DS18 SXE 4-Channel Class D Car Audio Amplifier Owner’s Manual

DS18 SXE 4-Channel Class D Car Audio Amplifier

Product Information

The DS18 SXE series amplifier is a car audio amplifier designed to provide high-quality music reproduction in automobiles. With over four decades of car audio expertise, DS18/SXE amplifiers are suitable for daily driver music lovers or serious car audio competitors. The amplifier features protection circuitry against overload, short circuit, thermal, low voltage, high voltage, and reverse polarity to prevent misuse and common causes of amplifier failure.

Product Usage Instructions

Installation:
Professional installation by an authorized DS18 amps dealer is highly recommended to ensure satisfactory performance. However, if you decide to do your own installation, please follow these steps carefully:

1. Choose a location for the amplifier that provides adequate ventilation. Avoid mounting the amplifier with the fins facing down; they should be facing up, either vertically or horizontally.
2. Inspect the mounting location to avoid drilling into or damaging any electrical, hydraulic, fluid, or fuel lines.
3. Secure the amplifier using the provided screws.

Input:
The DS18/SXE Series amps have an adjustable input sensitivity of gain. The gain control is not a volume or power limiting control but makes the amplifier more sensitive to input from the stereo. To optimize performance and minimize noise from the car’s electrical system, it is recommended to run the gain at the lowest setting possible for your system. Use good judgment and listen carefully to each speaker to tune the system.

Crossover Controls:
A crossover is a device that removes unwanted frequencies from a speaker or amplifier. It is important to carefully adjust the crossover settings to ensure that all speakers are playing the right sounds and there are no holes or low spots in the frequency response. This will prevent bass notes from damaging tweeters and ensure a natural sound from subwoofers.

DS18 SXE AMPS
Thank you for choosing DS18/SXE series amplifier! Your choice of SXE series amps indicates a desire for high quality music reproduction in the automobile. DS18/SXE amplifier brings to you over four decades of car audio expertise. So weather you are a daily driver music lover, or a serious car audio competitor. DS18 / SXE amplifiers have the product for you.

To take full advantage of the DS18/SXE amplifier gear you have just purchased, please read and follow the instructions in this manual. As with all of our products, professional installation by an authorized dealer is highly recommended. Otherwise, the performance of your new gear may not be satisfactory. In addition to the installation services and expertise offered by an authorized DS18/SXE amplifier dealer, the warranty of this product may be extended when installed by an authorized DS18/SXE amplifier dealer. Be sure to ask your authorized DS18/SXE amplifier dealer about wheather your product may qualify for an extended warranty. You are headed in the right direction with DS18/SXE amplifier.

INTRODUCTION

The DS18/ SXE amplifier for high quality audio reproduction for the audiophile and the everyday listener a like. Allowing you the ability to taylor the sound to best fit the speakers and your listening preferences ensures solid electrical connections that resist corrosion. Fully variable crossover. Aditionally, they may be used in conjuction with outboard passive or active crossovers, depending on the complexity required by the system. The 12dB per octave slope offers steep roll-off above or below the selected frequency.

• Protection circuitry against overload, short circuit, thermal, low voltage, high voltage, and reverse polarity.
• This protecction features are designed to protect the amplifier from missuse, as well as from common causes of amplifier failure.

FEATURES

• Compact Size to easy Installation for Any Applications.
• Stable/Reliable Two or Four Layers Traces PCB Design.
• Surface Mount Component Technology.
• Audio Precision Quality Control Verification.
• Clipping LED Indicator.
• Full Adjustable HP/LP @ 12dB/oct Crossover.
• Multiple ways of electronic protection (thermal, Over-Load, Short Circuit, impedance, Voltage, Clipping)

INSTALLATION

Professional installation by an authorized DS18 amps dealer is highly recommended!

