2014 VOLUME 6.0 Lifestyle

BRAD APICELLA’S 2006 CHEVROLET SILVERADO

SOLAR FLARE

EDITION TOYOTA AVALONS 13 DUB

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WITH MICKEY AVALON

BLACK LABEL BAGGERS WITH PAUL TRACY / NEW PUNCHWEAR LINE

ROCKFORDFOSGATEFANATICS

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FACEBOOKFANATICS

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Brad Bryant

The only way to go! Never let me down! I始ve been a Rockford Fosgate fanatic since the mid 80始s with 11 full blown systems best audio on the planet!!!

Tj Sidney Shelley

Strongest amp I ever owned!

Riaaz Van Hessin

It始s been a part of me since 1994!

Ryan Beal

I have a 93 Probe Gt. I am running all Fosgate. I have always used your products. Love them, stand behind them.

Michelle Boyle

I LOVE my Fosgate system!

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1 ROBERT COPPINGER / FLORIDA 2 GABE HAMILTON / ARIZONA 3 JERIMIE TOY / FLORIDA 4 NINA HUDSON / MISSISSIPPI 5 MATTHEW PALUMBO / WASHINGTON 6 SUSAN HOLLINGSWORTH / CALIFORNIA 7 TANO ROCKFORD / SWITZERLAND 8 MIKE GILMAN / ARIZONA 9 AUDIO RHYTHM / SOUTH CAROLINA 10 STEVE MAHER / WASHINGTON 11 JOHN LIAUDAITIS / NORTH CAROLINA

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elcome to the 6th edition of Volume. From all of us here in Tempe, Arizona, let me say Thank You! Our supporters are some of the most passionate audio fanatics around and it is because of you that our employees are committed to providing the finest performing mobile audio products on the planet.

As with most of Rockford’s team members, I am what we call a SUPER USER. Meaning I am always looking to take the Rockford Fosgate audio experience with me, regardless of the mode of transportation-a notion that’s gaining some traction.

Recently, I attended an off-road event and the crowd was eagerly waiting for the next group of Jeeps to come crawling through the boulder-ridden canyon. Before the sound of scraping drivetrains and squealing tires, you could hear it… music. The crowd erupted with cheers for the approaching driver. A 4-wheeled beast emerged from the canyon, system cranked; it was incredible. All everyone talked about was the Jeep with the “big” stereo!

At a local motorcycle gathering, the usual Harley crowds were showing up with bikes of all types; baggers, bobbers, full customs. Then you hear it over the low growl of big pipes and high horsepower: music… loud, clear, clean. The onlookers literally swarmed the bike; some dancing, everyone blown away by the sound of this two-wheeled concert, all smiling. These moments happen every day. People have an emotional connection with music and a brand, their brand, our brand: Rockford Fosgate.

Seeing our products help infuse these events with extra energy and excitement is truly inspiring and keeps us motivated to continue creating stellar audio experiences for your favorite vehicles.

This year, we are proud to announce several new products that allow you to take the Rockford Fosgate experience beyond your car, truck or SUV and to places that a side by side, motorcycle, boat or RV may go. Products like our new Power amplifiers bring ultra-high performance in a small, easy to install package, and the new BMW direct-fit speakers give Bimmer drivers a drop-in replacement that is pure Rockford Fosgate. And for the Harley-Davidson lovers, we’ve added specific audio kits including mounting plates and harnesses for a straightforward installation.

Thank you again for your passion and support. Enjoy Volume 6.0!

Bill Jackson – President / CEO

ON LOCATION AT

PAUL YAFFE’S BAGGER NATION VOLUME 6.0

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VOLUMECONTENTS 2

TO THE FANATICS LETTER FROM PREZ

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‘61 IMPALA MICKEY AVALON

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HOW TO SPEAKER INSTALL TIPS

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‘13 AVALONS DUB EDITION

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TEST & REVIEW P2D212 SUBWOOFER

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‘08 LEXUS LS460L JOB DESIGN

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INSIDE LOOK POWER AMPS

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DEALER SPOTLIGHT PROLINE CAR STEREO

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HOW TO BATTERY/CHARGING SYSTEM

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‘06 CHEVROLET SILVERADO BRAD APICELLA

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TEST & REVIEW P600X4 AMPLIFIER

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MODIFIED MOTORCYCLES BLACK LABEL BAGGERS

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HOW TO SYSTEM DESIGN

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PUNCH WEAR 2014 PRODUCT LINE

FOLLOW US

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S T N E V E STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY AUG 4TH – AUG 10TH

Sturgis, SD Rockford Fosgate is the Official Motorcycle Audio Sponsor of Sturgis

JAN 4TH – MAY 3RD

17 STOPS IN 13 STATES

Rockford Fosgate is the Official Car Audio Sponsor of RCH Racing

SX - SUPERCROSS UPROAR FESTIVAL AUG 13TH – OCT 5TH

37 STOPS IN 27 STATES

Rockford Fosgate is the Official Audio Sponsor of Uproar Festival

FEB 18TH – MAR 26TH

25 STOPS IN 9 STATES

Visiting Over 175,000 Students

HIGH SCHOOL NATION - SPRING TOUR HIGH SCHOOL NATION - FALL TOUR SEP 15TH – OCT 16TH

25 STOPS IN 17 STATES Visiting Over 175,000 Students

MAR 26TH – MAR 30TH

MUD JAM STEREO COMPETITION, OBSTACLE COURSES & MORE Jacksonville, TX

HI LIFTER MUD NATIONALS SAND SPORT SUPER SHOW SEP 19TH – SEP 21ST

MAY 2014 – AUG 2014

12 STOPS IN 11 STATES

Rockford Fosgate is the Official Car Audio Sponsor of RCH Racing

MX - MOTOCROSS rockfordfosgate.com ‡

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SAND SPORTS EXPO OC Fair & Event Center / Costa Mesa, CA

VOLUME FEATURE

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Infamous for his tough life on the streets of Los Angeles and crazy music tours, L.A. based rapper Mickey Avalon has never been shy about his wild lifestyle. Sit with Mickey for five minutes today, and he’ll break down his newest addiction for you — Cars!

Mickey has a style all of his own, and unlike just about every other rapper out there he’s not rambling on about all his money, cars, houses and jewelry. Instead, Avalon’s lyrics hit sharp and strong with descriptions of his hard knock life, deep inner demons, and sensual scenarios with a satirical twist. Nothing is stopping his stubborn ass from cutting the tracks HE wants to cut and distancing himself from any major record label in order to maintain independence and control.

Mickey’s “do it my way” attitude has spilled over into his new-found love of collecting and building cars. Much like his music, he goes strictly with what he feels and likes. When his ’61 Impala got jacked from a local mechanic’s shop, it was buddy Misha at Divine 1 Customs that had an ace up his sleeve.

Misha and Mickey haven’t known each other long, but seem to be a killer combo. Misha’s reach into the car world conveniently helped replace Mickey’s stolen ’61 bubble-top Impala with an even better body to start with, this time having Divine 1 handling all the work in-house. A strategy was agreed upon, and the crew went full-force into the project like a band hitting the stage.

Now, you’d think with Mickey’s background as a musician, the audio system would be a top priority, but it took some convincing from Misha to prove that sound ‘sets the soul’ for the ride. Rockford Fosgate was the obvious choice to match up the hard-hitting sounds of one artist with another.

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An avid LA Kings fan, Mickey paid tribute via the exterior by using Kings colors for paint, and completed the exterior with fresh wheels, tires and engine work. Next, Divine 1 audio expert Sean Murphy went into full effect throwing together a winning interior arrangement that would later give the car its new name: “Peepshow”. The front doors sliced off a set of PUNCH Pro PPS4-8 8” mid-range speakers with a complimentary set of PUNCH Pro PP4-T 1.5” tweeters. This set up gets juiced up on its own dedicated PUNCH P500X2 500 watt 2-channel amp.

Slide back a few feet and the rear deck stacks up (2) PUNCH Pro PPS4-6 6” mid-ranges and (2) PUNCH Pro PP4-T 1.5” tweeters, all running off a second PUNCH P500X2 500 watt 2-channel ampli-

I was so stoked to get the “ Rockford product into the ’61, but it was even better getting some close ass Fosgate friends I know I’m going to roll with for life.

