Audio Control EPIC-160 User manual
page 1
tm
In-Dash Bass Processor/SPL Meter
Owner’s Enjoyment Manual
Congratulations on your purchase of the world’s nest in-dash
bass restoration processor with an SPL (sound pressure level)
display. Whether this is your rst product from the rainfor-
est dwellers of AudioControl or you are already a rm believer,
you will denitely enjoy the EPIC-160. Remember, it comes from
AudioControl, the experts at bass enhancement and building SPL
displays and measurement tools.
Now before you start salivating too much just thinking about
what the EPIC-160 can add to your system, take a few minutes to
sit back, have a latté, decaffeinated if necessary, and read through
this manual. It contains lots of useful facts and information (and
besides, we spent a lot of time writing it)!!
Features Of The EPIC-160
Here are some of the cool features that are enclosed in this
magical box:
• Bass restoration circuit
• SPL display up to 160 dB
• Battery Voltage indicator
• Speaker level inputs
• Para-BASS Controls
• Balanced differential inputs
22410 70th Avenue West • Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 USA
Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 • www.audiocontrol.com
®
page 2
FEATURES AND HIGHLIGHTS
Bass Restoration: The EPIC-160 contains the most popular
bass maximization circuitry in the world made famous by The
Epicenter. This circuit accurately recreates and injects low fre-
quency information back into the signal path. What that means in
everyday terms is that the EPIC-160 will give more bass impact to
your best compact discs, MP3 tracks or even your old tapes (if you
happen to have any lying around). SPL display: AudioControl
designs and manufactures a complete line of professional real time
analyzers/SPL meters and microphone calibrators that are used by
professional sound contractors, studio engineers and are the stan-
dard measurement tools for sound-off organizations like IASCA
and USACi. It is that background that lets us equip the EPIC-160
with a 160 dB capable microphone and SPL display.
Battery Voltage Indicator: The EPIC-160 gives you the op-
tion of measuring the SPL output of your system and it also allows
monitoring of the battery voltage of your system. Wonder why
your SPL is a little lower this week versus last? Many times you
should check your cars electrical system to make sure it is still put-
ting out like it used to.
Speaker Level Inputs: If you are like most people and like
the look and features of your factory installed source unit but feel
it’s lacking power (and bass), we have good news. The EPIC-160
has a unique high impedance speaker level input that will interface
with most factory installed source units (even Bose) and let you
add ampliers and speakers to your hearts content. However, un-
like some of the cheesy LOC’s (line output converters) available,
the EPIC-160 offers a very high delity sound quality input.
Para-BASStm Equalization: The EPIC-160 will increase
your bass, and control it. The EPIC-160 uses our Para- BASS
equalization circuit to help shape the enhanced bass to match with
your speaker system.
Bulletproof Warranty: The most important
feature of all. Every AudioControl product is
selessly designed and manufactured by
the occupants of our rainforest factory.
We take every effort to ensure that
you will have many years of enjoyment out of your
page 3
EPIC-160. To ensure the performance of your new toy, we highly
recommend that you allow your authorized AudioControl dealer
to perform the installation. Not only do they have all
the right knowledge and tools, but also in the unlikely
chance the EPIC-160 should fail, we will back it
with a limited ve years parts and labor warranty.
Should you choose to install it yourself we will still
give you one-year parts and labor warranty. To
activate your warranty, you need to FILL OUT
AND SEND IN YOUR WARRANTY CARD!
We also recommend that you save your in-
voice or sales slip as proof of installation and ownership. Not only
is it necessary for warranty purposes, but should your EPIC-160
turn up “missing” some day while you are out watching the salmon
run, you will nd insurance companies are very unforgiving with-
out proof of purchase.
We interrupt your reading of this manual to provide the
impatient people with “Quick Install” information and guide-
lines:
The AudioControl EPIC-160 was designed to produce bass
like you have never heard before. With that said it is important to
take the following precautions during its use.
1. If you have an equalizer in your system, turn down any
bass tone controls and initally use the EPIC-160 to pump up
your bass. Otherwise, the results could be, shall we say... inter-
esting.
2. You will want to reduce any bass tone control, loudness
control, or other secondary bass controls prior to turning on the
EPIC-160. Once your system is up and running, you may then
opt to use them again, although we doubt it!
