Car Amplifiers For Beginners If you’re new to the car amplifier world and want to learn about it so you can feel confident getting a the best car amp for your system, this article is for you. I am an audiophile and I have true passion for it, and my aim is to help anyone who’s interested in souping up their car stereo system. And whether you’re just updating the odd part or overhauling your entire car stereo system, SoundRating should be your first stop. This article is an introduction to car amplifiers. Once you’ve read it, you’ll know exactly what one is, why it’s an important part in any car audio stereo system, what type of amps there are to get, and which car amp to get for your wheels. So, without further ado, let’s get into it and discuss the intricacies of car amplifiers.

What is a Car Amp? Basically, an amplifier, whether it’s for the car or home, is a device that amplifies sound. That might sound obvious, but the way it works is it takes a low voltage signal from the unit and amplifies it to a much greater sound. Every speaker in your car needs an amp to work, and most cars have some kind of preinstalled amp. But of course, these aren’t the best for someone who demands the best sound quality and they won’t be sufficient for any loudspeaker upgrade. Any car audio update means you really have to get a new amp. Without a new one, your speakers will sound better than your factory speakers, but the difference won’t blow your mind. That said, even if you don’t upgrade your speakers, getting a better car amp will improve the sound quality of your factory car stereo system, so really it’s a no brainer if you want better sound quality.

Different Types Of Car Amplifiers There are many different car amplifiers on the market, and depending on its size will determine the output of the sound it amplifies.

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The amplifier will take the low voltage signal and amplify it to power your speakers. Some speakers can run off low power and your car stereo amp, but if you really want that loud, clear sound you’re better getting a good car amp. The size of the amp you should get all depends on the sound you want. Most people are happy with 100-150 watts. This will give excellent sound, but if you’re a basshead and want a subwoofer then you’ll need something bigger, like a 1000W amplifier. The benefits of having the right amp is that it will give you the power you need to crank up the volume for a clean and crisp sound without any distortion. This will become more apparent as you play about with the filters that are built into your amp, which allow you to fine tune the sound you’re really after. How many channels amplifier you want is determined again by the system you intend to set up. The most common amplifiers are the 4 and 5 channel amps, and mono blocks. Mono blocks are a single channel amplifier, which are used to run one speaker or a subwoofer, whereas a 4 channel amp will be used to connect 4 speakers, and a 5 channel amp will do the same as well as a subwoofer. Car amplifiers are also divided based on the amplification type. The 2 most common types of amps are Class-AB and Class-D amps. Class-D is only used for mono amps for their efficiency, lower operating temperatures, and good bass reproduction. Class-AB amps deliver a much better midrange and treble reproduction and these are usually used with smaller speakers. So, it’s important to know the type of sound you’re after before you go shopping for a car amp. Once you do, you need to match it up with the speakers and subwoofer to make sure it can handle everything you’re intending to install.

Choosing The Right Car Amp There are lots of different amps of all shapes and sizes, with a varied amount of power. There are single channel amps, 2, 4 and 5 channel amps, so which car amp should you get? As stated, it’s all down to personal preference. Are you a deep basshead? Or are you just after a crisp, clear midrange sound quality without any distortion? Whether you get a new car stereo or keep the factory system, getting a new amp will ensure you have much better and louder sounds. Newer amps are compact too, so getting one, even if it’s to boost your factory speakers, won’t take much space and today’s amps are easier to install than those of yesteryear. Most car amps have speaker level input so that you can connect speaker wires directly. Once fit the amp will adjust the signal so it can then amplify the sound to your speakers.

If you try this way, you might not have the cleanest sound, so a good line output converter will be necessary. This is a special box designed to take the speaker wire and convert the signal to a level that your amplifier can work with.

