Soundstream RUBICON 204, RUBICON 404, 604, Rubicon 202, RUBICON 604 Owner's Manual And Installation Manual
SOUNDSTRC@
T E
C H N 0 L 0 G
1
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s
SOUNDSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES
120 Blue Ravine Road - Folsom - California 95630 USA
ph 916.351.1288 . fax 916.351.0414
revA - YV98
WWV.
SOUfdDSTREAM.COM
S@UNDSTREW/l@
1
T
E C H N 0 L 0 G I
E
S
,
RUBICON
204
404
604
41312
Channel
Power Amplifiers
Owner’s Manual
and
Installation Guide
Conaratulations!
You now own the Soundstream
RUBICON
amplifier,
the product of
an uncompromising design and engineering philosophy, Your Soundstream
RUBICON amplifier will outperform any other amplifier in the
world.
To maximize the performance of your system, we recommend that you thoroughly acquaint yourself with its capabilites and features. Please retain this
manual and your sales receipt for future reference.
Soundstream amplifiers are the result of American innovation and the highest quality control standards. When properly installed, they will provide you
with many years of listening pleasure. Should your amplifier ever need service or replacement due to theft, please record the following information which
will help protect your investment.
Model and Serial #
Dealer’s Name
Date of Purchase
Installation Shop
Installation Date
/
CAUTION!
Prolongsd
listening at high
levels
may result in hearing
luss,
Even
though
y~~~new
Soundstraam
Rub&on amplifiersounds
better than anything
yw’ve
ever heard,
exwcise
w&kx~
to
prevent hearing damage.
Table of Contents
Design Features
.......................................................
p4-5
RUBICON
Amplifier Diagram
..............................
~6-7
RUBICON
Amplifier Diagram
..............................
p 8 -9
RUBICON
Amplifier Diagram
..............................
p 10
-11
Crossover Adjustments
.............................................
P
12
Hawkins Bass
ControlTM
Theory and Use
..................
P
18
Installation:
Speaker Output Modes
..........................
P
14
Installation:
Balanced/Unbalanced Inputs
..................
PI5
Wiring
....................................................................
Pl6
Installation: Mounting
................................................
Pl7
Installation:
Level Setting and Front Spoiler
..............
p 18
Sample System Diagrams
........................................
p 19-21
Protection Circuitry, Service and Troubleshooting..
....
p 22
Specifications
...........................................................
P
23
RUBITM(_Rapid-Be
@ranched
_knpulse)
This new proprietary power
sup-
ply topology 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 stored for low voltage conditions that occur during extreme conditions.
STACTTM (STabilized
Apex
Qurent _Topology)
Reduces power supply
stress by 50%. Typical designs degrade 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 preamplifier circuitry is
run completely in-phase, no even harmonic distortion phase reversal
occurs.
TridentTM
Protection Topology provides three types of protection:
I.
Output protection against short circuits or improper loads.
2. Ground fault detection: Shuts down the amplifier when a significant
voltage (>
5Volts)
fluctuation occurs between electrical (turn-on lead)
and battery ground.
3. Thermal Protection: Puts the amplifier into thermal rollback or shuts
the amplifier down in extreme thermal conditions.
Hawkins Bass Control provides a focused subwoofer boost
(O-9dB
at
45Hz) and routes otherwise wasted amplifier power back to the audible
bandwidth.
Harmonic Bass Alignment
TM
The 2nd and 3rd order harmonic peaks
are critically aligned to fundamental peaks at low frequencies. This
produces tighter, more accurate bass reproduction.
Drive Delay II
TM
Amplifier section powers up 2 to 3
seconds after
the
power supply eliminating turn-on pops. Turn off process is
reversed:
amplifier section turns off first, followed by the power
supply.
Dynamically Optimized Power Grid
TM.Power grid is evenly distrib-
uted between primary and secondary power supplies,
providing greater
dynamics and improved
RF
filtering.
