what does an amplifier do in a car audio system?

Question

what is the benefit of having an amplifier in my car adio system rather than running the speakers with out

Answer 1

Without an amplifier, you wouldn't be able to hear your radio (it has one built in).

Answer 2

Compare stereos to light bulbs. Wattage makes a stereo sound louder and wattage makes a bulb brighter.
More watts a bulb has the brighter it is.. speakers get louder.
But it is not just about blowing out windows with loud.
If you turn up a 40 watt per channel stereo to full loud you get distortion and it sounds like crap, can even blow out speakers that are rated for more then 40 watts due to the poor quality being pumped into the speakers.
Channels are like Right Front, Left Rear, Subwoofer (3 channels)
Now put a 100 watt per channel amplifier between the stereo and the speakers and you are pushing 140 watts per channel (not actual, but good for discussion).. Now when you turn it up to 40 watts output to the speakers, your stereo is is just over 1/4 turned up. The music should be crisp and clear as you are not at the max for the stereo or amp.
Each speaker needs to be rated above your total watts per channel and ensure they are all Ohm rated the same. (no mixing 4, 6 or 8 ohm speakers) as this will create an uneven drawl on the amp / stereo and can cause overheating.
Quality of equipement and proper matching can create a better sound then high watts and cheap or mismatched equipment.
My stereo is rated at 60 watts on 4 channels and then a 40 watt per channel, 4 channel amp. The sound quality is so good that many people believe I am running a 300+ watt system.

Answered?

Some research at:
http://www.crutchfield.com
or
http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Can save you tons of money.


Happy Holidays

Answer 3

An amplifier creates more power to push to the speakers, used to create more clear sound and pull out the full potential in any speaker. Use caution when hooking up amplifiers though, you can easily blow a speaker out. Every speaker has a power rating, be sure to check what the power rating is for your speakers or the ones yu plan to install before buying an amp, never use an amp that pushes more power than the speakers can handle if you are unsure of what you are doing.

Answer 4

More wattage the louder. Remember that an amp needs the right ohm speakers and its usually a pain to wire them to a factory head unit so if your considering an amp you might go to your local car audio dealer and talk to them and they will determine what you need after you decide how loud you want to go.

Answer 5

once you've 2 subs use the 1200 watt in the experience that they are mono or channel. once you've the single sub and its a 2 channel you need to basically bridge it. The equalizer received't do a lot for the subs. on your highs it extremely works good. basically run the distant cord from the amp to the distant cord of the eq, or vise versa, run the flexibility cord from the amp to the eq and the detrimental cord from the amp to the eq yet use a smaller gage cord (14 or so).