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owner’s manual
5-Channel Class-D System Amplifier
Thank you for purchasing a JL Audio amplifier for
your automotive sound system.
Your amplifier has been designed and manufactured to exacting
standards in order to ensure years of musical enjoyment in your vehicle.
For maximum performance, we highly recommend that you have
your new amplifier installed by an authorized JL Audio dealer. Your
authorized dealer has the training, expertise and installation equipment
to ensure optimum performa
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Protect Your Hearing! installation aPP lications We value you as a long-term customer. For This amplifier is designed for operation in that reason, we urge you to practice restraint in vehicles with 12V, negative-ground electrical the operation of this product so as not to damage systems. Use of this product in vehicles with your hearing and that of others in your vehicle. positive ground and/or voltages other than 12V Studies have shown that continuous exposure to may result in damage to th
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c ooling efficiency c onsiderations: safety c onsiderations: Your JL Audio amplifier employs an Your amplifier needs to be installed in a dry, advanced type of heat management, called well-ventilated environment and in a manner RealSink™. This feature takes advantage of which does not interfere with your vehicle’s safety convection and radiation effects to remove equipment (air bags, seat belt systems, ABS brake heat from the amplifier circuitry. For optimum systems, etc.). You should als
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Product d escri Ption The JL Audio HD900/5 is a very powerful The HD900/5’s flexible input and crossover and compact five-channel amplifier utilizing sections permit operation with a wide variety patented Single Cycle Control™ Class D of source units and system configurations. technology for all channels. This groundbreaking It can be operated with a single pair of technology delivers reference-grade, full- stereo inputs, with two pairs of stereo inputs range sonic performance while requiri
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tYP ical installation s equence The following represents the sequence for 8) Connect the remote turn-on wire and the a typical amplifier installation, using an positive and negative power wires to the aftermarket source unit or OEM Interface amplifier’s power connector plug. Then insert processor (like the CleanSweep® CL441dsp). the power connector plug into the amplifier’s Additional steps and different procedures may power connector receptacle, pushing firmly. be required in some appli
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Power and t urn-on c onnections Before installing the amplifier, disconnect the We do not recommend the use of “copper-clad negative (ground) wire from the vehicle’s battery. aluminum wire” or “CCA” wire because this This will prevent accidental damage to the system, wire is significantly less conductive than pure the vehicle and your body during installation. copper wire. Only use pure copper power wire, such as JL Audio’s MetaWire™. Tinned copper wire (silver color) is acceptable as the t
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a mplifier Power c onnector Plug For optimal grounding, we recommend the To connect the power wires and the remote use of a JL Audio ECS master ground lug turn-on wire to the amplifier, unplug the power (XB-MGLU). Alternatively, a sheet metal connector plug from the amplifier chassis (pull screw or bolt can be used with a star washer. back firmly) and back out the set screws on the connector plug, using the supplied 4 mm hex wrench for the +12 VDC” and “Ground” connections and the suppli
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am Pli Fier mounting o Ptions c on trol P a nel securit Y c oV er The HD900/5 has two mounting options to The HD900/5 features a Control Panel ease in installation. Security Cover. When installed, the cover ensures that your amplifier settings are not accidentally standard mounting changed while creating a clean aesthetic for the amplifier and your installation. The control panel security cover is pre-installed at the factory and must be temporarily removed for access to the controls desc
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am PliF ier in Puts “4 c h.” input mode The HD900/5 has three separate input sections, In this mode, you will connect separate one for the “Front” left and right channels, pairs of input cables to the “Front” and “Rear” another for the “Rear” left and right channels amplifier inputs and leave the “Sub” inputs and one for the Subwoofer Channel. Each section unused. The subwoofer channels will receive consists of a pair of RCA-type input jacks on signal from the sum of the signals at the “Fron
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The output of the amplifier decreases for a for maximum clean output. Rotating the control given input voltage when the “Input Range” clockwise will result in higher sensitivity (louder switch is placed in the “High” position. The for a given input voltage). Rotating the control output increases with the switch in the “Low” counter-clockwise will result in lower sensitivity position. While this may sound counter- (quieter for a given input voltage). To properly intuitive, it is correct as
