Rockford Fosgate PCH-14X, PCH-314, PCH-414, PCH-514, PCH-614 User Manual

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HIGH DEFINITION

COMPONENT SYSTEMS

PCH-14X
PCH-314 / PCH-414
PCH-514 / PCH-614

INSTALLATION & OPERATION

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Dear Customer,
Congratulations on your purchase of America’s finest brand of car audio compo-

nents. At Rockford Fosgate we are committed to musical reproduction at its best,
and we are pleased you chose our product. Through years of engineering expertise,
hand craftsmanship and critical testing procedures we have created a wide range
of products that reproduce music with all the clarity and richness you deserve.

For maximum performance we recommend you have your new Rockford Fosgate
product installed by an Authorized Rockford Fosgate Dealer, as we provide
specialized training through Rockford Technical Training Institute (RTTI). Please
read your warranty and retain your receipt and original carton for possible future
use.

To add the finishing touch to your new Rockford Fosgate image order your Rockford
accessories, which include everything from T-shirts and jackets to hats and
sunglasses.

To get a free brochure on Rockford Fosgate products and Rockford accessories,
please call 1-800-669-9899 or FAX [phone] in the U.S. For Canada, call
Korbon Trading at 905-567-1920. For international orders FAX [phone]­8132 or call 001-1-602-967-3565.

PRACTICE SAFE SOUND™

CONTINUOUS EXPOSURE TO SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS
OVER 100dB MAY CAUSE PERMANENT HEARING LOSS. HIGH
POWERED AUTO SOUND SYSTEMS MAY PRODUCE SOUND
PRESSURE LEVELS WELL OVER 130dB. USE COMMON SENSE
AND PRACTICE SAFE SOUND.

If, after reading your manual, you still have questions regarding this prod­uct, we recommend that you see your Rockford Fosgate dealer . If you need
futher assistance, you can call us direct at 1-800-795-2385. Be sure to have
your serial number, model number and date of purchase available when
you call.

The serial number can be found on the outside of the box. Please be sure
to record it in the space provided below as your permanent record. This will
serve as verification of your factory warranty and could become useful in
recovering your product if ever stolen.

Serial Number: _________________________________________
Model Number:___________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Package Contents.................................................................................... 1

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

Technical Design Features ...................................................................... 2

Installation Considerations ...................................................................... 4

Tools Needed.................................................................................... 4

Placing the Punch Splits Speakers...................................................... 4

Installation .............................................................................................. 6

Mounting the Midrange..................................................................... 6

Flush Mounting the Tweeter .............................................................. 7

Surface Mounting the Tweeter........................................................... 7

Mounting the Punch Splits Plates....................................................... 8

Crossover Installation .............................................................................. 8

Troubleshooting .................................................................................... 12

Specifications........................................................................................ 13

Warranty Information............................................................................ 14

International Information....................................................................... 15

GETTING STARTED

Welcome to Rockford Fosgate! This manual is designed to provide
information for owner, salesperson and installer. For those of you who
want quick information on how to install this product, please turn to the
Installation Section of this manual or refer to the icons listed below. Other
information can be located by using the Table of Contents. We, at
Rockford Fosgate, have worked very hard to make sure all the information
in this manual is current. But, as we are constantly finding new ways to
improve our product, this information is subject to change without notice.

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Sections marked

INSTALLATION

include “slam dunk”

assembly and wiring connections

TROUBLE-

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Sections marked

TROUBLESHOOTING

include recommendations for

curing installation problems

PACKAGE CONTENTS

PCH-14x PCH-314

(1) Installation & Operation Manual (1) Installation & Operation Manual
(2) 3/4" Tweeter (2) 3/4" Tweeter
(2) TX-4186 Crossover (2) 3" Midrange Speaker
(2) Surface Mount Base (2) 4x6 Mounting Plate
(2) Surface Mount Cup (2) TX-4186 Crossover
(2) Flush Mount Base (2) 100µf Capacitor
(2) Flush Mount Cup (2) Surface Mount Base

(2) Surface Mount Cup

PCH-414/PCH-514 or PCH-614

(1) Installation & Operation Manual
(2) 3/4" Tweeter
(2) 4", 5" or 6" Midrange Speaker
(2) PCH-142x Crossover
(2) Speaker Grille Ring
(2) Speaker Grille Gasket
(2) Surface Mount Base
(2) Surface Mount Cup
(2) Flush Mount Base
(2) Flush Mount Cup
(8) #8 x 1.24 Screw
(2) 15' 22 gauge Speaker Wire

(2) Flush Mount Base
(2) Flush Mount Cup
(8) #8 x 1.24 Screw

INTRODUCTION

In today’s vehicles, space for everything is at a premium. Many times, the
space that car designers dedicate for the stereo system is an afterthought.
Rockford Fosgate realizes that people who want stereo systems in their
vehicles have to contend with these real world problems. Our solution is
the

Punch Splits High Definition Component Systems

speakers are designed to fit in factory locations of vehicles with little
modification while providing the awesome sound quality people have
come to expect from Rockford Fosgate.

