in a large ring terminal for connection directly to the positive terminal of the car
battery. Use a spade plug to attach the wire, which connects to the amplifier location
marked 12V+.

A second black color wire of equal gauge should be used as a ground connection to a
welded chassis member. When connecting the ground wire make sure that there is no paint
or other insulator blocking a good ground connection. When installing multiple amplifiers,
mount them in close proximity so that they can all share the same ground point. Attach the
black ground wire to the amplifier screw terminal marked Ground.

We recommend that you use the Cadence amplifier installation kits, which contain all the
cabling and accessories necessary for a good, reliable installation.

Over the years we have received amplifiers back to our service department with melted
power/ground terminals. The cause of this is a bad ground connection. When there is a lack
of good ground, heat builds up at the weakest point which happens to be the contact screw
of the amplifier terminal. Over time the heat generated will begin to melt the terminal. It is a
good practice to feel the power and ground wires with your hands, near their amplifier
connection after having played the amp for a while. If the wires feel hot to the touch you
probably have a bad or loose connection. If you are sure of your connections and the wires
still feel hot to the touch, you should upgrade the gauge of wire to next heaviest gauge.

The remote turn on connection is located on the barrier strip next to the power and ground
connections. This connection is responsible for turning the amplifier on and off with the rest
of the system. A smaller gauge wire can be used to make this connection to your radio's
power antenna lead. Should your system not have any turn on leads, you can wire the
remote terminal to an accessory lead, which turns on, with your cars ignition.

The ZRS Series amplifiers feature RCA preamp inputs. Run RCA cables from your sound
source to the inputs of the amplifier. We suggest the use of high quality shielded RCA patch
cords to help reduce and eliminate unwanted electrical noise to your system.

To avoid electrical noise from being injected in to your sound systems be sure to run the
RCA cables on the opposite side of the vehicle that you used to carry the power and ground
leads of the amplifier.

POWER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS:

MINIMUM 4 GAUGE CABLES.

GROUND CONNECTION CABLE SHOULD USE SAME GAUGE

5

WIRE AS POWER CABLE. KEEP GROUND CABLE AS

SHORT AS POSSIBLE. ALL AMPLIFIERS IN A MULTI-AMP

INSTALLATION SHOULD GROUND TO THE SAME

LOCATION TO AVOID GROUND LOOPS.

4 GAUGE MINIMUM FOR 4-OHM BRIDGED OR 2-OHM STEREO

HIGH POWER INSTALLS. YOU MUST INSTALL AN ADDITIONAL

100 AMP IN-LINE FUSE IN THE MAIN POWER CABLE

CONNECTION.

ZRS Type C8 - 5 Channel High Power Amplifier

4-Ohm Power:
2-Ohm Power:

Ch 5 4-Ohm Mono:

1 x 600 Watts RMS

Ch 5 2-Ohm Mono:

IHF-2002 Peak Power:

Damping Factor:

Preamp Input Voltage:

Low Pass Crossover:

High Pass Crossover:

Crossover Slope:

Band Pass Control:

Minimum THD:

Frequency Response:

Dimensions:

4 x 150 Watts RMS
4 x 200 Watts RMS
1 x 400 Watts RMS

2800W System Peak
>500 @ 100Hz
200mV to 6 Volt
30Hz-150Hz
10Hz-150Hz
12dB + 24dB
YES
<0.1%
10Hz - 40Khz +/- 3dB

9.6” x 2.32” x 16” (243x59x406mm) W/H/L

ZRS C8

5 Channel

Configuration with 2 ohm Subwoofer

Set the subwoofer channel 5 crossover setting to 80Hz
Low Pass and adjust the Bass Boost Equalizer to about
50%. Do not set the Low Pass crossover frequency too low.
Do not increase the Bass Boost equalizer beyond your
woofers capabilities. Plug in the remote bass control into the
jack marked REMOTE. Use only the cable which was supplied
with the amplifier.

Midrange

Crossover

In a full range system with passive crossovers you can set the
electronic crossovers of the ZRS C8 in the FULL RANGE
position so they receive the full frequency spectrum. You can
also choose to Bass Block the components by setting the
Crossover switches to HPF (High Pass Filter) at very low
frequencies no higher than 40-50Hz so that you protect the
smaller drivers in your system without eliminating too much of
the bass.

5 CHANNEL INPUT MODE

2-Ohm or 4-Ohm

6x9 or 6.5” Speakers

on Channels 3 and 4 Rear

If your head unit has 3 pairs of RCA jack out puts, Front
+ Rear + Subwoofer input these in to all 6 amplifier
input jacks and set the INPUT MODE switch to the 5CH
position. If your head unit has just one pair of Sub­woofer RCA outputs, use a “Y” adaptor for Channel 5
input.

4 CHANNEL INPUT MODE

If your head unit has 2 pairs of RCA jack out puts, Front
+ Rear input these in to Ch1, 2, 3 & 4 amplifier input
jacks and set the INPUT MODE switch to the 4CH
position .The subwoofer channel will automatically get
its signal from a mix of all four channels input signal
without the need for a separate input.

FOUR CHANNEL FADING IS RETAINED

IN THIS CONFIGURATION.

FOUR CHANNEL

FADING IS RETAINED

IN THIS CONFIGURATION.