MTX Audio THUNDER895 User Manual

POWER
AMPLIFIER

OWNER’S
MANUAL

POWER AMPLIFIER OWNER’S MANUAL

2

3

CONGRATULATIONS...

on your purchase of a new MTX Audio
Thunder Amplifier! MTX has long been the
industry leader in mobile enclosures and
speakers, and we have reached new heights
with the development of the new MTX
Thunder amplifiers. You couldn’ t have chosen
a more reliable, powerful, or better perform­ing amplifier. In fact, we back up every
Thunder amplifier with a three-year warranty
if installed by an authorized MTX Audio retail­er (see the warranty statement).

Your new MTX Thunder amplifier was
designed, built and thoroughly tested at our

state-of-the-art electronics manufacturing
facility. We manufacture every amplifier using the
latest Intelligent Surface Mount Technology. Some
of the advantages of the new design are its signifi­cant improvements to the amplifier’s electrical and
mechanical properties. ISMT devices feature sub­stantially shorter internal and external lead lengths.
This reduces stray capacitance and inductance,
which results in cleaner and more accurate musical
reproduction with significantly less noise interfer­ence. The ISMT mounter produces amplifier boards
with smaller and lighter components, which are
more resistant to vibrations inherent in the automo­tive environment.

A word about power ratings. It is important for you
to know how they stack up. MTX has chosen the
most honest, most conservative way to rate our
amps. We show you the RMS power, at 12.5 volts,
and dynamic power at 14.4 volts. However, we go
above and beyond the call of duty. We test each
amplifier. The technician records the “actual”
power output, and records this number on your
Certified Performance Certificate. The amplifier
must meet or exceed the rated specification before
we’ll ship it. No questions. No exceptions.

We want to ensure you get continuous high per­formance from your MTX Thunder amplifier, so we
recommend that you have it professionally installed
by your authorized MTX dealer.

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL

If you are installing this amplifier yourself, we rec­ommend that you read the manual cover-to-cover
before you install it. Familiarize yourself with the
features and details on the input and output panels.
Make sure you have all the equipment you need.
Then follow the step-by-step installation instruc­tions included. Sample installation diagrams may be
found on our website:

mtx.com

If you have any questions, write or call us:

MTX Audio

4545 E. Baseline Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85042

602-438-4545 • 800-CALL MTX

[e-mail]

mtx.com

Please take a moment to register your purchase
on-line at mtx.com.

Please also record the serial number of your
amplifier in the space provided below and keep this
manual for future reference, as well as your sales
receipt as proof of ownership. (The serial number
of your amplifier is marked on the bottom of its
metal chassis.)

SERIAL NUMBER:
DATE OF PURCHASE:

Introduction

ENGLISH

• Common Thunder Amplifier Features
Thunder Amplifiers are Covered by 1 or More of
the Following United States of America Patents:
#5,598,325, #5,631,608, #5,783,970.

• Acoustically Seamless Turn-On/Turn-Off

• Adjustable Input Sensitivity

• Anti-Shock PCB Mounting Design

• High Powered Transformer

• Intelligent Surface Mount Technology

• Nickel-Plated, Heavy Duty Terminal
Block Connectors

• Patented PWM MOSFET Switching Power Supply

• Real Time Computerized Protection Circuit

• Unique Rubber Insulated Iso-Feet™

• 18dB/Octave Crossover

• Adaptive Class D Technology

• Bridgeable Circuit Design

• External Bass Control (EBC) Port

• High Power Inductor Output Filter

• Patented Class A 100% Discrete Driver
Circuit Topology

• Patented Pure N-Channel Design

• Thunder EQ Bass Enhancement

THUNDER895

• RMS Power measured at 12.5 Volts DC:
35 Watts RMS/Ch x 4 into 4 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N
70 Watts RMS/Ch x 4 into 2 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N
140 Watts RMS bridged x 2 into 4 Ohms with less than
1% Thd+N

• Subwoofer:

160 Watts RMS into 4 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N
320 Watts RMS into 2 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N

