JL Audio A-Series A1200 Owner's Manual
Thank you for purchasing a JL Audio amplifier for
your automotive sound system.
Your amplifier has been designed and manufactured to exacting
standards in order to ensure years of musical enjoyment in your vehicle.
For maximum performance and extended warranty
coverage, we highly recommend that you have your new amplifier
installed by an authorized JL Audio dealer. Your authorized
dealer has the training, expertise and installation equipment to ensure
optimum performance from this product. Should you
decide to install the amplifier yourself, please take the time
to read this manual thoroughly so as to familiarize yourself
with its installation requirements and setup procedures.
If you have any questions regarding the instructions in this
manual or any aspect of your amplifier’s operation, please contact your
authorized JL Audio dealer for assistance. If you need further assistance,
please call the JL Audio Technical Support Department
at (954) 443-1100 during business hours.
OWNER’S MANUAL
A120 0
monoblock full-range amplifier
PLANNING YOUR INSTALLATION
It is important that you take the time to read
this manual and t hat you plan out your
installation carefu lly. The following are some
considerations that you must take into account
when planning your installation.
Cooling Ef ficiency Consi derations:
The outer shell of your JL Audio amplifier
is designed to remove heat from the amplifier
circuit ry. For optimum cooling per formance,
this outer shell should be exposed to as large a
volume of air as possible. Enclosing the a mplifier
in a smal l, poorly ventilated cha mber can
lead to excessive heat build-up and degraded
performance. If an installation calls for an
enclosure around the amplifier, we recommend
that this enclosure be ventilated with the aid
of a fan. In normal applications, fan-cooling
is not necessa ry.
Mounting the amplifier upside down is
strongly discouraged.
If mounting the ampli fier under a seat,
make sure t here is at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of
space above the amplif ier’s outer shell to permit
proper cooling.
Safety Considerations:
Your amplifier needs to be installed in a dry,
well-ventilated envi ronment and i n a manner
which does not interfere with your vehicle’s safety
equipment (air bags , seat belt systems, ABS brake
systems, etc.). You should also take the time to
securely mou nt the amplifier using the supplied
screws so that it does not come loose i n the event
of a collision or a sudden jolt to the vehicle.
Stupid Mistakes to Avoid
• Check before drill ing any holes in your vehicle
to make sure that you will not be drilling
through a gas tan k, brake line, wiring harness or
other vital vehicle system.
• Do not run system wir ing outside or underneath
the vehicle. This is an extremely dangerous
practice which can result in severe damage to
your vehicle a nd person.
• Protect all system w ires from sharp metal
edges and wea r by carefully rout ing them,
tying them down a nd using grommets and
loom where appropriate.
• Do not mount the ampl ifier in the engi ne
compart ment, under the vehicle, on the roof
or in any other area that will expose the
amplif ier circuitry to t he elements.
JL AUDIO A1200 3
PROTECT YOUR HEARING!
We value you as a long-term customer. For
that reason, we urge you to practice restraint in
the operation of this produc t so as not to damage
your hearing and that of others in your vehicle.
Studies have shown that continuous exposure to
high sound pressure levels can lead to permanent
(irreparable) hearing loss. This and a ll other
high-power ampli fiers are capable of producing
such high sound pressure levels when connected
to a speaker system. Please limit your conti nuous
exposure to high volume levels.
While driving, operate your aud io system in
a manner that stil l allows you to hear necessary
noises to operate your vehicle safely (horns,
sirens, etc.).
SERIAL NUMBER
In the event that your ampli fier requires
service or is ever stolen, you will need to have
a record of the product’s serial number. Please
take the time to enter that number in the space
provided below. The serial number can be fou nd
on the bottom panel of the amplifier and on the
amplifier packaging.
Serial Number:
INSTALLATION APPLICATIONS
This ampl ifier is designed for oper ation in
vehicles with 12 volt, negat ive-ground electrical
systems. Use of this product in vehicles w ith
positive ground and/or voltages other than 12V
may result in damage to the product and will void
the warranty.