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. Punch Splits

TECHNICAL DESIGN FEATURES

Midrange Features

◆ PVA Treated Cone

The lightweight paper cones are treated with PVA (PolyVinyl Acetate) for
environmental stability and increased rigidity. This treatment promotes
smooth midrange performance and low frequency extension free of
distortion.

THE RESULT: Strong and lightweight high performance cones.

◆ Vented Pole Piece

The vented pole piece by design, ensures proper ventilation to cool the
voice coil and maintains lower operating temperatures. This increases the
thermal power handling of the speaker.

THE RESULT: Improves power handling by cooling the voice coil.

◆ High Temperature Voice Coil

The voice coil used in the Punch Series is of a high temperature copper
wire construction. The wire is wound in two layers on a black anodized
aluminum voice coil former. The voice coil former dissipates heat away
from the voice coil improving the speaker’s thermal stability and improv­ing the reliability of the speaker.

THE RESULT: Improves reliability by dissipating generated heat.

◆ Nitrile Rubber Surround

The nitrile material is resilient to temperature variations and provides a
consistent support necessary for the linear motion of the speaker cone. In
addition, the inherent damping capabilities eliminates the transmission of
degrading sonic disturbances between the cone and the frame of the
speaker greatly improving the clarity of the speaker’s midrange frequency
response.

THE RESULT: Improves speaker's frequency response.

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Tweeter Features

◆ Neodymium Magnets

The high ionic compound of neodymium enables a smaller tweeter
magnet assembly to be used as opposed to the much larger ferrite magnets
that are commonly used in speaker manufacturing.

THE RESULT: An efficient magnet which allows smaller tweeter
construction.

◆ Magnetic Fluid Cooling

Magnetic fluid is a synthetic liquid consisting of microscopic magnetic
particles. The fluid has four times the thermal conductivity as air which
makes it an ideal cooling agent. Magnetic fluid is injected into the voice
coil gap which helps dissipate heat generated by the voice coil.

THE RESULT: A thermal conductor which allows increased power
handling.

◆ Swivel Mount Design

The tweeter is encapsulated in a variable swivel housing. This design
allows direct dispersion of the tweeter in order to accommodate various
mounting positions. The swivel mount design allows the tweeter to
maximize its sonic potential.

THE RESULT: Precise tweeter imaging regardless of mounting position.

Crossover Features

◆ Adjustable Tweeter Level Matching

The passive crossovers utilize a series power resistor for tweeter level
matching. The factory set tweeter output level is 0dB, however can be
reduced –3dB to create a smoother transition between the midrange and
tweeter. The ability to level match allows the system to be custom “tuned”
for a particular listener or setup.

THE RESULT: Allows custom setup of tweeter output level.

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◆ Optical Compression Circuit

The supplied passive crossovers utilize an optical compression circuit for
tweeter protection. This protection circuit absorbs the destructive signal
caused when the amplifier's output is clipped. This greatly increases the
power handling capability and the reliability of the tweeter.

THE RESULT: Increased tweeter reliability under harsh conditions.

◆ Passive Filter Bypass

The TX-4186 utilizes an extra screw terminal on the crossover housing
which allows the tweeters audio signal to “bypass” the internal passive
filter. This feature allows an external active filter to be used while
maintaining optical compression for tweeter reliability.

THE RESULT: System flexibility with constant tweeter protection.

INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS

Since many of the Punch Splits speakers are designed for direct replace­ment in factory speaker locations, some of the following instructions will
not apply. To maximize the performance in difficult or custom installa­tions, please see your Authorized Rockford Fosgate Dealer.

Warning! Please read the entire Installation section before attempting the
installation of your Punch Splits Speakers.

Tools Needed

The following is a list of some of the tools necessary for the installation of
the Punch Splits speakers.

Power Drill with assorted bits Wire Strippers
Volt Meter Wire Crimpers
Assorted Screwdrivers Marking Pen
Tape Measure Hole Saw Arbor
Hole Saw (11⁄4") Assorted Hole Saws
(Tweeter) (Midrange)

Placing the Punch Splits Speakers

A solid front stage with a good image is one of the most difficult tasks to
achieve in a vehicle. No car has the optimum listening environment. This
makes proper sound staging very difficult to accomplish. Most speakers
tend to be placed where they will fit easily, as opposed to where they can
perform the best

have a great effect on the sound quality of your stereo system. The special
care taken to place the Punch Splits speakers, will yield many hours of
listening enjoyment in return. Several important recommendations should
be followed.