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-MICKEY AVALON

fier. Just enough power in the cabin to match Mickey’s mashed up lifestyle. Murphy got a little squirrely in the boot bringing to the main-stage (2) PUNCH P3 12” woofers firing up through the rear deck, with only a teaser window visible into the amps and enclosure for a hot side view of the big bolt-on subs. A stacked line up of rough metal with a backbone of polished knobs gives Peepshow a sexy, powerful look - in typical Mickey Avalon fashion, it screams “sexy cool”. A single PUNCH P1000X1BD 1000 watt mono amp adds the power to Peepshow’s punch making her a true force to be reckoned with.

Misha and the crew at Divine 1 hit the nail on the head transforming Mickey’s Impala as well as his views on just how much a well put together system means to a car. “It’s all about stance, paint,

TECH SPECS | 1961 CHEVROLET IMPALA SOURCE UNIT: (1) RFX5000 / RFXMR5BB AMPLIFIERS: (2) Punch P500x2, 2-Channel Amp (1) Punch P1000x1bd, Mono Amp SUBWOOFERS: (2) Punch P3D212, P3 12” Dual 2-Ohm Subwoofer SPEAKERS: (4) Punch Pro PP4-T, 1.5” Tweeters (2) Punch Pro PPS4-8, 8” Speakers (2) Punch Pro PPS4-6 - 6” Speakers

shoes, and now sound,” Mickey explains. “I was so stoked to get the Rockford product into the ’61, but it was even better getting some close-ass Fosgate friends I know I’m going to roll with for life. I want to develop all the building skills myself and get more hands on in my future builds,” he continues, “but first, I need to get a little ‘hands-on’ in my new girl, Peepshow.” Roll on Mickey…..Roll on.

the way that I roll, “Ain’t nothing personal baby, yeah that’s electric gigolo…”

-MICKEY AVALON,

lyrics from Electric Gigolo

SPEAKER UPGRADE OPTIONS Every vehicle presents their own unique obstacles when upgrading speakers; location, mounting depth, forward clearance, or even the vehicle’s factory wiring. Most installations are pretty straight forward, but some can be more involved.

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Fig. 01-04 Some speakers will fit right into the factory speaker openings and use the factory grilles and brackets. Fig. 05 Others fit with the help of a mounting bracket, or with minor modifications, such as drilling new screw holes, cutting a small area of metal, or covering any gaps as a result of the speaker being larger or smaller than the factory opening. Beyond upgrading the speakers, this is a good opportunity to think about other upgrades. With the doors taken apart you can add sound deadening material, Dead SkinTM, to silence panel vibration and reduce road noise or upgrade that factory wiring to help ensure you get maximum performance out of your audio upgrades.

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Fig. 06-10 In some instances, direct speaker replacements might not be available to meet desired

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performance expectations which will then require an adaptor to mount a round speaker in an oval opening or switch from a coaxial to component speaker. Component systems are made up of separate mid-bass, tweeters, and crossovers. The component mid-bass will install in your factory speaker locations, but if your vehicle wasn’t equipped with a factory component system, the tweeters sometimes require custom installation. Depending on where you choose to mount the tweeters, this could involve modifying the door panels or dash. In some vehicles, you can mount them on the sail panels or a-pillar.

TIPS Rockford’s product development team has gone to great lengths to ensure every full range product is easy to integrate into a wide range of applications with technologies like FLEX FIT to match to a variety hole mounting patterns, DDC (Discreet Dual Clamp) for simple and secure tweeter mounting, and ICC (Integrated Concealed Crossover) eliminating an external crossover that would need to find a home in your vehicle. Beyond these great technologies the development C UTO UT TE M P LATE team also added features to help every level of installer. Like Multi-OEMTM Adapters D O W N L O A D S semi-tac adhesive on the back of the crossovers to help keep it in position when mounting or zip tie tracks on the in-line crossovers to add mounting flexibility. In most models of Rockford’s full range products included a set Multi-OEMTM adapter plates. Other helpful resources like speaker cutout templates can be found at: rockfordfosgate.com

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VOLUME FEATURE

2013 DUB EDITION TOYOTA AVALON DUB magazine crystallized at the turn of the century with a fist-full of hundreds and a promise from a couple eager lads to share their love and passion with the rest of the world. More than a decade later, DUB personifies more than just words on paper and powerful pictures.

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2013 DUB EDITION TOYOTA AVALON It’s about vibe, dedication and a commitment to the hard work needed to achieve that long sought after end goal. Myles Kovacs and Haythem Haddad continue to head the company they created and live the lifestyle that lured them in.

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Branching out, DUB has now reached hundreds of millions through print, digital media and most intimately with the DUB Show Tour hitting cities like yours across the nation. What a perfect place for Rockford Fosgate to team up with Toyota and DUB to showcase the all-new Avalon in what might just get you seeing “DUB-BLE”.

Whether it’s been for a feature article with the hottest musician, sports star, celebrity or even a live event touring across the country, DUB and Rockford have been working together for years as the choice of champions. It only made sense that Toyota sent hot off the assembly line, not only one but two Avalons looking for a face lift. DUB came

strong, injecting their style and flare resulting in anything but your average set of ‘grocery getters’.

This build had DUB setting out to enhance the fresh pair of Avalons that were already oozing luxury, with some subtle body styling, unique opposing paint schemes, and of course 22” Dropstars wheels. Inside the Diamond White Pearl sedan is a combination of black leather and Ultrasuede, set off by white stitching, piping and trim. RF integrated into the factory radio with their 3Sixty.3 Interactive Signal Processor adding a wide range of tuneability. Compliment that with a speaker setup featuring a set of POWER TIT-S 1” tweeters plus a set of POWER T1675-S 6.75” component speakers in the front doors and a set of POWER T165 6.5” full-range speakers for the rear doors. The same elegant blend of black leather and white accents was added to the custom subwoofer enclosure and amp rack for the (2) POWER TOD212 12” subwoofers and (1) POWER T1000-4ad 4-channel amplifier plus 13

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(1) POWER T1500-1bdCP mono amp. All of this is sitting pretty under a plexiglass Avalon logo accented with LED lighting molded in the trunk lid. Without a doubt this is enough to rock any jock, or bump bottomless bass on any rapper’s latest cut. On the flip is a fine Brandywine exterior with a plush cream interior version of these yin and yang Avalons for a slightly different flavor. Featuring most of her fair skinned twin’s same audio components except for the rear door speaker setup received a set of POWER T1693 6”x9” 3-way full range speakers.

WHETHER IT’S BEEN FOR A FEATURE ARTICLE ON THE HOTTEST MUSICIAN, SPORTS STAR OR CELEBRITY…OR A LIVE EVENT TOUR ACROSS THE COUNTRY,

FOSGATE HAS BEEN THE CHOICE OF CHAMPIONS WORKING WITH DUB FOR YEARS. DUB President and co-founder Myles Kovacs spoke directly about this build, “We really wanted to get Rockford in on such an outstanding premiere showcasing the newly redesigned Toyota Avalons.

It was a perfect match in class and style. My first amps ever were Rockford. We wanted to make sure this system ‘hit’, and I knew I could count on RF to provide a LOT of bass that our market craves. Quality/Sound/Looks/Hit... RF delivers great merchandise that’s dependable and people love ‘em for that.”

These Avalons are turning heads and opening eyes thanks to the new styling from the crew at DUB. Both can be seen on the DUB Show Tour across the country, so make sure to check the website for a stop near you. Fosgate and DUB look to continue the long tenured relationship with some future builds already on the drawing table, so keep eyeing future articles for updates on their latest projects or tour dates in your neck of the woods!

