CONTENTS (click on a topic to view) Congratulations Features and Specifications Mounting Mounting Wiring Wiring Functions Functions System Tuning System Tuning System Tuning System Tuning System Tuning Frequency Distribution Frequency / Q Selection Code Frequency / Q Selection Code System One System Two System Three Troubleshooting Block Diagram Warranty PAR 245 5 Band Equalizer / Preamp OWNERS MANUAL POWER CLASS TM Congratulations and thank you..... for choosing PrecisionPower audio epuipment. At PrecisionPower we proudly design, engineer and manufacture audio products at our facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Our award winning engineering team utilizes innovative technology to consistently deliver Absolutely State of the Art performance, sound quality, reliability, and value. This PrecisionPower product reflects our commitment to offer you unparalleled versatility and quality for years of dependable service and listening enjoyment. TM S ervice Do not attempt to service PrecisionPower products yourself. Performing exploratory surgery on your audio equipment yourself will void the warranty. Many parts of your PrecisionPower gear are custom built to our specifications. Our factory parts are not made available to anyone else nor are they for sale. Our goal is to make sure that your PrecisionPower product will always sound as good as the day it was purchased. Contact your authorized PrecisionPower dealer about obtaining any warranty service through PrecisionPower.(See Warranty insde back cover) F O R YO U R R E C O R D S : Model Serial Number Purchase Date C aution! The extended use of a high powered audio system may result in hearing loss or damage. While PrecisionPower systems are capable of "Concert Level" volumes with incredible accuracy, they are also designed for you to enjoy at more reasonable levels all of the sonic subtleties created by musicians. Please observe all local sound ordinances. BACK TO CONTENTS FEATURES / SPECIFICATIONS 5 Band Parametric Equalizer Preamp Line Driver Choice of 16 Selectable Frequency/Q Settings for Each Band Front and Rear Outputs with Fader Control Dual Selectable Illumination Center-Detented Boost/Cut Controls ±15 dB Boost/Cut for Each Band Defeat Switch Gold-plated RCA Input and Output Connectors PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) Power Supply Independent L & R Input Gain Adjustments Input Clip Indicator Designed and Handcrafted in the U.S.A. Specifications Signal-to-Noise Ratio Total Harmonic Distortion (1 kHz, 1 VRMS) Boost/Cut Range Equalizer Center Frequencies and Q Values: Band Frequency Sub (30 - 66 Hz) Low (90 - 300 Hz) Low-Mid (430 - 900 Hz) High-Mid (950 Hz - 4.6 kHz) Treble (6 - 16 kHz) Maximum Input Voltage (Flat) Maximum Output (10 k Load) Frequency Response Supply Voltage Dimensions 110 dB 0.002% ±15 dB Q Value 2.0 - 3.0 3.0 - 5.5 2.5 - 4.5 2.5 - 6.0 1.3 - 3.3 10 VRMS 10 VRMS 3 to 100 kHz 9 - 15 VDC 4.60" L 6.75" W 0.95" H 1 BACK TO CONTENTS MOUNTING Mounting To prevent damage to the PAR-245 while driving, mount it in a secure place. Choosing the appropriate location will depend upon your vehicle and the complexity of your system design. Typical mounting locations for your new PAR-245 would be in the dash or center console. Never mount the component in a location that would subject it to immersion or exposure to water. Once a location has been chosen, securely mount the PAR-245 using the two supplied brackets. There are two different sets of brackets included with your PAR-245. One set is used to flush mount the PAR245, as shown above. The other set is used to surface mount, as shown on the next page. The brackets are connected to the equalizer/ preamp by two 6-32 x 1/4" socket head cap screws. We have made the brackets adjustable to compensate for the uniqueness of each vehicle. Be Careful! Inspect the area underneath to be sure you are not drilling into wires, etc. that could be damaged by the drill bit or screws. 