408GTi 508GTi AUTOMOTIVE NEO/KEVLAR MATCHED COMPONENT SYSTEM WITH CAST FRAME INSTALLATION GUIDE Table of Contents Welcome to Club GTi .........................................................................3 About this Manual ..............................................................................3 Autosound at its Best .........................................................................3 Designing Your System ......................................................................4 Component Placement.......................................................................5 Installation Warnings and Tips ...........................................................5 Mounting Instructions .........................................................................6 Installing the GTi System Crossover ..................................................6 Woofer/Midrange Driver Mounting .....................................................7 Mounting the 408 and 508GTi Tweeter ..............................................8 Tweeter Surface Mounting Instructions ..............................................8 Tweeter Surface Angle Mounting Instructions ....................................9 Tweeter Flush Mounting Instructions ...............................................10 Tweeter Flush Angle Mounting Instructions......................................11 Wiring ...............................................................................................12 Crossover Tweeter Level Adjustment...............................................12 System Connections ........................................................................13 Speaker Break-In .............................................................................14 A Note on Power Handling ...............................................................14 In Case of Difficulty ..........................................................................14 Specifications ...................................................................................16 Thiele-Small Specifications ..............................................................17 Mounting Templates .........................................................................19 2 Welcome to Club GTi Thank you for purchasing the finest Automotive Component Systems JBL has ever produced. As a GTi Competition Series owner, you are a member of a select group of people who enjoy the most advanced mobile audio products available. We call this group "Club GTi." By sending in the customer information card, which you will find attached to your warranty, we will automatically register you as a Club GTi member which will give you access to exclusive Club GTi apparel and other special offers we will make available from time to time. We suggest you fill the card out at your earliest convenience. Also, be sure to save your sales receipt in a safe place. It will be necessary to use this document as proof of purchase in the event that you ever need warranty service. It is also useful for insurance purposes and for establishing value when you re-sell your vehicle. About This Manual Because of the performance capability of your GTi Competition Series product, and the variety of potential system configurations, we strongly recommend that you have the system professionally installed. You will also get a better warranty if your equipment is professionally installed by an authorized GTi dealer and you have your warranty card stamped. This manual provides information on installation and usage to help a skilled technician get the most from your GTi Competition Series product. This manual does not cover basic information about installation which is common knowledge to a professional installer, except for information which is unique to the 408 and 508GTi systems. If you feel you possess the necessary skills, and prefer to install the equipment yourself, this manual will provide you with the necessary specifics to properly use the 408 or 508GTi in typical installations. Consult your JBL dealer, or a qualified technician, for more information. Autosound at its Best The 408 and 508GTi systems are built to meet the same rigorous standards of construction and performance that have long established JBL's renowned home and professional speaker systems. The 408 and 508GTi Woofer/Midranges incorporate advanced JBL woven Kevlar cones which are especially suited to the unique acoustic and environmental conditions which characterize automotive sound. The 408 and 508GTi Tweeter incorporates advanced JBL pure titanium technology which is especially suited to the unique acoustic environment of modern vehicles. The 408 and 508GTi have been engineered to provide excellent power handling, good dispersion and balanced frequency response, along with minimum size and flexible installation options for optimizing placement within the vehicle. The small size of the GTi Drivers is made possible through the use of a Neodymium magnet assembly with JBL's Stray Field Containment Geometry. By 3 minimizing stray magnetic fields, this closed circuit magnetic assembly design concentrates the magnetic field on the voice coil where it provides superior performance. In the woofer/midrange drivers, this high concentration of magnetic power is coupled to a 2" Edge-wound Aluminum Wire Voice Coil on a High Temperature Fiberglass Former. This voice coil uses lightweight aluminum wire to maintain the agility to reproduce high frequencies while its large diameter and fiberglass former assures extremely high thermal power handling. Treated Kevlar fiber cones are used because of their combination of low weight, high stiffness and resistance to resonances. The 408 and 508GTi Woofer/Midranges are topped off with a treated fabric inverted dome for smooth reproduction of upper midrange frequencies. The cone motion of these high excursion designs is controlled by a Aromatic Polyamid Fiber Spider. This new material is able to control the 0.6" motion of the cone while maintaining musical 4 accuracy because it is 3 times stronger than conventional spider materials. The tweeters in the 408 and 508GTi feature domes made from pure titanium. Pure titanium has long been known to have a very high stiffness to weight ratio, making it ideal for treble reproduction. However, only JBL has "tamed" titanium through a special manufacturing process. The dome of the 408 and 508GTi Tweeter is created using special nitrogen gas cooled