TECH SPECS | 2013 TOYOTA AVALON PROCESSOR: (1) 3Sixty.3, 8-Channel Interactive Signal Processor AMPLIFIERS: (1) Power T1000-4ad, 4-Channel Amp (1) Power T1500-1bdCP, Mono Amp SUBWOOFERS: (2) Power T0D212, T0 12” Dual 2-Ohm Subwoofer SPEAKERS: (1) Power T1T-S1, 1” Tweeter Kit (2) Power T1675-S, 6.75” Component System (2) Power T165, 6.5” Component System (1) Power T1693, 6”x9” 3-way Component System

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REVIEW // P2D212 SUBWOOFER Text & Measurement by Garry Springgay; originally published online 2013 by PAS Magazine

Ever since the first Punch woofer was built almost thirty years ago, Rockford Fosgate has been an industry leader in subwoofer technology and performance. These days, the venerable Punch series of woofers has been expanded to three separate series of products, each with their own attributes. This time we’re looking and listening to a woofer from the mid P2 series - specifically the P2D2-12. As you may have guessed from the model number, this is a dual, two-ohm voice coil, 12-inch woofer. The P2D2-12 has a continuous power rating of 400 Watts and a suggested retail price of $169.99 (USD).

FEATURES // Each P2 woofer is built on a unique, heavy duty, stamped steel basket that Rockford calls ‘StampCast.’ Built into the basket is an innovative mounting system known as ‘FlexFit.’ The basket is made with a special slot-mounted frame pattern to allow fine-tuned adjustments of the woofer position. A diamond-cut, cast aluminum trim ring is included with the woofer to give the final installed version a classy, finished look. // Magnetic energy to power the P2D2-12 comes from a double-stacked ferrite magnet assembly, weighing in at 72.8 ounces. The magnetic energy is focused in the narrow gap surrounding the 2.25-inch, four-layer copper voice coils, which are wound on an aluminum former to maximize heat dissipation. Additional cooling is provided by vent openings under the spider which allow cool air to enter and hot air to be expelled, thus improving long term power handling and durability. A pair of mirror-imaged poly cotton spiders are used to keep the coil centered in the gap and provide the precise amount of compliance required. // Embedded in the spiders are 16 AWG tinsel leads for maximum current transfer at low impedances. Two pairs of nickel-plated, spring loaded terminals are mounted on

QUICK TECH SPECS

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Nominal Impedance

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opposite sides of the basket, which accept up to 10 AWG cables. // This moving assembly drives a Kevlar-reinforced pressed paper pulp cone with an inverted dustcap. Through a clever concept Rockford calls ‘VAST’ (or Vertical Attach Surround Technique), the effective cone area of the P2 woofer is greater than a typical 12-inch woofer – which means more bass output! Rather than taking up the valuable cone diameter with a standard flat glue landing, the VAST method uses a tall-profile Santoprene surround that requires less space and attaches to the specially formed basket. The result is a woofer with exceptional excursion capabilities and more cone area. A molded soft rubber magnet cover trims the bottom of the woofer and protects the motor assembly. // Earlier this year, Rockford Fosgate announced that all new woofers are tested and verified using state-of-theart Klippel analyzers and specially trained and certified personnel to ensure the highest level of product quality and consistency.

LISTENING

// After my usual woofer breakin period, I mount the P2D2-12 in a 1.25-cubic foot sealed enclosure (roughly in the middle of the recommended sealed enclosure sizes), and connect it to my listening room reference system. With the subwoofer amplifier crossover set at 100 Hz with a second order slope, I begin 400 Watts RMS / 800 Watts “Peak” my listening session. First up is Donald 20 Hz – 300 Hz Fagen’s classic Ruby Baby. This track has an exceptionally well recorded kick drum, 86.2 dB/SPL @ 1.0 W (1.0V @ 1 ohms) synthesizer, and bass guitar. The Punch (2) 2 ohms coils woofer reproduces everything nicely, with

THIELE-SMALL PARAMETERS lots of authority and excitement. Next up is Take the A-Train from a DMP Big Band disc called Carved in Stone. The stand up bass in this track is in the forefront and has plenty of natural overtones.

Playback of this complex track is very good, with a hint of ring from the Punch woofer. At this point, I lower the crossover point to 80 Hz. Switching to some hip-hop and Billy Idol’s Prodigal Blues, the woofer really comes into its forte, with strong, deep bass that begged you to turn it up. I listen to the woofer for a couple of hours and play everything from classical, to hip-hop and country.

Regardless of the music, the Punch woofer handles everything in stride, and sounds good doing it. I won’t say it’s the most accurate woofer I have ever heard, but it certainly is exciting and fun to listen to. It’s also not perfect from an audiophiles perspective, but very few woofers at this price range are, and of them, none could hold a candle to the P2D2- 12 in terms of authority and output. Then I put the woofer in a 1.75-cubic foot vented enclosure, because that configuration is also listed in the manual. The vented design really increases the already impressive output significantly, but at the expense of a certain amount of control and articulation. The bottom end is immensely strong, but seems to lack a bit of the detail and tightness I observed in the sealed enclosure. From my personal perspective, I prefer the woofer in the sealed enclosure.

But if you’re willing to give up a little bit of SQ for a whole lot of SPL, maybe the vented enclosure is your choice.

MODEL=ROCKFORD FOSGATE PUNCH P2D2 12” SUBWOOFER

PARALLEL COILS >

Revc = 0.95 ohms

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Fo= 27.215 Hz

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Sd= 0.056 M²

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Vas= 80.1 Liters or 2.828 Ft³

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Cms= 0.179 mm/N

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Mmd= 182.556 g

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Mms= 190.176 g

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BL= 7.195 T·M

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Qms= 5.341

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Qes= 0.597

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Qts= 0.537

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Levc= 0.425 mH

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No= 0.262%

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SPLo= 86.194 dB

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EBP= 45.6

ON THE BENCH // After letting the woofer cool and normalize, I remove it from the enclosure and measure the Thiele-Small parameters. Comparing my results to the somewhat limited published numbers, I found them to be spot-on or very close. The following parameters were measured on the sample I tested, with the voice coils in parallel.

CONCLUSION // Almost thirty years have passed since the legendary Punch woofer rolled off the assembly line. That’s a long time ago in today’s rapidly changing world. But while technologies have changed and materials have improved for performance that’s better than ever, when it comes to the sheer enjoyment a Rockford Fosgate woofer brings to your ride, some things haven’t changed at all.

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VOLUME FEATURE

oto Photography: Mr. Nobutaka Korem

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here's no better way to celebrate your company's 10-year anniversary than by building a demo vehicle that exemplifies your best work. JobDesign™, a business in Fukuoka-ken, Japan that makes body modification kits, planned on building a 2008 Lexus LS460L demo car with the intention of bringing it to the USA. Their sister company, Platinum VIP, would use the car to promote the sales of their automobile kits by debuting it at SEMA. After the body modifications and paint were finalized on the car, it was handed over to Tseng Respect, an authorized Rockford Fosgate dealer – also in Fukuoka-ken – to install a “VIP Audio System”. Respect first routed signal from the source direct to a 3Sixty.3 interactive signal processor. From there, the signal is connected to a Punch P600X4 where listeners are treated to the ultimate sound quality experience with a pair of Power T5652-S 6.5” component systems. The midrange is positioned down low and forward in the door, while tweeters are located in the A-pillars. The system is driven in bi-amp mode to optimize power delivery.

A second Punch P600X4 amp drives speakers in the trunk. Why the trunk? Well, the car is designed for display at outdoor events, so passers by are treated to music while gazing at all the equipment in the cargo area. Respect wanted something loud to get the attention of Car Audio Fanatics walking by, so they decided on two Punch Pro PP4-T 1.5" 4-ohm tweeters, and two Punch Pro PPS4-6 6.5" 4-ohm midrange.

For bass, the trunk also holds two Power T2D212 T2 dual 2-ohm subwoofers. Each woofer has it’s own dedicated Punch P1000X1bd 1,000 watt mono amplifier. Since the system produces a whopping 3,200 watts, an RFC10HB 10-farad hybrid capacitor keeps electrical current stabilized.

