Postby Soundstream_626 » May 31st, 2007, 11:47 am
[img]http://pasmag.com/audiolabs/store/photos/{FAEFD51D-1F83-4427-AD06-7BD85C479822}.jpg[/img]
I spend quite a bit of time visiting all kinds of car audio shops. I always find it interesting to see what’s new, how it’s being presented, and what makes both the store, and the products they have chosen to carry, different. I’ve been to stores that do a great job of pointing out the various benefits of their brands and what sets them apart. They sell their service, selection and professionalism. Other times, I get the impression that no one working in the place knows much about anything they sell, and don’t even try to differentiate themselves from their competitor across town. The attitude is, yeah, we have something sorta like that, and we’re 10 dollars cheaper.
This same observation can be applied to a lot of the car audio brands available these days. As part of doing the consulting work that is the backbone of my company, I also spend a considerable amount of time in Asia, visiting the factories where much of the current car audio product on the market is manufactured. But, over the last 10 years or so, I’ve seen only a handful of really innovative products that were not basically a copy or a re-do of someone else’s original idea or concept. Usually, with nothing more than a different cosmetic look to it, the same internals roll out the doors under several brand names, and these generic products find their way to store shelves, and eventually into our cars. In this age of individualizing everything from cell phones to running shoes, I have always found it interesting that we readily accept these generically devolved products.
Well, this review is not about one of those copycat products. This review is all about the Arc Audio 4000SE amplifier, and I’m here to tell you it’s not assembled in an Asian copy house. Its design comes from the legendary Robert Zeff, it’s assembled here the USA, and it’s unlike any other big subwoofer amp I’ve ever measured. It’s not a Class D amp, nor is it Class A/B. It uses a sophisticated microprocessor, but it has no DSP. Interested now?
COSMETICS
The Arc Audio 4000SE is not a small amplifier by any measure you care to use. Measuring approximately 32 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 3.25 inches tall and weighing almost 25 pounds, this is a behemoth of an amp. It comes in a sturdy carton, and is delivered to the customer in a nice fabric velour-like bag that protects it from damage and provides a touch of class that you don’t get from an amp wrapped in the usual shrink-wrap.
The top of the amp is constructed of heavy gauge sheetmetal, and powdercoated in a low gloss black. A removable 4-inch wide brushed aluminum strip runs down the center of the amp and holds an illuminated badge and the script proclaiming this is a Robert Zeff signature edition amplifier. I’m told by Fred at Arc Audio that the colour of the badge is customizable as well, in over 200 different hues between blue and red. When you remove the four small Phillips screws that retain the aluminum strip, you can access all the controls and settings that allow you to dial in the amp for your application. This particular amp that was sent to me was a very early production unit, and was shipped to me before an owner’s manual was ready, so you’ll have to excuse the omission of any mention of the manual in this review.
In the current market of flash and bling, the big 4000SE looks a little plain, but I don’t know too many people who buy this type of amp to look at it.
FEATURES & DESIGN
The 4000SE has all the usual features you’d expect on a subwoofer amp, and a few that are definitely different and cool. One look at the power connections and you know this thing’s serious… it uses dual power and ground connections, with each sporting a pair of terminals that will accept 1/0 wire. Yes, you read it right, a total of four 1/0 connections!
The speaker wire connections are a little different as well. Sure, they take large gauge wire, (I used 8 gauge during testing) but these connections are covered by a protective shroud that prevent someone from getting a good zap if they’d accidentally touch the speaker wires while the amp was playing. Yes, this baby makes enough voltage and current to give you a potentially painful jolt! To ensure that some lazy installer doesn’t just chuck the guard away, they have cleverly made it a safety interlock, so if the guard is not fastened in place, the amp won’t turn on. This way, there is no chance for an accidental shock to the installer or user.
The amp’s control features are pretty much what you’d expect from Mr. Zeff; a full complement of the tools you need to get the amp dialed in exactly the way you want. In addition to the usual gain pot and remote gain control, there is a 30-250Hz crossover pot, with selectable -12or -24dB slopes, an adjustable 10-80Hz defeatable subsonic filter, and a parametric-style bass EQ that provides up to 15dB of boost at any frequency you select between 20 and 80Hz.
There are other features hidden inside as well that make this amp really unusual. The 4000SE is a fan-cooled 4,000 Watt Class G/H mono-block amplifier. This topology uses three stages of secondary windings in the power supply to deliver different voltages to the output devices by a “Rail Switcher.â€
