Soundstream Rubicon 501 Programming manual

1
RUBICON
501/
PowerAmplifier
Owner’s Manual
and
Installation Guide

2
Congratulations!
You now own the Soundstream RUBICON amplifier, the product of an un-
compromising design and engineering philosophy. Your Soundstream
RUBICONamplifierwilloutperformanyotheramplifierintheworld.
Tomaximizetheperformanceof your system, we recommend that youthor-
oughlyacquaintyourselfwithitscapabilitiesandfeatures. Pleaseretainthis
manualandyoursalesreceiptforfuturereference.
Soundstreamamplifiers are the resultof American innovation andthe high-
estqualitycontrol standards. When properly installed,theywill provide you
withmany years of listeningpleasure. Should your amplifier everneed ser-
viceorreplacementduetotheft,pleaserecordthefollowinginformationwhich
willhelpprotect your investment.
ModelandSerial #
Dealer’sName
DateofPurchase
InstallationShop
InstallationDate
CAUTION!
Prolonged listening at high levels may result in hearing loss.
Eventhough yournewSoundstreamRubiconamplifiersounds
better than anything you’ve ever heard, exercise caution to
prevent hearing damage.

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Table of Contents
Design Features.............................................................p 4 - 5
Rubicon Amplifier Diagram.............................................p 6 - 7
Crossover and Phase Adjustments................................p 8
Hawkins Bass Control™ Theory and Use......................p 9 - 10
Installation: Wiring, Diagram, and BIO Port....................p 11 - 12
Installation: Mounting .....................................................p 13
Installation:LevelSettingand Front Spoiler ....................p 14
Protection Circuitry and Troubleshooting: ......................p 15
Service and Specifications .............................................p 16

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DESIGN FEATURES
¨ ¨
¨ ¨SLA/SH™ (
S peaker L oad A dapting / S ubwoofer H yper-Efficient) This
newdual function technologycurrentlyoperatesintwo differentwaysin
differentmodels. In subwoofer applicationsthepowersupplytracksthe
incomingaudiosignal and increases or decreasesitsownvoltagelevel
tomirror the input. Thisdesignresultsinenormouslow impedance, low
frequency stability and maximum efficiency, since no power is wasted
maintaininganunnecessarilyhighvoltage level in the power supply.
¨¨¨¨¨BIO™Port (
B ridging I nand O ut)Enables two identical monoamplifers
channelstobefusedtogether into a single subwoofer load withdouble
theoutputpower.
¨¨¨¨¨STACT™(
ST abilized A pex C urrent T opology)Reducespowersupply
stressby 50%. Typical designsdegradethestereoimage duetophase
reversalof even-order harmonic distortion that occurs betweenthe in-
verted channels. In the STACT design, inversion is done at the power
amplifier drive stage. Since the fully symmetrical power amplifier pro-
ducesnoeven-harmonicdistortionitself and all preamplifier circuitry is
run completely in-phase, no even harmonic distortion phase reversal
occurs.
¨¨¨¨¨Trident™Protection Topology providesthree types of protection:
1. Output protection against short circuits or improper loads.
2. Groundfaultdetection: Shutsdownthe amplifier when a significant
voltage (> 5Volts) fluctuation occurs between electrical (turn-on lead)
andbatteryground.
3. ThermalProtection: Putstheamplifierintothermalrollbackorshuts
theamplifierdown in extreme thermalconditions.
¨¨¨¨¨HawkinsBass Control-Fullyadjustable subwooferequalizatoncircuit
providingfrequency and boost(“Q”)adjustmentforoptimum subwoofer
performance. Afrequencytrackingsubsonicfilterprotectswoofersfrom
potentiallyharmfulllowfrequencyinformationandmaximizesoutputin
ausablerange.
¨¨¨¨¨Harmonic Bass Alignment™The2ndand3rd order harmonic peaks
are critically aligned to fundamental peaks at low frequencies. This
producestighter,moreaccurate bass reproduction.
¨¨¨¨¨Drive Delay II™ Amplifier section powers up 2 to 3 seconds after the
power supply eliminating turn-on and off pops. The turn off process is
reversed: Amplifiersectionturnsoff first, followed by the power supply.