4
ChassisinkTM All transistors are ideally located and sandwiched be-
tween the circuit board and the heatsin k to provide cool efficient amplifier operation.
Differentially Balance RCA Input eliminates ground loop related noise
in the audio.
Fully Balanced 6-pin DIN Input (604) for professional-quality performance and noise cancellation. The
6-pin
DIN plug carries
(k)
signal
information for Left and Right channels, audio ground, and =t 15 Vdc to
operate the Soundstream BLT I BLT4 Balanced Line Transmitters and
Balanced X.0 crossovers.
Output Clipping Indicators (604) indicate clipping on the output stage
of the amplifier. Monitoring the clipping indicators allows the user to
achieve maximum SPL without clipping the amplifier.
Continuously Variable Crossover Networks: 12
dB/Octave highpass
variable from 65 to 220 Hz, and 24 dB/Octave lowpass crossovers variable from 30 Hz to 120 Hz. (12 dB/Octave lowpass on RUBICON204)
Flexible Dual Input Level Control allows 300 mV to 5 V input sensitivity.
Symmetrical Discrete Balanced Class A Drive Boards Auto-adjust
for linear performance while driving low impedance loads.
Removable Front Spoiler allows for stealth installation of RCA, Balanced Line, Speaker and Power wiring.
5
TOP
VlEW
FRONTVIEW
BonoMvlEw(F3v4Tuu)
RUBICON
-
i--w_
/
t
I
n
-16 ,
1.
2.
3
.
4
.
5.
6.
7.
0.
9
lb.
Il.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
KEY TO CALLOUTS
FUSE LED - Indicates blown
fuse.
POWER LED - Indicates amplifier power.
Subsonic / Hawkins Bass Control Switch - “SUB SONIC” to engage
the Sub Sonic filter at 13 Hz. “Hawkins Bass Control” to engage the high
pass filter @ 45 Hz with built-in boost at
+6dB
for optimum bass for any
Low Pass channel.
XOVER
Switch - (Channels
l&2)
Select “L.P.” for use with the internal low
pass filter, “IN” for use with the internal high pass filter, or “OUT” for use
with external crossover.
XOVER
Switch - (Channels
3&4)
Select “L.P.” for use with the internal low
pass filter, “H.P.” for use with the internal high pass filter, or “OUT” for use
with external crossover.
Inputs - Right and left channel RCA inputs for channels
3&4.
Input
LEVEL - Channels
3&4
input level control.
High Pass Control Adjustment - (Channels
3&4)
crossover frequency
control for the internal high pass filter.
Speaker Connection Terminal -Speaker connections for Ch’s
3&4.
Inputs - Right and left channel RCA inputs for channels
l&2.
Input LEVEL - Channels
l&2
input level control.
Low Pass Control Adjustment - Crossover frequency control for the in-
ternal low pass filter. Applies to any channel with the low pass filter engaged.
High Pass Control Adjustment - (Channels l&2) crossover frequency
control for the internal high pass filter.
LINE OUTPUTS - Full range outputs to external amplifier. Note: Signal is
driven from channel
l&2
inputs.
Speaker Connection Terminal -Speaker connections for Ch’s l&2.
REMOTE - Remote turn-on input from the head unit. Accepts
+12V.
GND - Main ground connection. Bolt to a clean chassis point in the
vehicle.
+12V -
Connected to a fuse or circuit breaker, then to the battery’s positive
terminal
Main Fuse - Main power supply fuses.
Stereo/Mono Switch - (Channels
l&2)
Select “MONO” for bridged mono
output (use right RCA input only). Select “STEREO” for stereo output.
Channels
3&4
INPUT SELECT - Selectable inputs from internal (from
channels
l&2)
or external (from channels
3&4
local RCA inputs).
Stereo/Mono Switch - (Channels
3&4)
Select “MONO” for bridged mono
output (use right RCA input only). Select “STEREO” for stereo output.
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