Video: Do's & Don'ts of Car Amplifiers

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There are some things that you should watch out for when using car stereo amplifiers. Learn tips from our stereo expert on the do's and don'ts of car stereo amplifiers in this free video clip on stereo systems.

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Video Transcript

The dos and don'ts about amplifiers. Well, a lot of people do a lot of don'ts. Hilarious things like hooking up amplifiers with, like I talked about earlier, wire that's too small. Wire that you wouldn't even tie around your pencil, it's so small. Hooking power up exposed near a ground wire. What does that do? Well, that causes a short and then you blow up your amplifier. If you look at these, you invest a lot of money into an amplifier. Why would you want to treat your amplifier like you treat your garbage? Why would you want to hook it up with sub-par wire? Why would you want to have an amplifier in a wet trunk? Because you know water does effect amplifiers. Those are all don'ts. Dos on an amplifier: Mounting an amp securely. Tuning, paying for tuning. I know that sounds horrible. It feels like you're giving away money for free, but tuning will make all the difference in the world. Knowing your amplifier; what it's capabilities are. Hopefully this little video excerpt will help you understand your amplifier better and what choices to make when you have an amplifier. Some more dos: Don't try to drop your amplifier to half an Ohm just because it says it's 1 Ohms able. It's like you're making your amplifier, if you were a person, drag a building with a chain and you're just you and pulling that chain. It's the same type of analogy. You can't do it. Don't do it. Why? Why put your equipment under that kind of strain? Have the proper equipment for the proper situation and you're fine. Now there are some people that are mad scientists that do that sort of thing, that's fine. But on average, for the average consumer, treat your amplifiers like you treat your car or treat any of your goods that you really care about because there's a lot of work that goes into these and you spent a lot of money. So, why not do the dos and don't do the don'ts. I mean it's just common sense. Execute common sense when executing these amplifiers and you'll be fine. Don't just wrap wire around a nut and try to put it in as a ground. It's not going to work. Don't drill your fuel tank because you think that'd be a big sheet of metal for you to plink your ground. You'll have a leaking gas tank. And use a self tapping metal screw. Don't just go use your wood screw that you found unless you can drill a pilot hole, but even then just use a pan-head self tapping metal screw. I mean it doesn't cost a lot and usually comes with your amp. Just use it. It's not a big deal. Do it right. Take the time to scrape a little paint. I mean I can go on and on, but there you go.

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Do's & Don'ts of Car Amplifiers

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