ST-D BT SERIES Oem ler Cee ee ae eee ee et ee aContents Item Mission Statement he Zapco Studio Series Warnings favoid future problems) install Sense Making Power Basic Installation Guidelines Gain Setting Safe Sound Studio-D BT SERIES System Diagrams annel Systerns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 10 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 fe. Another simple fact is that ZAPCO has, for over thirty 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 2r@ unique to the world of car audio. ZAPCO's relentless quest for sonic purity consistently yields imaginative designs that utlize the mi nnovative technologies. The resulting products set the criteria by which all others in the industry are judged,Zapco Studio Series Amplifiers With the studio Series of amplifiers Zapco brings the sound quality and reliability that built the Zapco legend to an amplifier line that everyone can afford, Zapco has a reputation for sound reproduction and quality that is unsurpassed. Itis our dedication to sonic purity and our passion for performance that built that reputation. With all the new amps coming into the market, not one has been any threat so Zapco's standing as the premium amp and processor line, Just check the audio competition scene and the audio forums. The pros know what to use to win, But not everyone wants to compete. The question was this. Could Zapco put it's 40-years of audio experience to work to develop an amp for everyday use? ‘An amp that all can afford but that will stay true to the Zapco heritage for sound and celiablity? Absolutely! We can and we havel The Studio amplifiers are a testament to the fact that you can build a quality preduct with great sound in an amplifier for everyday use Now, the Studio-D BT amps take the Studio line to a whole new level of power and compactness with new full range Class D applications using a revolutionary new NXP control technology for the “micro” chassis amps and a new TI technology for the compact chassis amps, All to assure that the Studio amps will hold true te Zapco's standards for sound quality and reliability. While sound quality and reliability are always the top priorities in a Zapco design, there are other factors in the Studio-D BT design that make them creat "every-day’amps. The extruded aluminum chassis is more compact to make the ST-D BT amps an easier fit in today's smaller cars. Some are only ‘35mm (3%") wide. And the new Class D technologies have no more radio inter - ference than the best Class A/B amps, so ball games, traffic reports and all your ‘other commuting listening needs will come in crystal clear. The feature set of the Studio amps provides you with all the system versatility you need without adding additional components, with everything from crossovers to preamp outputs, so multiple amps don’t require extra signal cables In addition, the Studio D8T amps give you Bluetooth Music Streaming so you can automatically pair up your iPad ar other smart device and stream music, directly to your ampifier. The Preamp outputs of the ST-D BT amps will even take your streamed music out tothe next amp in your systemHow about power? The Studio-D BF full range Class D amps have tons of power. [The mini chassis ST-64D8T gives you 340watts RMSin an amp that you can literally Jcarry in your back pocket. The compact chassis ST-D BT amps are only about } 60mm x 300mm (6.5"x 11.5"), and they each put out over 1,000 watts RMS. Ifyou want to add 2 bass amp, the Studio-XM Class D bass amps let you choose lany power from 500 Watts to 2,000 watts. And since they can be strapped together, lyou can have up to about 4,000 watts for that monster subwoofer Power, price, size, and performance. This is an amp designed to knock your socks laff... in your car, for your dally use, every day. Iso go ahead. Pop in your favorite disk, grab the volume, and see if you don't agree. Dedication to sonic purity and big real power is definitely a good thing lwhat's next? Only time will tell But here's one thing you can count on. As ZAPCO Hinds new ways to improve the state of the art, we will bring them to you immediately, in all our products So! Enjoy this manual. We hope you will read it thoroughly. We have tried to include all the necessary information