Contents MISSION STATEMENT ........................................................................ 3 C2K INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 4 CUSTOMIZING YOUR COMPETITION 2000 SERIES AMPLIFIER....... 5 MADE IN AMERICA ............................................................................. 6 OUR DEDICATION TO SONIC PURITY REQUIRES THE HIGHEST OF QUALITY IN INTERNAL COMPONENT PARTS .................................. 7 SYMBILINKTM BALANCED SYSTEM................................................... 9 SPECIFICATIONS YOU CAN HEAR ...................................................10 A WORD ABOUT "WEIGHTED" SPECIFICATIONS ...........................11 WARNINGS.........................................................................................12 INSTALLATION GUIDELINES ............................................................13 COMPETITION 2000 KEY FEATURES ...............................................14 THE COMPETITION 2000 TWO CHANNEL AMPS .............................15 2 CHANNEL CONTROLS....................................................................17 POWER ENDPLATE CONTROLS.......................................................19 12V HOOKUP......................................................................................19 C2K-1.0X POWER VS. DISTORTION AND SPECIFICATIONS ...........20 C2K-2.0X POWER VS. DISTORTION AND SPECIFICATIONS ...........22 C2K-3.0X POWER VS. DISTORTION AND SPECIFICATIONS ...........24 C2K-6.0X POWER VS. DISTORTION AND SPECIFICATIONS ...........26 C2K CROSSOVER RESPONSE..........................................................28 1 THE COMPETITION 2000 4 CHANNEL AMPS ...................................29 4 CHANNEL CONTROLS....................................................................31 POWER ENDPLATE CONTROLS.......................................................33 12V HOOKUP......................................................................................33 C2K-2.5X POWER VS. DISTORTION AND SPECIFICATIONS ...........34 C2K-4.0X POWER VS. DISTORTION AND SPECIFICATIONS ...........36 CUMULATIVE ERROR........................................................................38 CLASS D FOR THE AUDIOPHILE ......................................................39 CLASS D CONTROL PLATE FEATURES...........................................41 CLASS D AMPLIFIER WARNINGS.....................................................42 SYSTEM DIAGRAMS..........................................................................43 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.................................................................56 2 Mission Statement Committed to excellence ZAPCO is dedicated to the pursuit of audio fidelity. Our prime objectives are to design and manufacture audio products of unsurpassed quality, to provide unparalleled support and service for these products and to conduct business in a manner that will enhance the quality of life for all involved. Experience: Knowledge from doing There is absolutely no substitute for experience; that is a simple fact of life. Another simple fact is that ZAPCO has, for over twenty five years, been the leader in defining quality standards for the car audio industry. These years of experience have led to a thorough understanding of the challenges that are unique to the world of car audio. ZAPCO's relentless quest for sonic purity consistently yields imaginative designs that utilize the most innovative technologies. The resulting products set the criteria by which all others in the industry are judged. 3 C2K Introduction The ZAPCO Competition 2000 Series Amplifiers Thank you for considering ZAPCO and congratulations on your purchase of our Competition 2000 series product. The ZAPCO competition series has long been considered the finest sound quality amplifier for competitive use. For the year 2000, we once again raise the bar and take the quest for sonic purity to its next level. Our new Competition chassis and updated circuit design have not only brought improved cosmetics and more features to the line, they have done what many thought was impossible. They have actually improved the sonic performance of the competition series. In one of the many rave reviews of ZAPCO products last year, one writer stated that ZAPCO's circuit design and construction quality were "head and shoulders" above the competition. We can only imagine what they'll be saying this year. In developing this manual, we have tried to include all the technical information needed to properly install and use the product. We have also included a good deal of information which we hope will help you understand what makes our Competition series different from all other products, and why we at ZAPCO believe it's worth the time, money, and effort to design and build our amps and processors the way we do. We hope you will read and enjoy the manual in its entirety, that you will have many years of musical pleasure from the product. If you should have any questions or comments, they will be both welcome and appreciated. You can contact us on the net at www.zapco.com or by phone at (209) 577-4268. Thank you, from all of us at ZAPCO. 4 Customizing Your Competition 2000 Series Amplifier Our new Competition 2000 series amps provide the ultimate in sonic purity and audio performance. We felt they should also provide the ultimate in cosmetic integration. The four trim panels (two on top and one on each side) of the competition amps may be changed by your dealer to color match any car or to match any installation need. They can be replaced with virtually any "Formica", or laminate, or by any of a number of custom metal finishes available from ZAPCO. Check with your dealer to see the various finishes available from ZAPCO and any custom finishes he might offer individually. Since replacement of the panels requires some disassembly, we highly recommend that it be performed only by an authorized dealer. Improper re-assembly could result in voiding of the warranty. 