5
¨¨
¨¨
¨Output Clipping Indicator indicates clipping on the output stage of
theamplifier. Monitoringtheclippingindicatorsallowstheusertoachieve
maximumSoundPressureLevelwithout clipping the amplifier.
¨¨
¨¨
¨Dynamically Optimized Power Grid™ Power grid is evenly distrib-
utedbetween primaryandsecondarypower supplies,providinggreater
dynamicsandimprovedRF filtering.
¨¨
¨¨
¨Chassisink™ All transistors are ideally located and sandwiched be-
tweenthecircuitboardand the heatsink to provide cool efficientampli-
fieroperation.
¨¨
¨¨
¨Differentially Balanced RCA Input eliminates ground loop related
noise in the audio.
¨¨
¨¨
¨Continuously Variable Crossover Network: 24dB/Octave lowpass
crossovervariablefrom 40to160 Hz.
¨¨
¨¨
¨Flexible Input Level Control allows 200 mV to 5 V input sensitivity.
¨¨
¨¨
¨Symmetrical Discrete Balanced Class A Drive Boards auto-adjust
forlinear performance while drivinglowimpedanceloads.
¨¨
¨¨
¨Removable Front Spoiler allows for stealth installation of RCA, Bal-
ancedLine,SpeakerandPowerwiring.

SUB
_
HAWKINS
PHASE
i
+l
CUP
0
-R
0
SONIC
l BASS 00~1800
CONTROL
I
1
SOUNDSTREAM
I
FUSES
+12v
GND REMOTE
-
+
2
f-----l
r
HAWKINS
1
XaOVER FREQ BOOST LEVEL INPUT
810
PORT
LP
dB
Iv
1
Sol/
IN

7
1. Power LED - Indicates amplifier power, either in High Power or Auto High
Current.
2. Clip Indicators - Indicates the signal output level is too high and the output
stage of the amplifier is clipping.
3. Phase Selector - Select between 0 or 180 degrees of output on speaker
terminals.
4.Subsonic/Hawkins Bass Control Switch - Selectable subwoofer
enhancement circuit. Select “SUB SONIC” to engage the Sub Sonic filter
with no boost. Use the knob indicated by callout #9 to set the frequency: 13-
30Hz. Select “Hawkins Bass Control” to engage the Sub Sonic filter with
available boost. Use the knob indicated by callout #9 to set the frequency:
30 Hz to 70 Hz.
5. BIO Port - RCA input and output connections for bridging two identical am-
plifiers. In BIO mode connect between the master amplifier’s 501/OUT to
the slave amplifier’s 501/IN. This will bridge the amplifiers and bypass the
preamplifier controls on the slave amplifier.
6. RCA Inputs - Right and Left channel RCA inputs.
7. Input Level - Input level control variable from 200 mV to 5 V.
8. Hawkins Bass Control “Boost” Adjustment - Varies from 0 to +9 dB of
boost when the Hawkins Bass Control circuit is engaged.
9. Subsonic/Hawkins Bass Control Adjustment - Frequencyadjustment con-
trol for the Hawkins Bass Control filter or the Sub Sonic filter.
10.Low Pass Filter Control Adjustment - Frequency adjustment control for the
Low Pass filter.
11. Speaker Connection Terminal - Speaker connections for mono channel.
12.REMOTE - Remote turn-on input from the head unit. Accepts +12V.
13. GND- Main ground connection. Bolt to a clean chassis point in the vehicle.
14.+12V - Connected to a fuse or circuit breaker, then to the battery’s positive
terminal.
15.FUSE - Main power supply fuse. Warning: Replace only with the same value
fuses!
KEY TO CALLOUTS