for proper installation and set up of your JZapco Studio-DBT amplifier. Warnings ZAPCO highly recommends that a fuse or circuit breaker be placed within 18° of the vehiclesbattery. Although products have adequate internal protection, itis, possible that a pinched power wire between the component and the battery may result in a fire if the wire is not protected, The protection device should be placed where it can be accessed easily and all wiring should be routed safely and correctly according to the following guidelines: + Do not run wiring close to hot or spinning objects Always use wire grommets when routing wire through the firewall or any other metal panels + Make sure that the potential for pinched wiring Is avolded by routing all wires away from moving hinges and seats. This also includes brake, gas and clutch pedals, hood and trunk hinges, etc. + And Absolutely..Use the correct gauge wire for you amplifiers current demandsInstall Sense As a manufacturer, Zapco has taken great pains to produce a product that wi give you many years of superior perfarmance and reliability. However, cervain basic rules need to be followed if you want to achieve the product's full potential in your vehicle It Takes Power to Make Power ‘The gauge of the power and ground wire is critical to your system. If the wire gauge is too small your amp will never produce its rated power, Even worse... Straining to produce power from insufficient current can over-tax the power supply of your amp and cause amp failure. See the chart below: Recommended Wire Gauge Upto 4H 7A to 13H 16 tort 22 2aFt 20A 2 | 12 [10 [10 3 [3 354, no [ss [a 50a 8 608 a5 A 105A 125A 3 4 4 & 2 2 o 150A o Be Safe: ‘Add up the fuse recommendations ofall 1@ amps in your system Then see how long a run you will have from the bat fiers Now locate the wire gauge on the chart above i.e. f your amps need a total of 125 amps and your wite run will be 16f long you Iwill need to use at least a 2 gauge wire, Anything less and your car won't go boom Ill just g0 Blaap! And you can damage your new amplifier. |Ground Matters just as much as power. Flectricity travels ina circuit. The ground lwire needs to be the same size as the power wire or current (and power) will reduced. A weak ground connection will also limit current flow. You need a good solid ground connection to the vehicle frame. Remember: JA body panel is nat a frame. Many metal body panels never even make cantact with the frame. Make sure you have a solie ground to the frame, to guaranty yo. lwil get full performance from your systemFusing: In addition to the fuses at the amplifiers, always fuse the main power lead at the battery to protect the vehicle in case of amp or wiring failure Contact an installation professional for further advice, Basic Installation Guidelines Mounting your Studio Series Amplifier is relatively easy, Just keep in mind the following guidelines: + The amplifier may be mounted in any direction, on wood, metal or carpet. The metal case of the amplifier may be grounded or left isolated, + The amplifier requires adequate ventilation. Position the amplifier with sufficient surrounding area far proper cooling, Keep any fan and vent end plates clear for proper internal cooling, Keep the amplifier out of the engine compartment and other locations Do not mount the amplifier to a subwoofer enclosure or any other place that may have excessive vibration! Setting Gains (Input sensitivity) Proper gain setting is one of the most important factors in setting up a stereo lxystem. At the same time, gain setting is quiteoften done wrong, Turning up the lcain of an amp is the very last thing you should ever do to in setting up a system. [An amplifier is @ step up transformer. Period. Any signal you put in is boosted by 2 fixed factor. Music, hiss, or any other noise, it doesn't matter. A large number of hroise problems are simply a matter of improper gain settings, [The goal of gain setting is to achieve the maximum amount of musical outut from| the amplifier while getting the least amount of hiss or noise from the system. Your {Studio Series amplifier accepts an extremely wide range of input levels. As little as 25 volts to as much as 8 volts at the RCA inputs. The basic gain setting is very Simple ane