2 BACK TO CONTENTS MOUNTING R L R L R L In-C lip Dimensions 6.75"W 4.60" L 0.95"H R L R L R L In-C lip + + + + + R L R L R L In-C lip + + + + + 3 BACK TO CONTENTS WIRING eject 1 5 BASS VOLUME LEFT TREBLE TRACK RIGHT FOWARD REVERSE PPI 2 6 3 7 4 8 Trk 1 MAR KET ING DPT BALANCE Volume Power In-Clip F R + + + + + Fader Defeat Sub Low Low-Mid High-Mid Treble PAR-245 NOTE Before beginning, disconnect the negative (-) terminal of the battery prior to working on the positive (+) terminal to prevent a short to ground. This is important, unless you want to spend the rest of your life with a nickname like "Sparky," or "Smokey." Reconnect the negative terminal only after all connections have been made. 4 BACK TO CONTENTS WIRING The next step is to connect the Power, Ground, and Remote wires to your PAR-245. The power wire should run from the mounting location through the vehicle to the battery or power distribution block. Avoid sharp corners, creases, and sharp body parts. When passing through any metal wall (i.e. firewall etc.), a grommet must be used to prevent the wire from chaffing and shorting to ground. The ground wire should be of the same gauge as the power wire. As a rule of thumb, use as short a length of wire as possible. Find a location near the equalizer that is metal (the floor is ideal) and clean an area about the size of a quarter to bare metal. Drill a pilot hole in the middle of this area. Be Careful! Inspect the area underneath to be sure you are not drilling into wires, brake or fuel lines, etc. Terminate the wire with a ring connector and attach it to the bare metal using a #8 sheet metal screw and washer (not supplied). We suggest crimping and/or soldering this connection. After the connection is complete, coat the area with silicone or some similar material to Powerlock prevent rust from developing. Finally, the remote wire needs to Remote Power Ground run to the power antenna (or amplifier remote) lead of the head unit. This wire supplies a 12 volt signal to the PAR-245 when the T/O B+ main system is activated. Once you have routed the power, ground, and remote wires through the vehicle, it is time to connect the wires to the PAR-245. Be sure that you have not reconnected the ground cable to the negative post of the battery. Cut off excess wire and, using wire strippers, strip the power, ground and remote cables about 1/8 inch. Locate the power, ground, and remote Powerlock connector (supplied). On the top of the connector are three slotted screws. With a small flat-bladed screwdriver, loosen the screws before attempting to insert the cables. After you have inserted the stripped end of each cable into the connector, secure it by tightening the associated screw. Check that each connection is tight. If the wires are secure, the connector may be plugged into the PAR-245. 5 BACK TO CONTENTS FUNCTIONS 1. Input Gold plated RCA inputs. Plug in the RCA cables from the source unit here. 2. Rear Output Gold plated RCA outputs. Plug in the RCA cables to your rear channel amplifier here. 3. Front Output Gold plated RCA outputs. Plug in the RCA cables to your front channel amplifier here. 4. LED Select Push this switch IN for Red Illumination, Leave it OUT for Green. 5. Power After connecting the Power, Ground and Remote wires, plug in the PowerLock connector here. 6, 7. Left and Right Input Sensitivity Sets Left and Right input gain to match the output level from the source unit. (See Page 8) 8. Frequency Adjust Set the Frequency/Q combination for each band with these switches. See the Frequency/Q Selection Codes on pages 14 and 15. 6 BACK TO CONTENTS FUNCTIONS + + + + + 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1. Power LED Red light indicates power on. 2. Input Clip Input-Clip indicator lights when the PAR-245 is overdriven. With the source unit at 3/4 full volume, adjust the input sensitivity so that the light blinks only on very loud material. 3. Volume Leave the source unit at 3/4 full volume, and use this control as the Master volume control. 4. Fader Controls the output level to Front and Rear. 5. Defeat Switch With the switch in the OUT position, the equalizer controls are bypassed. Use this switch to compare the sound with and without equalization. 6. Sub Subwoofer band (30 Hz - 66 Hz) Boost/Cut control. 7. Low Low band (90 Hz - 300 Hz) Boost/Cut control. 8. Low-Mid Low Midrange band (430 Hz - 900 Hz) Boost/Cut control. 9. High-Mid High Midrange band (960 Hz - 4.6 kHz) Boost/Cut control. 10. Treble Treble band (6 kHz - 16 kHz) Boost/Cut control. 