TECH SPECS | 2008 LEXUS LS 460L PROCESSOR: (1) 3Sixty.3, 8-Channel Interactive Signal Processor AMPLIFIERS: (2) Punch P600X4, 600 Watt 4-Channel Amplifier (2) Punch P1000X1bd, 1,000 Watt Mono Amplifier SUBWOOFERS: (2) Power T2D212, T2 12” Dual 2-Ohm Subwoofer SPEAKERS: (1) Power T5652-S, 6.5” Component System (2) Punch Pro PP4-T, 1.5” 4-Ohm Tweeter (2) Punch Pro PPS4-6, 6.5” 4-Ohm Midrange ACCESSORIES: (1) RFC10HB, 10-Farad Hybrid Capacitor

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Additional information about these shops can be found at www.tseng-respect.com & www.jobdesign.co.jp

BROC

TICKLE

RCH TEAM CAREY HART RICKY CARMICHAEL BROC TICKLE JOSH HILL

JOSH HILL

rockfordfosgate.com ‡

INSPIRATION When we first introduced the subcompact-sized PBR amplifiers, we discovered they were becoming the solution to a lot of new applications, and our new customers were teaching us a lot. Custom motorcycle shops and off-road enthusiasts were introducing us to a whole new world of fellow fanatics, people who use their imagination and skills to build totally original radical machines. We got fired up to take all our best stuff and make some new amplifiers that matched that level of creativity and excessive performance.

That’s when we started exploring the possibilities of pushing the extreme limits of our abilities and setting a new standard in power density and performance.

PHILOSOPHY We approached the additions to the POWER amplifier line-up with the goal to make the ultimate amplifier regardless of size. Simply put, take the best Rockford has to offer in amplifier technology and put it all together in a brand new scaled down mechanical package.

STRATEGY Rockford’s fanatics let us know we hit a home run with the PUNCH Boosted Rail amplifiers. The question was asked, “Can we do more?” Combining fan cooled heatsink with our high-efficiency topologies sounded like a pretty good answer, leaving the potential for a huge step-up in performance. We cherrypicked our entire amplifier catalog and pulled together a list of the most successful, most requested features, and we topped it off with some application driven features - dual fan forced induction cooling, top-mount controls and quick connect terminals. With this set of challenging guidelines, we set off down the path to make it happen.

MILESTONEs The T500X1BR was developed first. Since we had an established track record with the PBR500X1, we pursued a side-by-side comparison with a mocked-up T500X1BR

prototype to judge the relative increase in performance we could gain by adding dual fans and the new extruded heatsink design. What we discovered with our initial experiments was more than encouraging, and the positive results gave us the green light to continue developing the 2-channel and 4-channel models. Now that we had a successful validation of thermal performance, we moved on to the unknown electrical and mechanical design challenges of incorporating full-range Class AD in an extremely compact package.

We decided to tackle the more challenging 4-channel T400X4AD. It was a struggle just to fit all the parts inside the amplifier chassis, but after countless iterations of board layouts and mechanical designs, we were finally able to perform above our expectations on the test bench and of course in car installations.

CHALLENGES Switching amplifiers are notoriously difficult to execute with acceptable signal-to-noise ratio measurements. Add to that multiple channels, compact dimensions, and a powerful switchmode power supply and the problems compound. Also unique to switching amplifiers is the unusual character of the noise floor, which can contain heterodyning whistles and aliasing tones that are particularly grating on the ears. Similar to ‘hum’ in a home audio amplifier, you may find that even though an amplifier has impressive A-weighted S/N bench measurements, it is impossible to ignore the hum in the noise floor signature. In these new T400X2ad and T400X4ad Class AD amplifiers we addressed the problem with a new approach to suppress crosstalk, extensive noise immunity considerations in the schematic, and hundreds of man-hours and multiple 4 Ohm 60 Deg Cap iterations put into the circuit board layout. The results are 4 Ohm 30 Deg Cap the cleanest, quietest full-range Class AD amplifiers we 4 Ohm 0 Deg Res have ever produced.

4 Ohm 30 Deg Ind

WHAT SETS IT APART The Constant Power Class AD amplifiers break the conventional rules of audio amplification with identical power ratings at 2Ω and 4Ω. The 4Ω power rating of an amplifier indicates how much peak output voltage capability it has, which in turn defines its’ dynamic headroom potential. The extra voltage headroom in the Class AD amplifiers is due to the Constant Power circuitry, which allows the safe use of higher voltage power supplies that could ordinarily destroy an output stage in marginal loading conditions. Listeners will notice that these amplifiers seem louder than their power rating would imply.

WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT These amps have all the bells and whistles, plus the best technologies Rockford has to offer. The recently patented C.L.E.A.N. level setup combined with Rockford’s patented High efficiency circuit topologies, Boosted-Rail and Constant Power plus fan cooling. There is nothing left out of these amplifiers.

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2 Ohm 60 Deg Ind

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4 Ohm 30 Deg Ind

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4 Ohm 60 Deg Ind

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992

2 Ohm 0 Deg Res

W

925

2 Ohm 30 Deg Ind

W

967

2 Ohm 60 Deg Ind

W

1033

DEALER T H G I L T O SP PROLINE CAR STEREO 790 Utica Ave, Brooklyn NY 11203 CONTACT: 718-778-4900 WEBSITE: www.prolinenyc.com YEARS IN BUSINESS: 30 SOCIAL MEDIA: “Een Draght Mackt Maght” or “In Unity There is Strength”.

This is the official motto of Brooklyn, and it perfectly describes the eclectic and international mix of talent that works together at Proline Car Stereo in New York. A complimentary mix of styles, languages and backgrounds, the Proline team strives to reach a common goal of unmatched professionalism. But come on buddy, this is Brooklyn…you know they have to throw some New York style and flair in there as well or fuhgeddaboudit!

For a car audio shop, a 30 year run is pretty much

unheard of. But William Sullivan founded the shop way back in the day, establishing a well-respected business and eventually bringing on partner Shef Sadik to crank things up. Now with Proline a recognizable brand name, two locations and eyes on additional real estate, Shef builds off the momentum he’s created and the customer base that has grown to love him. Ask around town and Proline’s reputation is built on service, reliability and quality - the same three pillars that are preached in weekly staff meetings as the foundation of a successful business. Shef takes his customer relationships seriously striving to follow Williams’ teachings to make sure everybody that leaves the store is happy with a wide smile on their face.

“People don’t want frustration, they want solutions,” Shef says. “We go so far beyond to make sure our entire staff is knowledgeable about anything new in the industry. This way we can figure out an answer to any situation. It also allows us to come up with some pretty creative ideas that end up blowing people’s minds.”

One such project was a recent build on an over the top 2002 Escalade. The customer was looking to push the limits on what was possible, so Proline connected with Rockford Fosgate to overload every available square inch of space with speakers to create something more rare than a Bigfoot sighting. All told, Proline created customized mounting for 110 speakers, 20 subs, 16 amplifiers, 18 batteries, 8 alternators, a 32” iMac and a partridge in a pear tree! This is just an example of the kind of progressive thinking that turns heads and burns memories in the brains of customers and fans nationwide.

OUR CUSTOMERS COME IN ASKING “SPECIFICALLY FOR ROCKFORD PRODUCTS AND RF SEEMS TO HAVE SOMETHING FOR ANY BUDGET. THEY BELIEVE IN THE QUALITY OF THE BRAND AND THE IMAGE FOSGATE REPRESENTS. -Shef

”

REMEMBER...THERE’S “THAN BROOKLYN!” -Shef

“You can’t wait for technology to get to you, you have to go find the next thing out there and get on top of it,” Shef explains. “You gotta keep adapting with the times or you’re just going to get left behind.”

Even as dashboards get more intense straight out of the factory, this install army prides itself on learning every new car setup so when a confused customer rolls in looking for a way to upgrade what they already have, class starts and an education is given. Calculations and creativity breed concept—then effort and exertion turn into excellence.

Proline’s maximized shop floor space has been described as “organized chaos”, but cleanliness is a top priority leading to an organized look and high volume sales. Speaking of sales, each employee’s vehicle doubles as a designated sound laboratory so any potential customer can climb inside and test out the system components, playing their own music if they choose. Nothing beats a live, in-car test of what you’re looking to buy. Seals the deal almost every time.

Proline does well with all Fosgate products, but consistently burns through Pro Series mids and P3 woofers. “Our customers come in asking specifically for Rockford products and RF seems to have something for any budget,” Shef details.