• Otherwise, the performance of your new gear may not be satisfactory. In the event that you decide to do your own installation, please read and follow this manual very carefully. Failure to do so may compromise the integrity of this product, your automobile, and possibly avoid the product warranty.
• Amplifiers are generally mounted in the hatch/trunk are of a car or SUV, and under or behind the seat of most pick up trucks. Select a location that will provide adequate ventilation for the amplifier. Avoid mounting the amplifier with the fins facing down. The fins should be facing up, either vertically or horizontally. Secure the amplifier with the screws provided.
• Before securing the amplifier, inspect the mounting location carefully to ensure that you do not drill into or damage any electrical, hydraulic, fluid or fuel lines.

INPUT

Input Section
Because of the wide range of head unit output configurations all DS18 / SXE Series amps have an adjustable input sensitivity of “Gain”, the gain is not a volume or a power limiting control like a throttle.

• It makes the amp more sensitive to input from the stereo. With the gain up the amp will reach full output at a lower volume setting on the deck. At higher gain settings the amp also becomes more sensitive to noise from the car’s electrical system. Try to run the gain at the lowest setting possible for your system.
• There is no correct gain setting. Because speakers require different power demands to reach the same output, the gains most often need to be used to compensate for these differences. If you, tried to set all the gains at half way you would probably find the system didn’t sound very good. Using good judgement and listening carefully to each speaker is still the best way to tune a system.

CROSSOVER CONTROLS

• A crossover is a device that removes unwanted frequencies from a speaker or amplifier. A tweeter can easily be destroyed by bass notes if they are not filtered out. Likewise a subwoofer will not sound natural if it is playing midrange notes.
• A crossover removes these sounds from the speaker. As you might guess, careful adjustment in need to ensure that all the speakers are playing the right sounds and that you are left with no “holes” or low spots in the frequency response.

WIRING

SPEAKER OUTPUTS

This amplifier is a multi channel amplifier design. Meaning it has more than one channel of speaker outputs. Make this connection carefully and neatly. Strip your wire back and twist the exposed leads and insert them into the block terminal while being careful that there is no loose or frayed strands of wire and tighten the hexagonal head screw down on the terminal till the wire is tightly secured in place. If the wires ever come in contact with each other the amplifier will go into protection. Know your total ohm load before you make any connections.

INSTALLATION 1 CHANNEL

INSTALLATION ALL 2 CHANNELS

ALL 4 CHANNELS

SPECIFICATIONS

ALL 2 CHANNELS (BRIDGE)

ALL 4 CHANNELS (BRIDGE)

POWER SXE 2500.1D

• Total Watts (Peak)  2500W
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm 300W
• RMS Power @ 2 ohm 600W
• RMS Power @ 1 ohm 800W
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm Bridge /

AUDIO

• Frequency Response: 10Hz-250Hz
• Signal to Noise Ratio 90dB
• Efficiency @ 4ohm: 80%
• Damping Factor 140
• Input Impedance 20kΩ
• Channel Separation 45dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): 0.05%
• Low Level Input Range: 200mV-5V
• High Level Input /
• Selectable X-Over: Fixed / Fijo LPF
• X-Over Filter Range: 50-250Hz
• Bass Boost Range 0-18dB
• Bass Boost Frequency: 45Hz
• Infrasonic Filter: 10-55Hz
• Phase Selector: 0-180°

FEATURES

• Amplifier Class: Digital (D)
• Amplifier Type: Monoblock Subwoofer
• Number of Channels: 1
• Minimum Impedance: 1 Ohm
• LED Indicator: Power/Protect/Clip
• Power Input Terminal Size: 4Ga
• Fuse Size 2 x 40A (80A)
• Remote Level Control: Yes
• Cooling Fan /
• Voltmeter /
• Thermal Protection: Yes (80°C)
• Over-Load Protection: Yes
• DC Output Protection: Yes
• Short Circuit Output Protection: Yes
• Voltage Input Protection: Yes (16.5v)
• Clipping Protection: Yes

MEASUREMENT

• Overall Length: 8″ / 205mm
• Overall Wide: 5.5″ / 140mm
• Overall Height: 1.8″ / 48mm
• Heatsink Length: 6.6″ / 168mm
• Gross Single Unit Weight: 1.5KG