7 BACK TO CONTENTS SYSTEM TUNING System Gain Adjustment In order to achieve maximum signal-to-noise performance from a high quality auto stereo system, it is desirable to use high signal levels wherever possible in the interconnect cables. High signal levels will reduce the effect of induced noise. The peak level of an audio signal is usually determined by the clipping level of electronic components. The following procedure should be used as a guide before the system installation is completed. Adjustment of source unit output and PAR-245 input: 1. Turn PAR-245 volume control fully counterclockwise. 2. Turn source unit volume 1/2 to 3/4 of maximum. 3. Adjust all PAR-245 input gains fully counterclockwise. 4. Play a CD or cassette. A loud music selection is desired. 5. Adjust the left input gain control clockwise until the input clip LED lights. Then adjust the control counterclockwise slightly until the LED doesn't light. This setting will minimize system background noise and prevents overloading the PAR-245. 6. Repeat Step 5 for the right input gain control. There are separate left and right gain adjustments for each input which allows left/right balance adjustments. Adjusting amplifier input gains: 1. Adjust gains to minimum sensitivity (fully counterclockwise on the gain control of a PPI amplifier.) 2. Turn the volume knob on the PAR-245 to the 3 o'clock position. 3. Increase the gain on the amplifier until the onset of audible distortion. 4. Repeat step 3 for any remaining amplifiers in the system. NOTE: In many multi-amplifier systems, the gain of some amplifiers may need to be further decreased to achieve tonal balance. 8 BACK TO CONTENTS SYSTEM TUNING Parametric Operation The PAR-245 Equalizer/Preamp puts an incredible amount of control at your fingertips. Correctly adjusted, it can solve many of the problems you will encounter along your road to perfect sound. By following these guidelines, you will avoid common pitfalls in system tuning and get your sound quickly dialed in. We recommend that you use a Real Time Analyzer (RTA) to speed things up, but it is possible to tune your system without it. It is important to understand what your equalizer actually controls to be able to use it effectively. On the face of the PAR-245 are five Boost/ Cut controls each corresponding to a range of frequencies. On the top are the five sets of Frequency/Q Selection switches to adjust for each Boost/Cut control on the front of the PAR-245 (See the chart on pages 14 and 15 for Frequency/Q selection.) Q is an indication of how wide or narrow the adjusted bandwidth is. A low Q will affect a wide range of frequencies around the selected center frequency resulting in a gently curved shape, while a high Q affects a narrow band resulting in a peaked shape as shown below. 9 BACK TO CONTENTS SYSTEM TUNING NOTE: If you are using the PAR-245 as well as another equalizer (like the DEQ-230 or PMQ-210) Go to step 11. 1) The first step is to locate a suitable source of "pink noise." A good choice would be the current IASCA competition reference disc. Also, some RTAs have a built-in pink noise source. Ideally, the pink noise should play through your head unit, allowing you to compensate for any frequency response changes caused by it, or anything else, before the amplifiers. 2) Next, place the microphone from the RTA in the driver's seat at approximately head level. Initially, set the analyzer to read at 3dB per step, and set the speed of the RTA's readout to medium. Turn on your system and start the pink noise. Raise or lower the volume until you can see all (or most) of your frequency response on the RTA scale (a little above or below is OK). Make sure all of the equalizer's frequency controls are centered and look at the RTA screen. 3) You are trying to achieve a target frequency response, or "curve" that reflects your preference. You might think that a perfectly straight line would be best, but it really doesn't sound very good. Instead, shoot for a curve that starts about 9 dB up at the low frequencies (25 Hz to about 100 Hz) dropping gently to 0 dB in the midrange (250 Hz to 3 kHz), then dropping gently to -9 dB at 16 kHz and 20 kHz. PPI RTA 12 09 06 03 00 03 06 09 12 THIRD OCTAVE REAL TIME SPECTRUM ANALYZER 25 31.5 40 50 63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1K 1.25K 1.6K 2K 2.5K 3.15K 4K 5K 6.3K 8K 10K 12.5K 16K 20K 10 BACK TO CONTENTS SYSTEM TUNING 4) If electronic crossovers are u ...