“They believe in the quality of the brand and the image Fosgate represents. I’ve seen everyone from the 16 year old kid with his

NO BETTER PLACE

first ride asking specifically for Rockford components, to the later years, accomplished audio aficionado making sure he has Rockford in his Bentley or Rolls.”

Shef’s message seems to be getting out to his market.

He relies heavily on social media, referrals from happy clients and live events to interact with his trusted home town of Brooklyn.

Our crew can’t wait to meet up and support him again at the next demo day or car show scene, as long as there is a large NY pie on hand to keep us fueled up!

CHARGING SYSTEMS Modern charging systems are more complex than when an alternator and regulator just simply charged an electrical system at 14.4VDC. Today, most are computer controlled and have the ability to factor in typical loads, trip duration, average engine RPM, battery temperature and much more. These vehicle monitoring features don’t leave much voltage for additional accessories such as a high performing audio system.

UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS BATTERIES

Lead Acid (wet-cell) batteries use an electrolyte solution and emit flammable gases that must be ventilated when charging. They are economical and readily available. However, for car audio these have significant performance limitations, such as a high internal resistance (limited instantaneous current to amps) and can be damaged if discharged too deeply.

Gel-Cell batteries use an electrolyte additive to create a thick gel consistency, allowing it to be completely maintenance free. They can be mounted in virtually any orientation (except upside down), and because they do not outgas (unless overcharged) are safe to use in enclosed spaces. These batteries typically cost and weigh more.

For car audio gel-cell batteries are a good alternative, but it’s critical to use a temperature sensing, voltage regulated charger between 13.8 and 14.1 VDC.

This diagram illustrates how an alternator, battery and accessories work in a vehicle (headlights, windshield wipers, audio amplifiers, etc.)

AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries contain electrolyte in a sponge like glass fiber mat. They are spill proof and less expensive than comparable gel-cells. AGM batteries have a low internal resistance (typically below 0.01 ohms) and work well in quick/high discharge conditions making them an excellent choice for car audio. AGM batteries are sensitive to over voltage charging and should be used with a temperature sensitive voltage regulated charger limited to 14.4 and 14.6 volts at 68° F.

CAPACITORS

Energy Storage Capacitors are electrical repositories rated in Farads. Unlike batteries, capacitors do not produce their own energy.

In typical music playing systems, capacitors prevent rail sag and muddy bass by improving current delivery to amplifiers. When selecting capacitors, look for low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) ratings and follow the rule-of-thumb of 1-Farad per 1,000 Watts RMS of amplifier power.

APPLICATION RECOMMENDATIONS “DAILY DRIVER” VEHICLES

Alternators are the most important component here. If the alternator has enough capacity for the vehicle and audio system, capacitors will help stabilize amplifier demands. If an underpowered alternator is used, do not add batteries, as this will only make things worse.

Alternators should handle all but the most extreme current demands. Typical factory alternators provide up to 30% of additional capacity over the vehicle’s electrical needs. If the system is to be played with the “engine off”, additional batteries can be used, but will create an extra load on the alternator.

“SPL” VEHICLES

Batteries are the most important component of the electrical supply chain. It’s common to use a dedicated battery bank - not connected to the vehicle’s charging system - and charged with an external 110V charger. This means the alternator in a pure SPL vehicle can be left stock, since it will be used only to charge the “starting battery”. There should be enough batteries installed to supply maximum current for the system while minimizing voltage drop.

TIPS When grounding multiple batteries or capacitors, use a single ground point attached to bare metal to minimize ground loops. See grounding How-To previously published in Volume 2.0. With multiple batteries, use similar construction to minimize electrical resistances and voltage losses (never parallel batteries of dissimilar chemistry/construction).

There are several factors needed when calculating how much battery capacity or capacitor storage is required, so there is no simple way of calculating it. However you’ll find “Average Current”, “Maximum Current” and “Suggested Alternator” now under the SPECIFICATIONS of all 2014 amplifiers on www.rockfordfosgate.com.

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VOLUME 6.0

CAR AUDIO

FOR FANATICS

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VOLUME FEATURE

" THAT'S THE GREAT THING ABOUT ROCKFORD, THE SUPPORT THEY GIVE YOU IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST AND YOU COULD FEEL THEY WERE JUST AS PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS BUILD AS I WAS. "

YEARS AGO, BRAD APICELLA WAS ASKED, "WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?" BRAD SIMPLY REPLIED, "WHY DO I HAVE TO GROW UP?" Fast forward to today; Brad and his dad, Frank, have found their passion in the business of specialty cars. The specialty car business is just that, “a specialty”.

But it’s the challenge that Brad loves, trying to locate the perfect car for their client - wherever that may be. Stepping into his office/warehouse in Arizona will make any true car lover feel like a kid in a candy store; Ferraris over here, 911’s over there, classic cars spread about and even some trucks mixed in. It’s no surprise he has a seemingly hard time calling what he does “work”. “It’s just an amazing view coming to work everyday.” Brad states. “Not a bad place to get to hang out at.” So it only made sense that when this young buck was looking for a project to relax and blow off steam, cars were once again at the center of his attention…the time has come for his first build!

VOLUME 6.0

28

Most early twenty-somethings will tell you how they know everything already and to just get out of their way, but this aspiring Jedi was smart enough to enlist a trusted friend and experienced builder, CJ ‘Yoda’ Silvey, to help guide him through the process of turning his vision into a reality.

There’s nothing unfamiliar about the term “Chevy Lowrider”, but usually it brings thoughts of Impalas, Monte Carlos, or even a Caprice. Well, Brad has always had a thing for trucks; so a few years back he scooped up a 2006 regular cab Silverado in hopes of putting it through a Hulk-ish transformation. A mean ‘Flo Green’ was the first color concept, but after some counseling from Master CJ, a fresh take on the original factory Dark Ming Blue metallic paint was concocted layering a classic flame paint job over the dark blue base with the bright green highlights. The combination portrays the perfect balance between reserved physicist, Dr. Banner, and

his inner mean-green self… “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

Brad bombarded the Rockford Fosgate tech support department with phone calls, making sure each product decision was perfect and well thought out.

“They spent hours on the phone with me,” Brad reflected. “That’s the great thing about Rockford - the support they give you is the absolute best and you could feel they were just as passionate about this build as I was.” The transformation was now underway. A facelift of this Chevy came with upgraded LED headlights and a new set of teeth with a riveted mesh grille.

Hefty new wheels and tires were locked into place, just outside of the upgraded brakes and bagged suspension. Now to give those teeth bite, the interior was painted and detailed to match the exterior, and a serious assault of Rockford POWER products were inserted. Dropping the body to the ground eliminated

"THE ARMY OF SUBS IS REVEALED TO BESTOW A BLAST OF BASS THAT WILL RATTLE YOUR FILLINGS AND REGISTER ON THE RICHTER SCALE!"

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VOLUME 6.0

some bedspace and the possibility for any super sized subs. Not to worry, as there’s strength in numbers; (4) POWER T1D210 10” subwoofers in a custom plexiglass blow-through bandpass enclosure to bring the heat. A woofer setup such as this called for the largest RF amp available, a POWER T2500-1bdCP 2500 watt mono amplifier capable of lighting up Las Vegas! A set of POWER T1462 4”x6” coaxial speakers in the rear factory location sing in harmony with the seldom seen in a car M2 Marine Grade 8” coaxial speakers; all run off a POWER T800-4ad 800 watt 4-channel amp.

Normally, traditional 6.5” speakers would get used for the front doors but there is nothing normal or traditional about this beast. Now don’t think this project was all brawn and no brains. The intelligent Rockford 3Sixty.3 Interactive Signal Processor was put in place to direct the downloads that come from the removable in-dash Samsung tablet. Master CJ’s attention to detail is seen throughout from custom sculpted speaker rings to a painstaking perfectly detailed sub enclosure and meticulously trimmed out truck bed to give it gusto. A remote controlled Tonneau cover keeps the alter ego under wraps but with the push of a button the army of subs is revealed to bestow a blast of bass that will rattle your fillings and register on the Richter Scale! Oops!…Sorry.

