Directed Audio Python 500 User manual

OWNER’S MANUAL
Models 200/500
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© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
CONGRATULATIONS
Thank you for choosing a Directed Audio
power amplifier. Directed has been the
leader in high-quality and innovative
security products in the U.S. since
1990. Now we introduce to the car
audio industry the same winning
formula - products that meet the strin-
gent standards of today’s mobile elec-
tronics enthusiast yet priced for
anyone’s budget. Featuring high-effi-
ciency MOSFET power supplies, flexible
on-board crossovers, and state-of-the-art
audio design, Directed Audio amplifiers
will satisfy every music lover’s needs for
years to come. Your Directed Audio
power amplifier comes with a two year
limited warranty if it is installed by an
authorized DEI dealer. Amplifiers not
installed by an authorized Directed
dealer are covered are covered by a one
year parts-and-labor limited warranty.
Please save your sales receipt and refer
to the warranty section of this manual
for complete details.

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© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
TABLE OF CONTENTS
High-powered car audio
systems may produce
sound pressure levels that exceed the
threshold at which hearing loss may
result.
They may also impair a driver’s ability to
hear traffic sounds or emergency vehi-
cles. Use common sense and practice
safe listening habits when listening to or
adjusting your audio system.
WARNING
Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 2
Amplifier Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 4
Amplifier Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 5
Speaker Wiring Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 6
Crossover Setting and Gain Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 8
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 9

© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
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INSTALLATION GUIDELINES
1. Please read the owner’s manual
carefully before you install the
amplifier.
2. Disconnect the battery ground
terminal prior to making any elec-
trical connections.
3. Check for any hazards or obstruc-
tions such as gas tanks, fuel or
brake lines, and wiring harnesses
before mounting the amplifiers.
4. Pick a mounting location that will
provide adequate access and venti-
lation and protect the amplifier
from heat, moisture, and dirt.
5. Avoid sharp metal areas when
routing cables to the amplifier, and
run RCA cables away from the
power cables and other potentially
noisy car harnesses.
6. The amplifier should be grounded
with a short, heavy gauge wire
connected directly to the car at a
bare metal surface. Make sure
that the metal area is part of the
car chassis or frame, not a separate
part with poor electrical connection
to the chassis.
7. Always fuse your power connection
at the battery within 8-10 inches of
the battery terminal. Use a fuse or
circuit breaker rated at about 5-10
more amps than the on board
fuse(s) of the amplifier(s). The
gauge of power wire used should
take into account the total current
draw of the system, and the length
of wire used. IASCA and other
autosound competition organiza-
tions have charts available for this;
you can also find a chart in the
MECP study guide. Minimum wire
gauge recommendations for the
individual amplifiers are listed on
the specification page. It is a good
idea to use the same gauge wire
for the amplifier ground that you
use for the power wire. Be sure to
examine the battery ground cable
of the vehicle and upgrade it to a
gauge of wire that can accommo-
date the extra load created by your
amplifier installation. Remember,
the amplifier can only deliver its
rated output when it is not current
limited by the power and ground
supply wires.
8. This amplifier is designed to drive a
speaker load that measures from 2-
4 ohms. Keep in mind that heat is
the long-term enemy of automotive
electronics and that the lower your
speaker load, the more heat

© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
INSTALLATION GUIDELINES (continued)
3
is generated. For low impedance
speaker applications or restricted
ventilation installations, an external
cooling fan may be advisable.
9. Your connections to the amplifier’s
speaker and power terminals
should be made with crimped spade
lugs, and the battery and ground
connections to the vehicle should be
made with crimped ring terminals
of the appropriate size (surface
area is what counts); soldering the
terminals after crimping is also
recommended.
10. Due to the high-frequency MOSFET
switching power supply used in all
Directed Audio amplifiers, filtering
the power cable is not generally
required (remember that the amp
can’t deliver full output if the power
supply is restricted). Proper
grounding of the signal source is
mandatory for the amplifier to
reach its performance peak. If the
RCA inputs are not grounded
adequately via the signal source,
electrical noise from the vehicle
may be picked up in the system.

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© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
1. GROUND TERMINAL - connect this
terminal to the car chassis with a
short heavy gauge wire, DO NOT
CONNECT TO THE NEGATIVE
TERMINAL OF THE CAR BATTERY or to
factory chassis ground points already
occupied by factory wires! If you are
grounding multiple amplifiers, you
may use a high-current distribution
block with proper gauge cables, or
use individual grounds for each amp
attached to the vehicle at separate
but close ground points.
2. REMOTE TERMINAL - connect this
terminal to the amplifier remote
output from your head unit or signal
source, if it provides one. You may
also use the power antenna output
wire from decks that do not have
separate amp remote outputs. This
input requires a switched +12V
signal to activate the amplifier. Do
not connect this terminal to a
constant source of +12V.
3. +12V POWER TERMINAL - connect
this terminal to the positive terminal
of the car or separate audio system
battery. Refer to the installation
guidelines and specs page for proper
gauge of wire. YOU MUST PROTECT
THIS WIRE WITH A FUSE or circuit
breaker located close to the battery.
4. POWER FUSE(s) - protects the ampli-
fier against electrical damage. DO
NOT REPLACE THE FUSE OR FUSES
WITH LARGER AMPERAGE FUSES ! If
the fuse(s) blows, check your system
for wiring problems or see your
dealer.
5. SPEAKER OUTPUT TERMINALS -
connect the speakers to these termi-
nals. Refer to the speaker wiring
diagrams (pg. 5) for different wiring
options.
AMPLIFIER CONNECTIONS
Refer to Figure 1 for details.
FIGURE 1—AMPLIFIER CONNECTIONS

