Recently, I have seen a lot of posts about audio equipment claiming to have outrageous performance for little money. This has prompted me to write the following.

Be wary of specifications in the car audio industry. There are no FCC regulations to govern these ratings. For power ratings, look for a specification that reads something like the following:

"A minimum of ___ watts per channel rms at __ ohms with all channels driven at ___ % THD from 20-20,000 Hz with a battery input of __ volts."

If a power rating is missing any of these elements, it is virtually useless. A power rating at 1 kHz is useless, since midrange frequencies require very little power. A THD rating at 1 watt is useless - it should be at full power. Damping Factor ratings are useless unless there is a frequency range given.

Please be careful of these ratings. A lot of companies prey on people who do not know this market. People assume that there are ratings in place for this industry, which there are not. You will never see a home audio receiver with "1000 watts max" printed on the front panel. The home audio market has regulations which prevent this type of misleading marketing.

Sorry if I rambled here, but I feel that this needed to be said. I hate seeing people get burned!!

Todd



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97 White F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP, 4.6, SuperChip, Stillen Air Intake, Gibson Exhaust, Hellwig Sway Bar, Weld Wheels, 33" Bridgestone A/T Duelers, 3" Body Lift, Rancho 9000's, Billet Grill, SmittyBilt Nerf Bars (Stainless), SnugTop Shell (Expo), Sony ES CDX780 Head Unit, W/CD, Sony ES 10 Disk Changer, Sony ES XDP 210 EQ / Digital Pre-Amp, MTX 4X75W AMP, Kenwood 300W AMP for Sub., 1 Fared Lightning Monitor Cap, Optima Yellow Top Battery, MTX ThunderForm W/2-8"-4ohm Fosgate Punch XLC, Infinity Kappa components in front, Infinity Kappa 5X7 rear. On Order: White face gauge? Still looking.......

 

I agree with luvTheC.
You get what you pay for.
The higher quility equiptment is conservatively rated.
Cheap stuff way overated.
Also, being an electronics tech I can tell the difference inside in how they build different amps.
You are more likely to avoid noise problems when using better amps due to the fact the circiuts are better designed.
Also better amps have protect circuits that actually work and shut the amp down before it overheats.
The same is true for head units and speakers too.
Many speakers frequency response is overated and so is power handling.
I have yet to see a head unit put out 25x4 RMS.
Enough rambling

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99 XLT 5.4l reg cab
4 wheel disc/ABS
5 star larait style wheels
Toreador red 2tone
3.55 gears
255/70/16 OWL
Delta toolbox
Eclipse 5340 cd player
Memphis ARCS50 component speakers (excellent sound)
Sherwood amp
subwoofer coming soon
More mods as funds become avalible.