This product is not cert ified or approved for
use in aircraft.
Do not attempt to “ bridge” the outputs of this
amplif ier with the outputs of a second amplif ier,
including an identical one.
2 JL AUDIO A1200
Left & Right
Preamp Input Jacks
(pg. 6)
Protection Status
Indicator
(pg. 11)
Left & Right
Preamp Output Jacks
(pg. 9)
Input Voltage
Selection
(pg. 7)
Power Status
Indicator
(pg. 11)
Bass EQ
On/Off Switch
(pg. 9)
Jack for
Remote Bass
Control Knob
(pg. 9)
Filter Mode
Selection
(pg. 7)
Filter
Frequency Selector
(pg. 7)
Input Sensitivity
Control
(pg. 7)
Remote Turn-On
Connector
(pg. 6)
Chassis Ground
Connector
(pg. 5)
+12 V Power
Connector
(pg. 5)
Speaker Outputs
(pg. 10)
POWER CONNECTIONS
Before insta lling the amplifier, disconnect t he
negative (g round) wire from the vehic le’s bat tery.
This will prevent ac cidental damage to t he system,
the vehicle a nd your body during instal lation.
The A1200’s “+12V DC ” and “Ground”
connections are designed to accept 8 AWG 4 AWG power wire. 8 AWG is a minimum power
wire size for this amplifier.
If you are install ing the A1200 with ot her
amplif iers and wish to use a single main power
wire, use 4 AWG or larger main power wi re
(depending on the overall current demands of all
the ampli fiers in the system). This 4 AWG or
larger power w ire should terminate into a
distribution block mounted as close to t he
amplif iers as possible a nd should connect to the
A1200 wit h 8 AWG - 4 AWG power wire.
Note: that sma ller AWG numbers mean bigger
wire and v ice-versa (1/0 AWG is the la rgest, 2
AWG is smalle r, t hen 4 AWG , th en
8 AWG, etc.).
To connect the power wires to the a mplifier,
first back out the set screw on the top of t he
termina l block, using the supplied 2 .5 mm hex
wrench. St rip 1/2 inch (12 mm) of insu lation from
the end of each w ire and insert the bare wire i nto
the termi nal block, seating it f irmly so that no
bare wire is exposed . While holding the wi re in
place, tig hten the set screw fir mly, taking care not
to strip the head of the screw.
The ground connection should be made using
the same gauge wire as t he power connection
and should be kept as short as possible, while
accessing a solid piece of sheet metal in the
vehicle. The surface of the sheet met al should
be sanded at t he contact point to create a c lean,
metal-to-metal connection bet ween the cha ssis
and the termination of t he ground wire. For
optimal groundi ng, we recommend the use of a
JL Audio ECS ma ster grou nd lug (XA-MGL-1).
Alternat ively, a sheet meta l screw or bolt ca n be
used with a star washer.
Any wires r un through metal barriers (such
as firewalls), must be protected with a high
qualit y rubber grommet to prevent da mage to the
insulat ion of the wire. Failure to do so may result
in a dangerous short ci rcuit.
Many vehicles employ small (10 AWG 6 AWG) wire to grou nd the battery to the
vehicle chas sis and to connect the alternator’s
positive connection to the battery. To prevent
voltage drops, these wi res should be upgraded
to 4 AWG when installing amplifier systems
with main fuse ratings above 60A.
FUSE REQUIREM ENTS
It is absolutely vital that the main power
wire(s) to the ampli fier(s) in the system be
fused w ithin 18 inches (45 cm) of the positive
battery post connection. The fuse va lue at each
power wire shou ld be high enough for all of the
equipment being run from that power wi re. If
only the A120 0 is being run from t hat power
wire, we recommend a 25A fuse b e used. A NL
(big blade fuse), AFS (small blade fuse), AGU (big
glass fuse) or MaxiFuse™ (big plastic-body fuse)
types are recommended.
