zapco Z-150.2 SP, Z-400.2 SP, Z-150.4 SP, Z-150.6 SP Owner's Manual
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Z-SP SERIES
Owner’s Manual
Before operating the unit, please read this manual throughly and retain it for future reference.
MISSION STATEMENT
Committed to Excellence
ZAPCO is dedicated to the pursuit of audio fidelity. Our prime objectives are to
design and manufacture audio products of unsurpassed quality, to provide
unparalleled support and service for these products and to conduct business
in a manner that will enhance the quality of life for all involved.
Experience
(Knowledge from doing)
There is absolutely no substitute for experience; that is a simple fact of life.
Another simple fact is that ZAPCO has, for over forty years, been the leader in
defining quality standards for the car audio industry.
These years of experience have led to a thorough understanding of the
challenges that are unique to the world of car audio. ZAPCO's relentless quest
for sonic purity consistently yields imaginative designs that utilize the most
innovative technologies. The resulting products set the criteria by which all
others in the industry are judged.
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Table of Contents
A new standard in Sound Quality ................................................................... 2
Before you start your installation ................................................................... 5
Planning your power connections .................................................................. 6
Wire size ................................................................................................. 7
Mounting your Z-Series SP amplifier ............................................................... 8
Inputs and Controls ......................................................................................... 9
Z-150.2 SP / Z-400.2 SP Input Ends .......................................................... 9
Z-150.4 SP Input Ends ............................................................................. 10
Z-150.6 SP Input Ends ............................................................................. 11
Speaker Wiring of the SP Amplifiers ............................................................... 12
Z-150.2 SP / Z-400.2 SP Speaker Wiring .................................................. 12
Z-150.4 SP Speaker Wiring ...................................................................... 14
Z-150.6 SP Speaker Wiring ...................................................................... 17
Technical Specifications ................................................................................... 20
Special Note on Z-150.6 SP Amplifier
Please use caution when connecting speakers to channel 5. Because of the layout of the Z-150.6 SP
the positive and negative terminals of channel 5 are reversed from the rest. We find that some units
left the factory with the terminal colors wrong on CH5. The printing on the amp is correct but still it
can be confusing when the colors are different. We have corrected this but please check you Z-150.6
SP and note the correct positions as below.
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A new standard in Sound Quality
Congratulations, on the purchase of your new Zapco Z-Series SP amplifier.
We believe you now have the finest sound available in a car sound amplifier, and
we think you should know a little bit about what makes this amp unique in a
world of so many so-so products.
The birth of the Zapco SP amplifiers
In 2012 Zapco introduced the new Z-Series of SQ amps. These amps were not
conceived so much by our engineers, as by input from audiophiles and car
sound fanatics around the world. Starting about 2004, at Zapco training
seminars in Asia and in the EU, we began running into audiophiles who were
changing certain internal components in our amplifiers to achieve what they
felt was better quality sound.
With that in our minds, we developed the Z-Series amps with less measuring
and more listening. So for the Z-Series of Zapco amplifiers, we experimented
with internal components and new circuits to see if we could take our amps to
the next level of sound quality by investing in different internal components
and circuit designs.
The resulting Z-series and eventually the Z-series LX amps were the results of
this unique development method. These amps have been virtually unbeatable
on the Car Sound Competition circuit.
But amplifiers designed solely for sound quality run warm, and on "the street",
cruising the boulevard, or at the park with the doors open and the system
cranked full on, these amps could be driven into protection.
How do we get Z-Series sound in an amplifier for full-on, full-time cranking?
We couldn't! It wouldn't work without a much bigger chassis or a sacrifice in
sound quality. So we had to find a new way to build the amps.
And we did! The Z-150.2 SP and Z-400.2 SP stereo amps, Z-150.4 SP
4-Channel amp and the 6-Channel Z-150.6 SP are the Zapco SP, or Super
Power, amplifiers.
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To reach our goals we first developed a new forced air cooling system in a chassis
with internal heat sink fins and fans to blow the heat off the chassis. Fans blow
on to the fins to move air down the chassis, and the side vents down the side
create turbulence that sends hot air out and cold air in along the whole length
of the amp.
This got us half way there. Then we found a new space-age material, to insulate
the output transistors, that can pull heat off devices much faster than the
standard insulators. So now we could transfer the heat from the devices to the
chassis faster then pull the heat off the chassis faster.
