Limited W arranty – Amplifiers (US A)
JL Audio war rants this produ ct to be f ree of de fec ts in materials and
work manship for a per iod of t wo (2 ) year s from the o riginal date of purchase.
This war ranty is n ot transfer rable and ap plies only to the o riginal purchase r
from an auth orized J L Audio dealer. Should ser vice be n ecessar y under th is
warrant y for any reaso n due to manufac turing de fec t or malfu nctio n, JL
Audio will (at its discretio n ), repa ir or replace the de fec tive produc t with new
or remanuf actu red produ ct at no charg e. Damage cause d by the following is
not covered unde r warrant y: accident , misuse, abuse, produ ct mo dif ication or
negl ect , failure to follow ins tallation inst ructi ons, unauthor ized repair at tempt s,
misreprese ntations by the sell er . T his warrant y does n ot cover incidental or
conseque ntial damages and do es not cover the cost of removi ng or reinsta lling
the unit(s ). Cosmetic damage due to accide nt or normal wear an d tear is not
covered under warrant y .
Warrant y is void i f the p rodu ct ’s seria l numbe r has be en re moved or d eface d.
Any applicab le implied w arranties are limite d in duration to the p eriod of the
expr ess warrant y as provide d herein be ginning with th e date of the original
purchase at ret ail, and no war ranties, whe ther exp ress or implie d, shall apply
to this produc t thereaf ter. Some st ates do not allow limitatio ns on implied
warrantie s, therefo re these exclusions m ay not apply to you. This w arrant y gives
you spe cifi c legal right s, and you may also have other right s, which var y fro m
st ate to st ate.
If you n eed s er vice on yo ur JL AUDI O pro duc t:
All warrant y retur ns should be s ent to JL Audio ’ s Amplif ier Se rv ice F acili ty
freight-pre paid through an auth orized J L Audio dealer and mus t be
accompanie d by proof of purchas e ( a copy of th e original sal es receipt). Direc t
returns f rom consumers or n on-auth orized de alers will b e refuse d unless
speci fic ally authori zed by JL Audio with a v alid return auth orizatio n number.
Warrant y expiratio n on produc ts re turned w ithout proo f of purchase will b e
determin ed from th e manufac turing date code. Coverag e may be invalidated
as this date is previous to pu rchase date. Non- de fec tive items received w ill
be retur ned fre ight - collec t. Customer is resp onsible for shi pping charges an d
insurance in sen ding the produ ct to JL Audio. Freight damage o n returns is not
covered under warrant y .
For Service Information in the U .S. A. please call
JL Audio Customer Service:
( 9 5 4 ) 4 4 3 - 11 0 0
9:0 0 AM – 5:30 PM (Eastern Tim e Zone)
JL Aud io, Inc .
1 0369 Nor th Commerce Pk w y .
Miramar, F L 330 25
(Do not se nd produc t for rep air to this address)
International W arranties:
Produc ts purchas ed outsi de the United States of Ame rica are covered onl y
by that countr y’s distributor an d not by JL Audio, Inc.
Appendix A:
Input Sensitivity Level Setting
F ollowing the directions below will allow the installer to adjust the input
sensitivity of each amplifier channel pair in just a few minutes using equipment
commonly available in installation ba ys.
Necessary Equipment
• Digital AC Voltmet er
• CD or file with a sine -wa ve test tone r ecorded at 0 dB ref erence level in the
frequency range to be amplified for that set of channels (50 Hz for sub woofer
channels, 1 kHz for a midrange application). Do not use att enuated test tones
(-10 dB, -20 dB, et c.).
The Nine-Step Procedure
1) Disconnect the speakers from the amplifier’ s speaker output
connectors (you need only disconnect one speaker wire).
2) T urn off all processing (bass/treble, loudness, EQ , etc.) on the sourc e
unit, processors (if used) and amplifier . S et the source unit’ s fader
control to c enter position and its subwoof er level control to
3/4 of maximum.
3) T urn the “Input S ens. ” control all the wa y down.
4) Set the source unit volume to 3/4 of full v olume. T his will allow for
reasonable gain overlap with moder ate clipping at full volume .
5) Using the chart on this page, determine the target voltage for input
sensitivity adjustment according to the nominal impedanc e of the
speaker system connected to the amplifier outputs .
6) V erify that you hav e disconnected the speakers before proc eeding. Pla y
a track with an appropriate sine wa ve (within the frequency range to
be amplified) at 3/4 source unit v olume.
7) Connect the AC voltmet er to the speaker output connectors of the
amplifier . Make sure you test the voltage at the c orrect connectors
(+ and –).
8) Increase the “Input Sens. ” control until the target voltage is observed
with the voltmeter .
9) Once you hav e adjusted the amplifier to its maximum low-distortion
output level, r econnect the speaker(s) and listen to the system. The
“Input Sens. ” controls can now be adjusted down ward if the amplifier
requires att enuation to achieve the desired sy stem balance.
