How to choose the right amplifier for the subwoofer

How to choose an amplifier for an active subwoofer to get good bass reproduction? This is a fairly common question. It is generally accepted that an external amplifier is preferable to a built-in one, because it has more features. But is it really so? To understand this issue, consider the characteristics and functionality of different types of amplifiers and choose the best car amplifier for subwoofers.

Why do I need a sound amplifier?

A subwoofer is a subwoofer that needs a large amount of energy, so it certainly needs an amplifier to provide powerful sound. When connecting the woofer directly to the audio system, you won’t get a special result, in this case installing a subwoofer without an amplifier is a waste of money. Standard car radios on average give out about 50 watts of power per channel, and this is not enough even to block road noise, which also applies to low-frequency ones. And to achieve in this way some kind of super bass sound is unrealistic.

An amplifier in a car speaker has a very important function. It improves sound transmission and playback quality. It is a clean source of energy that provides control of the subwoofer and speakers, revealing fully and increasing their capabilities.

Built-in amplifier

Often when creating subwoofers, a built-in amplifier is used, then you immediately get a whole speaker system in one, which consists of speakers, an amplifier and other components placed in a specialized monoblock. The advantage of such a system is its ease of installation, no need to select and connect anything else-there is one device in a single case, which can have different sizes, depending on the power and type of construction.

But they also have drawbacks, in particular, it can be noted that most often when using the built-in amplifier, the options for adjusting the sound playback are slightly limited, in this case it is impossible to affect the parameters of the built-in amplifier and you need to choose from ready-made models of active subwoofers offered manufacturers.

External sound amplifiers

Manufacturers offer a variety of external amplifiers for subwoofers, the number of models on the market today is amazing. They have different sizes and different parameters, can be equipped with low-pass filters, which significantly improves the sound quality. The main feature of the external amplifier is that such a device has practically no restrictions. Even at maximum volume, the sound will be clear, without distortion, and very powerful.

Features of connecting a subwoofer to an external amplifier, which should be taken into account:

• An amplifier having an even number of channels is connected to the subwoofer speaker in a special way, which differs from the connection of ordinary speakers. This is due to the fact that they need a lot of power for normal and full-fledged operation, so one of the pairs of channels of the sound amplifier is connected using a bridge circuit.
• When using an amplifier having an odd number of outputs, a bridge connection is not required, because one of the channels is already intended for connecting subwoofers and has a lot of power. These sound amplifiers are aimed at working with a subwoofer. Defining a channel is as simple as possible: you need to look at its power and equipment. They are several times larger than other channels.

Which amplifier is best for a subwoofer?

The amplifier for high-quality bass transmission must be selected taking into account the power. Remember that inside the car, the power requirements of the amplifier increase due to road noise. In addition, low-frequency sound in the car spreads not like in a regular room or concert hall, it also affects the indicator of the required power.

When choosing an amplifier for a subwoofer, you need to look at the so-called rated power (RMS-root mean square). For a subwoofer, this is the power that the speaker can withstand without losing its functional parameters for a long time. For an amplifier, this parameter characterizes the maximum power value at which the sound distortion does not reach the established critical value.

So, what is the best option? Obviously, there are only three possible options:

• Weak amplifier. If the power of the sound amplifier is lower than the power of the woofer, this is bad. In this case, the risk of burning a voice coil increases dramatically.
• The amplifier is equal in power to the subwoofer-also not an ideal option. This is explained by the fact that the rated power for sound amplifiers is normalized, as a rule, for a network voltage of 14.4 V. In reality, this parameter is almost unattainable, during operation it will always fluctuate, and when a large number of different consumers are connected to the on-board network, the amplifier will not be able to achieve the required power. Therefore, in this case, there is a risk of overheating of the voice coil.
• The amplifier is more powerful than the subwoofer. This is the best variant. Practice shows that the most optimal indicator will be the power of the amplifier, exceeding the rated power of the woofer by 1.5-2 times. Chasing super power is also not necessary, this can lead to a decrease in the life of the subwoofer.

As you can see, the power of the amplifier for the subwoofer is a determining parameter. If you want to get a high-quality bass transmission, then the choice of device should be approached very carefully. In the online store 130.com.ua you can buy an amplifier for a subwoofer in Kiev, Odessa and Kharkov of various manufacturers with any number of channels and power.

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