VPW 300 - Subwoofer BLAUPUNKT - Free user manual and instructions

Brand	Blaupunkt
Model	VPW 300
Product type	Passive subwoofer
Speaker diameter	30 cm (12 inches)
Power handling (RMS)	300 W
Peak power	600 W
Impedance	4 Ω
Sensitivity	90 dB (1 W/1 m)
Frequency response	25 - 500 Hz
Recommended enclosure type	Sealed, bass-reflex or bandpass
Cone material	Polypropylene
Surround material	Rubber
Dimensions (W x H x D)	350 x 350 x 200 mm
Weight	5.5 kg
Power supply	External amplifier (not included)
Installation	In the trunk or on the rear shelf
Safety	Disconnect battery before installation
Maintenance	Clean with a dry and soft cloth
Warranty	2 years (European Union)
Spare parts	Contact Blaupunkt customer service

Frequently Asked Questions - VPW 300 BLAUPUNKT

What types of enclosures are suitable for the VPW 300 subwoofer?

The VPW 300 can be installed in different enclosure types: infinite baffle, sealed enclosure, bass-reflex, single-vented bandpass or dual-vented bandpass. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of efficiency, power and sound quality.

How to install the subwoofer safely?

Before any installation, disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. Follow the vehicle manufacturer's instructions (airbag, alarm, etc.). Make sure not to damage cables or the fuse box when drilling. Mount the subwoofer in a stable location, avoid flexible rear shelves.

What is the difference between a sealed enclosure and a bass-reflex enclosure?

A sealed enclosure offers better impulse response and high power handling, but average low-frequency efficiency. A bass-reflex enclosure uses a port to extend the low-frequency range, with higher efficiency, but more complex construction and risk of damage at very low frequencies.

How to configure woofers in isobaric configuration?

The isobaric configuration uses two woofers mounted face to face with a closed air volume between them. This reduces the required enclosure volume by about 50%, but decreases efficiency by 3 dB. Wiring and power handling must be strictly observed.

What thickness of wood should be used to build an enclosure?

Use high-quality MDF or birch plywood with a thickness of 19 to 25 mm. The walls must be glued, screwed and sealed to avoid vibrations. Add bracing for large dimensions.

How to reduce internal resonances of the enclosure?

Fill the enclosure at least 50% with damping material such as sheep's wool or polyester batting (5 to 10 cm thick). You can also stick self-adhesive damping mats on the inner walls.

What cable gauge should be used to connect the amplifier to the subwoofer?

Cables should be as short as possible and have a minimum cross-section of 4 mm². This ensures good power transmission and avoids losses.

What diameter of bass-reflex port is recommended?

Use a port with a diameter of 10 to 15 cm to avoid air noise. PVC tubes are available in specialized stores, with elbow connectors if necessary.

How to maintain the VPW 300 subwoofer?

Clean the subwoofer regularly with a dry and soft cloth. Avoid chemical or abrasive products. Periodically check the connections and the condition of the cone.

Where can I find spare parts or support?

Contact Blaupunkt customer service via their website or address: Blaupunkt GmbH, Robert Bosch Str. 200, 31139 Hildesheim, Germany. The manufacturer's warranty applies in the European Union.

USER MANUAL VPW 300 BLAUPUNKT

Congratulations on your purchase of your new Blaupunkt Velocity-Series subwoofer. We have invested tremendous effort in the design process of the new Blaupunkt Velocity-Series subwoofer. Reference series, in order to achieve superior musical performance.

For maximum performance and reliability we highly recommend that your new Blaupunkt Velocity-Series subwoofers be installed by an authorised Blaupunkt dealer. By using our Blaupunkt Velocity-Series component speakers and amplifiers you can be assured of making the best out of your high-quality audio hi-fi system without spoiling the sound by using components of inferior quality.

