Boost your signal and clean-up your audio
Upgraded speakers can do a lot to improve the quality of audio in your vehicle, but without an amplifier you’re not getting anywhere close to the full benefit. Why wouldn’t you want to hear your new speakers at their best?
Most factory head units/AV Receivers/decks/radios – the thing in your dash that plays music goes by many names – have four outputs at roughly 50 watts each. By comparison, most aftermarket players send out twice as much power on four-to-six channels, in a more accurate way with higher-end sound processing.
Amplifiers and Signals
Amplifiers match the original signal coming in exactly, ouputting a higher-powered version of it to your speakers.
However, that boost in power is still too low to get the most out of new aftermarket speakers. To sound your absolute best you need to add an amplifier to your mix!
Adding power by adding an amp doesn’t just boost the volume, it also enhances the clarity of signal. When speakers and woofers don’t have a clean signal coming in you can wind up with distortion — that fuzzy sound that can damage your speakers over time.
Depending on your setup, you may even require separate amplifiers for your speakers and subwoofer. As you can imagine, moving a voice coil for a 15” subwoofer up and down a few thousand times a second requires a lot more power and an even cleaner signal. Some subwoofer amplifiers boost the audio channel by a factor of 30 to 1,500 watts or more, while powered subwoofers come with an amplifier built in.
There are two terms to keep in mind when shopping for amps:
RMS (Root Mean Square): The amount of continuous power your amp can deliver. Always match your amps’ RMS power to your subwoofer and speakers to prevent distortion. Remember: the higher the RMS, the louder and cleaner your music sounds.
Peak Power: the wattage your car amp has available for short bursts above the RMS rating. Again, this is important so you don’t go over the limit for your gear.
Of course, if you invest in an amplifier at Prestige Car Audio and Marine in Metairie, you don’t have to worry about any these numbers — our professional installers are obsessed with power and efficiency, and live and breathe system specs!
By the way, if you want to hear what difference the right amp can make, paired with the right speakers and subwoofer, then drop by the store for a demo. No appointment required!