requires no special tools, Whether yau have a simple system with a lseck and an amp, or a system with a deck, line driver, equalizer, crossover, and amp] [The procedure is always the same + First, hook up the system with all gain controls at minimum (turn the gain pots fully counter-clackwise with a small screwdriver). + Then turn on the head unit and turn up the volume. If you achieve clean sound, and more volume than you want, you don't need to make any adjustments However, f you turn up the volume and begin to hear distorted sound before it becomes loud, you are clipping (distorting) the deck (probably a litle over & volume) + Tutn the deck down just enough to hear clean sound again, and then move to the ‘next component in your system. With the deck playing atmaximum clean volume" adjust the gain of the next component toits*maximum clean volume"Ifyou adjust your gains this way, always starting at the head unit and working down the line to tne amplifier, you will get the most performance out of your amplifiers) with the least amount of unwanted distortion and noise Safe Sound A quick word about very serious safety issue: Continuous exposure to excessive sound pressure levels may cause permanent hearing loss. It is not unusual for customers new to high-end sound quality to complain that their Zapco amps sound wonderful, but ‘they just don't get loud tion Is what NOTE: A clean undistorted system simply will net sound loud. Dist makes a system "sound loud’, not sound pressur Here's the problem: Having properly set gains will allow you to comfortably play your Zapco system at a much higher SPL without sounding “loud”, However, the fact that itis now mote comfortable to play at a higher SPL does nat mean it is, safer. The functioning devices in your ear do not have very good pain receptors So even if it does not ‘feel like it hurts, excessively high $ PL absolutely will damage your hearing, So, please practice safe sound! Install Note For High level OEM Hook-up: Speaker level input plugs: The2 channel and 4 channel Studio Amplifiers have speaker level inputs. There are 5 connections for speaker level inputs on some models. The fifth wire is"Signal Ground For best performance and lowest noise nis wire should be grounded at the chassis of the fa ctory head unit, Invest a 1e now and you will get better performance for years.The Studio-D BT Micro Chassis Amplifiers he Studio-DBT amps are full range class D with the latest generation of NXP lass D control. What this means to you is great sound like Class A/B, but with crazy-high efficiency (over 90%), This means less current draw, less heat, and smaller chassis. Another advantage to the new Class D control is that these new full range Class D amps have no more EMI (cause of radio interference) than Class A/B amps. So, if you want to turn the radio on for background music, or if you want to hear a ball game, you can do that and get crystal clear tuner reception with even the high power of Studio-D 8T models. ST-64D8T There are two “micro” chassis models of ST-D 87 amps. While the features and hook-ups are identical they vary slightly in physical size and more so in power. The 4-Channel ST-6408T is the smallest of al the ST-D 8T amps at 95mm (3.5) x 213mm (8.4) but with 340 watts RMS it provides plenty of power for Co-Ax's or separates front and rear, or for separates up front and 10° sub-woofer wired mono on the rear channels 4-Channel Micro Chassis + Class D Full Range 340 Watts RMS + 90watts RMS/Ch @ 20 Bluetooth Music Streaming ST-64DBT Features + Variable LP/HP/Full Electronic Crossover Variable bass boost + RCA pass through outouts + Hilevel inputs + Switchable Auto-on function See the End Panel controls and connections Pp 8/8 NOTE: Just because these are “micro” chassis amps, doesn't mean you can skimp on the wire. Even at over 90% efficiency, it takes current to make power. Check out the chard on Pp 4. Ifyou want to get the full potential from these micro amps you'll need torun atleast 4Ga main power and ground wire for the ST-64D BT in most cars and 2Ga for the ST-104D BTST-104D BT The ST-104D BT gives the Micro chassis 2 serious bump in power, up to520 watts RMS power, with 120WV/Ch at 2 ohms. It does this in the same 218 inches of wich and only ‘adds alittle