5 Made In America Now just what does this mean and why does it matter? We ask this question because we believe it matters a great deal. We know others think it matters also, because it's plastered on so many boxes. However, before we look at why it matters, let's ask what it means. If a product comes into this country complete except for a couple of screws that hold on a cover plate, should it be called "Made in America"? We don't think so! If a company hides its origin of manufacture, you know there's a reason. Usually it's that the quality is so poor that they need the "Made in America" claim to make the sale. Are foreign products inferior? Of course not! Most car audio manufacturers have products built all over the world, and they are fine products. However, if you look at the boxes they come in, each box will tell you exactly where the product in that box was made. These companies let their reputation stand or fall on the quality of what they produce. If you make a quality product you don't have to trick people into buying it with dishonest labels. Why do we want to protect the "Made in America" label? The concept of "Made in America" speaks directly to our ability to control the quality and performance of the products we sell. It means that we make our products here, top to bottom, in Modesto, CA. We don't just sell amps and processors. We conceive, design, test, and manufacture every amp and processor we sell, ourselves. We build up all our own circuit boards on our own surface mount machines. We wind most of our power supply transformers right here at the factory. We even have our own heat sink extruded so our own machine shop can build the chassis and our screener can then screen them. We use 5532 and Bur Brown op-amps in our products and 1% metal film resisters throughout. When Auto Sound and Security reviewed our amp, they felt these better components played a major part in our superior sound quality. Why don't other companies use the same quality parts? As the reviewer put it "You don't see these used very often because they cost more". At ZAPCO, we will not sacrifice our sound quality or engineering integrity to save on production cost. We fully intend to continue building the finest car audio electronics money can buy. We can only do that by putting the finest quality components we can find inside the product. How do we know these components go into our products? We put them in ourselves. Because we build it all ourselves we can guarantee the quality control of every product ZAPCO sells. 6 Our Dedication to Sonic Purity Requires the Highest of Quality in Internal Component Parts · Resistors All resistors (other than power resistors) are 1-% precision, low noise metal film. This is a key reason why ZAPCO products have the industries' best noise specifications, and why you won't see as much fluctuation in our test certificates as you will in others. Precision resistors also reduce distortion and improve channel matching. · Capacitors Capacitors are similar to batteries. Like a battery, they store energy and have an electrolyte (internal fluid). Also like a battery, a capacitor can have a very limited life. "Computer grade" capacitors for example, are reliable only in cool environments with very little current applied to them. Only the best high current and high temperature capacitors should be used in an auto-sound application. Although these capacitors typically cost five times as much as those used in our competitor's products, ZAPCO insists that no audio degradation will occur over time. · Transistors Two types of transistors are used in ZAPCO products, bi-polar and MOSFET. MOSFET transistors are rugged, high current devices that are suitably used as switches. They are the choice for switching power supplies. They are however, very non-linear and are not suitable for use as audio outputs. They cannot be matched and their inherent distortion requires too much feedback to achieve reasonable distortion levels. Bipolar transistors are used exclusively in our outputs. The audio performance of a bipolar transistor heavily outweighs any minor advantages a MOSFET might offer in durability. We solve the durability question by simply using considerably more output devices than the amp needs. This gives us a bulletproof amp with the sound we demand of a ZAPCO product. · Transformers Most of the transformers used in our products are hand-wound in our own facility to ensure maximum quality. This is the only way that current capability, efficiency, and radiated noise can all be kept within our demanding parameters. All transformers are securely mounted in their respective chassis. Transformers are massive, and if not securely mounted can cause failure among internal components due to vibration. 7 · Power Supplies Regulated or Un-regulated? For years amplifier designers have debated which type of power supply is best. What's the truth about power supplies? They each have advantages and disadvantages and there is no, one, best type. Limiting yourself to one type of power supply limits your amplifier design components. ZAPCO uses both types of supplies depending on the intended use of each amp, as well as expected current demands and operating environment. 8 SymbilinkTM Balanced System The most natural configuration for an audio system in the automobile places the signal source in the dash with the amplifiers located some distance away, usually under the seat or in the trunk of the vehicle. The reality of this arrangement dictates the necessity to make long runs of low level signal cable usually from the front to the back of the car. The electrical environment in an automobile is one that is inherently noisy and filled with conditions that threaten to degrade signal fidelity at every turn. Capacitive loading due to the long cable lengths, the potential for ground loops, alternator charging currents or currents generated by the amplifiers themselves are all factors that induce noise and distortion into the signal cables. By no means is this an ideal situation. Thankfully, ZAPCO has found the solution. SymbiLinkTM components convert a standard unbalanced audio signal into the fully balanced domain usually reserved for expensive professional audio equipment found in recording studios or at your local concert venue. After this conversion is made, the audio cabling becomes virtually immune to electrical interference in the surrounding environment and is much less susceptible to signal degradation over long cable runs. It is for this reason that balanced signal cables are common in professional or industrial applications. ZAPCO has made this technology available for your car. ZAPCO engineers also discovered that the pulsating D.C. current in the automobile chassis and amplifier power wiring caused a significant amount of low frequency distortion. ZAPCO's balanced SymbiLink technology completely eliminates this distortion. 9 ...