No fuse is required or recommended direct ly
before the ampl ifier power connection. If one is
desired, we recommend the u se of a 25A AGU,
AFS or MaxiFuse™ type.
JL AUDIO A1200 5
PRODUCT DE SCRIPTION
The JL Audio A120 0 is a monoblock,
full-range amplifier ut ilizing patented Absolute
Symmetr y™ Class A/B technology.
The A1200 can be operated with a w ide variety
of source units and system configurations.
TYPICAL I NSTALLATION SEQUE NCE
The followi ng represents t he sequence
for a typical ampli fier installation, using an
after market source unit or OEM Interface
processor ( like t he CleanSweep CL441dsp).
Additiona l steps and different procedures may
be required in some applications. If you have
any questions, please cont act your authorized
JL Audio dealer for assistance.
1) Discon nect the negative batter y post
connection and secure the disconnected cable
to prevent accidental re-connection during
installation. This step is not optional.
2) Run power wi re (minimum 8 AWG) f rom the
battery location to the amplif ier mounting
location, taking care to route it in such a
way that it wi ll not be damaged and will not
interfere w ith vehicle operation. Use 4 AWG
or larger power w ire and a power distribution
block if additional ampli fiers are being
installed with the A1200.
3) Connect power wire to t he positive battery
post. Fuse t he wire with an appropriate fuse
block (and connectors) within 18 inches (45
cm) wire length of the positive battery post.
This fu se is essential to prote ct the vehicle.
Do not insta ll the fuse unti l the power wire
has been sec urely connected to the ampl ifier.
4) Run signa l cables and remote turn-on w ire
from the source unit to t he fina l amplifier
mounting location.
5) Run speaker cables from the spea ker systems
to the ampli fier mounting location.
6) Find a good, sol id metal grounding point
close to the a mplifier and connec t the
negative power wire to it using appropriate
hardware (use of the JL Audio ECS master
ground lug , XA-MGL-1 is recommended).
Use the same size power wire as the w ire
connected to the “+12V DC ” connec tion
(minimum 8 AWG), no longer than 36 inches
(90 cm) from the amplifier to t he ground
connection point. In some vehicles, it may be
necessary to upgrade the battery grou nd wire.
(See page 5 for important notice).
7) Securely mount the ampli fier usi ng the
supplied screws.
8) Connect the positive and negative power
wires to the amplif ier. A fuse near the
amplif ier is not necessary.
9) Connect the remote turn-on wire
to the amplifier.
10) Connec t the input cables to the ampl ifier.
11) Con nect the speaker cables to the amplifier.
12) Carefu lly review the amplifier’s control
settings to make sure that they are set
according to the needs of t he system.
13) Instal l the power wire fuse (25A for a
single A120 0) and reconnec t the negative
battery post terminal.
14) Turn on the source unit at a low level
to double-check that the amplifier is
configured correctly. Resist the temptation
to crank it up until you have verified the
control settings.
15) Make necessary adjustments to the input
sensitivity controls to obtain the right
overall out put and the desired balance
in the system. See Appendix A (page 12)
for the recommended input sensit ivity
setting method.
16) Enjoy the f ruits of you r labor with your
favorite music.
4 JL AUDIO A1200
INPUT VOLTAGE RANGE:
A wide range of signal i nput voltages ca n be
accommodated by the A1200’s input section
(200mV – 8V). This wide ra nge is split up into
two sub-ranges, accessible via a sw itch located to
the left of the Input Connectors.
The “Low” position on the “Input Voltage”
switch selects an input sensitiv ity range between
200mV and 2V. This means that the “Input
Sens.” rotary control will operate with in that
voltage window. If you are using an aftermarket
source unit or an OEM interface proc essor with
conventional preamp-level outputs, this is most
likely the position that you will use.