3. Good bass response requires an appropriate choice of speakers
and amplication. Since the bass frequencies always require
more power and cone area than higher frequencies...BE PRE-
PARED. Small speakers (smaller than 6x9 or 8”) and lack of
power will be detrimental to your system (and themselves).
Now back to your previously interrupted Owner’s Enjoyment
Manual
page 4
Quick Install Information
The EPIC-160 needs to be installed in the signal path between
a source unit and an external amplier(s). Although it can be in-
stalled after an equalizer, it must be installed BEFORE A CROSS-
OVER.
Once this is done, you need to hook up + 12 volt power, -12
volt ground, remote turn-on, and connect the illumination wire.
If you need to know more, then read on. Heck, if you don’t think
you need to know more, you should still read on, because you can
never know too much.
FACTORY SETTINGS
Shipped Options Page #
Para-BASS
Frequency Center 40Hz 27-63Hz 9
Para-BASS Bandwidth Wide Range from 30-250Hz 9
Input Grounding Balanced Unbalanced 7
Ground Isolation Isolated 200ohm or Ground 7
Choice of beverage Micro-brew Latté 16
Note: Moving jumpers or adjusting the Para-BASS controls
can change these congurations.
Figure 1: Basic EPIC-150 System
page 5
A GUIDED TOUR OF THE EPIC-160
The Front Panel
➊Bass Restoration Control a.k.a. “The Knob”: This knob
controls how much of the restored bass is added to your audio signal.
Being that it is a knob, this means you can SLOWLY increase or
decrease the amount of processed bass. (Read as: LISTEN FIRST,
CRANK SECOND!)
➋Restoration: By pushing in this switch you engage the bass
restoration circuit.
➌Para-BASS Controls: These two knobs control the Para-
BASS equalization functions of the EPIC-160. The “Frequency”
knob allows you to select the center frequency that you want the
EPIC-160 bass maximization circuit to affect. The “Width” knob
adjusts how wide of a range around the center frequency the EPIC-
160 will affect.
➍dB/Volts: Although this sounds like a new heavy metal group,
this switch allows you to select whether the display on your EPIC-
160 is showing SPL levels in dB (decibels) or electrical levels in
volts. Rock on!
➎Peak Hold: If you ever got high score on Space Invaders but
nobody was there to watch, you know what this switch is for. When
engaged, the display on your EPIC-160 will show the highest SPL or
voltage reading that it measured (as long as your EPIC-160 is turned
on).
➏ SPL/Voltage Display: This super bright display will show ei-
ther the sound pressure levels or battery voltage depending on where
the dB/Volts switch is set.
➐Bass Restoration Indicator: If this light is ashing, your car
should be bump’n!
➑High SPL Warning Indicator: Since you will probably
brush over our warning about SPL and potential hearing damage,
this indicator light comes on at 120 dB to give you a gentle warning
about how loud your system is.
➒160 dB Microphone: Behind this tiny little hole is the micro-
phone element that measures your systems SPL. Should you wish to
have very low readings make sure you cover this opening.
Figure 2: EPIC-160 Front Panel
➊➋➌➍➎ ➏ ➐ ➑ ➒
page 6
Figure 4: Top view of EPIC-160
➊ ➋ ➌
➍
➏
➎
page 7
The Top View
➊Power Connections: This nifty connector is a godsend
to anyone who has tried to wire up their gear with their head
crammed under the dash. You can wire up the power, ground, re-
mote turn-on, and illumination from the convenience of the driv-
er’s seat and then casually plug it in the back of your EPIC-160.
➋ Outputs: These RCA connectors should be connected to
the next component after the EPIC-160, such as a crossover, equal-
izer, or amplier. Just remember, for maximum performance the
EPIC-160 must go before any crossovers!
➌Inputs: The EPIC-160 has two sets of quick inputs, MAIN
and SPEAKER LEVEL. These inputs should get their signals
from the main source unit/head unit and should attach to either
RCA jacks or speaker leads that are coming out of your source
unit.