This Chevy has placed or won just about everywhere it has been, motivating Brad to think about the next build on the horizon. Rumor has it another truck has been purchased for transformation, this time a classic looking for modernization. We just hope this beast plays nice with the newbie back in the shop!

TECH SPECS | 2006 CHEVROLET SILVERADO PROCESSOR: (1) 3Sixty.3, 8-Channel Interactive Signal Processor AMPLIFIERS: (1) Power T800-4ad, 4-Channel Amp (1) Power T2500-1bdCP, Mono Amp SUBWOOFERS: (4) Power T1D210, T1 10” Dual 2-Ohm Subwoofer SPEAKERS: (2) Marine M282, 8” M2 Speakers (2) Power T1462, 4”x6” Coaxial Speakers

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REVIEW // P600X4 AMPLIFIER Text & Measurement by Garry Springgay; originally published online 2013 by PAS Magazine

Rockford Fosgate has been a leader in car audio since its original amplifier was produced in 1973. For the last four decades, the company has continued to refine and develop better technologies to keep them at the top of the car audio industry. This year at the 2013 WCES show in Las Vegas, Rockford demonstrated once again that they are not satisfied with sitting on their laurels. The top selling Punch lineup of amplifiers were introduced with some innovative and very useful features. To explain what they’ve done and how these features can benefit you, we are taking a close look at the new four-channel Punch P600X4, which sells for $449.99 in the U.S.

FEATURES // Fundamentally, the P600X4 isn’t much different from the Punch amplifiers from years past. The amp is a traditional Class-AB design, rated at 75 watts per channel at four ohms, and 150 watts per channel at two ohms. The amp can also be bridged to two channels, where power is rated at 300 watts by two channels. The amplifier is very thoughtfully designed and engineered in Tempe, Arizona.

Manufacturing occurs in Thailand in a plant that builds nothing but Rockford amplifiers all day. As they have for the better part of twenty years, the Punch amp utilizes a custom-tooled cast aluminum heat sink and smooth, black-anodized brushed aluminum top cover – the front part of which is removable to access the amps top mounted controls. The result is a look that is reminiscent of a home audio product.

the sonics of a good Class AB amp. The second benefit is a reduction of the overall footprint, allowing the amp to fit in smaller spaces. With heat sinks on three sides, the amp connections sit on the remaining edge and the topmounted controls (gain, crossover settings and Punch EQ, available for both front and rear channels).

// But here’s where the new Punch amps separate themselves from the rest of the pack. One of the most important and misunderstood aspects of installing an amplifier is gain setting. Some companies advocate simple but very general settings, while others insist you need sophisticated equipment like signal generators and oscilloscopes to do it correctly. Rockford has developed a simple and very accurate way of accomplishing the optimum gain setting for your specific source unit and // The P600X4’s heat sink is designed to allow the heat amp. Each Punch amplifier is now equipped with input generating transistors to be mounted on three sides and output clip indicators, for use in what Rockford calls instead of the conventional two. This provides a couple of a “C.L.E.A.N.” setup (Calibrated Level Eliminates Audible distinct advantages: first, because the transistors are on Noise). Included in the box is a special set-up CD; you simply three sides, heat is dissipated more evenly over the surface play the appropriate track in your head unit, and increase of the heat sink. This provides better heat transfer and the the volume setting until the ‘Input Clip’ lights up on the amp stays cooler longer, which is important when enjoying front of the P600X4 and go down one click. Then you simply adjust the gain controls on the amplifier until the multicolor output clip indicators turn blue.

That’s it, you’re done. If you want TECHNICAL DATA to tweak it for some gain overlap THE FOLLOWING POWER MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN OBTAINED USING INDUSTRY STANDARD METHODS (1 KHZ @ 1.0% THD+N – BATTERY VOLTAGES SHOWN +/- 0.2 V). and really get it perfect, there are additional tracks on the disc, ACTUAL MEASURED POWER ACTUAL MEASURED POWER or you can just adjust it to your MANUFACTURERS @ 1.0% THD+N @ 1.0% THD+N RATED POWER favorite music. @ 12.6 V BATTERY @ 14.4 V BATTERY

31

75 X 4 @ 4 Ω

97 X 4 @ 4 Ω

127 X 4 @ 4 Ω

150 X 4 @ 2 Ω

156 X 4 @ 2 Ω

206 X 4 @ 2 Ω

300 X 2 @ 4 Ω

318 X 2 @ 4 Ω

420 X 2 @ 4 Ω

VOLUME 6.0

TECHNICAL DATA THE FOLLOWING POWER MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN OBTAINED USING INDUSTRY STANDARD METHODS (1 KHZ @ 1.0% THD+N – BATTERY VOLTAGES SHOWN +/- 0.2 V).

// Another feature added to the 2013 Punch amps is the ability to accept high-level OEM speaker input signals right on the RCA connections. You can even use the DC signal found on these outputs to turn the amplifier on when no remote-on-wire exists.

A special output jack on the amp can be connected to additional Punch amps to turn them all on. This makes the Punch amp a good choice when building a system to integrate with an OEM head unit. Of course, a wired Punch level control is available (PLC2, sold separately) to provide remote level control and input level clip indication.

LISTENING // I have listened to literally hundreds of Rockford Fosgate amplifiers. The Punch P600X4 is a shining example of why so many audiophiles and critical listeners choose these products. As I usually do, my listening session has the front channels driving a set of high-end bookshelf speakers, with the rear channels crossed over at 80 Hz driving a pair of 10inch subwoofers. From a sonic perspective, the amp is very musical and virtually transparent. Stereo imaging is excellent; there is no audible noise of any kind. From one end of the spectrum to the other, it simply makes things louder, which is exactly what a good amp should do. Of course the crossover and EQ functions work as expected, but for my listening I just set the front channels to a flat response and enjoy the music.

>

Signal to Noise Ratio referenced to 2 V output (CEA-2006A) (1 W @ 4 Ω)

-86.3 dBA

>

Signal to Noise Ratio referenced to full output

-107.3 dBA

>

THD+N at rated 4 ohms power

>

CEA-2006A rated 4 Ω power (min. power per ch. developed over the entire intended audio bandwidth)

0.048%

>

Maximum Efficiency at full 4 Ω power per ch.

70%

>

Maximum Efficiency at full 2 Ω power per ch.

64.2%

>

Efficiency at 10 watts per channel, 4 ohms

18.4%

>

Idle Current

>

Input Sensitivity

>

Maximum Current at full 2 Ω power per ch.

>

Frequency Response

(-3 dB) 10 Hz – 105 kHz

>

High Pass Crossover

55 Hz – 250 Hz -12 dB/ Oct

>

Low Pass Crossover

55 Hz – 250 Hz -12 dB/ Oct

>

Subsonic Filter

None

>

Punch EQ Boost

+18 dB @ 40 Hz +15 dB @ 14 kHz

123 W

2.3 A 180 mV – 13.9 V 34.8 A

ON THE BENCH // On the test bench, the P600X4 easily outperforms its advertised specifications. Power is abundant and the amp even exceeds its rated power numbers at a battery voltage of 12.6 volts. The frequency response is nice and flat and remains that way over 100 kHz! When I measure the Punch EQ, I note that the control not only provides the usual bass boost at 45 Hz, but also includes a treble boost at about 14 kHz, which is nice when listening at lower levels or overcoming vehicle road noise. Attention to detail is seen in areas like common mode ratio rejection from the balanced front end. Stereo separation is also better than most sources can muster, making the amplifier a treat to listen to.

CONCLUSION // As the years go by, Rockford Fosgate continues to show that they are real enthusiasts, developing products to meet their customer’s needs and exceed their expectations.

The new level setting process is one example of this innovation. If you’re looking for old school performance combined with a healthy dose of 2013 technology, the $449 Punch P600X4 should definitely be on your audition list.

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VOLUME FEATURE

""T hey have to perform... i mean, i like winning show titles, but these bikes are built to ride."

-PAUL TRACY

IÂ

magine living at speeds well over 100mph for most of your life. Hell, much of that was spent upwards of 200! When the time came in your life to sit back and relax a little bit, just how long would it take before you started to get antsy?