forming machines which can create a uniformly paper-thin dome without the workhardening or deformation which causes resonances in domes made without benefit of this process Equally important is the 408 and 508GTi crossover design. Each crossover was meticulously optimized in JBL's stateof-the-art acoustic laboratory to guarantee a seamless blend of the woofer/midrange and tweeter output. Unlike generic or general purpose crossovers, the design of the 408 and 508GTi Crossovers was performed with a full knowledge of the performance characteristics of each driver, allowing frequency, phase, and power response to be completely optimized for each combination. What does all this technology add up to? A system with ideal frequency response, excellent off axis response, and high output capability all in a small and elegant package. The result is exceptionally smooth and detailed music reproduction over the full range of frequencies and clean sound that cuts through road noise. Designing Your System The overall quality of any system design is a result of how well all of the components work together, not just the result of the performance of any one component. JBL GTi Series woofer/ midbass or subwoofer transducers are the ideal companion products to your 408 and 508GTi systems. Each of the GTi Competition Series products are designed to complement the others to provide the highest performance with the simplest and most predictable system design. To use the 408 and 508GTi as the woofer/midrange and high frequency transducers in a high quality system, we recommend you use either a high quality active crossover such as JBL's GTX47, GTX4 or GTX2 to provide optimum matching to your subwoofer or woofer/midbass loudspeaker. If you prefer passive crossovers, we recommend that you use only high quality audiophile grade film-type capacitors and Low DCR inductors to get the most out of your system. The most popular system configuration is a hybrid using an active crossover for the subwoofer to woofer/midrange crossover point, and a passive crossover for the woofer/midrange to tweeter crossover. Your GTi Competition Series Dealer is uniquely qualified to help guide you on the best system configuration for your needs. Component Placement The location of each of the loudspeakers plays a vital role in achieving proper frequency response and spacious imaging. Because the 408 and 508GTi systems have an extremely wide and smooth dispersion pattern, excellent performance may be achieved in any vehicle. Due to the wide variety of vehicles, there is not one "right" way to locate the 408 and 508GTi, however knowledge of the following considerations will help you get the most from your system: 1. The most spacious stereo image is achieved when the speakers are placed as wide apart as possible. 2. The best center image will be achieved when the distance from the left speaker to your left ear is as equal as possible to the distance from the right speaker to your right ear. This is most easily achieved by placing the 408 or 508GTi as far forward as you can. 3. The best system integration is achieved when the woofer/midrange is mounted close to the tweeter. Installing the tweeter close to the woofer/midrange helps smooth the transition from woofer/midrange to tweeter at the crossover point. 4. You will get the best frequency response when the path from the speakers to your ear is unobstructed. 5. Because of the high acoustic energy capability of the 408 and 508GTi, the woofer/midrange drivers must be securely mounted in a rigid panel which is free from resonances, rattles and air leakage. Installation Warnings and Tips · Be careful not to cut or drill into fuel tanks, fuel lines, brake or hydraulic lines, vacuum lines or electrical wiring when working on your vehicle. Inspect behind panels before you cut or drill. Be sure to check for clearance of window, cranks and linkages when mounting speakers in door panels. Do not use the speakers unmounted. Failure to securely mount this product could result in damage or injury, particularly in the event of an accident. Although the materials used on the 408 and 508GTi are inherently water resistant, do not mount the speakers where they will get wet. Always disconnect the ground wire from the battery before doing any work on the vehicle. 5 · · · · Mounting Instructions Pick a mounting location after reading the recommendations in the Component Placement section of this manual. 2. 3. Installing the GTi System Crossover The GTi system crossover should be mounted securely to prevent damage to the crossover or possible loosening of wiring connections. Choose one of the crossover mounting methods and follow the directions below: 4. 5. 6. Remove the crossover board from the plastic case. Use wire ties to secure the plastic case to the desired location as shown in Figure A. Cut off the excess plastic on the wire ties. Re-install the PCB and install wiring from the crossover to the amplifier and speaker locations as shown in Figure K. Re-install the crossover cover. 3. 4. 5. Mark 4 hole locations, drill holes and secure the bottom cover to the desired mounting location as shown in Figure B. Before starting make sure no electrical or other critical car components are located where you will be drilling. Re-install the PCB and install wiring from the crossover to the amplifier and speaker locations as shown in Figure K. Re-install the crossover cover. Note: Do not mount the GTi Crossover in a location where it can get wet, as this may cause damage to its components. MOUNTING RING ADAPTER Figure B Figure A Mounting the GTi Crossover with Wire Ties 1. Remove the crossover cover as shown in Figure L. 6 Mounting the GTi Crossover with Screws 1. Remove the crossover cover as shown in Figure L. 2. Remove the crossover board from the plastic case. Figure C WOOFER/ MIDRANGE Woofer/Midrange Driver Mounting Mounting the Woofer/Midrange to Stock Hole Locations 1. Access the stock speaker location and remove the stock speaker. The 408 and 508GTi include mounting ring adapters which allow the speaker to be mounted in standard 4" and 51/4" holes respectively. 2. Attach the mounting ring adapter to the stock location using four #8 x 11/4" screws as shown in Figure C. 3. Attach the foam gasket to the back of the woofer/midrange. Connect the speaker wire from the crossover terminals marked "W" to the speaker by either soldering (preferred) or using crimp terminals. Connect the wir ...