The “High” position on the “Input Voltage”
switch selects an input sensitiv ity range between
800mV and 8V. This is usef ul for certain highoutput preamp level signals as well as speaker-level
output from source units and small a mplifiers.
To use speaker-level sources, splice the speaker
output wires of the source u nit or smal l amplifier
onto a pair of RCA plugs. No line output
converter is needed in most cases.
The output of the ampl ifier will decrease for
a given input voltage when the “Input R ange”
switch is placed in the “High” position.
Conversely, the output will be higher with the
switch in t he “Low” position. Wh ile this may
sound counter-i ntuitive, it is consistent w ith
the descriptions above.
AMPLIFIER CONTROLS
1) “I nput Se ns.”: Once the appropriate “Input
Vol ta ge ” range has been selected, the control
labeled “Input Sens.” located in the “Amplifier
Controls” section ca n be used to match the
source unit’s output voltage to the i nput
stage of the a mplifier for maxi mum clean
output. Rotating the cont rol clockwise will
result in higher sensit ivity (louder for a given
input voltage). Rotating the control counterclockwise will result i n lower sensitiv ity
(quieter for a given input voltage.)
To properly set the ampli fier for maximum
clean output , please refer to Appendix A (page
12). After usi ng this procedure, you c an then
adjust the “Input Sens.” level downwa rd if this is
required to ach ieve the desired system balance .
Do not increase any “Input Sens.” setti ng
for any channe l(s) of any a mplifier in the
system beyond t he maximum level est ablished
during t he procedure outlined i n Appendix
A (page 12). Doing so will result in audible
distortion a nd possible speaker dam age.
JL AUDIO A1200 7
TURNON LEAD
The A1200 uses a conventiona l +12V remote
turn-on lead, ty pically controlle d by the source
unit’s remote tur n-on output. The amplif ier wil l
turn on when +12V is present at its “Remote”
input and turn off when +12V is switched off. If
a source unit does not have a dedic ated remote
turn-on out put, the amplifier’s turn-on lead can
be connected to +12V via a switch that derives
power from an ignition-switched circuit.
The A1200’s “Remote” tu rn-on connector is
designed to accept 18 AWG – 12 AWG wire. To
connect the remote turn-on wire to t he amplif ier,
first back out the set screw on the top of t he
termina l block, using the supplied 2 .5 mm hex
wrench. Strip 1/2 inch (12mm) of wire and insert
the bare wire into the termina l block, seating it
firmly so that no bare wire is exposed. While
holding the w ire in the terminal, tig hten the set
screw firmly, tak ing care not to strip the he ad of
the screw and maki ng sure that the wire is firm ly
gripped by t he set screw.
INPUT SECTION
The A1200’s input sec tion al lows you to send
signal to t he amplifier section through the use
of two dif ferential-balanc ed inputs, one for t he
left channel signa l and one for the right channel
signal. Connection is via RCA-type jacks.
You may run a stereo or a mono signal into
the inputs of t he amplif ier. The amplifier’s input
section automatical ly sums stereo signals to mono
for the internal ampli fier section.
The amplifier wi ll operate with only one i nput
connection (left or right), but will require an
increase in input sensit ivity to overcome the loss
of signal. If a mono input signal is to be run, we
recommend that you use a “Y-adaptor” to split t he
mono signal into both inputs of the amplifier.
Left Cha nnel Only or Right Chan nel Only
Information: If you wish to send a Left-on ly or
Right-only signal to the A1200, use a “Y-Adaptor”
to split the single channel signal into both left
and right RCA i nputs. This option is useful
when using one A120 0 to drive the left cha nnel
speakers only and another A1200 to drive right
channel speakers only.
If you plan to use t he “Pre-Outs” to feed
a stereo amplifier, you must connect a
stereo signa l to the input of the amplifier.
A mono signal into the amplif ier will result
in a mono signa l out of the preamp output.
(It’s a great amplif ier, but it doesn't do magic).
6 JL AUDIO A1200
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