It’s time to look at the input stage of how a modern car audio amplifier works. The input stage is responsible for interfacing with your radio and provides features like the gain control, crossovers, bass boost, remote level control and signal summing that your installer will use to make your stereo system sound great and […]
Product Spotlight: ARC Audio X2-Series Amplifiers
The X2 series from ARC Audio includes eight amplifiers that offer the features installers need to create amazing car audio systems while delivering industry-reference performance. ARC has divided the X2 series into two sub-groups offering different cosmetic and performance characteristics. The Level 1 product group includes a monoblock along with a four- and five-channel amplifier […]
Why Can’t I Turn the Volume on My Factory Radio All the Way Up?
Whether the sound system in your car or truck is bone stock or upgraded with premium amplifiers, speakers and subwoofers, the system’s maximum volume may not directly coincide with turning the knob up all the way. The short and sweet of why this happens is something called gain overlap. This conscious and deliberate design decision […]
How Does a Car Audio Amplifier Work – The Power Supply
We’ve talked about car audio amplifier features and specifications at great length, but up to this point, we haven’t discussed how a car audio amplifier works. In this article, we’ll provide a simple overview of how the power supply in your mobile amplifier can take the 12 volts supplied by your electrical system and convert […]
Understanding Specifications: Car Audio Amplifier Distortion
As we slowly approach the end of our latest Understanding Specifications series, we want to take a look at car audio amplifier distortion ratings and explain what they mean. We should make it clear: No matter how or good or bad a piece of audio equipment is, every audio component adds some amount of distortion […]
