Vibe BlackAir 12 Twin Hybrid Manual

BlackAir Hybrid 12 Twin Active Model: BLACKAIRH12TA-V1

2

OWNERS MANUAL Congratulations on purchasing your VIBE bass enclosure. Please read this manual in order to fully understand how to get the best results from this product and ensure that all advice on how to look after the product is followed.

Thank you for buying VIBE, we hope you enjoy listening to your product as much as we enjoyed creating it.

ATTENTION

An aftermarket audio amplifier will place an additional load on the vehicles charging system.

Most modern vehicles have sufficient capacity in the charging system as not all the electrical components of the vehicle will be switched on at once.

Check the fuse rating of the amplifier and use this as the peak current requirement.

Generally the continuous current draw will be a third of the peak current.

WARNING During the normal use of this amplifier the heatsink may become very hot.

Please do not touch during or immediately after use.

Please ensure that when installing this product the heatsink will not come into contact with any materials that may be damaged by heat such as upholstery or plastics.

3 3

LIMITED WARRANTY LIMITED WARRANTY

4

MOUNTING GUIDELINES Your VIBE amplifier is designed with a swift installation routine in mind.

Please mount the amplifier in a dry location on a solid surface.

NEVER mount the amplifier upside down as this will cause the amplifier to over heat and will eventually damage the amplifier.

Before fixing the enclosure in place please ensure that there is sufficient air flow around the exterior of the amplifier casing, at least two inches is sufficient.

POWER CONNECTIONS

Remote turn on

Fuse close to battery

Battery

Chassis ground

POWER CABLE • At least 8 gauge cable should be used for the power connection to the amplifier.

• The power cable should be taken directly from the battery. Rubber grommets should be used when passing through any bulkheads to prevent the cable from becoming chaffed or cut.

• It is vital that a fuse / circuit breaker (of at least equal value to the one fitted on the amplifier) is placed inline with the power cable and is no further than eighteen inches away from the battery.

• Please ensure that the fuse is not fitted until the entire installation procedure is complete.

• The two tables overleaf are to help you decide on what cable is correct for you. The first enables you to select the size of cable depending on the length required. The second will help you convert the cable size from American Wire Gauge to Metric and Imperial if you need to.

5

CONNECTIONS Length of Run Current demand 0–20 amps

0 – 4 Ft 14

4 – 7 Ft 12

16 – 19 Ft 8

19 – 22 Ft 8

20–35 amps

12

10

8

8

6

6

6

4

35–50 amps 50–65 amps

10 8

8 8

8 6

6 4

4 4

4 4

4 4

4 2

65–85 amps 85–105 amps

6 6

6 6

4 4

4 2

2 2

2 2

2 2

0 0

105–125 amps

4

4

4

2

0

0

0

0

125–150 amps

2

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

AWG Number 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7 – 10 Ft 12

10 – 13 Ft 10

13 – 16 F 10

AWG to Metric and Imperial Conversion Chart cross sectional area Inch mm 0.325 0.289 0.258 0.229 0.204 0.182 0.162 0.144 0.128 0.114 0.102

8.25 7.35 6.54 5.83 5.19 4.62 4.11 3.66 3.26 2.91 2.59

22 – 28 Ft 8

mm2 53.5 42.4 33.6 26.7 21.1 16.8 13.3 10.5 8.36 6.63 5.26

GROUND CABLE • At least 8 gauge cable should be used for the ground connection to the amplifier.

• The amplifier ground should be connected directly to the chassis of the vehicle, to bare metal.

• The cable length should be kept to an absolute minimum.

• It is not recommended that you connect the ground cable to the vehicles seatbelts anchor point.

REMOTE TURN ON CABLE • A minimum of 18 gauge cable should be used for this connection.

• The cable should be run with exactly the same care and attention as the power cable and taken back to the source (headunit) and joined to the remote cable provided.

• If the source (headunit) does not have a remote turn on cable then a 12v supply should be used.

This will require a switch to be fitted inline to enable the amplifier to be turned on and off.

Remember that if this switch is left on you will flatten the car battery.

RCA CABLES • Please take extra care when running these cables from the source to the amplifier. Ensure that they are placed away from all items that can generate any interference, wiring harnesses etc.

• It is recommended that the RCA cables should be run on opposite sides of the car to the previously installed power cables if possible, to avoid the cable picking up interference.

6

TERMINALS AND CONNECTIONS

1. Low level input For connection to any source (head unit) with a low level output. This is your RCA output from the source (headunit) 2. Low level output RCA output used to connect an additional amplifier or audio device.

3. Gain control - vented chamber This control is used to match the output of the vented chamber. This produces hard, punchy bass.

4. Gain control - bandpass chamber This control is used to match the output of the bandpass chamber. This produces deep, low.

5. Remote control port.

This port is used to connect the plug in remote level control.

6. remote level control This remote is used to adjust the output level of the vented and bandpass enclosures.

7. Fuse Ensure that only the correct value of fuse if fitted, 2 x 25 amps 8. Power terminals +12V DC - Connect to the positive feed from the battery.

REM - Connect the remote turn on output of the source (headunit) to this terminal. The voltage must be between 12V and 15V DC GND - Connect to the chassis ground of the vehicle.