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© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
1. RCA INPUT JACKS - accepts line-
level outputs from head units or
signal sources at voltages from
200 mV to 8 volts. High-grade
shielded or twisted pair RCA cables
are recommended for this input.
2. GAIN ADJUSTMENT - controls the
gain (input sensitivity) of the
amplifier. Each control sets the gain
for that half of the amplifier.
3. CROSSOVER SELECTION SWITCH -
controls the type of filter for each
of two on-board active crossovers.
LPF setting is used for low-pass
(subwoofer) output frequencies,
HPF is used for high-pass (mid-
bass/midrange) outputs. The FLAT
setting is used for full-range or
mixed stereo/mono applications.
4. BASS EQ - (model 500 only) these
switches activate an 8 dB bass
boost circuit. Use as necessary for
low frequency enhancement.
5. CROSSOVER FREQUENCY - controls
the frequency range of the ampli-
fier. Each half of the amplifier can
be set independently for optimum
performance.
6. LED INDICATOR - the green Power
LED lights to indicate normal opera-
tion. The green LED will shut off to
indicate amp shutdown due to
short circuit, DC offset, or over-
current conditions detected by on-
board protection circuits. Thermal
protection is also indicated by the
green LED shutting off.
AMPLIFIER CONTROLS
Refer to Figure 2 for details.
FIGURE 2—AMPLIFIER CONTROLS

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© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
SPEAKER WIRING DIAGRAMS
Stereo operation
Mono operation
Simultaneous stereo/mono operation (two channel shown)
For bridged two channel operation as shown in this diagram, connect right channel RCA
cables to the “Front” inputs of the amplifier, and left channel RCA cables to the “Rear”
inputs of the amplifier. For summed subwoofer applications, connect RCA cables per the
input jack marking.

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© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
CROSSOVER SETTINGS AND GAIN ADJUSTMENT
Your Directed Audio power amplifier needs to be adjusted carefully to achieve
maximum performance. These are some guidelines to follow when fine-tuning the
amplifier.
• For full-range and simultaneous stereo/mono bass applications, the crossover selec-
tion switch should be set to "FLAT". If the amplifier is driving your subwoofers, set the
switch to "LPF", and for mid-bass/midrange output, set to "HPF".
• The crossover frequency control needs to be adjusted to suit your particular system.
For subwoofer applications, try and keep the setting low enough to prevent image
smearing (you should not be able to hear male voices from the subwoofer) but not so
low as to create a gap between the subwoofer and the mid-bass/midrange speakers.
For mid-bass/midrange settings, try to keep the setting low enough to keep your
sound stage in front of you, without overdriving the speaker. It will be to your advan-
tage to spend some extra time with this adjustment, listening to familiar music or
system set-up discs to achieve the kind of musical reproduction that you prefer.
• The gain adjustment allows you to set proper signal match for clean, quiet amplifier
operation. For full-range and simultaneous stereo/mono bass applications, start by
playing some music you are familiar with. With the gain adjustment on the amplifier
in the middle of its rotation, bring up the volume on your head unit to the 3/4 volume
setting or until you start to hear distortion or clipping. If you hear distortion before
you reach the 3/4 volume setting of your head unit, reduce the gain setting on the
amplifier and start to raise the head unit volume again. When you can listen to the
music at or slightly above 3/4 on your head unit without audible distortion, slowly
raise the gain of the amplifier until distortion is heard, then back off the gain until the
distortion is not audible. This setting will allow you to reach full output with all but the
quietest of source material, while avoiding excessive noise in the system.
• The same procedure should be used for adjusting the amplifier when the on board
crossover is set to LPF or HPF, but you will also have to take into consideration the
effect that gain adjustment has on system frequency response and imaging. Again,
plan on spending some time with music that you know getting the gain and crossover
settings the way you like. Test discs and analyzers may help with this process, but in
the end it's your ears that count - listen to the music !

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© 1999 Directed Electronics, Inc
SPECIFICATIONS
RMS continuous power per channel, All channels
driven into 4 ohms from 20 to 20,000 Hz, with less
than 0.08% Total Harmonic Distortion @ 14.4 VDCC
RMS continuous power per channel, All channels
driven into 2 ohms from 20 to 20,000 Hz, with less
than 0.1% Total Harmonic Distortion @ 14.4 VDC
RMS continuous power, 2-channel operation, bridged
into 4 ohms from 20 to 20,000 Hz, with less than
0.1% Total Harmonic Distortion @ 14.4 VDC
Dynamic power rating (IHF-202 Standard) bridged
into 4 ohms
model 200 500
35 75
watts watts
50 120
watts watts
100x2 240x2
watts watts
Signal-to-Noise Ratio Greater than 95 dB
Frequency Response 20-20,000 Hz ± 0.5 dB
Damping Factor @ 4 ohm Greater than 200
Crossover Switchable high or low pass
12 dB/octave, continuously
variable from 50 to 500Hz
Bass Equalization +8 dB, centered at 40Hz
(model 500 only)
Input Impedance 20K ohms
Input Sensitivity Variable from 150 mV to 8 volt
Output Impedance 2 to 8 ohms, stereo
4 to 8 ohms, bridged
Supply Voltage 10 to 16 VDC
Fusing and Power 25A 50A
Cable Requirements (AWG) #12 #8
(Per amp, trunk mounted)
250 600
watts watts