For additional information on the Blaupunkt Product Line (technical data, user notes and soon also a simulation programme for subwoofer housings) visit our Internet site at: http://www.blaupunkt.de

We provide a manufacturer guarantee for our products bought within the European Union. You can view the guarantee conditions at www.blaupunkt.de or ask for them directly at:

Blaupunkt GmbH

Hotline

Robert Bosch Str. 200

31139 Hildesheim

Germany

Safety precautions

Before starting to mount your speakers, please read carefully the instructions on installation and connection.

Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before carrying out installation and connection work. Observe the vehicle manufacturer's safety instructions (regarding airbags, alarm systems, trip computers, vehicle immobilisers).

When drilling holes, take care to avoid damage to vehicle components (battery, cables, fuse boxes). Do not mount the subwoofer onto flexible rear decks (hatchback vehicles) or anywhere where they may fall forward.

SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE TYPES

Sound is created by the movement of the woofer cone back and forth. If a woofer cone moves forward creating a positive pressure wave, this same motion creates a negative pressure at the back of the woofer. If these two waves combine due to the lack of a wall separating the front of the speaker sound from the back, the output from the woofer is effectively cancelled thus substantially reducing the bass output of the speaker. This wall is absolutely necessary and is referred to as an acoustical "baffle". It can be accomplished using a box of some kind or simply the rear package shelf of an automobile to isolate the front and back waves of the speaker.

COMMON ENCLOSURE TYPES

In the car audio world there are five types of subwoofer enclosures commonly used: INFINITE BAFFLE, SEALED BOX (closed box), VENTED BOX (bass reflex), SINGLE-VENTED BANDPASS (often incorrectly referred to as "5th" order), DUAL-VENTED BANDPASS (often incorrectly referred to as "7th" order). No single design is superior because each has its own compromise in performance, power handling and design complexity. The bandpass name implies a "built-in" acoustical response which has a natural highpass response (30 Hz for example) but also a lowpass response suppressing high frequencies (e.g., > 80 Hz).

INFINITE BAFFLE (fig. a) designs simply use the trunk of the car for its acoustical enclosure and the rear deck to isolate the front and rear sound paths. Advantages include simple installation and adequate performance for most systems. Disadvantages include poor power handling capacity and substandard transient response.

SEALED boxes (fig. b) offer one of the best compromises in power handling and performance. Because of the "air spring" provided by the box the advantages include simple box construction, higher power handling, excellent transient response, and smooth low frequency rolloff. Disadvantages include only moderate efficiencies at low frequencies and the need for large box volumes.

VENTED boxes (fig. c) extend the low frequency response below that of the sealed box by using a port tube. Advantages include extended low frequency response, lower distortion due to smaller cone movements in its passband, good efficiency, good transient response, moderate size boxes and higher power capacity. Disadvantages include increased complexity in box design and possible woofer damage due to over-excision of the woofer cone below the cut-off frequency of the vented box.

SINGLE-VENTED BANDPASS boxes (fig. d) are relatively new (about 5 years in the car) but offer some advantages of both the sealed and vented designs. Advantages include reasonable efficiency, small box volumes, good transient response, extended low frequency performance and can be used with very high power amplifiers. Disadvantages include slightly lower efficiency compared to a vented box and increased complexity in box design and construction.

DUAL-VENTED BANDPASS boxes (fig. e) vent the sound from the front and back of the woofer through individually tuned enclosure on the front and rear of the woofer. The advantage of this design is its high efficiency over a narrow frequency band. Disadvantages include complex design and construction, large box volumes, poor transient response and susceptibilities to cone over-excursions (damage) for sound outside its primary frequency band.

ISOBARIC WOOFER CONFIGURATIONS

Increasing in popularity in recent years is the compound woofer design, more commonly known as the "Isobaric" design. Isobaric actually means "constant pressure" which is the case having two woofers moving an encapsulated pocket of air between them in the same direction.

This arrangement acts like a single speaker which effectively reduces the required box volumes for a subwoofer system by 50%, which is substantial if you are space-limited. Unfortunately, the trade-off for space is the 3 dB loss in efficiency, but this is usually recovered with increased amplifier power. Care must be taken to avoid air leaks between the two woofers, and final speaker wiring and impedance loads must be carefully watched.

