Help for the amplifier and the software

The amplifier is designed exclusively for the interior or the trunk of vehicles with a +12 V DC supply; the surrounding temperature may range from -40 °C to +85 °C. Installation in the engine compartment is not permitted and voids the warranty.

A vertical position in an area with good air circulation is best; on the floor of the trunk it cools best of all. The amplifier must not be subjected to pressure and must not be covered, and no foreign object or fluid may enter it.

Yes, as long as it gets enough air to cool itself. Under the seat there must be at least 1 inch (2.54 cm) of air gap all round the heatsink. Less than that no longer provides proper cooling, performance drops and the amplifier can shut down; such an installation is strongly discouraged.

The heatsink can reach more than 80 °C, so contact with heat-sensitive surfaces or materials must be avoided.

At the four fastening points, on a strong, stable surface that can carry the weight. Avoid plastic parts and cardboard lining: road vibration or heavy braking works the screws loose from those.

Never screw it straight into the sheet metal; use a mounting plate or an amplifier rack. The supplied mounting feet can be adapted to the mounting position and cut to length with a suitable tool.

Yes. Before installation the battery negative terminal must be disconnected to prevent damage to the unit, fire or injury. This is not straightforward in every modern vehicle – ask your workshop or check the vehicle handbook.

Installation and adjustment should be entrusted to qualified personnel only. If you are unsure, have an authorised ETON dealer do the installation.

The manual lists:

• Fuse holder and fuse
• Battery post wrench
• Hand-held drill with assorted bits
• Crimp connectors and crimping pliers
• Volt and ohm meter
• Measuring microphone
• Wire strippers, wire cutters, hex key

Plus speaker, power and remote cable in adequate lengths, cross-sections and colours, and the tools needed to remove the vehicle panels. The crimp connectors for the universal installation are not included with the amplifier.

If sheet metal has to be cut or removed, contact your authorised car dealer for professional advice first. Damage to supporting body structures can void the vehicle type approval.

Never route cables along the underside of the vehicle. Protect every pass-through in sheet metal with a plastic or rubber grommet, the firewall above all.

Route signal-carrying leads away from power and ground cables – which is also the first measure against engine noise.

The correct crossover frequencies. Tweeters can be damaged without passive crossover components. Before switching on, make sure that every cable is connected correctly and securely.

To protect them during the first power-up, a suitable capacitor or crossover can be placed in front of the tweeter.

1. Switch the ignition off, or disconnect the power cable from the amplifier, before connecting RCA or high-level leads.
2. Then check the complete wiring: every connection and polarity correct, every crimped joint tight, every connector properly engaged.
3. Only then insert the fuse into the fuse holder.

Do not use the vehicle until every component of the system is secured to the interior framework.

The B+ cable must be protected by a fuse: at least 60 A on the PP 10-12, at least 25 A on the PP 4-8.

Splice the inline fuse holder into the positive cable no more than 45 cm from the battery terminal; a waterproof ATC or MINI ANL holder is recommended. It is not part of the scope of delivery.

Fit the fuse only once the complete wiring has been checked. Always protect the battery and the electrical system with proper fusing.

For power (B+) and ground (GND):

• PP 10-12: at least 7 AWG, approximately 10 mm²
• PP 4-8: at least 10 AWG, approximately 6 mm²

Always use the same cross-section for the positive and the negative cable. Speaker and high-level leads: twisted copper cable, approximately 1 to 1.5 mm².

The ground point must be bare metal that is welded to the body or the chassis of the vehicle. Remove paint and primer and clean the area.

Fasten it with a ring terminal crimp connector plus a non-anodized screw or nut and a star washer; the bare area can be protected from rust with battery grease.

Keep the ground cable as short as possible, but always at most 75 cm. Seatbelt bolts must never be used as a ground point.

Crimp the switch-on cable to the REMOTE IN connector with a suitable crimp connector and connect it to a switched, positive +12 V source, usually the switch-on connection for external amplifiers on the source unit.

If the vehicle has no separate +12 V REMOTE connection, the amplifier runs on the automatic switch-on function: it detects the voltage on the audio inputs and switches on and off accordingly. This works with the high-level input only.

