How Does A Car Amplifier Work

At some point you may wonder how does a car amplifier work.  Car amplifiers boost the signal that runs through the sound system and plays them through the speakers. There are many misunderstandings and misperceptions about how a car amplifier works.  This article will outline the basics of how a car amplifier works.

1. First, an electrical signal moves into the amplifier, through a circuit board, and out the other side through the speakers.  The electrical signal may originate from the radio or from the CD player.  These devices send a signal to the circuit board.  The circuit board, which looks a lot like a computer circuit board, boosts the signal as it moves through the sound system of your car.
   
2. A commonly misunderstood functioning of car amplifiers is their output.  The output of each car amplifier varies and can be determined fairly simply.  The RMS (root mean square) rating of the amplifier does not tell you very much about the amplifier because most amplifiers will only reach this level for a fraction of a second at a time.  Instead, you can calculate the actual output of your amplifier by multiplying the peak output by .7 and then subtracting the amp's advertised peak performance number from the number you just calculated.
3. Another aspect of the car amplifier that is commonly misunderstood is the bridging.  An amplifier that is bridged or can be bridged is simply an amplifier that can create one power supply out of the left and right power supplies.  This can significantly boost the power supply to one subwoofer.