Selector
➍ Input Grounding: For most systems you can leave this
jumper set in the BALANCED position. In some systems, the
source unit may look for a ground through the RCA connection to
the amplier and create a ground loop, which in turn can cause a
whine in your system (we are not talking about Pinot Noir). In that
event, you should go ahead and change the jumpers to the UN-
BALANCED position.
➎Illumination Selection: These jumpers let you switch the
backlight illumination from green to amber. Given our devotion to
protect the Rainforest, the EPIC-160 is shipped in the green mode.
➏Ground Isolation Selector: Occasionally alternator whine
may appear in a system because the source unit and amplier are
using different grounding schemes. To help in this situation, we
have provided alternative grounding connections. Make sure your
page 8
The Story Behind
The Epicenter Bass Restoration
Technology
Now that you have purchased the EPIC-160 you may ask
yourself, “Why would I need to restore bass?” The truth is that
during the recording process, low frequency information can be
“mixed” down or ltered out during the recording process. It’s not
that recording engineers are out to get you; in fact they are look-
ing out for your best interest and are concerned that many speakers
systems can not handle “truly” low bass information.
The circuit inside the EPIC-160 is designed to reproduce
the low frequency information by looking at the upper frequency
ranges and detecting musical harmonics. These harmonics then
allow The Epicenter circuitry to drop a few octaves and reproduce
the “missing” bass notes.
The bottom line is that The Epicenter technology gives you
deep, body shuddering, heart stopping bass. Can you handle it?
Figure 5: How The Epicenter Circuitry Works
page 9
HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY KNOW
ABOUT SPL LEVELS?
Before you go out and design yourself a 140 dB plus SPL
monster, you might want to consider the following:
Nuclear Explosion 200 dB +
Airplane Engine take off at 100 feet 140 dB
Jack Hammer 130 dB
Normal conversation speech 60 dB
If you have dreams of rocking around your neighborhood,
blowing away Mr. Rogers and all your friends with decibel levels
of 160 or higher, you might think twice. In fact, in many areas
if your place of employment is louder than 85 dB, your boss is
obligated to provide you with ear protection. Therefore, should you
choose to expose yourself to SPL greater than 100 dB by cranking
up your system, you should utilize some sort of ear protection.
Now we don’t want to rain on your parade or discourage you
from “letting it loose”, but do be careful with your ears because
like your brain cells, once your hearing is gone, it don’t come back.
Of course always avoid inhaling, especially through your ears.
Since many of you get caught listening to your music, we have
equipped your EPIC-160 with a warning LED that comes on when
it measures sound pressure levels greater than 120 dB. Above 120
dB you must use hearing protection to avoid damage!
INSTALLING THE EPIC-160
Up to this point everything you have read has served to edu-
cate you on the operations of the EPIC-160. We are sure that you
are chomping at the bit to install the EPIC-160 so we recommend
you read the following sections very carefully.
A. Placement & Mounting Of The EPIC-160
Placement: By denition, the EPIC-160 in-dash proces-
sor was designed to be installed on or near the dashboard of most
cars. Regardless of where you “physically” install the EPIC-160, it
needs to be placed in the signal path as close to your source unit as
possible; denitely BEFORE any crossover circuit.
page 10
Mounting: The EPIC-160 is exible enough to mount almost
anywhere, although somewhere on the dash or in a center console
is the most logical. You will want to be able to access it while you
are sitting in the driver’s seat of your vehicle. The EPIC-160 is de-
signed to be mounted almost anywhere in a vehicle, although it is
recommended to avoid hot spots like the rewall, engine compart-
ment, or tail pipe. The mounting location must also be safe from
water seepage or areas with bad seals (rubber gaskets, not sleek
furry mammals who eat salmon). If there are old (or new) water
stains, stay away. We have provided brackets to assist you in
mounting the EPIC-160 chassis under your dashboard or wherever
you may choose. The screw holes on the EPIC-160 chassis also al-
low for easy installation underneath a radio or with a dash kit. It is
of utmost importance to mount the EPIC-160 securely to avoid any
undue stress or breakage from over acceleration or braking.
B. EPIC-160 Power Wiring
• ENLIGHTENING INFO • Disconnect the negative termi-
nal of your car’s battery before working on any electrical connec-
tions. Failure to do so could lead to a dramatic spark in your life.