Both switch-on functions are active from the factory. They can then be configured in the software, including a time-delayed switch-on and switch-off to avoid popping noises. Both models also have a REMOTE output to switch further amplifiers.

1. Check the fuse on the battery positive cable and replace it if necessary.
2. Check the fuse or fuses on the amplifier and replace them if necessary.
3. Check that the ground connection sits on bare metal on the chassis; repair or replace it if necessary.
4. Measure the supply voltage on the positive cable before and after the fuse and at the amplifier.

Also verify that 10 V to 14.4 V are present at the remote connection with the system switched on, and verify the quality of the connections of both cables at the amplifier, at the stereo and at the battery or fuse holder. Every connection of the power-carrying cables must be tight.

A protect LED lit red means there may be a short circuit in the speaker terminals or leads. Check that the speakers are properly connected and test the speaker cables for short circuits with a voltage or resistance meter; disconnect the cable from the amplifier to do so.

A speaker impedance that is too low can also trigger the protection. The LED lighting up may likewise indicate thermal problems: check the loudspeaker impedance and rewire if necessary.

That can mean the amplifier is being operated at very high power without enough air circulating around it. Switch the system off and let the amplifier cool down.

Check that the alternator and the battery maintain the required voltage. If none of these steps helps, the amplifier may be damaged; please contact your ETON dealer.

Because the PP series is designed as a plug and play series: neither model has conventional sockets on the unit itself. The signal arrives through the adapter cable whips – low level on their RCA ends, high level on the crimped system connectors.

Low level is available on CH 1 to CH 6 on the PP 10-12 and CH 1 to CH 4 on the PP 4-8; high level on CH 1 to CH 10 on the PP 10-12 and CH 1 to CH 6 on the PP 4-8.

Strip about 0.75 cm of insulation and crimp the ends firmly to the speaker leads of the adapter wiring harness. Mind the channel assignment and the polarity: every positive lead in the lower connector area, every negative lead in the upper one. The channels are labelled on the connectors.

Speaker cables must not be grounded through the vehicle chassis – that leads to unstable operation. Only once every cable is firmly crimped are the cable whips plugged into the amplifier.

The PP 10-12 distributes its power unevenly:

• CH 1 to CH 4: 4 x 70 W RMS at 4 ohms, bridged 2 x 140 W RMS at 2 ohms
• CH 5 to CH 10: 6 x 100 W RMS at 4 ohms, bridged 3 x 200 W RMS at 2 ohms

Speakers with a higher power rating – woofers, under-seat basses or subwoofers – therefore always belong on the high-power channels CH 5 to CH 10.

In parallel bridged mode one channel pair is connected together with the same polarity; that doubles the power and is possible in 2 ohm operation only. Which channels form a pair is shown in the diagram on page 25 of the manual.

It is worth doing for high-power drivers such as under-seat basses or subwoofers. A speaker impedance that is too low trips the protection circuit.

The manual shows this on page 26 as the "Example 3-way fully active + subwoofer bridged" for the PP 10-12: the subwoofer sits on bridged outputs from the CH 5 to CH 10 group.

Bridging follows the parallel bridged mode of page 25, that is one channel pair in the same polarity, and in 2 ohm operation only.

Yes. A further amplifier or an active subwoofer goes on the RCA outputs: LO-LEVEL OUT CH 11 to CH 12 on the PP 10-12, CH 5 to CH 8 on the PP 4-8.

Several PP amplifiers can also be linked over the A2B bus system, which extends the DSP-controlled channels. Page 27 of the manual shows this layout with a PP 4-8.

1. Verify that the input connections at the stereo and at the amplifier are sound, and check the cables over their whole length for kinks and splices.
2. With the stereo switched on, test the inputs for AC volts; repair or replace the cables as needed.
3. Disconnect the input from the amplifier and connect an external test source directly to the amplifier input.

1. Disconnect the input signal from the amplifier and switch the amplifier on and off.
2. If the noise is not eliminated, set the delayed switch-on time of the amplifier or use a different 12 V source for the remote lead.
3. If the noise is eliminated, use a relay to isolate the amplifier from the switch-on noise.

