Car audio amplifiers are primarily used to convert a signal from a source unit and change it to a higher level from a lower level to drive the loudspeakers. These amplifiers are available in various models that can range from a lowly 20 watts per channel to more than 1000 watts per channel. Furthermore, the price too will vary according to the power of the amplifier and can range from a paltry 50 dollars to well over one thousand dollars. The price you end up paying will depend on the features that amplifier boasts of and also its power output as well as quality.
Even prices will vary from just fifty dollars to thousand plus dollars and how much you are asked to pay will depend on features, power as well as the amp’s overall quality.
Car audio amplifiers are known to differ according to channels with some being no more than a lone channel while others might boast of 8 different channels. The most popular options are those with 2 and even 4 channels while a mono subwoofer amp too is quite popular.
Also, when picking amplifiers for your car audio equipment you should realize that an amplifier with double the power of another amplifier will not necessarily double the sound outputted by it. In fact, each doubling of power output results only in addition of 3dB of volume to the sound output. This means that in order to double the sound output levels from one hundred watts of power to two hundred watts you will need a raise of 10dB.
Prior to deciding on a particular amp you must also understand that doubling the wattage in an amp does not signify that you are going to get double the amount of sound. Before you actually pick your car audio amp it is also important to understand that when you double the wattage in an amp you will only achieve about three decibels increase in sound. That means that to truly get double the sound output it is necessary to affect a ten decibels increase in sound.
You will do well to also look at the amplifier’s fuse size. Also, remember that a genuine two hundred watt amplifier will not use a 10 amp fuse. One way to find out how much power you can expect from an amplifier is to take the fuse value and multiply it by (class A and B amps) or by 10 for a class D amplifier.
It is also important that you address the issue of the size of the amp’s fuse as this is one way that you can determine how much power the amp is really capable of outputting. By multiplying the fuse size by 6 (for Class A and B amps) and by 10 for Class D amps you can judge (though not with absolute accuracy) how much sound a particular amp can produce.
If you wish to buy car audio amplifiers on a budget then you will need to look at those models that have various channels and in which the features are built-in which will help economize on space and costs and which will still give you decent service.
Tags: audio amp, audio amplifiers, features power, source unit, subwoofer amp