Remote Turn-On: Connect a 22 to 18 gauge wire from the
head-unit’s remote turn-on to the “Remote” connector on the
EPIC-160.
Positive (+12V) Connection: Insert an 18 gauge or larger
wire into the connector labeled “Power” on the nifty connector
of your EPIC-160. Connect it to a good, fused (1 amp), constant
source of 12 volts (we suggest the battery.)
Ground Connection: Use the same gauge wire as you did for
the positive connector and run it from the “Ground” connector on
the EPIC-160 to the negative terminal of the battery, a ground buss,
or a veried ground location. The factory head unit ground is NOT
recommended.
Illumination: The connector labeled “Illumination” on your
EPIC-160 controls the backlighting of your unit. If you run a wire
from this connector to a switched 12-volt source, such as the “Re-
mote” turn on wire on your source unit, you light up the backlight-
ing on the EPIC-160. A better idea is to connect the illumination
wire to a factory dash light dimmer and you now have the ability to
dim the backlighting of the EPIC-160 with your dash lights.
page 11
C. EPIC-160 Audio Wiring
Planning: As you may already have guessed, there are
numerous ways to congure the EPIC-160 in your audio system.
Spend a little quality time planning out your system and even
sketching it out on paper if you can. The following diagrams are
just a few of the system options:
Figure 7: EPIC-160 with EQX
Figure 8: EPIC-160 with THREE.1
Figure 9: EPIC-160 with factory installed source unit
page 12
Figure 10: EPIC-160 with EQS and 4-channel source unit
Adjusting the Para-BASS Controls
The bass response in a system is affected by four factors (1)
the acoustics of the vehicle, (2) the location of the speakers, and
(3) the music on the tape, CD, or source unit, and (4) ampliers,
speakers and speaker enclosures. Because of the variations in the
recording process, we developed the EPIC-160 to help restore any
low frequencies lost during the recording process. However, the
acoustics of various environments are different. With this in mind
our coffee-laden engineers developed the unique Para-BASS TM
system.
The “Frequency” control allows you to select a center fre-
quency (the frequency most affected) between 27 and 63 Hz. The
“Width” control then allows you to control the shape of the lter
centered on the “Frequency”. You will want to use a real time ana-
lyzer or a good set of ears to set this control.
TROUBLESHOOTING
No Power: If the Power LED on your EPIC-160 will not turn
on, check to make sure that the power wire and remote turn on
wires are connected or a fuse has not blown.
No Bass Restoration: When your system is playing and yet
you don’t hear any difference in the sound, trying turn the knob
clockwise. If you still don’t hear any affect, then check to make
sure that you have the EPIC-160 in the right part of the signal
chain. It must be installed BEFORE any crossovers in the system.
Note: If you are using a source unit with a built in crossover
or processor, you must run a full range output to the EPIC-160’s
inputs.
page 13
Sounds Distorted: Should your system sound distorted or
your speakers are moving way too much, you should decrease the
amount of bass restoration by turning the dash control knob coun-
ter clockwise.
No Display: The display on your EPIC-160 should always
be showing either the systems SPL or the battery voltage. If the
display is showing nothing, see the above section on “No Power”.
IF YOU LIKE THE EPIC-160,
YOU’LL LOVE...
The EQL Concert Series is our award winning dual band-
width, trunk mount equalizer. Thirteen full octave and 1/2-octave
spaced bands help tame even the most wicked acoustical environ-
ment, your car. Need a crossover and an equalizer. The EQX Con-
cert Series is just the ticket.
The 3XStm is a 4 channel, 2-
way crossover with breathtakingly
steep 24dB per octave slopes. If
performance is important to you,
then you will appreciate the 3XS.
If more signal voltage is
necessary in your system, don’t
feel alone. Many customers have
added Overdrive or Matrix line drivers and felt like they had new
ampliers in their systems.
Do you want to make your
home audio system sound just as
good as your car audio system?
Good news! AudioControl makes
a complete line of products signal
processors that do the same amaz-
ing things for your home audio or
theater system.
page 14
And now a word from the legal department...