The switch-on and switch-off delay is set in the device settings of the software.

The manual gives these as alternatives, not as a sequence. Try each on its own:

• Route all signal-carrying wires away from power and ground wires.
• Or bypass every electrical component between the stereo and the amplifier and connect the stereo directly to the amplifier input; if the noise goes away, the bypassed unit is the cause.
• Or reground the wires of all electrical components at different locations on clean, shiny metal, free of paint and rust.
• Or add a second ground cable from the negative battery terminal to the chassis metal or the engine block.
• Or have the alternator and the battery charge load-tested by a mechanic, including the distributor, spark plugs, spark plug wires and voltage regulator.

With a USB-C cable in the socket marked "PC" on the amplifier – connection 14 on the PP 10-12, connection 10 on the PP 4-8. The manual recommends a long cable, routed straight to the later listening position at the driver seat.

The amplifier has to be switched on before the app can find it. Then press "Rescan" in the device list and open the device row with "Connect".

Yes, when the optional Bluetooth module is fitted in the "BLUETOOTH" port. The connection runs through that module; without it only USB is available.

On the computer, Bluetooth devices appear in the same device list as the USB ports; in the launcher settings USB or Bluetooth can be set as the preferred transport.

A firmware update is not possible over Bluetooth – that runs only over the amplifier USB port.

1. The amplifier is switched on and, with the system on, 10 V to 14.4 V are present at the remote connection.
2. The USB-C cable sits in the socket marked "PC".
3. Press "Rescan" in the device list.

If the row appears saying a firmware update is required, the firmware is older than this app opens: connect by USB and run the update it offers. The refusal itself changes nothing on the amplifier.

If it says the amplifier is open in another window, a window of the app already holds it. "Show window" brings it to the front.

Both PP models have a digital SPDIF input (TOSLINK) on the socket marked "SPDIF IN"; digital fibre optic cables must never be kinked.

The socket marked "PC" additionally accepts USB-C audio: a source with USB audio capability can be connected directly without loss.

For Bluetooth streaming the optionally available ETON PP-BT module is provided; it plugs into the "BLUETOOTH" port.

Over USB, Bluetooth or the amplifier own Wi-Fi. Depending on the system the app asks for the Bluetooth, microphone or audio recording, local network, USB and internet permissions, and on Android additionally for a foreground service that keeps the connection alive.

The browser version in Chrome or Edge connects through the interfaces of the browser; which device it may use is chosen in the dialog of the browser.

The installers for Windows, macOS and Linux are on the download page of etondsp.app. No sign-in is needed. For Android the app is on Google Play; for iPhone and iPad it is in preparation.

Every file is listed with its name, size and full SHA-256 checksum.

No. ETON Control Center needs no user account, and the current app and PP firmware can be downloaded without signing in.

The login on etondsp.app is for dealer access, beta testers and internal release operations. Nothing you need to set up an amplifier sits behind it.

The desktop app has six entries: INPUT, OUTPUT, ROUTING, RTA, CONFIG and DEVICES. INPUT and OUTPUT hold the per-channel tuning – level, mute, phase, delay (entered as distance), crossover and EQ. ROUTING is the matrix that puts any input onto any output.

On the PP 10-12 each of the twelve outputs has 30 EQ bands and a crossover of its own, and the ten analog and two digital inputs have seven bands each. The PP 4-8 has eight outputs plus six analog and two digital inputs with the same band counts.

Not every one of those outputs is an amplifier output: on the PP 10-12, CH 11 and CH 12 are RCA outputs, and on the PP 4-8 they are CH 5 to CH 8. A further amplifier or an active subwoofer belongs there, not a speaker.

The PP amplifiers have no limiter stage: the output level is what determines what reaches the speaker.

Each output has a crossover of its own with a high-pass and a low-pass; per leg you set frequency, slope in dB per octave and type. Besides the usual filter types there is "All pass".

A filter the device reports but the list does not offer appears as "Self defined". In the phone app the stage is switched as OFF, HP, LP or BP.