The result: We now had an amplifier that you can crank up to full volume and
play that way all day long. And, with a few upgrades in circuitry that we made,
you also get:
• High Pass, Low Pass, and Band Pass crossovers
• x10 Range Switch for accurate crossover frequency selection
• Variable Sub Sonic filter using the band pass
• Variable Bass Boost
• Variable Gain
• Auxiliary RCA Output
• Available Dash Remote
In most amplifiers all these preamp controls give you more versatility but they
also rob you of signal quality. But in the Zapco Z-Series SP amps, even with
crossovers and bass boost you get over 103dB signal to noise ratio, less than
0.1% THD, and greater than 60dB channel separation. And the SP amps get a
10% power gain from increased thermal efficiency that reduces the "de-rating"
of the output devices.
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A quick rundown of the SP amp's unique features:
• Cooling fans with thermal speed control
• Insulator with 70% less thermal resistance of MICA for faster heat transfer
• Proprietary RCA connectors with extra heavy plating soldered directly on
the PCB (Zapco design) with 6 ground lugs on each, for an absolutely
secure mount
• Balanced and differential inputs with one tenth the normal resistance
• New Op-amp with lower noise than even the current LX amps
• Bass Boost that is out of the circuit when set to 0
• Capacitors with lower internal resistance and lower inductance (only just
now appearing in the LX amps)
• Fine adjustment for bias in each channel
• A custom plaque with model and serial number lets them know this amp
is special
• And new stronger packaging so this unique amplifier can be shipped
with confidence
We sincerely hope you enjoy your new Z-Series SP amplifier as much as we
enjoyed the time we spent developing it.
ZAPCO President
John Borges
Proprietary custom RCA connectors
Lower ESR Caps and the new LME 49723 0p-amps
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Before you start your installation
ZAPCO highly recommends that a fuse or circuit breaker be placed within 18"
of the battery. Although you will add a fuse or fuse block near the amplifier it
is still a possibility that a pinched power wire between the component fuse
and the battery could result in a short, or even a fire. The protection device
should be placed where it can be accessed easily and all wiring should be
routed safely and correctly according to the following guidelines:
Do not run wiring close to hot or spinning objects.
Always use wire grommets when routing wire through the firewall or any
other metal panels.
Make sure that the potential for pinched wiring is avoided by routing all wires
away from moving hinges and seats. This also includes brake, gas and clutch
pedals, hood and trunk hinges, etc.
Continuous exposure to excessive sound pressure levels may cause permanent
hearing loss. ZAPCO strongly advises that you use common sense when setting
volume levels. If you experience ringing in the ears, it could cause permanent
hearing damage!
When connecting our amplifiers to pre-wired stock speakers, care must be
taken that there are no common connections between left and right speaker
wires, i.e. two or more speakers using the same ground connection (very
common in pre-85 cars), as this will cause the amplifier to go into immediate
protection or may cause damage to the amplifier. Output connections are not
common chassis ground. Please follow the hookup instructions in this owner's
manual. Any questions should be directed to your local ZAPCO dealer.
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Planning your power connections
The power end plates of the Zapco SP amplifiers carry the power connections
and the speaker connections and vary somewhat by the number of channels.
For example, the power end of the Z-150.6 SP below has (of course) speaker
connections for six channels. One model, the Z-150.2 SP has on-board fuses, while
all other models will require and in-line fuse with a rating as in the specifications
page at the end of this manual. That said, the main 12-volt power input, the 12volt turn-on wire, and the main Ground connections are common to all models.
• The gold connection at the interior of the end plate is the main power
input. This must be connected the vehicle battery's positive (+) terminal,
and a main system fuse should be placed close to the battery.
• The silver connection at the outside of the end plate is the main ground
or negative connection. This must be securely attached to bare metal at
the vehicle frame, or other heavy chassis component with a direct
connection to the frame.
Note: Seat bolts and seat belt bolts are NOT good ground points
• The small terminal between the main power and ground is the +12
turn-on input and can be connected to the head unit turn-on output wire.
If none is available it can be connected to an accessory (ACC) terminal.
You should avoid using any ignition-on (IGN) wire, as they can be noisy.
Note: The Z-Series SP amplifiers have terminals that do not require connectors. You simply
insert a bare portion of wire and tighten the connection with the supplied Hex tool. As the wire
conforms to the connector the connection can loosen. You should re-tighten the connection
after about a week.
Turn-on trigger wire
+12 volt at Baery posive terminal Ground to chassis
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