THE WARRANTY
People are scared of warranties. Lots of ne print. Months
of waiting around. Well, fear no more, this warranty is designed to
make you rave about us to your friends. It’s a warranty that looks
out for you and helps you resist the temptation to have your friend,
“...who’s good with electronics”, try to repair your AudioControl
product. So go ahead, read this warranty, and then take a few days
to enjoy the EPIC-160 before sending in the warranty card and
comments.
“Conditional” doesn’t mean anything ominous. The Federal
Trade Commission tells all manufacturers to use the term to indi-
cate that certain conditions have to be met before they’ll honor the
warranty. If you meet all of these conditions, we will warrant all
materials and workmanship on the EPIC-160 for one year from
the date you bought it (ve years if it is installed by an authorized
United States AudioControl dealer). We will x or replace it, at our
option, during that time.
Here are the conditional conditions:
1. You have to ll out the warranty card and send it to us within 15
days after purchasing the EPIC-160.
2. You must keep your sales receipt for proof of purchase showing
when and from whom the unit was bought. We’re not the only
ones who require this, so it’s a good habit to get into with any
major purchase.
3. Your EPIC-160 must have originally been purchased from an
authorized AudioControl dealer. You do not have to be the
original owner, but you do need a copy of the original sales slip.
4. You cannot let anybody who isn’t: (A) the AudioControl factory;
(B) somebody authorized in writing by AudioControl to service
your EPIC-160. If anyone other than (A) or (B) messes with
your EPIC-160, that voids your warranty.
page 15
5. The warranty is also void if the serial number is altered or re-
moved, or if the EPIC-160 has been used improperly. Now that
sounds like a big loophole, but here is all we mean by it.
Unwarranted abuse is: (A) physical damage (don’t use the EPIC-
160 for a jack stand); (B) improper connections (120 volts into
the power jack can fry the poor thing); (C) sadistic things. This
is the best mobile product we know how to build, but if you
mount it to the front bumper of your car, something will go
wrong.
6. If an authorized United States AudioControl dealer installs the
EPIC-160, the warranty is ve years.
Assuming you conform to 1 through 6, and it really isn’t all
that hard to do, we get the option of xing your old unit or replac-
ing it with a new one.
LEGALESE SECTION
This is the only warranty given by AudioControl. This war-
ranty gives you specic legal rights that vary from state to state.
Promises of how well the EPIC-160 will perform are not implied
by this warranty. Other than what we have covered in this war-
ranty, we have no obligation, express or implied. Also, we will not
be obligated for direct or indirect consequential damage to your
system caused by hooking up the EPIC-160.
Failure to send in a properly completed warranty card negates
any service claims.
© 2003, AudioControl, a division of Electronic Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc. All
rights reserved
page 16
© 2003, AudioControl, a division of Electronic Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc.
All rights reserved
AudioControl, Making Good Stereo Sound Better, Performance Match, The Epicenter,
EQL, EQX, and EPIC-160 are all trademarks of Electronic Engineering and Manufactur-
ing, Inc.
This literature was conceived, designed, and written on a bleak, windy, and dreary rain-
drenched day at our home in the Pacic Northwest Rainforest. The wheat beer was cold
and so was the weather.
P/N 9130720 Rev. 311
®making good stereo sound better®
22410 70th Avenue West
Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043
Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166
www.audiocontrol.com
®
THE EPIC-160 SPECIFICATIONS
All specications are measured at 14.4 VDC (standard auto-
motive voltage). As technology advances, AudioControl reserves
the right to continuously change our specications, like our weath-
er, although we are working on it.
Maximum input level .......................................................... 15 Vrms
Maximum output level ....................................................13.5 Vpeak
Frequency response ........................................10Hz-100kHz;+/-1dB
Total harmonic distortion ......................................................0.003%
Signal to Noise ratio .............................................................- 130dB
Balanced input noise rejection ................................................. 60dB
Microphone acoustical level ...................................70 dB to 160 dB
High SPL Warning ................................................................ 120 dB
Input Impedance ............................................................... 10 Kohms
Output Impedance ............................................................ 160 Ohms
Power supply ................................................. High headroom PWM
Power draw ........................................................................... 300mA
Recommended fuse rating ...................................................... 1 Amp
Size ............................................................... 6.75” W x 5” D x 1” H
Weight ....................................................................................... 2 lbs
Table of contents
