About Car Amps
When installing a custom sound system in a car or just tweaking an existing system, it is important to understand all aspects of the system. Car amplifiers are at the heart of these custom stereo systems. Understanding the capabilities, workings and functions of an amplifier not only helps the quality of the system but also prevents damage to the system from ill installed or used equipment.
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Car Amplifier Basics
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Car amplifiers do more then make music louder. Amplifiers greatly increases the quality of the sound, opposed to the sound produced by the head unit (CD player) without an amplifier. In addition to increasing the volume capabilities and quality of the head unit, amplifiers also help drive current speakers and allow for the addition of additional speakers (i.e. sub woofers) that are beyond the powering capabilities of the head unit alone.
How Car Amps Work
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In the most simplistic terms, car amplifiers receive a weak signal from the head unit, boost the signal and then distribute the boosted signal between the speakers. The extent of this signal boost is reflected in the amplifier's wattage. An amplifier uses AC power (converted from its DC power supply) to boost the input signal through a series of transistors (and additional circuitry) and converts the final boosted output signal to a DC signal that is sent to the speakers.
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Amplifier Heat Sinks and Cooling Fans
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One of the most important aspects of a car amplifier is the method it uses to remove excess heat. The process of boosting the input signal creates large amounts of heat, which can potentially cause damage to the circuitry or start a fire. Amplifiers redistribute this heat through the use of (typically aluminum) heat sinks and cooling fans attached to the amplifier's body. Some newer and more efficient amplifiers, however, have smaller heat sinks and often lack cooling fans because they do not produce large amounts of heat.
Amplifier Features
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Typically, car amplifiers do not just solely boost the signal but also come with a wide range of features. These features are used to control the final outputted sound quality. Many amplifiers come with equalizers to control the range of sound produced in the output. One of the main features of amplifiers is the inclusion of multiple channels for speakers and bridging capabilities (used to connect an amplifier to another amplifier). High-end amplifiers will typically offer more of these features then their low-end counterparts.
Amplifier's Wattage
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Just like speaker manufacturers, car amplifier manufactures often strongly exaggerate the prowess of their products, usually in the form of the amplifier's wattage. There are a few ways to determine real wattage and capabilities of an amplifier, though. The simplest is price. If a 2,000 watt amplifier is being sold commercially for $200, it is most likely grossly exaggerated. Summing up the total of the amplifier's fuses and multiplying them by six (an amp with two 25 fuses is (25+25) x 6 = 300 watts) gives a good ballpark estimate. The amplifier's RMS wattage is the only real determination of an amplifier's watts, however.
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