Specications MX500/1
Rated RMS Pow er @
14.4V , <1% THD+N
300W x 1 @ 4 Ω 400W x 1 @ 3 Ω 500W x 1 @ 2 Ω
Rated RMS Pow er @
12.5V , <1% THD+N
250W x 1 @ 4 Ω 300W x 1 @ 3 Ω 400W x 1 @ 2 Ω
Fr equency Response 20 Hz - 12 kHz (+0, -1dB), 7 H z - 14 kHz (+0, -3dB)
S/N Ratio, A-w eighted,
20 kHz noise bandwidth
97 dB (Referred to rat ed power), 70 dB (Referred t o 1 W )
Damping F ac tor >115 / 50 Hz @ 4 Ω, >54 / 50 H z @ 2 Ω
Input Voltage Range 250 mV - 4 V (Low) or 580 mV - 14 V (High)
Filt er Modes Low-Pass , defeatable
Filt er Freq . Range, Slope 40 - 400 Hz, 24 dB/Oc tave
Detented F ilter F req.
Poten tiometers
40, 80, 130, 300 Hz (Calibrated)
Infrasonic Filter 20 - 40 H z, 12 dB/Octave
Bass Boost EQ 0 to +12 dB @ 43 Hz
Output Polarity 0 or 180 degrees
Remote Bass Controller M-RBC-1 (sold separately)
Min Pow er/GND Wire 4 A WG
F use Rating 50 A
Dimensions 9.33 in x 4.50 in x 1.77 in / 237 mm x 114.5 mm x 45 mm
Appendix B
Remote Lev el Contr ol
With the optional RBC-1 or M-RBC-1 Remote Lev el Control (each sold separately),
you can contr ol the subwoofer v olume from the front of the vehicle/vessel.
The remote ’ s plug connects to the amplifier ’ s harness-mounted RJ11 input
jack. When c onnected to the amplifier , the Remote Level Con trol operates as
follows . At full counter-clockwise rotation, the audio will mute completely . At full
clockwise rotation the level will be the same as if the remote w as not connected
at all. In other words , it operates strictly as a level attenuat or . T his control will
not affect the “Bass Boost ” feature of the amplifier . Care should be taken t o
securely mount this contr ol in a manner that does not interfere with vehicle/
vessel operation. When setting the amplifier ’ s input sensitivity, the Remote L evel
Control should be unplugged or a t full clockwise rotation (maximum level).
Problem Possible C ause Solution
How to properly set
input sensitivity
Please refer t o Appendix A to set the
input sensitivity for maximum, low-
distortion output.
Amplifier doesn ’t
turn on
F ault y fuse
Remove fuse and check with continuity
meter . Replace if necessary.
Poor connection
integrity
Check “+12V” , “ Ground” , and “Remote”
leads for pinched wires; ensur e tight
connections.
Insufficient
“Remote” input
Make sure there is a sufficient +12V
supply at the “Remote” connection; if
not a relay may be r equired.
Intermittent output,
fluctuates when I tap
on it or hit a bump
Poor connection
integrity
Make sure insulation has been properly
stripped back at connection points for
good contact area.
Make sure input connectors are making
good contact with input jacks of the
amplifier .
Distorted, attenuated,
or popping sound
F ault y speaker
connection (Short
Circuit / Over
Current P rotection)
Inspect speaker wires for possible short-
circuit, either together or shorted to the
vehicle ’ s chassis ground.
Check the nominal load impedance at
the amplifier is equal to or great er than
2 ohms.
Output shuts off after
a while
Overheating
condition ( Thermal
Prot ection)
Make sure amplifier mounting area has
adequate space for v entilation and heat
dissipation.
T roubleshooting
MX500/1
Nom. Impedance T arget A C V oltage
4Ω 34.6 V
3Ω 34.6 V
2Ω 31.6 V
Important!
Do not increase any “Input Sens. ” setting for any amplifier channel or
channel pair in the system bey ond the maximum level established during
this procedure . Doing so will result in audible distor tion and possible
speaker damage.
It will be necessary to re- adjust the “Input Sens. ” for the affected channels if any
equalizer boost is activated after setting the “Input Sens. ” with this procedure. This
applies to any EQ boost circuit, including source unit t one controls or EQ circuits. EQ
cuts will not require re-adjustment.
Status LED’ s / Protection Circuitry
There are tw o status indicator lights on the wiring end panel of the amplifier .
1. “POWER ” (Green): Lights to indicat e that the amplifier is turned on and
operating normally .
2. “PROTECT ” (Red): Lights to indicate the amplifier’ s protection circuitry
has been activated to preven t product failure due to thermal overload ,
over current or short-circuit to the amplifier’ s outputs. When this pro-
tection mode is activated, the amplifier will shut down to prot ect its
circuitry. When the problem is corrected, the amplifier will r etur n to
normal operation and the “Protect” LED will shut off. Connecting the
speaker outputs to impedances low er than 2 ohms will also cause this
protection mode to activate.
POWER
(Green LED )
PROTECT
(Red LED)
Status Note
ON OFF Normal Operation
OFF ON Thermal Protection Lasts until temp cools to normal
OFF/ON ON/OFF Over Curr ent Green/Red LEDs alternat e for 1 second
OFF ON Short Circuit P ossible audible “popping” noise