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An amplifier increases the power of the signal being fed to it by taking energy from its power supply and matching the signal but increasing its amplitude. Amplifiers use many different methods for converting these electrical signals and have been categorized into classes.

Class A/B: Greater than 50% of the input signal is amplified while the other percentage is “off”. These amplifiers have a small amount of current flowing through the output transistors all the time which almost eliminates crossover distortion. Class A/B has great sound quality but is not as efficient as class D. These amps are most commonly used to drive speakers.

Class D: Also known as switching amplifiers, class D amps have output transistors that are completely turned “on” or “off”. This means that when the transistors are on, there is almost no voltage across them but when they are off there is significant voltage but no current flowing through it which makes these amplifiers very efficient at the cost of sound quality. These amps are most commonly used to drive subwoofers.

RMS power is the amount of continuous power, measured in watts, that an amplifier produces is called RMS power. The higher the RMS figure, the louder and cleaner your music sounds.

The RMS output figure is much more accurate than the peak rating when comparing products.

It is measured during a brief musical burst, such as a sudden drum accent. Some manufacturers display peak power ratings on the face of their products to increase the appeal.

The RMS power rating is more accurate, and we recommend using it for product comparison.

A crossover is a type of filtering system that permits only certain frequencies to play. A Low-Pass (LP) crossover allows only frequencies below its setting to get through which is good in the case of some subwoofers. A High-Pass(HP) filter allows frequencies above its setting to pass through, this is normally used on speakers.

When a crossover is set to FULL it means no filtering is added and the full frequency spectrum is allowed through the amplifier. Filtering is important because feeding a speaker frequencies it cannot reproduce effectively creates distortion.

• RMS Power
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio

This rating applies to both external car amplifiers, as well as the amplifiers inside of in-dash stereos.