Car stereo come in all shapes and sizes but have basically the same three components -- a radio, an amplifier and speakers. If you want to make your system sound better, then you need to start with the stereo amplifier. Let's look at how it works, what to look for and where to get one. Here's how to buy car amplifiers.
How it works. The sound that you hear when you put on your car stereo systems starts with the head unit. This is what controls the radio frequency, CD, MP3 player or what have you, as well as equalization, balance, etc. The signal from this unit travels into the car audio amplifier, which boosts it and then sends it along to the speakers. This increase in the signal is what makes all the difference between a bad sound and a great sound. If your radio sounds like it's distorted and bad, don't blame the speakers -- your amp just isn't up to snuff. People are quick to blame bad audio on blown speakers but the fact is, a bad amp does more damage to audio quality and will actually be the cause of a blown speaker! If you turn the volume way up and your amp tries to overreach its limits, it produces something called total harmonic distortion in the signal. This will blow your speakers and hurt your ears. So more power will not hurt the speakers as much as lower power trying to reach a higher level will. Factory car radios usually have an amp attached to the back of the radio but aftermarket amps are located elsewhere in the vehicle (the trunk or under a seat) and attached by a cable.