ISOBARIC CONFIGURATION (TANDEM)

SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE CONSTRUCTION

Before starting final box assembly, some basic construction issues should be mentioned:

• Infinite baffle construction in a car is done by simply cutting a piece of wood which will act as an acoustical divider isolating the front and rear sound of the woofer. This piece of wood is mounted inside the trunk of the car under the rear deck, or against the back of the rear seat, and should have some kind of caulking to seal off all residual air leaks.
• Box construction can take on nearly any shape since we are dealing with low frequencies. Odd shapes that are difficult to cut and glue should be avoided.
• Particle board, MDF, or high grade birch plywood are good materials to build boxes of thicknesses of 19 to 25 mm.
• All seams in the box should be glued, screwed, and caulked to prevent wall separation over time due to vibration and environmental changes within the car.
• Cross bracing is important for large boxes to prevent wall vibration.
• Acoustical damping material (sheep wool or fiberglass batting 5 to 10 cm thick), attached to 50% or more of the interior walls, helps reduce box noise and also increases the box volume seen by the woofer by 10-20%. The application of self-adhesive damping mats to the inside walls also helps to eliminate wall resonances.
• The cables running from the amplifier to the subwoofer should be as short as possible with a cable cross section of at least 4 mm2.
• The final box should be rock solid and air tight but should also remain serviceable should a woofer be damaged for any reason.
• When possible, use 10 to 15 cm diameter port tubes to avoid wind noise from smaller diameter sizes. PVC plumbing pipe in various diameters is available at most hardware stores with "elbow" pipes allowing you to bend the tubes inside the box.
• Try to always use active (electronic) crossovers, such as those built into our Velocity amps, for example.

TYPES OF SUBWOOFER BOXES

TYPEP AFBUBWOOFER-BOKSE

In the CarAudio area, five different subwoofer enclosures are mainly used: INFINITE BAFFLE SPEAKERS, SEALED ENCLOSURES, BASS REFLEX ENCLOSURES, VENTED BANDPASS ENCLOSURES (often incorrectly called "5th order enclosures") and DOUBLE VENTED BANDPASS ENCLOSURES (often incorrectly called "7th order

SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE CONSTRUCTION

12" SUBWOOFER • TECHNICAL DATA
Nominal diameter	12.0 in (300 mm)
Nominal impedance	2/2 Ω (ea. coil)
DC resistance (Re)	2 Ω (ea.)
Resonance frequency (fs)	42 Hz
Frequency Response	40-200 Hz
Total Q factor (Qts)	0.48
Mechanical Q (Qms)	4.3
Electrical Q (Qes)	0.54
Equivalent air volume (Vas)	13.5 ltr's
Effective cone area (Sd)	41,5 in²
Voice coil diameter	75,5 mm
Voice coil former material	Carbon, Fiberglass (CFG)
Linear excursion (Xmax)	±15 mm
Continuous power (Pe)	1200 W (3600 peak)
Sensitivity (SPL)	93 dB

VPw 300

Recommended box designs • Boxenempfehlung • Conception recommandée des enceintes • Box raccomandati • Aanbevolen boxer • Rekommendationer • Recomendaciones de cajas de altavoz • Caivas recomendadas • Anbefaling af bokse

Sealed:	no recommendation
Vented:	30 liters Port: D = 10 cm, L = 60 cm rounded on both sides
Bandpass:	no recommendation

VPw 380

Specifications • Technische Daten • Caracteristiques techniques • Specifiche • Specificaties • Specifikationer • Especificaciones • Especificações • Specifikationer