How Many Channels Should You Get? One of the first things to consider is how many channels your amp needs. The easiest way to look at it is the number of channels should equal the number of speakers and other components you're using. If you want to replace your 4 factory speakers with new ones and get an amplifier, you should probably get a 4-channel amp. But if you’re a basshead and want a subwoofer you should go for more than 4 channels. Most subwoofers use a mono subwoofer amplifier, which is a 1 channel amplifier made specifically to drive your sub. If you get a flexible amplifier, which allows you to bridge channels, you have more channel and power configurations. For example, if you have a 4-channel amplifier that produces 75 watts per channel, you can run two 75W speakers from two channels, and bridge the other two to make room for 150W subwoofer. Let’s take a quick look at the most common amplifiers you can get for your vehicle. Mono amplifiers, also known as monoblocks or single-channel amps, boosts a single input signal through a single output channel. Mono amplifiers lack left-right separation, and therefore, can’t reproduce stereo signals, so in the car audio industry, they’re used almost exclusively to power subwoofers. If you only run a subwoofer and no other high-powered speakers, you only need a one-channel amp, but most people getting a subwoofer want high-powered speakers so choosing this method means you’ll need to install more than one amplifier in their car. And remember, more amps means using more power, so if you go with a single channel amp, go for a class D amp as it will consume less power and emit less heat. 2-channel amps are basically 2 amps built into one. They are great if you’re just wanting to power two coaxil speakers or woofers. If you get the right 2 channel amplifier, it will boost the overall sound quality no end, and this is more than good enough for most. Of course, you can power more speakers to a 2-channel amp, as you can with any sized amps, but you’re always limited by the RMS of the amp. Never overdo it. Each channel can drive an unlimited number of speakers as long as the combined impedance is within the limits of the amplifier, but never overdo it If you really want crystal clear and heavy bass, you need a 3-channel amp or more. A three-channel amplifier will allow you to run a set of speakers and a subwoofer without the need for any bridging.

When you’re running a subwoofer from your amplifier, you need an amp that can match the impedance of your subwoofer. If this is 2 ohms, your amp must match this or the sound quality will be distorted. Of course this is the case for amps of all sizes. Also, a 3-channel amplifier will use less power and take up less space than a 2-channel and mono amp. 4-channel amps are the most common types of amplifiers in the car audio industry. With these you can run 4 speakers for amazing clarity and crisp volume. Or, as already stated, you can bridge 2 channels to run a subwoofer along with 2 speakers, among other configurations. Doing this with a 4-channel amplifier takes a bit of wiring knowledge, but nothing you can’t learn online. A 5-channel amp is like a combination of 4 channel and mono amps. If you intend to get a subwoofer and run 4 speakers, they’re easier to work with as you don’t have to bridge any channels. 5 channel amplifiers offer a complete system amplification without the troubles of having to bridge channels if using one with less channels. For the inexperienced audiophile, a 5-channel amp is something you should go for if you want the full works. It will make life much easier, and t will give you an amazing listening experience. A 6-channel amplifier is as it says on the tin. It has 4 channels for your 4 component speakers plus two channels, that are usually used for your subwoofer. Depending on your full set up, a 6-channel amp gives most people the capability of bridging two channels to run a more powerful subwoofer than you could with a 5-channel amp. These are more pricey of course, but for many people the clarity and power makes it worth it.

What Power Settings Should I Be Aware Of? If you know how many channels you need, your next step should be to determine how much power you want from your amplifier. The more power the amplifier delivers, the cleaner the sound you’ll get from the speakers. You should match up your stereo and speakers with the right amp. Each amplifier has two power ratings: Root Mean Power (RMS) and Peake Power. RMS is the amount of continuous power that an amplifier produces. It’s measured in watts, and the higher the RMS rating, the louder and cleaner your music sounds. Peak Power is the absolute highest power an amp can briefly generate on any given channel before failing. This is always higher than RMS power, but when you’re shopping for an amplifier go by the RMS. When shopping for one, make sure the RMS power on your car amp matches that of your speakers and subwoofer.

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If you don’t match them your speakers could be underpowered, or even overpowered, which could potentially overheat and damage your audio system. 45 watts per channel RMS should make a noticeable improvement to your speakers. If you want a louder and more powerful system, I’d look at 4 channel amps putting out 75+ per channel RMS. Class AB amps tend to sound better than Class D amps, but class D amps are easier on power consumption, so again you should really consider this also. Personally, I don’t think you need anything more than 75 watts per channel, for a 4 channel amp for an average sized car. With this amount of power, you should be able to fill any vehicle with some crisp, loud sounds.

