Soundstream LIL WONDER LW1.400, LIL WONDER2 LW2.260, LIL WONDER LW1.600, LIL WONDER4 LW4.500, LIL WONDER5 LW5.1000 Installation Manual

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11365 Surise Park Dr -

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Cordova . California 95742 USA

tel [phone]. fax [phone]

rev DC -

6/22/99

SWINDSTRWM

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LIL’WONDER

LIL’WONDER4

Power Amplifiers

OWNER’S MANUAL

AND

INSTALLATION GUIDE

IMMN.

SOUNDSTREAM.COM

Congratulations

Thanks for buying Soundstream’s Lil’ Wonder\Lil’ Wonder4. We have
always been known for amazing high-end power plants, and to show our
flexibility and versatility we make great equipment like this. Your new amp

has been designed to give you the “most performance available in

the

small-

est package possible.” Hence the name

Lil’ Wonder!

Pound for pound and

inch for inch these are some of the strongest amps ever made.
The

Lil’ Wonder\LiI’ Wonder4

are the ideal amps for almost any configura­tion. They have the power to run front speakers, rear fill, a center channel, or
even more importantly, giant subwoofers. Don’t let their compact sizes fool
you, you’ll be amazed by the power. They have all of the technological
advantages of thier big

Rubicon

brothers, like a

RUBITM

power supply and

STACTTM

architecture. To get the most performance out of your system,

you’ll need to read this entire manual. It is the

only way to learn

about all of

the Lil’ Wonders’

capabilities and features. Please keep this manual and

your sales receipt

for future reference.

These gutsy amplifiers, like all Soundstream amplifiers, are the result of
American innovation and the highest quality control standards. When prop­erly installed, it will provide you with many years of listening pleasure. Just

in case someone “borrows” your amplifier with no intention of returning it, fill
in the blanks below and stash them away in your permanent records. It will
help to protect your investment. Once you have done that, you’re ready to
rock. So hook it up, crank it up, and be amazed by your new

Lil’ Wonder\LiI’

Wonder4.

Model and Serial #

Dealer’s Name

Date of Purchase

Installation

Shop

Installation Date

CAUTION!

Prolonged listening at high levels may result in hearing loss.

Even though

your new Soundstream

Rubicon

ampfifier sounds better than anything

you’ve ever heard, exercise caution to prevent hearing damage.

2

Table of Contents

Design

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

p 4 - 5

Lil’ Wonder

Amplifier Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

p 6 - 7

Lil’

Wonder4

Amplifier Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p 8

-

9

Crossover & Hawkins

Adjustments..

..............................

p 10

Hawkins Bass Contro

TM

Theory and Use

......................

p

II

lnstal

lnstal

lation:

Speaker Output Modes

...............................

p 12

lation:

Wiring and Diagram..

..................................

p 13 - 14

Installation: Mounting

.....................................................

p 15

Installation:

Level Setting and Front Spoiler.

.................. p 16

Protection Circuitry and Troubleshooting

....................... p 17

Service

...........................................................................

p 18

Specifications

.................................................................

p 18

Notes

..............................................................................

p 19

Design Features

RUBITM

Power

Supply

(Rapid-Use Branched Impulse) Our new
power supply eliminates “power sags” during low frequency re­production by rapidly increasing the duty cycle, stabilizing the
power supply and allowing it to deliver the power required when
reproducing low frequencies. Also, greater reserve gate power
is now stored for low voltage conditions that occur during ex­treme conditions.

STACTTM

(Stabilized Apex Current Topology) Reduces power
supply stress by 50%. Use of inverted channels usually de­grades the stereo image due to phase reversal of even order
harmonic distortion that occurs between the inverted channels.
In the STACT design inversion is done at the power amplifier
drive stage. Since the fully symmetrical power amplifier pro­duces no even harmonic distortion itself and all preamp circuitry
(which does produce even harmonics) is run completely in phase,
no even harmonic distortion phase reversal occurs.

CON

TridentTM

Protection Three types of protection for

RUBI~

amplifiers:
Output protection against short circuits or improper loads
Ground fault detection shuts down the amplifier when a signifi­cant (5 volt or greater) voltage fluctuation occurs between audio
ground and battery ground.
Thermal protection will shut the amplifier down in extreme ther­mal conditions.

Hawkins Bass Control Provides focused subwoofer boost and
routes wasted subsonic power to the audible bandwidth. The

Lil’

Wonders contain the fixed Hawkins Bass Control which al-

lows you to boost bass 6dB at 45Hz. A built-in subsonic filter at
45Hz helps protect the speakers.

Harmonic Bass AlignmentTMThe 2nd and 3rd order harmonic

peaks are critically aligned to fundamental peaks at low frequen­cies. This produces tighter, more accurate bass reproduction.

4

Drive Delay II Muting

TM

Amplifier section now powers up 2 - 3
seconds after power supply, eliminating turn on pops. Turn off
process is reversed. Amplifier section turns off first, followed by
power supply.

Dynamically Optimized Power

GridTM

Power grid is now evenly
distributed between primary and secondary power supplies, pro­viding greater dynamics and improved RF filtering.

ChassisinkTM

All transistors are sandwiched between the cir­cuit board and the heatsink to provide cool efficient amplifier
operation in a smaller package.

,

Continuously Variable Lowpass Crossover Networks

(Lil’

Wonder4)

12dBIoct Lowpass

crossover variable from 55 to

220Hz.

Built-in Staggered S.I.P. Crossover Networks Built-in

two-

way electronic crossover is designed to send either high or low

pass information to the amplifier with a

12dB/oct

slope (Highpass

only on the

Lil’

Wonder4).

Flexible Input Level Control 200mV to 5V input sensitivity.

Stereo level control allows user to optimize system level control.

Symmetrical Discrete Balanced Class A Drive Boards Auto-

adjusts for linear performance in low impedance loads.

Removable Front Spoiler

Allows for stealth installation of RCA,

Speaker and Power wiring.

5