Amplifiers

Probably the most misunderstood and most desired add on.  Everyone claims to know "all about" them. Don't believe it. Here's the facts. The job of an amplifier is to make speakers play louder. Idealy, it doesn't change the sound in any way. Too much power rarely kills a speaker.  Yup, you read that right. Most speakers are blown out because of distortion, or UNDER powering. TRUTH!!! Distortion comes from pushing an amp beyond its performance limits, or over equalizing (we'll get back to that one). The best and cleanest sound will come from an amp that has enough power that you will not have to push it beyond it's comfort zone to get the performance you want from it. So the more power, the better. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER BELIEVE THE POWER RATING PRINTED ON AN AMP!!! This is usually a peak power rating, and a number the amp will likely NEVER achieve. Look for the CONTINUOUS, OR RMS RATING. This is a rating of how much the amp can put out continually. It will always be a lower number than peak, but it is a REAL number (when supplied by a reputable manufacturer). Not some trumped up fantasy number meant to impress you. The next thing you want to see is distortion. This is how much the signal will deviate from it's original signal going into the amp. Any quality amp will have less than 1% distortion at full RMS output. To put it into context; The human ear cannot make out distortion below 3%. Your bargain basement 50,000 watt amps that sell for about $149.95 actually generate about 100 watts per channel and at 10% distortion level. Even if it plays loud, your speakers won't take it for long.



The last thing to discuss about amps is signal processing. Most amplifiers today have built in crossovers, some have bass eq and subsonic filters. The crossover is a must. Crossovers make sure that speakers get only the frequencies they are designed to reproduce. The quickest way to kill a tweeter is to send bass to it. While high frequencies won't damage a sub, it will take away some of it's sound quality. Your crossover should be variable (so you can adjust the frequency). A subsonic filter is very helpful for subwoofers. The human ear cannot hear below 20 HZ. Most sub boxes are tuned to 30 HZ and above because that is where the majority of the bass is. To have your subs and your amplifier working hard to reproduce frequencies you don't need is a waste of power. The subsonic filter filters out those frequencies. Bass eq is simply a bass boost usually centered around 45 HZ which will allow you to take advantage of vehicle harmonics to get you a little more "bump". Even though some amps offer up to 18 DB of boost, we recommend never going above 3 to 6 DB. Trust us! Your amp and subs will live longer and you'll be happier. Now remember we said we'd get back to the distortion issue? One of the chief causes of speaker failure is over equalizing. You turn up the bass eq, turn up the bass on your deck and hit the "loud" button, and BOOM! Louder bass---just before the speaker croaks. Choose 1 source for your bass enhancement, the deck or the amp. NOT BOTH!

There are other considerations and specs you may be interested in, but these are the basics. Ohm loads and "stability" are important issues that will differ with every application. Stop in or e-mail us for specifics about other specs.



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