over an inch in length (29mm) A-Channel Micro Chassis Class D Full Range 520 Watts RMS 130 watts RMS/Ch @ 20 Bluetooth Music Streaming ‘ST-104D BT Features Variable LP/HP/Full Electronic Crossover + Variable bass boost RCA pass through outputs + Hilevel inputs Switchable Auto-on function Micro Chassis Controls and Connections Micro Chassis Control End 5 7 ower and Protect LEDS 2. Select front and rear inputs, or have b the front input signal 3. RCA Connector plug provides input Signal leads an the preamp by-pass the auto- fon circuit iFyaur car is nat compatiole with automatic turn on 5, Crossover selector picks high pass, low pass, or full range for the rear cutouts 6. Control determines the crossover frequency for the rear outputs 7. Bass Boost allows 6¢8 to 12d8 of boost of for the bass frequencies 8. Rear channels input gain control 9. Front Channels input gain contro o igh pass frequency control for the Front outputs us indicator lets you know when the Blueteoth Is active BluetootWiring Connections Micro Chassis! 95mm (314°) of end plate area does not leave you much room for terminal blocks or RCA plugs, so the ST-640 &T and ST-104D BT amplifiers uses molex connectors at the end plates to conserve space w'thout gving up the features that you want in your car sound systern, Speaker in/out harness is Color coded using the standard autosound wire colors fr right, left, front, and rear The Micro Chassis Power End —— > oe ¢ RY * s & AJBICIDLEIFISIAIE Ty) Ret JKC MILN LO] [F Jaj[R] RRR, Top Row Bottom Row alue [A] +12v Turn on Yellow [2] +12V Trigger Out White [3] Left Front Hiln + Green [K] Left Rear Hiln-+ White/Black [e siin- Greensalack [LE] Left Rear Hiin= Gray [D] Right Front Hi In + violet [M] Right Rear Hin + Gray/Black [E Violet/atack [N] Right Rear Hiln = white [F Green [0] Lett Roar Spk + White/Black Green/black [P] Left Rear Spk- Gray [1] Right Front Spk + Violet [Q] Right Rear Sok + Gray/Black [1 ] Right Front Spk- Violer/sleck [R] Right Rear Sok-Micro Chassis Amp Signal Leads h1- Lft Front Input + Ch. LitRear Input + Left Bluetooth Ou 2 REFront np 4- Rt Rear Input ight Bluetooth output Note: Bluetooth Outputs function to send the Streamed Bluetooth signal to another amplifier ut mmone> Fusing the Micro Chassis Amps The Micto chassis Studio D BT amps do not have internal uses and require an external fuse. Because of the extremely small chassis, the power and ground wires are in 3 2 position Molex plug, The are both 10Ga wites.. These wires should not oe fextended, but rather attached to an external fuse of 40 Amps for the ST-64D BT and {60 amps for the STIO4D BT. ‘Another fuse should be placed in the main power cable running from the battery to tack of the vehicle. This fuse should be clase to the hattery and should provide enough current to handle requirements ofall the amps in the system. 10The Studio-D BT Compact Chassis Amplifiers There are three compact chassis Studio-0 &T amplifiers, the ST-1050 BT, the ST-204D BT, Jand the ST-402D BT. A5-Channel, a 4-Channel and a 2-Channe| amp. These amps have similar technology to the micro chassis units, wth over 90% efficiency, low EMI and great [Zapco sound. SoWhy ate they bigger? POWER! Tre Compact Chassis Studio-D &T amps each have over! 000 wi wm x 300mm (about 65°x 115 8. That's crazy ST-105D BT + Channel + Compact Chassis Class D Full Range + 1,070 Watts RMS + 180Wx4#350x1@20 Bluetooth Music Streaming Features + Variable Electronic Crossover —-*-Variable bass boost + Internal Mono Bass emp + Ach, 4ch, Sch input mode select ST-105D BT Controls and Connections ST-105D BT Control End uwrequency selector for the High Pass crossover on front channels ( channels (Bottom) 2. Crossover selector turns on High Pass crossover for front channels (top) and rear channels (bottom) Input cain control for front channels (Top) and rear channels (Bottom) Front channel Input RCA connectors fear channel Input RCA connectors ass channel input RCA connectors For best signal use bath ChS inputs mone) Mode switch allows you to choose to use all3 pair of input connectors (ifyou have six head unit outputs) or use only Front and Rear inputs (F you have only a4 channel head unit output) and still have bass on Channel 5, orto run ali 6 channels from justa single 2 channel