Which is the Best Amplifier for My Car?

When I was in retail, one question that I would often get, regardless of the person’s age, was – which is the best amplifier for my car? That is not an easy question to answer and one that has many variables. In my opinion, there is no such thing as the best car amplifier. The cost, Amazon review, the opinion of your local car stereo store or brand should not be taken into account when choosing an amp for your car stereo system.

Here are three more important things that need to be considered before choosing an amplifier for your car.

Car Stereo System: Regardless of your financial means and because car audio amplifiers are categorized by the number of channels having an idea of what the car stereo system will look like once complete is very important! This is crucial if you are building the system one component at a time. Many car stereo shops will tell that you need one amplification channel per speaker in your vehicle. That is not true or applicable to today’s Class-D amplifiers, which are specially designed to run at 2-ohms or lower impedance! In other words, a professional car audio installer, not the type found at Best Buy, can easily run an entire system of front and rear speakers, plus a subwoofer with a single two-channel Class-D amp.

Budget: Being realistic about your budget can be the difference between a good-sounding car stereo system and one that is constantly having issues and blowing up speakers! As with everything in life, they’re good, better, and best! When shopping for car audio and electronics, it is best to keep all the components in the same category. While buying the best car audio amp with some good speaker sometimes work, purchasing the best car stereo speakers with an amp that is just good enough makes no sense. Another trap that car audio newbies get caught in is the wattage war. You have to be concise about your car’s current capabilities and ensure that your system does not surpass that! A 3000 Watt amplifier like the Taramps HD 3000 will never achieve rate power if you drive a Mini-Cooper with the stock alternator. The vehicle just does not have the amount of current requite to make that much power! So, because your friend has it in his Suburban, it does mean you should get it!

Car Audio Installation: While installing a car stereo amplifier is not very difficult, and we encourage our customers to give DIY car stereo installation a try, being realistic about your technical limitation is essential. Installing your car stereo yourself can amount to a substantial saving. One meaningful enough to allow you to upgrade from good to better or better to best car stereo system! With some basic tools like a crimper, power drill, multi-tip screw drive, a panel prying kit, and a small socket set, anyone can install a car stereo amplifier. Also, consider buying a car amp wiring kit if this is your first time!

I hope we have answered your question about – Which is the Best Amplifier for My Car? The answer to that is – the one that fits your budget, your ambitions for how big or how small you want your car stereo to be, and one that is within your technical expertise, as far as installation!