How to choose an Amplifier for Car Speakers
Want to choose an Amplifier for your Car Speaker? Don’t know how to make the right choice of an Amplifier?
Here is a Basic Car Amplifier Purchasing Guide to answer your all questions that usually come to mind while shopping for a Car Amplifier. So many people make wrong choice just because of lack of awareness. This guide will help you step by step to avoid these mistakes and find better car audio sound.
An amplifier adds power to car’s speakers and proves very beneficial for audio setup. But, this is crucial to know that it is only a preference not a must. There are many people who are comfortable with in-built audio setup.
In an in-built audio setup, many of the times there is an amplifier installed with head units. Thus, amplification occurs by default. However, the in-built amp in the head units can cause this distortion that is frequently observable when volume is cranked up.
So, a distortion in sound on a louder volume is also a considerable reason to choose an amplifier. Therefore, the people who relish loud audio and want to have a sharp sound quality, they can upgrade system by adding amps to improve sound quality.
However, this can be troubling to choose an appropriate amplifier that can fit best to your car’s audio factory system. Therefore, we have presented profound details on how to choose an amplifier for a car.
Why To Choose An Amp?
Before, going in depth, you must know the significance of an amp to consider it worthwhile money. So, the prime benefit is the improved and enhanced sound quality. The upshot is louder, richer, softer and a clearer sound.
In addition, there is a variety of options to entertain with including sound filters and tone control that can be used to control bass.
Amp’s Intended Reasons
Discussing about the reasons of purchasing amplifiers,
• To get better sound quality of car • To power your subwoofer • To power aftermarket speakers
If you want to improve the sound quality with the car’s factory speakers, then go for a compact 4 channel amplifier to give more power to your car’s speakers.
If you want to power your aftermarket speakers then go for amplifier that provides the minimum of the highest RMS wattage of the car speakers.
Last but not the least, if your purpose is to power your subwoofers, a singular channel amplifier is required for addition to any other amplifier in the system.
Considerations For An Appropriate Amp
As there are numerous advantages of amps, so they won’t be worthless if purchased. As mentioned above that some key factors are always valuable to know before making a purchase. So following are some useful guidelines. By following these guidelines and tips you can make a good choice and enjoy sharp and clear sound
Let’s have a look at the classes of amps.
Classes Of Amps
Discussing about the classes of amp, there are four main classes of amps such as:
A-class amp
B-class amp
AB-class amp
D-class amp
Let’s discuss all of these classes step by step.
A-class Amp
A-class amps have a lot of benefits and improve the sound quality along with offering definite sound control options. However, they have some drawbacks as well such as they waste a lot of energy and generate high heat. This makes them less efficient than other classes.
B-class Amp
Apart from the benefits of A-class amp, there are some drawbacks as . These draw backs of Aclass amps can be compensated by B-class amps that offer more efficiency. But, they do also have a major drawback of sound distortion that makes them less preferable than the higher class such as AB and D.
AB-class Amp
In the view of A and B class amps’ limitations, AB class amp is a right choice. They offer the functions of both class A and class B. Also, this class has been designed in a way that it does not encompass the drawbacks of these classes thus becoming more efficient. So, limitations of sound distortion and lower energy efficiency are not found in this class. Therefore, this class is preferred over A and B class amps.
D-class Amp
The ultra-super class is D-class amp that is superior to all the aforementioned classes. Energy wastage is very low, weight is low, size is small and very less amount of energy is emitted. All these properties make it highly efficient.
Channels
Every amplifier has certain channels that can differ in number. A channel provides power to the speaker. In this context, it is vital to know the use of amplifiers’ channels.
One channel is enough for one speaker. However, the number of subwoofers and speakers can help a lot in determining the required channels.
However, you can choose an amplifier with more channels for better results. Especially, if you have more than one speaker, you should choose a multichannel amplifier.
Notably, if you have installed subwoofer, an amplifier with single channel can also be used. It also consumes low power and emits less heat.
More speakers can either be powered up individually or by bridging to subwoofer. For instance, two speakers can either be bridged or connected individually by a 2-channel amp.
If an amplifier with 3 channels is used, there will be two amplifiers, one supplier power that is concerned with subwoofer and two channel plugs for speakers. In such amplifier, the sound quality is drastically improved. Moreover, this is best suited for short space in car.
Furthermore, if you choose an amplifier with 4 channels, there can be multiple options such as you can either choose to use two channels for subwoofers and remaining two for two speakers or
you can also choose to run four speakers and subwoofers.
The bridge mode can also be used for rear channels in which two front components of speakers will be powered by two channels and one channel will be bridged by two rare channels to run a subwoofer.
Moving further to discuss the configurations of amps, amplifiers with 5 channels are also available in the market.
The design of this amp consists of 4 channels that are concerned with four speakers and one channel that is for subwoofer.
In a 6-channel amp, four channels are used for four speakers and remaining two channels are dedicated to two subwoofers. This amp offers a range of selectors. Notably, this amp is suitable for large vehicles such as trucks in which a larger sound setup is found and power is required accordingly.
Compatibility
While class and channel is taken into account, the compatibility should also be considered as it is also a crucial factor. It has a potential to make your costly product useless. Therefore, check the compatibility of your audio factory and then make a purchase accordingly.
Power
Another important parameter that you need to make sure is power that can be determined by the root mean square (RMS) value of speakers.
Once it is determined, it becomes easier to choose a suitable amp that can provide needed power to speakers. Fundamentally, the key function of amps is to power up the speakers to amplify the output of speakers.
About power, this is recommendable to prefer an amp with a power output of more than 75 percent of root mean square value.
Prominently, subwoofers require more power; therefore a multichannel amplifier is a best choice for such audio setup. A single channel amp can also be used separately for subwoofer.
Keeping in view all these details, it is concluded that speakers should be purchased before amplifier.
Size Of The Unit
The factor of size is often overlooked while concentrating on the specifications of amplifier. As size of the vehicles vary; thus, the unit should be fitted accordingly. A large unit in a small vehicle such as six channel amp in a small vehicle will not be advantageous. Similarly, a mono amp for a truck is not suitable. So, to make the product worth money, this is essential to keep in mind the size and requirement.
Placement Location
Likewise, the location for placement of system also matters. In trunks, they are usually placed on the firewall or below the seat. Proper wiring also requires sufficient space. Besides all these
guidelines, this is noticeable that performance is not affected by the size of amp. In simple words, amps with fewer channels do not mean they are low quality.
Brand To Go With
The brand also matters in the quality of product. A reputable brand is always suggested for the sake of quality and reliability. In this wake, a local brand item can have a shorter life time as compared to a credible brand item. Moreover, you often get a warranty card that assures the guarantee of product.
Conclusion:
So, these were some basics of choosing a Car Amplifier that you really need to know to get quality results. Hope this guide answered the questions and cleared your confusions, you had in your mind regarding choosing an amplifier.
Now you have got to know that how to choose the right amp . Just educate yourself on different types of Amplifiers available in market, pay attention to the above mentioned tips and enjoy sharp and clear sound whenever you hit the road
