Selecting the Best Car Amplifier Can be a Challenge

One of the most often asked questions by shoppers is "what is the Best Car Amplfiier?"

Needless to say, that isn't a simple question. In most cases any retailer will tell you that the line of amplifiers he sells is the best for you. Honestly speaking, the best car amplfier for you might not be the best for me. So lets see if we can help you decide for yourself which is the best car amplifier for you.

Many shoppers looking for the best car amplifier will first look for "US made" amps thinking this will ensure high quality. Years ago when I started in car audio that may have been true, but today this simply isn't a good guideline to use. In truth, most if not all of the biggest names in car electronics including amplifiers, are made in the far east. You would be hard pressed to find any mobile electronics made in the USA anymore. Even if you find someone claiming this, you'll find in the fine print that part of the product was "assembled" in the USA and not really manufactured here. You can usually assume that the brands you are most familiar with will be among the best car amplifiers available.

Most shoppers will purchase their speakers or subwoofers first and then go shopping for an amplifier. So you’ll have the recommended speaker specifics in hand as you start your amplifier search. This is definitely the suggested order if you desire to find a proper match.

Shoppers will look at the power output of an amplifier first. When considering the power, you should also consider the maximum impedance specified by the amp. Most classic amplifiers by the likes of Alpine, Hifonics, MTX, Orion, Kicker, Eclipse, JL Audio and Rockford Fosgate will be capable of 2 ohm and even 1 ohm operation in the case of class D subwoofer amps. But in the real world, you should compare the amp’s output capability at 4 ohms. In the majority of installs, you will be building a 4 ohm setup. At one time, the names mentioned above and most other quality amps would only publish their specific output at RMS or continuous power ratings and never the maximum output. Unfortunately, due to the changing market place, almost all amplifier manufacturers publish the maximum output of their amps. The shopper should be careful of this since it can be most misleading. Lets be honest, who cares what an amplifier can produce for a period of 1 millisecond? Published maximum output is really very misleading and near worthless to the installer. This is nothing but an advertising ploy to make the shopper think he is getting more power for his dollar spent. We want to compare the continuous (RMS) output of an amp since it is a much better method of comparison and represents how your amp will be used.

The second subject to check is the “signal to noise ration” (SNR) of an amplifier. Obviously the higher this ratio, the better it is. Although this is not particularly important if searching for a subwoofer amp, it certainly should be a deciding factor in purchasing a good amp to drive your mids and tweeters.

 You should also consider your physical location for your install before shopping. Be sure you can secure your amp properly and that the location provides enough air circulation. Don’t forget to measure the installation area to ensure you purchase an amplifier that will fit. Don’t laugh, I’ve had more then a few customers over the years forget this basic requirement until it was too late.

So its safe to say, after considering these points purchase your a better amplifier from your favorite line and you should be happy knowing you found the Best Car Amplifier for your installation.