9. Power / protect light During normal operation the VIBE logo will illuminate white.

If the amplifier is in protection the VIBE logo willilluminate red.

10. Fastplug (optional) Allows quick and easy installation and removal of the bass enclosure. please visit www.vibeaudio.co.uk for more details.

7

INSTALLATION The most common place to mount a bass enclosure is in the luggage compartment of the vehicle.

Where in the luggage compartment it is mounted will have an effect on the sound produced, allowing the user to tailor the sound to suit their musical tastes.

For example, if the enclosure is mounted facing the rear bumper the bass produced will be noticeably deeper than if it is fired into the rear seat.

Do not be afraid to experiment with positioning as a little time and effort can yield great improvements in sound.

NOTE: When you have chosen your mounting position, please ensure that the enclosure is securely mounted and cannot move or come into contact with objects in the luggage area Damage to the enclosure or subwoofer caused by these objects will not be covered under warranty.

It is also advisable to use additional luggage straps to secure the enclosure.

8

VARIABLE PORT TUNING The BlackAir Hybrid 12TA is effectively a vented enclosure and bandpass enclosure in a single cabinet.

The bandpass chamber features two TurboPorts which allow variable port tuning.

When a PortPlug is not used, the punch delivered by the enclosure will increase (fig.1) Using one PortPlug will alter the sound slightly. With a PortPlug installed the depth produced by the enclosure increase (fig.2 / fig.3) Experiment with using a PortPlug in the top and bottom ports as each will offer a slightly different characteristic .

FASTPLUG (OPTIONAL) The VIBE FastPlug has been designed and developed by VIBE engineers to provide safe and easy removal of your active bass enclosure.

The enclosure has a recess specifically for a FastPlug to be fitted making the installation of the fastplug neat and simple.

Please visit www.vibeaudio.co.uk for more details.

9

RUN IN PROCEDURE VIBE recommends that you follow the run in procedure for the subwoofer detailed below.

• When your subwoofer is used for the first time, naturally like most brand new items it is very stiff and rigid. It will take time for the moving parts of the subwoofer to loosen up before the subwoofer is ready to deliver it’s full potential.

• For the first 30 hours it is recommendedthat you play the subwoofer initally at low to medium volumes and gradually increase the volume as time progresses.

• As a guide if you listen to your subwoofer for one hour every day it will take a month to run in.

SET UP SECTION To correctly set the gain of the amplifier to match the source (headunit) please follow the setup routine detailed below • Set the gain on both controls on the remote control to the minimum setting.

• Turn up the volume on the source (headunit) to approx 3/4 • Very slowly increase the level of the “hard bass” and “low bass” control until the desired sound balance is achieved. As both gain controls can be adjusted separately it may require a little experimentation to achieve the correct sound balance.

• Do not increase the level so much that the subwoofers are driven into distortion as this will cause damage to the product that will not be covered under warranty.

BLACKAIR HYBRID 12 TWIN SPECIFICATION MODEL: • BLACKAIRH12TA-V1 POWER: • 1100 watts RMS • 3300 watts MAX DIMENSIONS: • Height: 375mm • Width: 960mm • Depth: 427mm FUSES: • 25 amp x 2 INPUT SENSITIVITY: • Low level: 0.5v - 5v • High level: 5v - 11v

10

TROUBLESHOOTING AMPLIFIER WILL NOT POWER UP • Check for good ground connections. Ensure that the ground cable is connected directly to bare metal and not a painted surface • Using a multimeter ensure that the remote (REM) terminal has at least +12v DC. • Using a multimeter ensure that the Battery voltage is at least 12v DC and below 16v DC. • Check all fuses.

• Check that the protection light is not illuminated, if it is illuminated try turning the amplifier off for a short pweriod of time and then turn back on.

PROTECTION LED IS ILLUMINATED • Check for shorts on all cables • The amplifier is designed to shut down once automatically when the temperature reaches 80°C, if the amplifier heatsink is very hot this may be the reason for the amplifier shutting down.

• Remove the signal cables and try to restart the amplifier, if the amplifier will not restart then it is possible that the amplifier has been damaged. This damage may have been as a result of abuse or failure to follow the advice in this manual.

BLOWN FUSES • Check both positive and ground cables for shorts.

• Check that the positive wire is connected to the +12V terminal of the amplifier • Check that the negative wire is connected to the GND terminal of the amplifier • Check that the correct fuse is fitted: 2 x 25 amp

DISTORTED SOUND • Reduce the gain on the remote for one or both channels until the sound is no longer distorted.

11

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

BlackDeath Pro Car Audio Speakers

Technical enquires call 09067031420 call cost 50p per minute call costs correct at date of publication (01/05/11) Hours of business 9.00am - 5.30pm all calls are recorded for training purposes MIDBASS Distribution PO Box 11000 B75 7WG

In order to protect your purchase and aid your warranty please ďŹ ll in the following form and keep it safe for your future reference.

For more information and to register your warranty online, visit:

www.vibeaudio.co.uk/warranty MODEL NUMBER: SERIAL NUMBER: PURCHASED FROM:

KEEP IT SAFE

Staple your receipt here:

DATE OF PURCHASE:

7

����������������� twitter.com/vibeaudio

youtube.com/vibeaudio