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while the “Sub” channel filter is a low-pass filter Experiment to find the slope or combination (attenuates high frequencies). For each filter, the of slopes which best matches the acoustic user can select from a shallow (12dB/octave) filter requirements of your system. slope or a more aggressive (24dB/octave) slope. 2) “Filter Freq. (Hz)” Control: This control selects the frequency at which the filter begins to attenuate the signal and refers specifically to the frequency at which output
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bi-a mPli Fied s Ystems Bi-amplified systems are defined as systems bi-a mplified system with one Hd 900/5 in which separate amplifier channels drive low- driving two main speakers plus subwoofer frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) speakers (3-c hannel mode) and are separately filtered to send appropriate In this configuration, the “Front” channels frequency ranges to each speaker system. of the HD900/5 will be bridged to drive the The most common application of left front component speak
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re mote le Vel control ( o Ptional ) sPeaker outP uts With the addition of the optional Remote Level The HD900/5 employs JL Audio’s exclusive Control (HD-RLC), you can control the level of Regulated, Intelligent Power Supply (R.I.P.S.) the Subwoofer Channel of the HD900/5 from design. The operation of the R.I.P.S. system is the front of the vehicle. The HD-RLC connects independent for each channel section. This to the jack labeled “Remote Level Control” on sophisticated power supply allows t
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bridging c onsiderations s peaker c onnector Plugs Bridging is the practice of combining the There are three speaker connector plugs on the output of two amplifier channels to drive a single HD900/5: one for the front channels, one for the load. When bridged, each channel produces rear channels and one for the subwoofer channel. signals of equal magnitude, but opposite polarity. To connect the speaker wires to the amplifier, The combined output of the two channels unplug the speaker connecto
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“status” led / Protection c ircuitr Y There is a single multi-color LED on the 4) Alternating Red and Green: lights to indicate control panel of the amplifier to indicate the that the amplifier is experiencing a fault amplifier’s operating status. This LED’s behavior that may require service of the amplifier, its is as follows: wiring or the vehicle’s charging system. Audio is muted when this fault occurs. The most 1) F lashing Green: amplifier is powering up, likely cause of this fault i
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s er Vicing Your J l audio a mPliF ier If your amplifier fails or malfunctions, please return it to your authorized JL Audio dealer so that it may be sent in to JL Audio for service. There are no user serviceable parts or fuses inside the amplifier. The unique nature of the circuitry in the JL Audio amplifiers requires specifically trained service personnel. Do not attempt to service the amplifier yourself or through unauthorized repair facilities. This will not only void the warranty,
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aPPendix a : Hd900/5 s pecifications Amplifier Topology: Class D, switching type with patented Single-Cycle Control™ technology. Power Supply: Pulse width modulation-regulated switching power supply Recommended Fuse Value / Type: 60A (AFS, AGU or MaxiFuse™) Rated Power (Main Channels / Stereo): 100W RMS x 4 @ 4Ω (11V - 14.5V) 75W RMS x 4 @ 1.5-3Ω (11V - 14.5V) Rated Power (Main Channels / Bridged): 200W RMS x 2 @ 8Ω (11V - 14.5V) 150W RMS x 2 @ 3-6Ω (11V - 14.5V) Rated Power (Subwoofer
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aPP endix b: aPPendix c : Precise Frequency selection c hart input s ensitivity l evel s etting JL Audio amplifiers utilizing the Regulated “Filter Freq ” Intelligent Power Supply (R.I.P.S.) allow detent Panel a ctual delivery of their rated power when connected number marking Freq. (Hz) to any load impedance from 1.5 - 4Ω per Full counter-clockwise: 53 channel and when connected to a charging 01 ........... “50”............53 system with any voltage from 11 - 14.5V. 02 ...........
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t he n ine-step Procedure (follow this procedure for each pair of channels) channels) at 3/4 source unit volume. 1) Disconnect the Speaker Connector Plugs. 7) C onnect the AC voltmeter to the “Front 2) T urn off all processing on the source unit Speaker Outputs” or “Rear Speaker Outputs” (bass/treble, loudness, EQ, etc.). Set fader connectors of the amplifier. If the channel pair control to center position and subwoofer is operating in stereo, it is only necessary to level control to 3/4 o
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aPP endix d: troubles Hooting “How do i properly set the input sensitivity on my amplifier” Please refer to Appendix C (pages 18, 19) to set the input sensitivity for maximum, low-distortion output. “my amplifier doesn’t turn on” Check the fuse(s), not just visually, but with a continuity meter. It is possible for a fuse to have poor internal connections that cannot be found by visual inspection. It is best to take the fuse out of the holder for testing. If no problem is found with the