EXTRA FEATURES

• Compact Size to easy Installation for Any Applications Yes
• Stable/Reliable Two or Four Layers Traces PCB Design Yes
• Surface Mount Component Technology Yes
• Audio Precision Quality Control Verification Yes
• Remote Level Control with Clip Indicator Yes

POWER SXE 1200.4

• Total Watts (Peak) 1200W
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm 4 x 60W
• RMS Power @ 2 ohm 4 x 100W
• RMS Power @ 1 ohm /
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm Bridge 2 x 200W

AUDIO

• Frequency Response: 10Hz-20KHz
• Signal to Noise Ratio 90dB
• Efficiency @ 4ohm: 64%
• Damping Factor 170
• Input Impedance 20kΩ
• Channel Separation 45dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): 0.05%
• Low Level Input Range: 200mV-5V
• High Level Input /
• Selectable X-Over: HPF/FULL/LPF
• X-Over Filter Range: 40HZ-2KHZ
• Bass Boost Range /
• Bass Boost Frequency: /
• Infrasonic Filter: /
• Phase Selector: /

FEATURES

• Amplifier Class: Analog (AB)
• Amplifier Type: Stereo Full Range
• Number of Channels: 4
• Minimum Impedance: 2 Ohm Stereo / 4 Ohm Bridge
• LED Indicator: Power/Protect/Clip
• Power Input Terminal Size: 4Ga
• Fuse Size 2 x 25A (50A)
• Remote Level Control: /
• Cooling Fan Yes
• Voltmeter /
• Thermal Protection: Yes (80°C)
• Over-Load Protection: Yes
• DC Output Protection: Yes
• Short Circuit Output Protection: Yes
• Voltage Input Protection: Yes (16.5v)
• Clipping Protection: Yes

MEASUREMENT

• Overall Length: 9.81” / 249.3mm
• Overall Wide: 5.51” / 140mm
• Overall Height: 1.88” / 48mm
• Heatsink Length: 8.34” / 212mm
• Gross Single Unit Weight: 1.76KG

POWER SXE 2000.4D

• Total Watts (Peak) 2000W
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm 4 x 100W
• RMS Power @ 2 ohm 4 x 160W
• RMS Power @ 1 ohm /
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm Bridge 2 x 320W

AUDIO

• Frequency Response: 10Hz-20KHz
• Signal to Noise Ratio 90dB
• Efficiency @ 4ohm: 90%
• Damping Factor 200
• Input Impedance 20kΩ
• Channel Separation 60dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): 0.1%
• Low Level Input Range: 200mV-5V
• High Level Input /
• Selectable X-Over: HPF/FULL/LPF
• X-Over Filter Range: 40HZ-2KHZ
• Bass Boost Range /
• Bass Boost Frequency: /
• Infrasonic Filter: /
• Phase Selector: /

FEATURES

• Amplifier Class: Digital (D)
• Amplifier Type: Stereo Full Range
• Number of Channels: 4
• Minimum Impedance: 2 Ohm Stereo / 4 Ohm Bridge
• LED Indicator / Indicador LED: Power/Protect/Clip
• Power Input Terminal Size: 4Ga
• Fuse Size 1 x 40A (40A)
• Remote Level Control: /
• Cooling Fan /
• Voltmeter /
• Thermal Protection: Yes (80°C)
• Over-Load Protection: Yes
• DC Output Protection: Yes
• Short Circuit Output Protection: Yes
• Voltage Input Protection: Yes (16.5v)
• Clipping Protection: Yes

MEASUREMENT

• Overall Length: 6.4″ / 164.3mm
• Overall Wide: 5.5″ / 140mm
• Overall Height: 1.8″ / 48mm
• Heatsink Length: 5″ / 127mm
• Gross Single Unit Weight: 1.76KG

POWER SXE 3000.4D

• Total Watts (Peak) / Vatios Totales (Pico) 3000W
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm 4 x 200W
• RMS Power @ 2 ohm 4 x 320W
• RMS Power @ 1 ohm /
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm Bridge 2 x 500W