• Dynamic Power measured at 14.4 Volts DC Front and Rear:
50 Watts x 4 into a 4 Ohm load
100 Watts x 4 into a 2 Ohm load
200 Watts bridged x 2 into a 4 Ohm load

• Subwoofer:
245 Watts x 1 into a 4 Ohm load
490 Watts x 1 into a 2 Ohm load

• Signal to Noise Ratio: ≥90dB A-Weighted

• Damping Factor: >100

• Frequency Response: (Front and Rear) 20Hz-20kHz
±0.25dB, (Subwoofer) 20Hz - 85Hz ±3dB

• Maximum Input: 2.5Vrms

• Thunder EQ: (Subwoofer) Variable Bass Boost (0-18dB)
centered at 40Hz

• Crossover: (Front and Rear) 85Hz, 18dB/Octave, High Pass
or Full Range (Subwoofer) 85Hz, 18dB/Octave, Low Pass

• Dimensions: 15.6" x 9.75" x 2.1" (39.7cm x 24.8cm x 5.3cm)

Features

Specifications

POWER AMPLIFIER OWNER’S MANUAL

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1. Turn the gain control on the amplifier all the way
down.

2. Turn up the volume control on the source unit to
approximately 3⁄4 of maximum.

3. Adjust the gain control on the amplifier until
audible distortion occurs.

4. Adjust the gain control down until audible distor­tion disappears.

5. Follow steps 3-4 for other gain control settings if
applicable.

6. The amplifier is now calibrated to the output of
the source unit.

Installation

Any deviation from the connection specifications recommended may cause serious damage to the amplifier,
speakers and/or vehicle electrical system. Please double-check the connection before turning the system on.

1. Disconnect the vehicle’s negative battery connection.

2. Place your Thunder amplifier at the predetermined mounting location. Using a felt pen, mark the exact
position of the mounting holes on the mounting surface. Set the amplifier aside. Use a sharp, precise blade
to cut small circles in the carpet and padding around the four marks denoting your mounting holes to
expose the metal underneath. Use a center punch to make an indentation in the metal to ensure that you
drill the exact position for the screws. Drill the four holes as marked.

3. Temporarily mount your Thunder amplifier.

4. Run a power cable from the vehicle’s battery through the firewall and through the interior of the vehicle
connecting one end to your Thunder amplifier’s +BATT terminal and connect the other end to the positive
post on the battery.

Note: Install a circuit breaker/fuse within 18" of the battery. This effectively lowers the risk of severe damage
to your vehicle should a short circuit ever occur in the audio system. Do not install the fuse in the fuse hold­er until all installation steps have been completed.

5. Find a good ground spot on the vehicle’s chassis and remove the paint to reveal bare metal at the contact
point. Attach the ground wire to that contact point and connect the other end of the ground wire to the
GND terminal of your Thunder amplifier.

6. Connect a Remote Turn-on wire from your source unit to your Thunder amplifier’s REM terminal (14 or 16
gauge wire). If your source unit does not have a dedicated Remote Turn-on lead, you may connect to the
source unit’s Power Antenna lead.

7. Connect RCA cables from your source unit to your Thunder amplifier’s RCA input jacks.

8. Connect your speakers to your Thunder amplifier’s speaker terminals using 12 gauge minimum speaker
cable.

9. Double-check all the previous installation steps, in particular, the wiring and component connections.
Securely mount the amplifier. If everything is in order, reconnect the vehicle’s negative battery connec­tion and begin adjusting your amplifier.

Note: Be sure that the Gain Level on the amplifier is turned all the way down (counter clockwise) before pro­ceeding with adjustments.

Common Oversights

• The battery ground should remain DISCONNECTED at all stages of installation.

• Do not begin drilling until you have put your Thunder amplifier aside. Using the amplifier as a drilling guide
may cause irreparable damage to the amplifier and void your warranty.

• Do not route any wires underneath or outside the vehicle body.

• Route signal wires (RCAs from source unit, speaker wires, etc.) away from power wires (power, ground,
etc.) to avoid ground loops and other sources of noise.