input Port for the Dash Remote Power/ Protect LEDs show the operating status of the amp. High level input plug for use with a factory head unit Low Pass frequency selector for the bass crossover Bass Boost switch adjusts bass boost from Od to 12d8 of boost Bass section input gain control Bluetooth LED illuminates when the 'op) and rear 3 4 7 1 ST-105D BT Power end SL 8 e ey Cy ey Cy im Wu 2ST-204D BT ‘The ST-2040 BT takes all the power of the 105D BT and po 4 channels of 180 Watts RMS each @42 and 280 Watts RMS @ 22. Thisis roughly the same size as the Class 4/8 4 channel but over twice as much power... And you get gluetooth music streaming, ST-204D BT + 4Channel + Compact Chassis + Class D Full Range + 1,120 Watts RMS 280 Watts x4 @ 2.0 + Bluetooth Music Streaming Features + Variable Electronic Crossover» Variable bass boost + Hi/Lowd or Band Pass Crossover = 2ch/ch input made selector ‘The ST-204D BT Controls and connections ST-204D BT Control endCrossover selector to turn high pass crossover on or off 2 mode switch to choose 4 channel inputs or have all channels 3 RCA ing 4, Rear RCA input connectors 5. Preamp/éluetooth output to provide streamed signal to another amplifier 6. Rear channels Bass Boost can be set from OdB co 128 of boost 7 8 9 front Rear crossover can be set for High Pass Low Pass or Band Pass Port for Dash remote bass control Power/Protect light shows operating status of the amp High level input for OEM integration with a factory head uni TT. Rear High pass frequency contral 20Hz to IKHz 12. RearLow pass frequency control 50Hz to 3KHz 13, Rear channels input gain contro 14, Front channels inout gain control 5. Front channels HP crossover frequency selector 16. Bluetoath streaming LED indicator ST-204D BT Power end inonly| = : = 1. GND The amp should have a firm connection the car frame. * See section ‘install Sense” 2. REMThe remote terminal connects to the head unit remote cut, oro some ‘other switched 12 volt source to turn on the amplifier 3, +12V The main 12 volt must be connected directly to the vehicle's battery Using wire of the proper gauge. * See section ‘Install Sense" ;peaker connections The heavy duty terminal block provides positive speaker connections. Simply insert the wite and cinch down the set screw. Note that ions are L+ to for both front and eear speaker sets Fuses: f nceded, always replace with the same size fuses Mono bridge pos 4ST-402D BT ‘The ST-4020 BT takes all the power of the 204D 8T and pours it into 2 channels of 380 Watts RMS each @ 42 and 550 Watts RMS each @ 22. This is roughly the same size as the Class A/@ 4 channel but twice as, much power ., And you get Bluetooth music streaming, ST-402D BT + 2Channel + Compact Chassis Class D Full Range + 1,100 Watts RMS 550 Watts RMSx2.@20 + Bluetooth Music Streaming Features + Variable Electronic Crossover + Variable bass boost + Speaker level OEM Inputs + Dash mount Remote The ST-402D BT Controls and connections ST-4020 BT Control end a (VUL_SUUUU LU WU 15‘Speaker level inputs for OEM integration RCA Preamip input connectors Preamp /Bluetooth output for signal to another amplifier Preamp input level control to balance the ami to the head unit Variable Bass boost selects OdB to 12d8 cf boost Low Pass freqauency selector for crossover filter Crossover switch to choose Low pass, high pass, or fll range output igh Pass frequency selector for crossover filter Port for Dash Remote Power/Protect LEDs monitor operating status of the amplifier Bluetooth streaming LED Indicator ‘ST-4020 BT Power end r S Yarner + ea ae ea (ca LU UU = 1. GND The amp should have a frm connectio “Install Sense" 2. REM The remote terminal connects to the head unit remote out, ort ‘other switched 12 volt source to turn on the amplifier. 