Four. The desktop app shows them in the file manager as MEM 1 to MEM 4, the phone app on its PRESETS page.

A preset holds, per output channel, the speaker type, level, mute, phase and delay as well as crossover and EQ, together with the input channels and their EQ and the complete routing matrix. A preset name is at most eight characters long.

Global settings – auto-remote, volume mode or the Bluetooth configuration, for example – are not part of a preset but of the device backup.

There are two kinds of file:

• A preset file (.eton1) holds the preset that is currently active. It is exported and imported in the file manager; an import writes into the active slot.
• A device backup (.etonbk1) holds all four presets and the global settings. It lives under CONFIG in the general section.

Restoring a backup writes every preset and the device settings into the amplifier and reboots it.

Yes, by way of the device backup: export it on the first amplifier, import it on the second. Both have to be the same model – a backup from another model is refused.

For a single tune a preset file (.eton1) is enough instead, imported into the active slot of the second amplifier.

On Android it connects over Bluetooth, or over USB with a USB-C cable. It covers the home screen, the preset manager, input and output tuning, the routing matrix, the amplifier settings, the Bluetooth player, the remote-control panel and the firmware update.

The version for iPhone and iPad is in preparation. There only Bluetooth will be available, because iOS has no USB host interface; the firmware update, which requires USB, is not possible over it.

Measuring with a microphone stays with the desktop app by decision. The phone instead shows the RTA display of the amplifier, which reads the signal inside the DSP and needs no microphone.

The desktop version checks for updates at start-up. Update packages are digitally signed and are installed only after you confirm. The phone app updates through Google Play.

Security-relevant changes are marked in the release notes on the download page.

ETON Control Center opens a PP amplifier only from a minimum firmware upwards; the message names the version found and the version required. While it has an internet connection the app asks for the newest released firmware for the model and offers exactly that release for flashing.

Connect the amplifier over USB and run the update it offers. The refusal itself changes nothing on the amplifier; the settings are backed up before the update and restored afterwards.

1. Connect the amplifier over USB – the update does not run over Bluetooth.
2. Open the FIRMWARE UPDATE page.
3. "Get latest" fetches the current release from the net, "Select file" takes a file from disk.
4. "Flash" asks for a confirmation and then runs backup, flash, reboot, restore and verify.

The page names the installed version and marks a selected file beforehand as newer, older or a downgrade.

Do not disconnect power or the USB cable during the update.

If the transfer is interrupted anyway, the amplifier waits in recovery mode with no firmware: leave the cable plugged in and press "Flash" again. The settings backup of the interrupted update is kept and can be restored afterwards.

A second app must not access the same amplifier at the same time. While another program is connected, saving, firmware update, factory reset and microphone measurement stay blocked.

Yes. The update starts with a backup of every preset and of the global settings, writes them back after the flash and then verifies them against the backup. The backup file stays on the computer, its path is shown and it can be imported by hand later.

At the start the update reloads every preset from the amplifier. Unsaved changes to the active preset are lost in the process – the app offers to save or discard them beforehand.

The option to skip backup and restore flashes the firmware only and does not preserve the settings.

Yes. The download page has one section each for ETON PP 4|8 and ETON PP 10|12 with the currently released firmware, its size and the full SHA-256 checksum.

The normal route stays the update through ETON Control Center, because that backs up the settings first. Download software and firmware only from etondsp.app or through the update function of the app.

The RTA page of the desktop app carries a guided tuning run. Under VEHICLE the car is stored once – drivers, mounting position and the crossover set in the workshop. The run then measures the system and works through survey, EQ, crossover and finally delay and phase, with the subwoofer last.

Beside it, WORKSPACE is the free measuring bench for single measurements, AUDIO sets the soundcard and the microphone, and AI is the assistant.

The run proposes filters, writes them to the amplifier and measures again to check the result. It is no substitute for a correct installation: wiring, polarity and mounting position stay the basis it calculates on.

Either the ETON measuring microphone on the "MIC IN" socket of the amplifier – connection 10 on the PP 10-12, connection 12 on the PP 4-8 – or a measuring microphone on a soundcard of the computer.

