May be a silly question but what is meant by 1/2 channel amps, some are 1 some 1&2 and some 1 to 4 ??? Whats that all about.
If you where to fit an amp would it be better to wire speakers thru it instead of your head unit
And finaly would an amp give better sound qual and depth with less distortion, I know if gives mega base cause that all the lads in the Audio shops show you, they hook up to a speaker the size of jodral bank satalite dish whack up the volume and shout at you "THATS WHAT AN AMP DOES"
it sounds like a steam hammer driving piles into the ground thud, thud, thud :bang:
surly it must do more than that?

the channels on an amp tells you how many speakers can be connected to it

1 means 1 speaker can be connected , e.g. subwoofer (satellite dish)

2 means 2 speakers can be connected , e.g. pair of 6x9's

3 means 3 speakers can be connected , e.g pair of 6x9's and a subwoofer

4 means 4 speakers , e.g pair of 6x9's and components

and so on

2 channel amps or more can be bridged, which means it uses 2 channels on the amp to have a higher output so that bigger speakers could be connected

an amplifier will give better sound quality, this is because a standard headunit can nowhere near produce the same amount of output power like an amplifier

an amplifier does much more than thud, thud, the subwoofer is producing that noise and has all the high frequieceies filtered out allowing this to be achieve properly

if you like you music and want the best quality listening experience then an amplifier and good speakers can help you achieve this

(this is my understanding of amplifiers, i hope its correct )

Next week, Gaz will explain speaker impedance and amplifier load compatibility .

Gaz is right though, an amplifier (usually) will give a far better sound than the head unit.

Quality car audio is definate worthwhile investment, as you can rip it out and put it your next car.

paulbfd said:

as you can rip it out and put it your next car.

Click to expand...

easy with all that techno babble

Cheers Gaz,
So in theory I could use a 4-channel amp to run 2 rear speakers with integrated tweeters and 2 door speakers with separate tweeters in dash as they use a crossover?
Am I moving in the right direction so far?
This reminds me of the IT industry where every thing is a mystery, but once you start understanding bits it starts falling into place.
Speaker wire……. Is it the same as your home systems you can get cheap crap wire for so so sound or buy the expensive stuff, which is shielded and professes no signal degradation, what I am trying to say is would you wire with Halfords standard speaker cable or source better quality.

you are in the right direction

i cant knock halfords wire, there are some that most probably will, but i have never had no trouble with the off the roll stuff

i tend to go for the flat wire though, it can get into the tightest of spaces

the thin bell type wire i would advise you to avoid, my reasoning is, why spend so much on amps and speakers to be let down by the wiring, this is also the case with the amp power cable and earth

Unless your spending a lot on your system, then the Halfords stuff will be fine.

I've got a mate in America who is going to hook me up with some top notch speaker wire and interconnects on the cheap.