Adjusting the Gain

Typical Speaker

Wiring Configurations

Troubleshooting Guide

Read this if you wanna be a do-it-yourselfer or give us a call at 800-CALLMTX.

PROBLEM CAUSE SOLUTION

No LED indication No +12V at remote connection Supply +12V to terminal

No +12V at Power connection Supply +12V to terminal
Insufficient ground connection Verify ground connection
Blown power fuse Replace fuse

LED on, no output Volume on head unit off Increase volume on head unit

Speaker connections not made Make speaker connections
Gain control on amplifier off Turn up gain
Signal processing units off Apply power to signal processor
All speakers blown Replace speakers

Output distorted Head unit volume set too high Lower head unit volume

Amplifier gain set too high Lower amplifier gain

Balance reversed Speakers wired L + R reversed Wire speakers with correct

orientation

RCA inputs reversed Reverse RCA input

Some balance reversed Some Speakers wired L + R Wire speakers with correct

reversed orientation
Some RCA inputs reversed Reverse appropriate RCA inputs

Bass is weak Speakers wired out Wire with correct phase

of phase
Not using MTX woofers Buy MTX woofers

Blowing fuses Excessive output levels Lower volume

Amplifier defective Return for service

5-Channel Amplifier
Mono Amp and Bridged Stereo Amp
Impedance Requirements

– 2 ohm minimum for sub (mono) channel
– 4 ohm bridge minimum for stereo channels
– 2 ohm stereo minimum for stereo channels

Note: The information shown
for bridged stereo channels
is good for both the front and
rear channels

4 ohm

4 ohm

+ + - - +

- L L R R

s
u
b

Two 4 ohm speakers

for sub channel
One 4 ohm speaker for
bridged stereo channel

OK

4 ohm

8 ohm

8 ohm

8 ohm

8 ohm

8 ohm

8 ohm

+ + - - +

- L L R R

s
u
b

Four 8 ohm speakers

for sub channel

Two 8 ohm speakers for

bridged stereo channel

OK

speakers for sub channel

Two 4 ohm speakers for
bridged stereo channel

4 ohm

4 ohm

4 ohm

4 ohm

4 ohm

+ + - - +

- L L R R

s
u
b

Three or more 4 ohm

NOT

OK

POWER AMPLIFIER OWNER’S MANUAL

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1. Gain Control – These controls are used to match the input sensitivity of the amplifier position to the
particular source unit that you are using. The controls are factory set to 1Vrms.

2. Crossover Control Front and Rear – This switch turns the internal electronic high pass
18dB/Octave 85Hz crossovers on and off. If the switch is selecting HP, the crossover is on. When the switch
is selects FR, the crossover is bypassed for a full range output. (Subwoofer is a fixed low pass 18dB/Octave
85Hz crossover)

3. RCA Input Jacks Front and Rear – RCA or type input jacks for use with source units that have RCA
or Line Level Outputs. A source unit with a minimum output level of 200mV is required for proper operation.

4. Bass EQ – This equalization circuit is used to enhance the low frequency response of the vehicle’s
interior. With up to 18 dB of boost and centered at 40Hz, the Bass EQ can be adjusted to meet your own
personal taste.

5. RCA Input Jacks (Sub) –L + R inputs are supplied to simplify installation. The left and right inputs sum
internally to form a single monaural channel. The left and right inputs are electronically isolated and will not
affect the isolation of the other four channels. A source unit with a minimum output level of 200mV is required
for proper operation.

6. EBC – The EBC, or Electronic Bass Control, allows a remote bass control to be adjusted from the dri­ver’s seat. If the optional EBC is installed, the bass level will be able to be adjusted to overcome noise
and other interference.

Input Panel Layout

❶

❺

❻

1. Fuses – For convenience, all amplifiers utilize ATC type fuses. For continued protection in the event that
a fuse blows, replace the fuse only with the same value.
Caution: The power fuses on the amp are for protecting the amp against overdrive. To protect the vehicle’s
electrical system, an additional fuse is required within 18" of the battery on the 12V+ cable.

