For a high-quality listening experience while you're in your car, you can find an endless range of equipment, such as car subwoofers and speakers which are specifically designed to deliver a clear and powerful sound in passenger compartments. To achieve an optimal result, however, you may consider adding a proper car amplifier, and before you buy one it's essential to design the system you intend to install, opting for a model whose features are matching the specifications of your car stereo and the number and quality of speakers you use.
All car amplifiers for sale on HiFi Tower are designed to meet the most diverse needs, from 2-channel models, to push a subwoofer and a pair of speakers, to 6-channel models to cater for the requirements of more advanced in-car entertainment systems. Thanks to their durable materials, pleasant aesthetics and above all, capable of handling maximum power peaks without any risk of damaging your car speakers, the car amplifiers for sale on HiFi Tower are your faithful companion, working at the rear and always guaranteeing you a warm, powerful and clean sound when you are on the move.
In any audio system, the purpose of an amplifier is increasing the power of the audio signal generated by the source. With car sound systems it’s no different, and the car radios we generally use in our vehicles already include an internal amplifier, to connect directly to the car speakers that are part of the standard setup.
Car speakers, however, perform much better when dedicated amplifiers power them. Not to mention the fact that a passive subwoofer will anyway require a dedicated amp, as bass sound waves need a lot of power that standard car stereos cannot generate. For all these reasons, if you plan to install a high-quality sound system in your car, using a car amp is imperative to achieve the same degree of depth, realism and dynamics of a live music experience.
The first aspect to consider when purchasing a car amplifier is the number of speakers that you intend to connect; this is the main element on which, eventually, your choice will depend. By channel, we mean an independent audio path used to emit a signal from the amplifier.
There are several possible configurations, suitable for different needs. Single-channel amplifiers are normally used only to connect a subwoofer. They don’t offer any kind of flexibility. Still, they are more than enough if the only improvement you want to make to your system is the addition of a speaker dedicated exclusively to bass reproduction. There are several options available if you opt for an amplifier with multiple channels. You can find models with two channels, while others can offer up to eight. The greater the number of channels available, the wider the number of possible configurations for your amplifier. Although you can generally connect every single channel to a speaker, other connection modes ensure greater freedom of customisation, as we will see in the following section.
The answer to this question depends essentially on your listening preferences, and here we provide only some general information to guide you in the choice:
Power, expressed in RMS watts, is a crucial aspect to consider when choosing your car amplifier; as it indicates the continuous power that the speaker can withstand in the normal playback phase. As a rule of thumb, when you are upgrading your car sound system, it is best to opt for an amplifier with an RMS power between 75% and 150% of the power of the speakers you already use.
Peak power is another important parameter; differently from RMS power, peak power refers to the maximum power level to which the speaker can be subjected for a short time without any risk of damage. However, it is also important to evaluate other parameters, which help determine the actual sound quality that an amplifier is capable of delivering. These include:
In addition to power and number of channels available, there are also other important parameters to consider when determining compatibility between an amplifier and other components of a car sound system. One of the most decisive of all concerns impedance, on which not only the correct functioning but also the integrity may depend.
Ohms (Ω) measure impedance, a value that indicates the resistance that the amplifier exerts on the sound. The lower the impedance, the stronger the audio signal reaching the speakers will be. Although impedance may seem to be a secondary factor, it is instead a decisive element in determining the correct functioning of an audio system: if the amplifier is too powerful, the speakers risk being irreparably damaged. On the other hand, if the amplifier is not powerful enough, there is a risk of overheating and potentially burning out part of the entire system, also noting that different values in Ohm may correspond to different channels.
It is crucial to remember this risk, especially if you choose an inexpensive amplifier, as these often do not have a safety system that automatically deactivates them in case of danger. When choosing a car amplifier, therefore, it is vital to evaluate not only its power but also its impedance, making sure that it is compatible with the rest of the components you use for your system.