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Why add an amplifier?
You may think of a power
amplifier as the key to the ear-splitting power that
lets people hear you coming, and while that can
certainly be true, there's so much more to the
story. Adding an amplifier gives you a clean power
source that can drive your speakers without
straining. That means your music will sound cleaner
and more defined at all volume levels.
So whether you jam to Pavarotti
or Punk, whether you run your system wide open or
softly enough for conversation, a well-made power
amplifier will breathe life into your music,
bringing out all of its excitement and detail.
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What features
should you look for?
If you plan to
drive a subwoofer with your system,
choose an amplifier with a bass
filter circuit. A bass filter
circuit selects the lowest notes,
providing extended deep bass impact.
A low-pass crossover sends only bass
notes to your subwoofer. And a
high-pass crossover relieves smaller
speakers of the burden of trying to
reproduce low bass tones they
weren't designed to handle. As a
result, those speakers can play
louder with less distortion. |
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Many of the Kenwood range of
amplifiers feature extensive input
signal filtering
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How can you add an amplifier to
your factory radio?
Even though most
factory-installed radios lack preamp outputs, it's
easy to introduce your factory stereo to some real
power. Just choose an amplifier with speaker-level
inputs. These models allow you to use the existing
factory speaker wires in your vehicle to route the
signal into the amp.
What size amplifier do you need to
make subwoofers really slam?
If you plan to drive subwoofers
with your amplifier, choose one with plenty of
power. Low bass notes are power hungry, and the more
wattage you feed them, the better they sound. In
general, the larger your subwoofer and the louder
you want it to sound, the more power you'll need.
Remember, if you're driving one
sub, you can "bridge" a 2-channel amp to
get a significant increase in output. Our individual
product descriptions list bridged output for each of
our amplifiers. You also may want to take a look at
our mono or single channel, subwoofer amplifier,
since its features and design are specifically
tailored for the job of driving low
frequencies.
What advantages do you get from an
electronic crossover?
An electronic crossover lets you
vary the crossover points to achieve the best
overall sound in your vehicle. You'll also enjoy
independent level control for the different speakers
in your system. You can use this feature to help
achieve better stereo imaging and soundstaging by
giving the front speakers or tweeters just the right
amount of power.
Where can you mount your
amplifier?
Since space is at a premium in
most vehicles, it's important to find just the right
spot to mount your amp. Our two favorite locations
are under a seat or in the boot. Under-seat mounting
is space-efficient and keeps the amp hidden from
view. It also lets you run shorter cables from your
receiver. A boot-mounted amp requires longer power
and signal cables but is safely hidden and closer to
rear speakers and your subwoofer. See our
guide '' |
