Automotive Mobile Audio Video

To get the loudest and best sound quality from your car's stereo system, you will need to add an amplifier to the system. As good as after market head units are, they just don't produce enough power to give you great sound at higher volumes. Here are some tips for adding an amplifier to your car stereo system.

Amplifiers can take the signals from your head unit and give you a much more powerful, cleaner signal to power your cars speakers. When adding am amplifier, it is important to know your speakers limitations. Most factory speakers won't do well with an amplified signal, so you will want to upgrade these as well in a lot of cases. Look for the ratings of continuous power or RMS ratings. These ratings will give you the best indication of how much power the speakers can hold. Match this rating to the amplifier rating to ensure you are getting everything out of the system, and that you will have a system that will be durable and last.

The signals the speakers receive should also be taken into account. Larger subwoofers need the frequencies on the lower end to produce the bass tones, but you wan to be sure to exclude frequencies that are above, and below, the recommended range. Too low and you risk damaging the speaker, and too high can cause some undesirable results sound wise. Most amps are quipped with a subsonic (too low of a frequency) filter to avoid the low frequencies. They also have a crossover that will eliminate the higher frequencies as well. These two components allow the speaker to get the frequencies it needs for optimum performance.

Smaller speakers should also be set up to get the frequencies they need. If amplified, these speakers almost always should have a crossover attached to ensure that big bass tones won't damage the speakers designed for midrange response and high frequencies. Dividing the sound into low, middle and high frequencies using the different types of speakers creates a medley of tuned sound that gives the experience we want from our systems.

Pay attention to ohms and power ratings, and be sure to match all accordingly. Combining multiple speakers on one channel always affects the ohm rating of the system, and can be detrimental if the system is not designed for it. Subwoofer amplifiers tend to be more forgiving due to their low impedance (ohms) ratings and flexibility. Remember, it is the combination of power and precision that make the system sound the best.