The ETON microphone needs no calibration file: its curve is in the program. For any other microphone a calibration file can be loaded; without one the app corrects nothing and says so.

The microphone is used standing up with the capsule pointing upwards, so a 90 degree calibration file is the right one. While the ETON microphone is in use it occupies one analog input; a speaker being measured must not be fed from that input.

Before measuring, the app installs a protective filter on the measured output as far as the speaker type allows one, and it restores the mute state of the amplifier afterwards – verified by reading it back. Every speaker is measured with a full 20 Hz to 20 kHz signal; that is what the filter is there for.

The app cannot judge the level. Set the volume low before the first run and raise it only as far as the measurement needs.

If a measurement has to be stopped, the run reports it and the data measured so far is kept.

Under "Measurement files" on etondsp.app. It holds the same files ETON Control Center writes: six test signals as WAV and MP3, individually or as one ZIP, with checksums.

WAV is measurement grade; use MP3 only if the radio cannot play WAV. Copy the files onto a FAT32 formatted USB stick and set the equaliser, loudness and sound effects of the radio flat.

The desktop app contains an optional AI assistant. In a chat the connected PP amplifier can be measured, analysed and adjusted in plain language: the assistant reads status, channels and measurements and can write EQ, crossovers, levels and delays itself.

In the app it is the "AI" tab on the RTA page. Ready-made templates sit under "Status and diagnostics", "Measure" and "Tuning".

Connect the amplifier, open RTA in the menu and select the "AI" tab there; in the German interface it is called "KI".

With no amplifier connected, that is in analyzer-only mode, the tab is not shown – the tools of the assistant would have no device to adjust.

Access of your own to an AI provider. The choice is Anthropic ("Claude", by API key or through the Claude Code software), OpenRouter (by API key) or OpenAI (through the Codex software).

ETON supplies no access and bills no usage. Access is entered in the assistant: choose a provider and store the API key, or sign in to the command-line tool. Without valid access the request stops with an error message from the provider.

The app sends your input and the settings and measurement data the assistant reads to answer directly to the provider you chose; that includes the model, firmware version and serial number of the amplifier. ETON does not receive this data.

For the processing at the provider, their privacy terms and your agreement with them apply. The providers are based in the USA, outside the EU; you initiate that transfer yourself with your own access.

The app stores your API key and the conversation only locally on your device, and unencrypted. Protect your device as you would for any other access key.

Individual conversations can be deleted in the sidebar of the assistant.

Save before the first pass. The assistant takes a snapshot in memory at the start of a run; it can be restored while the session lasts, but it is gone once the app is closed. For a lasting backup, export the tuning to a file.

The tools accept the full adjustment range of the device – the master up to 0 dB, the output levels up to +12 dB. Keep the system at a safe level while a run is going on.

The assistant carries out its steps without confirming each one, so the amplifier changes while the conversation runs. It writes a preset slot only when explicitly asked to.

No. Measurement and amplifier control run entirely on the computer, but the language model itself runs at the provider and needs an internet connection. There is no local-model option.

The guided tuning run and every other function of the app work without internet.

In the desktop app only. The apps for Android and iOS and the browser version do not include the AI assistant.

The control and tuning tools apply to the ETON PP series. If a device of another family is connected the app refuses them with a notice, while the pure measurement functions stay usable.

The guided tuning run is the fixed procedure of the app: it leads step by step through vehicle, measurement and correction and needs no AI access.

The assistant is free-form: it chooses the order itself, answers individual questions, explains the current settings per channel and re-measures intermediate results. Both use the same measurements and the same solvers.

On the underside of the amplifier. Quote the model and the serial number with every enquiry – the manual asks for both when contacting the dealer as well.

Continuous exposure to sound pressure levels over 85 dB can damage your hearing. Using sound systems can also impair your ability to hear necessary traffic sounds, which is a hazard while driving.

On receipt, verify that the packing is undamaged, that the contents match the specification and that the product shows no damage. Keep the packing in case of a later claim.

If parts are missing or damaged, contact your dealer immediately, quoting the model and the serial number.