2. Power Terminal – This is the main power input for the amplifier and must be connected directly to the
positive terminal of the car battery for the amplifier to operate properly. Use caution when running this cable
through the car. Try to avoid the input RCA cables, antenna cabling, or other sensitive equipment as the large
amount of current flowing through this cable can induce noise into your system. It is also very important to
have a tight connection to ensure maximum performance.

3. Ground Terminal – A good quality ground is required for your Thunder Amplifier to operate at peak
performance. A short length of cable the same gauge as your power cable should be used to attach the
ground terminal directly to the chassis of the car. Always scrape or sand any painted surfaces to expose
bare metal where the ground wire will attach.

4. Remote Terminal – All Thunder Amplifiers can be turned on by applying 12 volts to this terminal.
Typically this voltage is supplied by a wire from the source unit marked “remote” or “electric antenna”.

5. Term Block Right Channel – The Right Rear + and Right Rear – terminals connect the right rear
speaker to the right rear channel of the amplifier. Connect the + terminal of the speaker to the Right Rear +
terminal of the amplifier and the – terminal of the speaker to the Right Rear – terminal of the amplifier. 2 ohm
minimum impedance is allowed. Operation the same for front channels.

6. Term Block Left Channel – The Left Rear + and Left Rear – terminals connect the left rear speaker
to the left rear channel of the amplifier. Connect the + terminal of the speaker to the left Rear + terminal of
the amplifier and the – terminal of the speaker to the left Rear – terminal of the amplifier. 2 ohm minimum
impedance is allowed. Operation the same for front channels.

7. T erm Block Sub Channel –The sub + and sub - terminals connect the subwoofer to the dedicated sub­woofer channel of the amplifier. Connect the + terminal of the speaker to the sub + terminal of the amplifier
and the – terminal of the speaker to the sub – terminal of the amplifier. 2 ohm minimum impedance is allowed.

8. Power LED (top of heatsink) - A lighted LED indicates that power has been applied to the amplifier.
+12V from the battery to the +BATT terminal and +12V from a switched ignition or remote lead from a head
unit. An unlighted LED indicates power has been removed or the amplifier has overheated. In the case of
the overheat condition, the amplifier will turn back on after it cools down.

Output Panel Layout

❶

❹

❺

❷

❸

❼

❶❶

❷

❷

❹

❸

❻

POWER AMPLIFIER OWNER’S MANUAL

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FELICITATIONS...

vous félicitant de votre achat d’un nouveau
amplificateur MTX Audio Thunder! MTX a été
depuis longtemps un leader dans l’industrie
d’enclos mobiles et speakers, et nous
sommes arrivés à un nouveau sommet avec
le développement des nouveaux amplifica­teurs MTX Thunder. Vous n’auriez pas pu
choisir d’amplificateur plus fiable, plus puis­sant ou meilleur. En effet ; nous garantissons
pendant trois ans chaque amplificateur
Thunder s’il est installé par un vendeur agréé
(voir la garantie).

Votre nouvel amplicateur MTX Thunder a
été conçu, construit et testé dans notre usine élec­tronique de dernier cri. Nous fabriquons chaque
amplificateur en employant la Technologie Surface
Mount le plus récent et intelligent. Quelques
advantages du nouveau dessin sont les perfec­tionnements aux propriétés mécaniques et élec­triques de l’amplificateur. Les mécanismes SMT
ont de substantiellement plus courtes longueurs
internes et externes. Cela réduit l’inductance et la
capacitance égarées, qui résulte en une reproduc­tion musicale plus pure et plus exacte avec con­sidérablement moins d’intervention du bruit. Le
SMT mounter produit des cartes d’amplificateur
avec plus petits et plus légèrs composants qui sont
plus résistants aux vibrations inhérentes dans l’en­vironnement automobile.

