zapco DC-1004, Owner'S Manual

Page: 3 / 32

Mission Statement
ZAPCO IS DEDICATED TO THE PURSUIT OF AUDIO FIDELITY.
Our passion, our “Driving Force” is to design and manufacture car audio products of
unsurpassed quality, to provide unparalleled support and service for these products and
to conduct business in a manner that will enhance the quality of life for all involved.
There is absolutely no substitute for experience; that is a simple fact of life. Another simple
fact is that for over 30 years, ZAPCO has 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 are unique to the world of car audio. ZAPCO’s relentless quest for
sonic purity consistently yields imaginative designs that utilize the most innovative
technologies. There sulting products set the criteria by which all others in the industry
are judged. Feel the passion, hear the quality, know the performance and reliability by
making ZAPCO the “Driving Force” in your car audio system.
Sonic Purity
Our dedication to sonic purity requires that the highest quality internal components are
used.
Resistors
All resistors (other than power resistors) are 1% precision low noise metal film.
This is a key reason why ZAPCO products have the industries’ best low noise specifications,
and why you won’t see as much fluctuation in our test certificates as you will with other
brands. Precision resistors also reduce distortion and improve channel matching.
Capacitors
Capacitors are similar to batteries. Like a battery, they store energy and have
electrolyte (internal fluid). Also like a battery, a capacitor can have a very limited life.
“Computer grade” capacitors for example, are reliable only in cool environments with
very little current applied to them. Only the best high current and high temperature
capacitors should be used in an auto-sound application. Although these capacitors
typically cost five times as much as those commonly used in other brands, ZAPCO insists
that no audio degradation will occur over time.
Transistors
Two types of transistors are used in ZAPCO products, bipolar and MOSFET.
MOSFET transistors are rugged, high current output devices that are best suited as
switches. They are the choice for switching power supplies. They are however, very
non-linear and are not suitable for use as audio outputs. They cannot be matched and
their inherent distortion requires too much feedback to achieve reasonable distortion
levels. Bipolar output transistors are used exclusively in the audio stage of all Reference
Series amplifiers. The audio performance of a bipolar transistor heavily outweighs any
minor advantages a MOSFET might offer regarding durability. We solve the durability
concerns by simply using more output devices than the amplifier requires. This gives us
a bulletproof amp with the sound quality we demand of a ZAPCO product.
-3-