Boost your power with a car amplifier

Choosing the right car amplifier is important. Your decision shouldbe based on five important features. Make sure you address them all !

The first item on the agenda is the number of channels. This willdepend on the number of speakers in your system. Two-channel amplifierswill feed well two speakers or a single subwoofer. You will want toconsider a four-channel amplifier if you have any of the followingcombinations :

¤ Four speakers
¤ Two subwoofers
¤ Two speakers and one subwoofer

Then you want to look at power. An amplifier with an outputtwo times the one of the reciever will give you enough added volumewith less distortion. Make sure the wattage of the amplifiers iswithin the speaker's range. Also, make sure your electrical system cansupport the additional wattage.

An important feature to consider for your car amplifier is theconnection structure. Many factory-installed receivers only comewith speaker-level inputs that will require special adaptors.This will normally work very well. However, you may experience somedistortion through the speakers. In that event, you may want to consider a new CD/MP3/AM/FM receiver, depending on your budget andsound requirements.

An amplifier normally includes a device to filter differentfrequencies and minimize distortion. This is called a crossover.Your amplifier should have one crossover for high-frequency notesand another for low-frequencies.

We should discuss one last feature. Most car amplifiers can combinethe power of two channels into a single one. This is called bridgingand is used to boost the power of the amplifier. The downside tothis technique is to create some distortion and limiting the numberof available channels. Since the cost of a an amplifier is moreand more reasonable it might be wiser to buy a more powerful one !

Here you go ! You are hopefully better "connected" to the importantfeatures to consider for your car amplifier ..... and more knowledgemeans ..... more power .... to make the right buying decision.