The mounting location of your Punch Splits speakers will

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• Place the speakers where they have
a direct path to the listening area.

• When using the Punch Splits, there
are two options for speaker place-

2" or less

ment between the midrange and
tweeter. For the best integration be­tween the midrange and tweeter,
the tweeter should be placed less
than 2" from the midrange. (Figure 1)

Figure 1

• If you cannot place the tweeter less
than 2" from the midrange, then place the tweeter more than 7"
from the midrange. Placing the tweeter 2"-7" from the midrange
can cause destructive interference (frequency response prob­lems) which will affect the speaker’s ability to reproduce the
frequency range around the crossover frequency of the Punch
Splits system.

• Whenever possible, place the tweeter directly above or below
the midrange as this maximizes the imaging (point source)
capability of the Punch Splits speakers. (Figure 2)

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Figure 2-A

Figure 2-B

Sound radiated from a “point source” has the most optimum stereo imaging
because the separation of the acoustical centers between the midrange
and tweeter for each channel is at the optimum. Figure 2-A describes
a horizontal speaker alignment. In a closed environment such as an
automobile, horizontal speaker alignment can cause severe ampli­tude and phase differences which will degrade not only the imaging,
but also the frequency response. This is due to the path length
differences between the midrange and tweeter. Figure 2-B displays
a vertical alignment between the midrange and tweeter. With a
vertical alignment, the path length differences between the midrange
and tweeter are reduced to a minimum. The result is a negligible
difference in path lengths between the midrange and tweeter regard­less of the proximity of the listener to the speakers. Mounting the

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Punch Splits speakers with minimum path length differences will
ensure the best staging and imaging possible from your audio
system.

INSTALLATION

The mounting of the Punch Splits speakers and crossovers is just as
important as choosing the location for the speakers. Improper installation
will degrade the sound quality and reduce the reliability of the Punch
Splits speakers. To maximize the performance of your speakers, the
following criteria should be considered.

• After choosing possible locations for the speakers, it is important to
make sure there is a flat area large enough for the speaker to mount.

Warning !Failure to do this can cause damage to the speaker if the
frame of the speaker is bent during the installation.

• Check to see that the location is deep enough for the speaker and
the location does not interfere with the normal operation of the
vehicle.

• When mounting the speakers in the door of a vehicle, special care
should be taken to make sure the speaker/s do not interfere with
either the window operation or the door opening and closing. (Be
careful of the tension bar in the door.)

• When mounting the speakers on the rear deck of the vehicle,
double check the operation of the rear hatch or trunk lid. Make sure
the tension bars and other moving parts are not obstructed by the
speakers’ installation.

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Refer to the Specifications section of the manual for the mounting depth
and proper diameter hole to cut for the Punch Splits speakers.

Mounting the Midrange

1. Cut the proper size hole for the midrange/woofer.

2. Place the mounting ring over the mounting hole and mark the location
of the screw mounting holes.

3. Remove the ring. Drill the holes for the screws using a 1/8" drill bit.

4. Route the wire through the hole.

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5. Place the mounting ring over the hole.

6. Attach the wires and be sure to observe the proper speaker
polarity. Keep the speaker wires away from sharp and
moving objects.

7. Place the speaker into the hole and screw the speaker into place.

Be careful not to bend the speaker frame during this step.

8. Press the speaker grille into the mounting ring.

Flush Mounting the Tweeter

1. Cut a 1-1/4" mounting hole.

2. Route the wires through the mounting hole.

3. Attach the wires and be sure to observe the proper speaker polarity.
Keep the speaker wires away from sharp and moving objects.

4. Snap the tweeter with the flush mount capsule into the hole.

5. Angle the tweeter for best sonic performance.

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Surface Mounting the Tweeter

Mounting
Plate

1. Place the mounting plate on the surface where the tweeter will be
located. Mark two (2) opposing mounting holes and the center wire
access hole.

2. Remove the mounting plate and drill a 1/4" (6.4mm) hole for the
speaker wire access. Drill two (2) 1/8" (3mm) holes for the
mounting screws.,

3. Route the wires through the mounting hole.

4. Place the mounting plate in position by threading the speaker wires
through the center hole. Mount the mounting plate with the
provided mounting hardware.

5. Attach the wires and be sure to observe the proper speaker polarity.
Keep the speaker wires away from sharp and moving objects.

6. Snap the tweeter onto the mounting plate.

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