15" SUBWOOFER • TECHNICAL DATA
Nominal diameter	15.0 in (380 mm)
Nominal impedance	2/2 Ω (ea. coil)
DC resistance (Re)	2 Ω (ea.)
Resonance frequency (fs)	28 Hz
Frequency Response	25-200 Hz
Total Q factor (Qts)	0.37
Mechanical Q (Qms)	3.6
Electrical Q (Qes)	0.37
Equivalent air volume (Vas)	60.6 ltr's
Effective cone area (Sd)	73 in² (0.051 m²)
Voice coil diameter	100.0 mm
Voice coil former material	Carbon, Fiberglass (CFG)
Linear excursion (Xmax)	±15 mm
Continuous power (Pe)	1500 W (4.500 peak)
Sensitivity (SPL)	93 dB

VPw 380

Recommended box designs • Boxenempfehlung • Conception recommandée des enceintes • Box raccomandati • Aanbevolen boxer • Rekommendationer • Recomendaciones de cajas de altavoz • Caivas recomendadas • Anbefaling af bokse

Sealed:	no recommendation
Vented:	45 liters Port: D = 10 cm, L = 65 cm rounded on both sides
Bandpass:	no recommendation

VPw 460

Specifications • Technische Daten • Caracteristiques techniques • Specifiche • Specificaties • Specifikationer • Especificaciones • Especificações • Specifikationer

18" SUBWOOFER • TECHNICAL DATA
Nominal diameter	18.0 in (460 mm)
Nominal impedance	2/2 Ω (ea. coil)
DC resistance (Re)	2 Ω (ea.)
Resonance frequency (fs)	37 Hz
Frequency Response	20-200 Hz
Total Q factor (Qts)	0.60
Mechanical Q (Qms)	3.8
Electrical Q (Qes)	0.71
Equivalent air volume (Vas)	36,7 ltr's
Effective cone area (Sd)	113 in²
Voice coil diameter	100.0 mm
Voice coil former material	Carbon, Fiberglass (CFG)
Linear excursion (Xmax)	±15 mm
Continuous power (Pe)	1800 W (5.400 peak)
Sensitivity (SPL)	94 dB

VPw 460

Recommended box designs • Boxenempfehlung • Conception recommandée des enceintes • Box raccomandati • Aanbevolen boxer • Rekommendationer • Recomendaciones de cajas de altavoz • Caivas recomendadas • Anbefaling af bokse

Sealed:	no recommendation
Vented:	60 liters 2x Port: D = 10 cm, L = 80 cm rounded on both sides
Bandpass:	no recommendation

Service numbers / Service-Nummern / Numeros du service après-vente / Numeri del servizio di assistenza / Servicenummers / Telefonnummer für service / Númoses deServiço / Número deServiço / Servicenumre

Country:		Phone:	Fax:	WWW:
Germany	(D)	0180-5000225	05121-49 4002	http://www.blaupunkt.com
Austria	(A)	01-610 390	01-610 393 91
Belgium	(B)	02-525 5444	02-525 5263
Denmark	(DK)	44 898 360	44-898 644
Finland	(FIN)	09-435 991	09-435 99236
France	(F)	01-4010 7007	01-4010 7320
Great Britain	(GB)	01-89583 8880	01-89583 8394
Greece	(GR)	210 94 27 337	210 94 12 711
Ireland	(IRL)	01-4149400	01-4598830
Italy	(I)	02-369 62331	02-369 62464
Luxembourg	(L)	40 4078	40 2085
Netherlands	(NL)	023-565 6348	023-565 6331
Norway	(N)	66-817 000	66-817 157
Portugal	(P)	01-2185 00144	01-2185 11111
Spain	(E)	902-120234	916-467952
Sweden	(S)	08-7501500	08-7501810
Switzerland	(CH)	01-8471644	01-8471650
Czech. Rep.	(CZ)	02-6130 0441	02-6130 0514
Hungary	(H)	01-333 9575	01-324 8756
Poland	(PL)	0800-118922	022-8771260
Turkey	(TR)	0212-3350677	0212-3460040
USA	(USA)	800-2662528	708-6817188
Brasil(Mercosur)	(BR)	[phone]	[phone]
Malaysia(Asia Pacific)	(MAL)	[phone]	[phone]