OWNER
’
S MANUAL
Configuration
It is important to establish exactly how you are going to connect and configure the speakers
before you install them. The Competition Pro TL-1041, TL-1051 and TL-1651 speakers are
all designed and built so that they can be fitted as a direct replacement to standard car
speakers of a 4”, 5” or 6.5” diameter. They are however, just as suited to custom
installations.
Without an amplifier…
If you are unsure as to whether or not you require an amplifier for your Competition Pro
speakers, it is advisable initially to connect them up to your source unit and test them out.
It is common for users to require fantastic audio reproduction and not want or need to use
the speakers to their full power potential.
The diagram below shows the configuration of the Competition Pro speakers in this situation.
Installed in the front and/or rear of the car:
In this situation, it is normally fine for the wiring that is already installed and connected to
the standard speakers to be used to connect the new Competition Pro speakers to the
source unit. It is important to ensure that the positive cable is connected to the positive
terminal of the speaker, and the negative cable is connected to the negative terminal of the
speaker.
It is sometimes necessary to modify the materials behind where the speakers are to be
mounted, as the mounting depth may be slightly more than the standard ones.
Sometimes the connectors on the end of the already installed cable are different to those
which are needed to connect to the terminals of the Competition Pro speakers. There are a
number of ways in which this can be resolved:
-
Adaptor leads can be purchased from a retailer. The type needed is from your make
and model of car to “standard spade speaker connectors”.
-
Cut the standard installed cable just before the connector and strip 1 cm of wire. Cut
the cable that comes with Competition Pro speakers (already equipped with spade
connectors) just before the connectors, and join the short cable with spade
connectors to the installed cables via a connection block, manually twisting the wires
round each other and insulating, or attaching connectors to each cable and pushing
together.
-
Cut the standard installed cable just before the connector and then strip 1 cm of wire.
Crimp spade connectors to the wire. Make sure that correct spade connectors are
used for the negative and positive leads; the negative connector is slightly smaller
than the positive one.
SOURCE UNIT
FRONT
REAR
= TL speaker
= speaker cable,
consisting of a
positive and
negative wire
It is not possible to detach the tweeter from the speaker unit and mount it elsewhere in
the car in this situation. Please see configuration notes “With an amplifier…” for details of
mounting the tweeter separately.
These speakers function best with a good quality source unit. Connecting them to a poor
quality source unit (such as a standard, factory fitted one) may not give such good results.
For full installation instructions for this situation, please see the Installation section of this
manual.
With an amplifier…
To get the full power potential from your Competition Pro speakers, it is normally
necessary to use an amplifier to power them. It is possible to achieve better sound
staging, and highest power handling by mounting the tweeters separately (as component
speakers), but it is down to personal preference and convenience.
* THESE SPEAKERS ARE DESIGNED FOR 4 OHM OPERATION ONLY *
Co-axial setup (Leaving tweeter mounted to loudspeaker)
Advantages of using co-axial setup:
-
Simpler to install
-
Tweeter can be turned (or “swivelled”) while in operation to easily fine-tune
positioning
-
Tweeter and loudspeaker are in exactly the same position, thus not separating the
sound source
Disadvantages of using a co-axial setup:
-
Sound imaging is limited to the location of the speakers
-
Unfortunately on a lot of vehicles, speakers are positioned down low in the car
doors, resulting in a low sound stage
If deciding to leave the tweeters mounted to the loudspeaker, the following diagram
demonstrates the correct configuration:
In this situation, use the speaker cables provided, to connect the speakers to the amplifier.
Use the end with spade connectors to connect to the speaker, and the end with stripped
wires to connect to the amplifier.
Although the TL-1092 amplifier is not specifically required, the speakers and amplifier have
been manufactured to compliment each other, and are very well matched. The TL-1092
amplifier (available from
www.theloudest.com
) is capable of producing enough power to
overpower (i.e. “blow”) the TL speakers, so it is important to configure the amplifier with
the speakers correctly, to ensure this doesn’t happen (as detailed later in this manual
under “Calibration of speakers with power source”).
OWNER
’
S MANUAL
SOURCE UNIT
TL-1092
AMPLIFIER
= TL speaker
= pre-out from
source unit
= speaker cable,
consisting of a
positive and
negative wire
