A lot of people like having good music quality in their car. That is because most people enjoy jamming out to their music on their way to work. What most people may not know is how to get the quality of music that they are seeking. Well, in this article we will help those people figure out how to get the best quality. We will cover what an amp is and what it does. Then at the end, we will answer the question on if you should add an amplifier to your door speakers. Read on to learn everything you need to know about using an amp in your car’s sound system.
Before getting into if you should run an amplifier with your door speakers we will first cover what an amplifier is and what it does. In simple terms, an amp takes a weak audio signal and makes it stronger. Your car’s radio system already has an amp even if you did not install it. It is built into the head unit. However, it is very common to add more amps to power specific parts of the audio system. The amps can be various channels, but this is getting into really technical things that are better for other articles. For this, all you need to know is an amp takes a weak signal and makes it stronger.
So, you may be wondering what the benefits of using an amp are then. Well, the first thing that most people will notice when they start using an amp is that they can play their music louder and maintain the same or better sound quality than they had. That is because your head unit can only handle so much sound and having an amp takes the strain off of that unit. Some of the benefits of the amp though will depend on how bad a head unit you have. Some head units are powerful and the loudness benefit may not be as noticeable.
Another benefit of using an amp is better sound quality. So, sometimes it may seem like you are playing your music louder, but really it is just less distorted and better quality. This gain again can be hard to notice depending on the type of header you had. Amps, however, can be matched up and picked based on your speakers to get the best sound quality possible out of them. That is one reason why it is good to use a separate amp, especially if you are paying a lot for good speakers. You want the speakers to sound as good as possible.
Picking an amp can get complicated because there are a few things to look at. The number of channels it has and the wattage is two key things. You want to get an amp that is more powerful than what you already have to get the benefit from it. Also, some amps have different filters in place, so they are better to use with certain speakers. Picking an amplifier can get into a lot of technicals, so we will save choosing an amp for another time.
So, now we are getting to the real question of should you amp door speakers? The short answer is yes you should. The reason is that having more power to run your door speakers will make for better sound quality. This is especially true if you have changed your door speakers out, but didn’t change out the head unit or any other parts that your car came with. There gets to be some debate though on if you should amp the front and the back or just the front. To get an answer on that we will need to look at what the door speakers are actually doing.
So, before deciding if you should amplify both the front and the back door speakers, or just the front you need to have a better idea of what door speakers too. This explanation will also give you a more in-depth answer on why you should amplify your door speakers. Door speakers job is to create a sound stage in your car. There are two different ones for this. The front stage and backstage. The front stage is what you the driver typically hears and the front passenger. The backstage is for people in the back. You can think of your car like when you are at a concert and the viewing area is broke up into sections. The front of the car is the pit right in front of the stage and the back seats are the back of the stadium.
For those riding in the front, the back sound is not heard much. It is mainly just a fill. For those in the back though it is the main sound that they hear. That is why your car has different fade options to try to move the position of the sound. You can have it towards the front, in the middle, in the back, left, and right. When using an amp on your door speakers it is very important to have this set up correctly. If you amp both the front and back speakers and have the controls set up wrong, then the back speakers can cause distortion from what you hear up front. If you only amp the front, then you won’t have this problem, but things might not sound right in the back.
If you don’t have people in the back and just want loud sounds for you, then only amping the front speakers is probably the best option. This is true because it can create the most distortion-free sound and give you the best quality. It can also be cheaper because you will only need a two channel amp. If you do have people in the back though, or like the filling sound of the back speakers, then you can amp the back. You will just need to make sure to have all the controls set up right in your car so it will sound right. You don’t want the backstage overpowering the front stage.
So, after reading this you now know that you should use an amp on your door speakers. You know how and why to do it. Also, you know what an amplifier is and what does. You have a basic understanding of how it works and the benefits from it. Now, you can start trying to pick out the best amp for your cars sound system and for your door speakers. Finding the right one can be hard, but it is worth it, and with the information you have you are well on your way to having a top car sound system.
I really appreciate the article. I love car audio. I look for every piece of advice possible. This really helps!