Harman-Kardon 100.3SE English, Loud Music And Hearing, Your Car And Bass Reproduction, 100.3se

LOUD MUSIC AND HEARING

YOUR CAR AND BASS REPRODUCTION

CHOOSING AN ENCLOSURE

ENGLISH

WARNING

Playing loud music in an automobile can perma- nently damage your hearing, as well as hinder your ability to hear traffic. The maximum volume levels achievable with Infinity speakers, combined with high power amplification, may exceed safe levels for extended listening.

We recommend using low volume levels when driving. Infinity accepts no liability for hearing loss, bodily injury, or property damage as a result of use or misuse of this product.

Depending on the size of the vehicle’s interior listening space, reproduced bass frequencies below 80Hz are boosted by nearly 12dB per octave as frequency decreases in the car.

This effect, known as the vehicle’s transfer function, plays an important part in shaping over- all in-car response and is displayed graphically, along with freespace response, on the enclosed data sheet for your Kappa subwoofer.

Kappa Series subwoofers are optimized to perform best in small sealed, vented, and prefabricated bandpass enclosures. While infinite-baffle mounting is possible, power handling will be greatly compromised because there is no enclosed volume of air to prevent the speaker’s cone from moving past its limit. For this reason, we do not recommend infinite-baffle mounting for Kappa Series subwoofers.

You should choose an enclosure based on the following factors: the type of music you listen to, the amount of amplifier power required to drive

Vented enclosures are also well suited to a variety of music types. However, because the required enclosure volume and port size have a specific relationship with the characteristics of the sub- woofer, each enclosure must be built exactly to the provided specifications. While there are some prefabricated vented boxes available, matching one to a particular subwoofer is difficult. Moreover, an optimum vented enclosure is always larger than the optimum sealed box for the same subwoofer and will require more space inside the vehicle.

Thank you for choosing an Infinity Kappa Series subwoofer. Kappa Series subwoofers are designed to suit a broad range of mobile audio applications and can be used in a wide variety of enclosure types to produce extended, powerful bass in a limited amount of vehicle space. To ensure maximum subwoofer performance, we strongly recommend that installation be left to a qualified pro- fessional. Although these instructions explain how to install a Kappa Series subwoofer in a general sense, they do not show box-construction details and exact installation methods for your particular vehicle. If you do not feel you have the necessary experience, do not attempt the installation yourself, but instead ask your authorized Infinity dealer about professional installation options. Remember to keep your sales receipt with this manual in a safe place so both are available for future reference.

SPECIFICATIONS

100.3se		120.3se
Type:	10" subwoofer,	Type:	12" subwoofer,
	single-voice coil		single-voice coil
Nominal Impedance:	4 ohms	Nominal Impedance:	4 ohms
Power Handling:	275W RMS, 1,100W Peak	Power Handling:	300W RMS, 1,200W Peak
Sensitivity (2.83V, 1m):	90dB	Sensitivity (2.83V, 1m):	92dB
Frequency Response:	20Hz – 250Hz	Frequency Response:	18Hz – 250Hz
Mounting Depth:	6-1⁄ 16" (154mm)	Mounting Depth:	6-5/16" (161mm)
Cut-out Diameter:	9-1⁄ 8" (232mm)	Cut-out Diameter:	10-15 ⁄ 16" (278mm)

the subwoofer, and the volume of interior space needed for the subwoofer enclosure.

SEALED ENCLOSURES

Because a sealed enclosure provides the most control over the subwoofer’s movement, an enclosed subwoofer will handle more power than one mounted in another type of enclosure. Also, sealed enclosures provide more accurate sonic reproduction than other enclosure types, so they are well suited to all types of music.

Sealed-enclosure construction is straightforward, and there are many prefabricated boxes available. Optimum sealed enclosures are always smaller than other types of optimized enclosures for a particular speaker, so they will only require the smallest amount of space inside the vehicle.

VENTED ENCLOSURES

Vented enclosures provide better efficiency in the 40Hz to 50Hz range, but at the expense of reduced sound output in the lowest octave (below 40Hz) and some loss of control and power handling. When using a small amplifier, a vented box will provide more bass output from less power than a sealed enclosure will.

If you wish to use a vented enclosure, we strongly recommend having your authorized Infinity dealer build it or that you verify that your design is correct before you start building it yourself.

BANDPASS ENCLOSURES

Bandpass enclosures often provide the most out- put available from any amplifier and subwoofer combination at the expense of sonic accuracy.

If sheer SPL (sound-pressure level) is what you desire most, then choose a bandpass enclosure.

However, bandpass-enclosure design is very tricky and may require the aid of a computer and enclo- sure design software. If you are an experienced installer or have some woodworking experience, you may wish to build the enclosure described in the design sheet included with this subwoofer. Fortunately, there are many prefabricated band- pass boxes available and they are all optimized to extract the most output possible from any sub- woofer. Bandpass enclosures can be quite large and may require a lot of space inside your vehicle.

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