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| Mr. Mobile - Info Center - Car Amplifiers |
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Your car stereo sounds good, but not great. You already upgraded your speakers to get better sound, good for you, but when you turn your stereo up, it just does not sound like you want it to. What you need is an amplifier. An amplifier will get you the sound you are craving.
What is an amplifier?
An amplifier is the part of your system that provides the strength. An amplifier takes the signal from your car stereo and makes it sound better by doing two things: makes your system louder and cleaner. An amplifier uses components and technologies far superior to those used your car stereos small, built in amplifier. An amplifier can be mounted in several places, most commonly in the trunk or hatch or under a seat.
Why should I add an amplifier?
Most basic factory car stereos have 5 watts RMS [or less] per channel. Most aftermarket car stereos, give you between 15 to 20 watts per channel of real power, even though most say they have 50 watts per channel. Have you ever seen a car stereo rated at 50 watts x 4? The whole car stereo is about half the size of amplifier that is rated at 50 watts x 4. Adding an amplifier gives your system the power that a car stereo just cannot give it. It is like comparing the power of a Nissan Sentra 4 cylinder with the power of a Viper. So if you want to make your system sound better and/or add a subwoofer, you will defiantly need an amplifier.
What types of amplifiers are there?
There are three types of amplifiers, two channel, multi channel [4, 5 or 6 channels] and Mono amplifiers. Amps can be used alone or in just about any combination to get the sound you are craving. If you are looking for that loud, booming sound, you will more than likely want a system with multiple, high power amplifiers to help you reach your goal. If you just want better sound quality at a regular or slightly elevated listening volume, a multi channel amplifier should do the trick for you. If you also have a subwoofer, you may want to look into a 5 or 6 channel amp. or a multi channel amp with a mono amp so you can power all 4 speakers AND your subwoofer.
What should I look for in an amplifier?
Power - Since we said earlier that the amp is the strength of your system, power is what gives the amp this strength. You do need to match the RMS powers output of the amplifier you want to the speakers or subwoofer the amp will be driving. The more power you get, the better, cleaner sound you will have.
Built in crossover Built in crossovers allow you to make sure the right frequencies get to the right speakers, bass signals to subwoofers, highs to your separates, tweeters or two way speakers. Some amps have adjustable, built in crossovers that will allow you to fine tune the sound by adjusting the frequency cutoff point to the speaker.
Channels Amplifiers come in different channel configurations, from 1[mono] for bass, up to 6 channels to power 4 speakers and two subwoofers.
Mono amps are strictly for bass. These can run one or multiple subwoofer[s].
Two channel amps can be used to run one pair of speakers or two subwoofers. Most can be bridged to create a mono signal and increase the output of the amplifier for driving subwoofers.
Multi channel amps 4 channel amps are versatile. They can be set up to run 2 pairs of speakers, 1 pair of speakers and two subwoofers, or 1 pair of speakers and one subwoofer. A 5/6 channel amp is set to run a complete system, the first 4 channels run your front and rear speakers and the 5th/6th channels run your subwoofer[s].
Built in fans Some amplifiers come with built in fans to help cool them when they get hot. These are especially important if you plan on running your amplifier near it maximum output for long periods of time and/or when the installation calls for the amplifier to be installed in a space where the amplifier cannot get much airflow over it.
Speaker [or high] level inputs - These are used if you are adding an amplifier to a car stereo that does not have RCA inputs. Speaker level inputs will decrease the sound quality a little vs. hooking an amp up to a stereo via RCA inputs, but in some cases it may be your best solution for adding and amp to an existing stereo. Speaker level inputs on an amplifier allow you to take the speaker wire from your existing car stereo and wire them right to the amp. The amp will amplify the signal then you just reconnect the speakers to the amps speaker outputs. This feature eliminates the need for buying additional adapters to add an amp to most car stereos that do not have RCA inputs.
The bottom line on amplifiers is that anyone that really wants to enjoy their music in their car should have an amplifier, whether you want your system to boom or just want good, clean sound, adding an amplifier will make any system sound better.
If you have any questions or need more information on amplifiers, please feel free to call or email one of our Mobile Electronics Specialists, they have the experience and knowledge to be able to help you make the best purchasing decision to fit your needs.
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