3, +12 The main 12 volt must be connected directly to the vehicle's battery using wire of the proper gauge. * See section “Install Sense" 4. Speaker connections The heavy duty terminal block provides positive speaker connections. Simply insert the wire and cinch down Note thatthe speaker sets 5, Fuses: f needed, always replace with the same size fuses e car frame, * See sect psarel (Chi}+ and (Ch2) 16Car Audio Systems (On the following pages we fer some possible system diagrams. These are basic system designs to help you visualize the possiblities of your Zapco Studio-D BT amp For these diagrams we used only the Compact chassis ampsas they will be easier to visualize, However all the 4 char ‘using the ST-2040 BT can with the micro chassis ST-64D BT and ST-104D T. The only dif ‘micro chassis amps, the actval conn will be made at Functionally the Micro chassis amps and the Compact chassis ST-2040 8T are cr Z Lt a ei BOO ee hin 7System Diagrams sT-402D BT cls + and- leads from the correct terminal Standard stere: each speaker, taking care that no wire or speaker terminal make: with the metal vehicle body; CET omen TED) hannel ‘mixed mono" made can be used to run Mids/Highs in Abridge stereo and a Su in Mono from the same stereo outputs; To maintain ¢ Impedance you must use passive crossovers (see below] when in mixed mono configuration; A simple Cap/Coil crossover will work for this set-up, placing @ coilin the woofer+ lead and caps in authorized dealer for m ormaton on mixed mono setups CST rommione EQ) 18ST-204D BT Like the ST-4020 87, the SI chant ly dffere 3P wil driv fae hooked in 3 y the hookups are similar aoe Standard 4 channel 7 ; Front stage system hook-up we. | Jafar eile ofa”! eaamp by u ster front amp powers one channel and the rear amp powers the other. ai You will useY-adapters toputthe Left input into both front channels and the right input into both rear channels Below, an ST-204D BT drives front rear speaker, while the 204D 8T th A Bass Amp “00m Rear Fil 205 Channel Systems ‘The ST-105D.8T puts everytt Cece synthe 1g together in one do-all amplifier system Wooter woh in Cera ninrcnannes Ff) sinha sianpover 3 Channel System Woofer 40hms «onmsnvthanne Cf] 2ZSX091XSEE 2SX09bXZPE @SXO9LXZPE G'SEXSEXL9Z S'SEXSEXLEZ Srey gun (wu) wig ZSX09bX00E ZSX09bX00E ZSXO9LXOLE GSEXSEXZHE GS GEXSEXELZ (NA (wul]suorsuaWIg 384, 3% 594, $0 Er sng woe Fenrp SOA ‘$84 S84 ‘SOA Saq nd yd yan" Bie As-nwoez | Ag-awoze | ng-awozz | As-awozz | Ag-awoze: Aunysveg ind yout Seq S84, eA, S8A, SaA, ndypo duweaig 8K EN 38k 3K 38K ue use $8, 884 SA, S84 50, ‘B00 Sse 3A. SA 3A. 58K, $8, 1088019 38K wh 3K 3K 3K TAO UD aA sauvOOr SuV06 sauyozT sau 08 Sduny OF | Suey asn, papuewwueney 4q0s 900s gaos qos ggos AOL Avtl Avob AvPL Avo ‘apse< ‘epee apsg< ‘apgg< ‘9pse %S'0> “o> 80> %8'0> %S'0> ‘anode! CHL ZHyee—ZHOL | zHyee-zHOL_ | _ZHee~ZHOL | ZHZe~ZHOL_[_ZHZe~ZHOL esvodsey Jovenbaly %06 %06 %06 %06 %06 ua! ‘MOLE mose+zxmose | zxHoimoss | zxHommocz [ 2xHo/mos! _[Suuo ry pebouE GoImoss —_[MOsE+#xuOIMOgE| —_UOIMOBE YOIMSLL yommss [Silo zW uoImose | moszerxuoros [~UOIMOBL YOIMS8 Yoro9 [Save P WV PONIQENOd SHE a a a ad a $0 ig dzoris 48 dS0hIS 48 Gv0z-1S 18 OvOl-LS ia drsis TaGOW 4al4IdNV Burmeans >1snw yooenig yim SAayIdUIY 1a G oIpMas 22‘The pursuit of perfection never ends! No sooner do we produce an new amplifier, then we're looking for a way to make a better one. In the same way, you're going to find yourself listening to your system and wondering how you can make it sound better. So, here's your next step: Equalization! Your car changes the sound of your system, The shape of the car, the interior, even the number of passengers, Here's another fact. No 2 cars are identical. What's this mean? That means that to sound it's very best, every system must be matched to the vehicle through Equalization. To get the very best sound from your system in your car on your music, you need an equalizer. The Zapco ASP-Q1 is the quickest way to get exactly what you want from your system in your car. ae ae Sygee WSSOOCOOT ‘The Zapco ASP-Ql give you 5 bands of parametric equalization so you can adjust exactly the frequencies needed to tune your system in your car. It also gives you a choice of 2-way or 3-way crossovers, an Auxiliery input, input gains for each channel of each input, a phase control to perfectly match the woofer to the car, a dedicated subwoofer level control, and a system volume control. ‘The ASP-Q1 id a full system preamp for tuning your system to your car. To make sure you get that custom tuned sound without added noise, we wrapped the ASP-Q1 in a genuine copper chassis for maximum noise rejection and we gave it a remote mounted power supply in it's own copper chassis Audition a Zapco ASP-Q11 Equalizer at your Zapco dealer today 23[Link]