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That pretty much explains the life of renowned racer Paul Tracy. PT was living fast n’ furious on and off the track long before Vin or any of the other drifter characters figured out how to kick the clutch on their new Nissans. After a standout open-wheel racing career, this Canuck grew roots in the Southwest, raising a family and playing with his toys while living “semi-retired”. Maybe it was the summer sun, or just the ADD, but Paul got crackin’ on a new plan to combine his longtime love of Harleys into his next big project. Pow! Black Label Baggers was born…

It’s nothing new; in fact, it seems to be quite trendy to be a bike builder these days. PT stands out because he’s got nothing to prove. “I know what I like and I go with that,” he explains.

The long swept lines and giant front wheels might seem more suited for a futuristic art piece than your daily ride, riide d , but make no mistake about it - they work. Having spent so so many man a y years around racecars, it’s no surprise that PT’s Black Label Lab Lab La be el Baggers is known for low, sleek style with an emphasis on horsepower ho orrssep e ower and functionality. “They have to perform,” says Paul.

“I “I mean, mea ean, I like winning show titles, but these bikes are built to ride. rriide de.”

Paul’ss sshop hop master, Pat, has over 20 years of fiberglass experience e pe ex peri rience and is able to create fender and bag compartments ri rie

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VOLUME 6.0

that are completely unique. But if you still want to tweak things out a bit, Paul has no problem putting Pat to work bringing your one-off idea to fruition- and talk about attention to detail. What can some custom fiberglass do to a bike like yours, you wonder?

Well, we thought you’d never ask!

Starting off with our fiery redhead, BLB created a custom fairing to house two sets (yes, I mean FOUR total) of M2 Marine Grade 6.5” speakers sucking their juice from a PUNCH

"All the listed gear is lean and mean, able to fit in the tight spacing yet durable enough to withstand the harsh effects of the outdoor environment."

-PAUL TRACY

Boosted Rail PBR300X4 300 watt 4-channel amplifier. Most quitters finish here, but the custom saddlebags give plenty of room for a pair of PUNCH P3 Shallow 8” subwoofers driven by a PUNCH Boosted Rail PBR300X1 300 watt mono amplifier.

All the listed gear is lean, mean and able to fit in the tight spacing, yet durable enough to withstand the harsh effects of the outdoor environment. (FYI the PUNCH P3 shallow sub only has a 2.7” mounting depth!) Stuck in the center of the fairing setup is a double din head unit and some masterfully placed gauges that permanently read: “kick ass”.

The baby brother bike in blue just had to be different,

TECH SPECS | BLACK LABEL BAGGERS RED BIKE AMPLIFIERS: (1) Punch PBR300X4, Boosted Rail 4-Channel Amp (1) Punch PBR300X1, Boosted Rail Mono Amp SUBWOOFERS: (2) Punch P3SD4-8, 8” P3 Shallow Subwoofer

so it got loaded up top with even more output, including a set of two PUNCH Pro 6” speakers backed by two PUNCH Pro 1.5” tweeters. In the middle is an iPad mini with stereo integration and display software built in for the bike gauges. Way back in the bags we see a set of M2 Marine Grade 8” speakers capable of some over the top full-range output. The power plant for these barkers is a pair of the new POWER T400X2AD 400 watt 2-channel amplifiers as seen in their new 4.3”x7” micro design.

As if the amazing fiberglass paneling or the rake and paint of these bikes didn’t make them cool enough, Black Label Baggers just announced a partnership with Precision Billet for a line of one-off pieces you’ll be able to see on your next run.

Rockford takes pride in relationships like the one BLUE BIKE it shares with Paul Tracy and Black Label Baggers, and AMPLIFIERS: will continue to support and (2) Power T400X2AD, 2-Channel Amp develop products for these unique q applications. pp Besides, SPEAKERS: it gives us all a reason to (2) Punch Pro PPS4-6, 6” Speakers hang out at Sturgis, see you (2) Punch Pro PP4-T, 1.5” Tweeters there!

(2) Marine M282, M2 8” Speakers

SPEAKERS: (2) Marine M262, M2 6.5” Speakers

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2013 ACHIEVEMENTS LUCAS OIL OFF ROAD

RACING SERIES

RANK

LOCATION

2nd Place

Firebird Raceway, AZ

3rd Place

Firebird Raceway, AZ

2nd Place

Glen Helen, Ca

3rd Place

Glen Helen, Ca

3rd Place

Reno, NV

2nd Place

Las Vegas, NV

rockfordfosgate.com ‡

SYSTEM DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS Building an audio system doesn’t need to be a complex endeavor. By learning the fundamentals of system design you’ll easily be able to configure your own system that sounds as great as it looks.

AUDIO BASICS Sound is simply air vibrations picked up by our ears. High-pitched sounds vibrate at a faster rate, and low-pitched sounds vibrate at a slower rate. Music is nothing more than a mass of complex sounds arranged in a series of complementary tones.

01

Cathedral Grand Organ Synthesizer Organ Accordian Flute Soprano Sax Alto Sax Tenor Sax Baritone Sax Bass Sax Piccolo Soprano Clarinet Alto Clarinet Bass Clarinet Oboe English Horn Bassoon Trumpet & Comet French Horn Trombone & Euphonium Tuba Xylophone Cymbals Harp Snare Drum Tom-Toms Kick Drums Chimes Timpani Guitar

Double Bass

Cello

Viola

Fig. 01 Illustrates the human hearing range of 20 Hz (Hertz) to 20 kHz (Kilo-Hertz), with lower frequencies appearing on the left side and higher frequencies on the right. We overlaid several musical instruments – including a piano – to illustrate the range of frequencies each instrument is capable of playing.

In its simplest form, there are three types of speakers needed to reproduce the audible frequency range: Tweeters, Midrange, and Woofers.

For more complex systems, there are additional Subwoofer and Mid-bass ranges, but for now we’re going to keep it simple and stick to three.

High-Frequency Range (2.5kHz to 20kHz)

Violin

Soprano Voice Alto Voice Tenor Voice Baritone Voice Bass Voice

A0 B0 C1 D1 E1 F1 G1 A1 B1 C2 D2 E2 F2 G2 A2 B2 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5 E5 F5 G5 A5 B5 C6 D6 E6 F6 G6 A6 B6 C7 D7 E7 F7 G7 A7 B7 C8

Piano Note

21,240.0

14,160.0

7,080.0

27.5 30.9 32.7 36.7 41.2 43.7 49.0 55.0 61.7 65.4 73.4 82.4 87.3 98.0 110.0 123.5 130.8 146.8 164.8 174.6 196.0 220.0 246.9 261.6 293.6 329.8 349.2 392.0 440.0 493.8 523.2 587.3 659.3 698.5 784.0 880.0 987.7 1,046.5 1,174.7 1,318.5 1,396.9 1,568.0 1,760.0 1,975.3 2,093.0 2,349.3 2,637.0 2,794.0 3,136.0 3,520.0 3,951.1 4,186.0

20.6

Frequency

Tweeters are designed to reproduce the high frequency range, consisting of symbols, synthesizers and higher order harmonics.

Since higher frequencies vibrate faster, they produce smaller wavelengths (a 3kHz tone is 4.5 inches / 114 mm long). Their small size allows voice coil and diaphragm components to be compact. However, as wavelengths become shorter, their sound becomes more directional, so a tweeter is the most sensitive speaker to place within the vehicle.

Mid-Frequency Range (200Hz to 2.5kHz)

Midrange speakers are designed to reproduce this frequency range, consisting primary of vocals and Woofer Tweeter Midrange instruments. This is the most dominant speaker due to the range of frequencies. Placement within Subwoofer Range Midbass Range Crossover Range the vehicle is more forgiving due to wavelength size (a 500Hz tone is 27 inches / 68.6 cm long), but the distance to your ears should be equalized for a proper sound stage, which we’ll cover soon.

Low-Frequency Range (20Hz to 200Hz)

Woofers are designed to reproduce this frequency range. They have much larger voice coil and cone sizes corresponding to the longer wavelengths they produce. Placement within the vehicle is typically not an issue and perceived to be omnidirectional due to large wavelength size (a 50Hz tone is 270 inches / 6.86 meters long).