Impedance Impedance, measured in ohms (Ω) is another thing you have to consider before buying a car amplifier. Impedance is basically the measurement of resistance that the speaker adds to the circuit. In car audio, full-range and mid-range speakers, and tweeters are nearly always rated at 4Ωs, whereas subwoofers are usually 2 Ωs. Most multi-channel amplifiers are configured for 4-8 ohms, so if you’re only running speakers from your amp, you will have more options. If you’re running a subwoofer, however, you have to make sure your amplifier impedance matches the impedance of your system configuration, so if your subwoofer is 2Ωs, make sure to get an amp that can power that. If you have a 2 ohm amp, it can power speakers with 4 ohm impedance, but the other way round will bring you problems. Any speaker with 4-8 ohms shouldn’t be used with a lower impedance amp. For 2 and 4 channel amps, the power is usually listed as 4 ohms, because most car speakers are 4 ohm speakers. Whereas, a mono subwoofer amp will likely be 2 ohms, because subs don’t usually require 4 Ω. 2-ohm impedance for a subwoofer will kick your sub into gear and ensure you get great sounding bass. That’s not to say you can’t get 4-ohm subwoofers. Of course you can, but a 2-ohm sub will demand less power from your amp and will deliver louder bass than a 4 ohm equivalent. That said, a 4-ohm sub will demand more power from your amp and although the bass won’t be as loud it will be of a higher quality. Getting An Amplifier For Your Subwoofer As already stated, most subwoofer amplifiers are one-channel mono subwoofer amplifiers, and they're designed to run subwoofers at around two ohms of impedance.

You can get 1 ohm or 4 ohm subs, and those are fine as long as your amp can drive subs at that impedance. Two ohms is the most common impedance to use with a subwoofer in a sub amplifier, though. Getting the right amp for your subs depends on your system. If you’re just adding a sub to your factory set up, anywhere from 50 to 200 watts of power for a subwoofer should be ok. If you have more powerful speakers, however, your sub will probably need more power. Getting an amp to power your new speakers and a subwoofer means you will need more powerful amplifier. For example, if you have an amp that is powering around 50 watts per channel for your speakers, your subwoofer is going to need between 250 and 500W of power just to keep up with your speakers. And if you’ve really gone for it and you have some powerful speakers, let’s say 100W by 4 channel amp, you will probably need up to a 1000W subwoofer amplifier to help it match the sound and give an overall balanced sound. As always when choosing an amp, you want to know what the sub’s maximum RMS power is, and you need to be within at least ¾ of that power, although better to match it. For example, if your subwoofer can handle 400 watts RMS, an amplifier that can handle a minimum of 300 watts will be sufficient, but don’t go for more than the 400W RMS of the sub. Another thing to think about when matching subwoofers with an amplifier is impedance. This is important because you can get subs that are 2 ohms, 4 ohms, 2 and 4 ohms dual voice coil subs etcetera, so matching everything so you only arrive at 2 ohm impedance for your amplifier is important. For example, if you’ve two speakers that can handle 400 watts and they’re 4 ohms each all wired in parallel, you will need an amplifier that can push out 800 watts at 2 ohms.

How Much Should You Spend On Your Amplifier? As you already know, matching the amp with your other parts is more important than the amount of money you intend to spend. The cost of amps can vary a lot, and sure enough the more you spend the better quality you will likely get. Amps are set into classes, with AB and class D being the most common and versatile. The main difference with Class D is that they’re smaller and offer the highest efficiency and create less heat. The AB class are bigger, the power will be beefier but the sound quality will be better than the D class. You can get amps with basic controls, which is good enough for most people. With these you set it when you install it and you’re pretty much done unless something goes wrong. If you’re a connoisseur, however, you might want a car amplifier that has different settings that give you much more control over the sound.

With these you can use them to control the crossovers, base boost and level controls, and you can change them individually to test the best sound quality for you. The tuning equipment can be either on the amp, or if you get a flashy one you’ll be able to control it all through an app on your smartphone. There are settings on the amp or your smartphone that show you have the optimum sound, but of course there’s no better judge for that than your ear.

Conclusion Getting the right car amplifier isn’t a straightforward choice. There’s lots to consider. The number of channels, how much RMS, impedance, how many speakers, where it will go in your car? etcetera. But once you’ve done your research and you’re confident you know which amp you want, it goes without saying that your driving experience will be louder and more energized. Find out more at: www.soundrating.com

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