Zapco Z-series D User Manual

Owner's manual

Z-series

Class D, Sound Quality, Bass Amplifier

Before operating the unit, please read this manual throughly

and retain it for future reference.

Protect your Investment

Note your information below for reference:

Model # Serial #

Date Purchased

And: Register your Zapco product now

At: www.zapco.com

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.

The Zapco Z-Series
The Z-Series of Zapco amplifiers is the result of our experience over the last 40
years with the technology of sound reproduction, combined with what we have
learned in consultations with the home and car audiophile communities over the
last few years about human perception of sound. We have also used a number of
studies of the human physiology to examine what an amplifier should do to make
reproduced music sound more like live music.

What did we discover? The proper combination of output devices, op-amps,
capacitors and other internal components makes a huge difference in the quality
of the sound an amplifier produces. We also determined that with technological
advances over the last 10 years we could now develop a more efficient Class D

amplifier that would have the SQ specs at 1Ω to equal or even surpass those of
most A/B amps.

What we did: We set our standards for specifications in Class A/B and Class D and
assured that all amps would meet them. Then we used the best combination of
tantalum capacitors, NJM 5532L and OPA 2134 op-amps, KEC and Sanken high speed
bi-polar output devices Calss A/B ampsand MOSFET output devices for the Class D
amplifiers to produce what we believe are the best sounding amplifiers we have ever
made.

Great sounding Class D? Yes indeed! Class D with less than 0.5% THD at full
power! Class D with damping over 350 at 1Ω. (That's the same as an A/B amp with

damping of over 1,400 at 4Ω!) Class D with a S/N ratio of 90dB.
What's it all mean? Clear, sharp, earth shaking bass that won't go soft and muddy
at high volumes. If your speaker can handle it, these amps can produce it

-2 -

Yes, please read this manual thoroughly. We wrote it to help ensure that you get
the most from your investment in your Zapco amplifier. If you find, after reading
the manual, that you still have questions please feel free to give us a call at
1(800) 47-FORCE, or, drop a note at

Power and Wire Gauge

The wire you use for the power and ground connections of your amplifier is
absolutely critical. The plain simple fact is that it takes power to deliver power. If
you do not provide the proper amount of 12V power to your amplifier, you will
never reach the full power potential of your amp. Take a look at the chart below.
If you want to have any respectable amount of power for your amp, you need an
4-gauge wire to the trunk as a bare minimum. If you are running any Zapco Zseries
amp in you trunk you need at least a 4 gauge wire. If you want enough
power to drive woofers, you’re certainly going to need at least a 2-gauge wire to
the rear.

Read, Use, and Enjoy

www.zapco.com

Recommended Wire Gauge

Up to
20 A
35 A
50 A
60 A
85 A
105 A
125 A
150 A

You can certainly save money by buying cheap small gauge wire, but
remember...It will cost you in power and may even damage your car by passing
too much current and causing shorts or even fires. Protect your investment in
Zapco amplifiers by using high quality, proper gauge wire.

And remember... Current in the amplifier runs in a complete circuit from the
battery to the amp and back to the battery through the chassis and frame. The
ground wire us just as important as the power input wire. Positive and Negative

connections must always use the same gauge wire.

Installation Guidelines

Mounting your Reference Amplifier is easy. Keep in mind the following
guidelines:
The amplifier may be mounted in any direction, on wood, metal or carpet.
The metal case of the amplifier may be grounded or left isolated.
The amplifier requires adequate ventilation. Position the amplifier with
sufficient surrounding area for proper cooling. Keep fan and vent
endplates clear for proper internal cooling.

4 Ft

14
12
10

8
4
4
4
2

7 Ft

12
10

8
8
4
4
4
2

10 Ft

12

8
8
4
4
4
4
2

13 Ft

10

8
4
4
4
2
2
2

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16 Ft

10

4
4
4
2
2
2
0

19 Ft

8
4
4
4
2
2
0
0

22 Ft

8
4
4
4
2
2
0
0

28 Ft

8
4
4
2
0
0
0
0