8
CROSSOVER & PHASE ADJUSTMENTS
TheRUBICONamplifiersincorporateanon-boardstaggered electroniccross-
over. Noexternalelectronic crossover is necessary. The lowpassportionof
the crossover can be set independently of the rest of the system.
12dB/OctaveHighPass
24dB/OctaveLowPass
In many car audio installations, there is a tendency for a “midbass boom.”
Becauseoftheirinteriordimensions, most cars will resonate or ringatthese
midbassfrequencies. If we design thesystem so there isreduced output in
this region, the final response is very smooth and natural sounding. The
Rubicon501/ has an always on low pass crossover that is independently
variablefrom40 to 160 Hzat24 dB/Octave.
Forinitial crossover setup, trysetting the low passfilter to approximately 60
Hz, and the high
pass filter on the
rest of the sytem
to approximately
100 Hz. Change
the crossover
points to accom-
modateagoodmix-
ture of frequency
response, power
handling,andper-
sonalpreference.
Phase Switch
In many car audio systems placement of the subwoofers can cause them
to be out of phase with the rest of the system. This may cause poor
subwooferperformanceduetovarying arrival times. To eliminate this the
Rubicon501/ incorporates a 0 to 180 phase switch. By playing low
frequencymusicandexperimentingwiththesubwooferphasingbetter
sound quality and bass imaging may be obtained.

Hawkins Bass Control - Theory and Use
SUB
. HAWKINS PHASE
SONIC BASS CP*1800
CONTROL
r HAWKINS 1
X*OVER
FREQ BOOST
LP
HZ
4
HAWKINS 30-70 Hz
SUBSONIC 1 J-30 Hz
Hawkins Bass Control (parametric) is a unique
subwoofer control circuit included with the
Soundstream RUBICON501/ amplifier. It is ca-
pable of removing subsonic energy in program
material while boosting subwoofer frequencies.
The circuit consists of two controls. One adjusts
the frequency of operation and the other adjusts
the range of boost. With both controls adjusted
fully counter-clockwise, no boost is applied and
the amplifier is flat in response down to 20 Hz.
FIG.BASS CONTROL
quency control (Hz) adjusts the 5
starting point of the subsonic filter. o
On the RUBICON501/ the high pass dB -5
filter has two frequency ranges.
When the bass control switch is set
to “SUB SONIC”, the high pass filter
frequency can be adjusted from 13
Hz up to a maximum of 30 Hz. In
this setting, no boost “Q” control is ,.
available. This control is useful for 5
setting the lowest frequency that your
0
subwoofer will see (see figure 1). dB 3
When the bass control switch is set
1::
to “HAWKINS BASS CONTROL”, the
-20
high pass filter frequency can be ad- -25
justed from 30 Hz to a maximum of
-301
70 Hz. In this setting, there is an
available boost control of 0 to +9 dB.
FIG. 2 VARIABLE “Q”
FIG. 3 VARIABLE HIGH PASS
-5
dB -10
The Boost control adjusts the amount
of level applied at the set frequency.
This is adjustable from flat (OdB) to +9
dB. (See figure 2)
When the Boost is set to 0, Hawkins
acts as a sub-sonic filter only. (See
figure 3) The simple act of removing
potentially harmful low frequencies can
improve system output by as much as
3 dB. (see figure 4)
FIG. 4VARIABLE BOOST
9

10
Application
Subwoofer drivers in general have
excellent power handling character-
istics over their operational band-
width. Thisbandwidthisdetermined
bymanyfactors, including driver de-
sign, and enclosure type. It is pos-
sible to overdrive any subwoofer
driver by sending powerful signals
outside of its operational bandwidth. These potentially damaging signals
can be removed by adding a subsonic filter. Figure 5 shows the effective-
ness of the Hawkins Bass Control on woofer excursion in a vented enclo-
sure. The woofer travels 7.5 mm at 10 Hz. With Hawkins Bass Control
properly adjusted, this excursion can be reduced to less than 1 mm. This is
of great benefit to lowering woofer distortion and increasing output.
Adjustment
An easy method of optimizing your existing subwoofer enclosure with
Hawkin’s “Hz” control is as follows.
1.Adjust frequency and boost control to full CCW position.
2.Set the bass control switch to “HAWKINS BASS CONTROL”.
3.While listening to music with strong bass content at a moderate level,
slowlyadjustfrequencycontrolclockwise. Listen for a reduction of bass
response.Now, rotate frequency controlslightlybackwards.Thisserves
the purpose of removing the “subsonic” bass energy.
With Soundstream’s Hawkins Bass
Control,theboostandfrequency con-
trolcanprovidevirtuallyanycombina-
tion of boost and cut to suit your de-
signs.So,Hawkins Bass Control can
providethe“tailoring” needed for any
type of “assisted” design and any
woofer in any type of installation.
FIG.5LIMITEDEXCURSION
FIG.6VARIOUSSETTINGS