Un mot au sujet d’évaluations de puissance. C’est
important de savoir comment elles s’y comparent.
MTX a choisi la méthode la plus honnête et la plus
conservatrice d’estimer les ampères. Nous vous
montrons la puissance RMS, aux 12,5 volts et la
puissance dynamique aux 14,4 volts. Cependant ;
nous allons au-delà l’appel de devoir. Nous testons
chaque amplificateur. Le technicien enregistre la
puissance de sortie ‘actuelle’, et puis il note ce
nombre sur votre Certificat de Performance Attesté.
L ’amplificateur doit satisfaire ou dépasser les spéci­fications d’évaluation avant d’être envoyé. Pas de
questions. Pas d’exceptions.

Nous voulons tout faire pour assurer que vous
obtenez la haute performance continue de votre
amplificateur MTX Thunder, donc nous vous recom­mandons de l’avoir installé professionellement par
votre vendeur agréé.

COMMENT UTILISER CE MANUEL

Si vous installez cet amplificateur vous-même, nous
vous recommandons de lire ce manuel de la pre­mière à la dernière page avant de l’installer.
Familiarisez-vous avec les caractéristiques et les
détails des panneaux entrée-sortie. Vérifiez que
vous avez tout l’équipement dont vous avez besoin.
Puis suivez les instructions d’installation point par
point qui se trouvent. Vous pouvez trouver des
échantillons des diagrammes d’installation sur le
Web à notre site :

mtx.com

Si vous avez des questions, écrivez ou

téléphonez-nous à :

MTX Audio

4545 E. Baseline Rd.

Phoenix, AZ 85042

602-438-4545

800-CALL MTX

[e-mail]

mtx.com

Introduction

FRANÇAIS

• Les amplificateurs Thunder sont couverts par un
ou plusieurs des brevets suivants aux États-Unis:
n° 5 598 325, n° 5 631 608, n° 5 783 970

• Mise sous tension/hors tension acoustiquement
transparente

• Réglage de sensibilité d’entrée

• Dispositif anti-choc de montage de carte

• Transformateur de forte puissance

• Technologie intelligente de montage en surface

• Barrettes de raccordement nickelées de haute
qualité

• Alimentation MLI brevetée à commutation par
MOSFET

• Circuit de protection à numérisation en temps réel

• Pieds Iso-Feet™ isolés en caoutchouc

• Filtre 18 dB/octave

• Technologie adaptative de classe D

• Conception de circuit compatible

• Port EBC (commande externe des basses)

• Filtre de sortie de forte puissance à bobine

• Topologie discrète brevetée de circuit de haut­parleur 100 % classe A

• Conception brevetée à canal N pur

• Renforcement des basses Thunder EQ

THUNDER895

• RMS Power measured at 12.5 Volts DC:
35 Watts RMS/Ch x 4 into 4 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N
70 Watts RMS/Ch x 4 into 2 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N
140 Watts RMS bridged x 2 into 4 Ohms with less than
1% Thd+N

• Subwoofer:

160 Watts RMS into 4 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N
320 Watts RMS into 2 Ohms with less than 1% Thd+N

• Dynamic Power measured at 14.4 Volts DC Front and Rear:
50 Watts x 4 into a 4 Ohm load
100 Watts x 4 into a 2 Ohm load
200 Watts bridged x 2 into a 4 Ohm load

• Subwoofer:
245 Watts x 1 into a 4 Ohm load
490 Watts x 1 into a 2 Ohm load

• Signal to Noise Ratio: ≥90dB A-Weighted

• Damping Factor: >100

• Frequency Response: (Front and Rear) 20Hz-20kHz
±0.25dB, (Subwoofer) 20Hz - 85Hz ±3dB

• Maximum Input: 2.5Vrms

• Thunder EQ: (Subwoofer) Variable Bass Boost (0-18dB)
centered at 40Hz

• Crossover: (Front and Rear) 85Hz, 18dB/Octave, High Pass
or Full Range (Subwoofer) 85Hz, 18dB/Octave, Low Pass

• Dimensions: 15.6" x 9.75" x 2.1" (39.7cm x 24.8cm x 5.3cm)

Caractéristiques

Specifications