MOBILE AUDIO SYSTEMS With typical car audio systems, our goal is to achieve a sound stage that originates in front of the listener. Sit in the driver’s seat and imagine a live concert performing on the vehicle’s dash. The sound should originate from across the horizon and reach to the far left and far right of the dash, with the depth ideally reaching far beyond the interior of the vehicle. Fig. 02 Illustrates the width and depth of a definitive sound stage. Another factor to consider is “imaging” which is the ability to reproduce instruments and vocals in their correct locations on the sound stage. Fig. 03 illustrates installations and their effect on imaging. If you don’t want to physically relocate speakers you can manipulate the localization effect using signal processors like the time delay feature in 3Sixty.3.

A G E S T

E AG ST

D E P T H

02

WID TH

VOLUME 6.0

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SYSTEM DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS

03

Single Amplifier vs. Multiple Dedicated Amplifiers

Coax vs. Component

For the front seats, determine if your vehicle is better apt to support a pair of “coaxial” speakers, where the tweeter is mounted in front of a midrange speaker and installed as one unit, or a “component system” where the midrange and tweeter are separate. Although coaxial speakers are easier to install, component systems typically offer better sound quality. For the rear seating row(s), it’s most practical to utilize coaxial speakers due to space limitations in doors.

Amplifiers take low audio signal from the source unit and “boost” them up to overcome road noise and make them easier to hear, resulting in better sound clarity. A 3-Channel System uses a 2-channel amplifier with speakers wired to the left and right channels, and a woofer wired in bridged/mono. Note: This type of system requires passive crossovers. A 4-Channel System uses a 4-channel amplifier with front speakers wired to the front channels, and rear speakers wired to the rear to retain fader control. A woofer with a passive crossover can be wired to the front channels to retain constant bass regardless of rear fader control. A 5-Channel System uses a 4-channel amplifier for both front and rear channels to retain fader control, but uses dedicated mono amplifier(s) to power woofer(s). Multiple amplifiers provide better dynamic range (sound quality) and are more versatile, but are costly to implement over single amplifier designs.

Standard vs. Compact Amps

Depending upon your vehicle type and space will determine what size of amplifier is used. Most cars, trucks and SUVs have ample room for installing traditional amplifiers. However single cab trucks and sub-compact cars (think SMART car) are limited in space and may benefit from compact amplifiers. Electrically sensitive vehicles like hybrid/electric cars may also benefit from the “current sipping” advantages of compact amps. Rockford Fosgate’s newer lines of compact Punch/Power series amps are perfect since they require little space and current. Keep in mind their dynamic output is lower than traditional amps.

Woofer Size

Typical car audio woofers range in size from 8” to 15”. Determining what size and how many to use is up to you. It’s easy as measuring the maximum Height, Width & Depth available (or space you want to sacrifice) for woofers. Use our Woofer BoxWizard at www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech to determine the amount of cubic feet/liters available. One or two woofers are adequate for most systems. The charts in Fig. 04 illustrate the amount of airspace needed for Rockford Fosgate woofers.

Rockford Fosgate Sealed Enclosures 8” Woofer Size

04

10”

12”

15”

Vb (Cubic Feet)

0.23 – 0.50

0.50 – 0.75

0.75 – 1.25

1.58 – 3.0

Vb (Liters)

6.5 – 14

14 – 21.2

21.2 – 35.4

44.7 – 85

Rockford Fosgate Vented Enclosures Woofer Size

8”

10”

12”

15”

Vb (Cubic Feet)

0.65 – 1.0

0.75 – 1.50

1.75 – 2.0

2.5 – 3.5

Vb (Liters)

18.4 – 28.3

21.2 – 42.5

49.5 – 56.6

70.8 – 99

Power vs. Loudness

How loud you design a system is of personal preference, and low frequencies are the primary factor of how loud a system plays.

Loudness is defined as a psycho-physical sensation perceived by the human ear/brain, whereas SPL (Sound Pressure Level) is a logarithmic quantity measured with test equipment. An amplitude change of 1 dB is the minimum detectable sound adjustment perceived by ear, with 3 dB being the most recognizable change. An increase of power and/or woofers used in a system equates to more “loudness”. Typical vehicle electrical systems can only support around 500 to 600 watts of amplifier power, so keep this in mind when building your system. The chart in Fig. 05 illustrates how power, woofer cone area and loudness relate to SPL.

To Equalize or Not

If the built-in equalizer on the radio provides adequate tone control, then there’s no need for an additional equalizer. However, if you desire more customization of the audio signal, a signal processor with more control over the sound like the 3Sixty.3 may be needed for your desired taste.

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VOLUME 6.0

SYSTEM DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS

05

Decibel Increase

+3 dB

+6 dB

+10 dB

Perceived loudness by human hearing

1.23 times louder

1.5 times louder

Twice as loud

Watts needed if using same woofers

2 times the power

4 times the power

10 times the power

Cone area required using same power

2 Woofers

4 Woofers

10 Woofers

Matching Amplifiers to Speakers

Once you determine the type and quantity of speakers needed for your system, how much “amplifier power” should you buy? Look at the speaker’s RMS power handling (sometimes labeled “Pe”) and sensitivity ratings (labeled “Sensitivity” or “SPL”), then use the chart below in Fig. 06 for the minimum and maximum power needed. Remember to abide by amplifier impedance recommendations and divide your power output by the number of speakers. For example, if an amplifier channel produces 100 Watts, but you have two speakers connected to that channel, each speaker will “see” 50 Watts within the same frequency range.

For example, if a woofer is rated to handle 100 Watts RMS, the formula (100W x 0.30 = 30W) would result in our speaker needing 30 Watts minimum. The maximum would be equivalent to the woofer RMS power handling, which would be 100 Watts. If a midrange or tweeter is rated to handle 50 Watts RMS, the formula (50W x 0.20 = 10W) Suggested Power Subwoofers Midrange/Tweeters would result in our speaker needing 10 Watts minimum. The maximum Minimum Watts 30% of Speaker RMS 20% of Speaker RMS would be equivalent to the midrange or tweeter RMS power handling, which Maximum Watts 100% of Speaker RMS 100% of Speaker RMS would be 50 Watts.

06

MARINE AUDIO SYSTEMS Rockford Fosgate continues to expand its product line for marine audio systems. However, in watercraft installations, system design is less about imaging/staging and more about convenience. Speakers are typically placed in direct path of listeners in the boat. This is common because most boats are “open air” with nothing to reflect sound. The exception is the woofer, as it’s usually placed to “boundary load” under the bow or in a compartment where low frequencies can reverberate to emphasize bass. An experiment you can try at home to illustrate this effect is to place a woofer enclosure in the middle of a room and listen to it. Now move the enclosure under a coffee/kitchen table and listen to the result. Low frequency waves reflecting off the table give the impression that it’s louder.

MOTORSPORTS AUDIO SYSTEMS Rockford Fosgate also continues its development of application specific products, like the recent release of compact Punch and Power series amplifiers. In motorcycle, golf cart, and ATV/UTV, or side-by-side installations, system design is also less about imaging/staging and more about convenience. The compact size and efficient power supply requirements make the compact Punch and Power amplifiers perfect for use in current limited installations.

EXAMPLE SYSTEM DESIGNS You can download good/better/ best system designs from our RFTECH Knowledge Base.

Enter Answer ID “11” in the search box or use the QR Code.

SUMMARY Audio systems don’t have to be complicated, and simplifying the goal can reduce headaches when building one. Keep the system basic using just three ranges of speakers (low/mid/high). Optimize the front using component speakers, and if rear speakers are needed, stick to coaxial types. For bass, measure available space and work backwards to determine what size and quantity of woofers can be used, with one or two being adequate in most systems. Of course there are several opinions on what’s “best”, but these guidelines will help narrow your choices. Rockford Fosgate offers three product lines under PRIME, PUNCH and POWER series to meet your system needs. Refer to the Buyer’s Guide section of this magazine for more info.

VOLUME 6.0

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PUNCHWEAR TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN

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