AUDIO

• Frequency Response: 10Hz-20KHz
• Signal to Noise Ratio 90dB
• Efficiency @ 4ohm: 88%
• Damping Factor 140
• Input Impedance 20kΩ
• Channel Separation 45dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): 0.05%
• Low Level Input Range: 200mV-5V
• High Level Input /
• Selectable X-Over: HPF/FULL/LPF
• X-Over Filter Range: 40HZ-2KHZ
• Bass Boost Range /
• Bass Boost Frequency: /
• Infrasonic Filter: /
• Phase Selector: /

FEATURES

• Amplifier Class: Digital (D)
• Amplifier Type: Stereo Full Range
• Number of Channels: 4
• Minimum Impedance: 2 Ohm Stereo / 4 Ohm Bridge
• LED Indicator: Power/Protect/Clip
• Power Input Terminal Size: 4Ga
• Fuse Size 2 x 40A (80A)
• Remote Level Control: /
• Cooling Fan /
• Voltmeter /
• Thermal Protection: Yes (80°C)
• Over-Load Protection: Yes
• DC Output Protection: Yes
• Short Circuit Output Protection: Yes
• Voltage Input Protection: Yes (16.5v)
• Clipping Protection: Yes

MEASUREMENT

• Overall Length: 9.81” / 249.3mm
• Overall Wide: 5.51” / 140mm
• Overall Height: 1.88” / 48mm
• Heatsink Length: 8.34” / 212mm
• Gross Single Unit Weight: 1.86KG

POWER SXE 4000.4D

• Total Watts (Peak) 4000W
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm 4 x 275W
• RMS Power @ 2 ohm 4 x 430W
• RMS Power @ 1 ohm /
• RMS Power @ 4 ohm Bridge 2 x 750W

AUDIO

• Frequency Response: 10Hz-20KHz
• Signal to Noise Ratio 90dB
• Efficiency @ 4ohm: 86%
• Damping Factor 140
• Input Impedance 20kΩ
• Channel Separation 45dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): 0.05%
• Low Level Input Range: 200mV-5V
• High Level Input /
• Selectable X-Over: HPF/FULL/LPF
• X-Over Filter Range: 40HZ-2KHZ
• Bass Boost Range /
• Bass Boost Frequency: /
• Infrasonic Filter: /
• Phase Selector: /

FEATURES

• Amplifier Class: Digital (D)
• Amplifier Type: Stereo Full Range
• Number of Channels: 4
• Minimum Impedance: 2 Ohm Stereo / 4 Ohm Bridge
• LED Indicator: Power/Protect/Clip
• Power Input Terminal Size: 4Ga
• Fuse Size External Fuse
• Remote Level Control: /
• Cooling Fan /
• Voltmeter /
• Thermal Protection : Yes (80°C)
• Over-Load Protection: Yes
• DC Output Protection: Yes
• Short Circuit Output Protection: Yes
• Voltage Input Protection: Yes (16.5v)
• Clipping Protection: Yes

MEASUREMENT

• Overall Length: 10.6” / 269mm
• Overall Wide: 5.51”/ 140mm
• Overall Height: 1.88” / 48mm
• Heatsink Length: 9.1” / 232mm
• Gross Single Unit Weight: 2.05KG

MEASUREMENT

OVERALL LENGTH

• SXE-2500.1D: 8“ / 205mm
• SXE-1200.4: 9.8“ / 249.3mm
• SXE-2000.4D: 6.47“ / 164.3mm
• SXE-3000.4D: 9.8” / 249.3mm
• SXE-4000.4D: 10.6” / 269mm

WARRANTY

• Please visit our website DS18.com for more information on our warranty policy.
• We reserve the right to change products and specifications at any time without notice. Images may or may not include optional equipment.

WARNING:
Cancer and Reproductive Harm. www.P65Warning.ca.gov.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• PLEASE VISIT DS18.COM.

References

• Official DS18 Pro Audio Store - Speakers, Subwoofers, Amps & More!

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