I recently visited a Best Buy at which a salesman in the automobile audio department told me the following:
“Even if you listen to relaxing jazz or classical music played at low volume, a nice amplifier added to your system will deliver a cleaner, crisper, better sound. At any volume, the music will sound better with the added amp.”
Yes, I listen to jazz/classical at fairly low volume. So, is the sales guy correct?
Methinks he was trying to make a sale. But yes, depending on what rating your speakers are, an amp will help. But so will better speakers.
Hardcore audiophiles would notice the difference of the amp, but I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t.
Better speakers would probably help more, especially if you’re still using your car’s stock speakers.
But the first question to ask yourself is: are you happy with the way your stereo sounds now? If you are, don’t change anything; if you’re not, specifically what don’t you like about it?
Frogstein is right, follow that advice. In addition, the added clarity of better speakers will make the improvements of a better amp easier to hear.
Low volume listening does not put a strain on the amp, which will make an amp-based improvement subtle at best. In a home system, that can be very valuable. In a car, with so much ambient noise, I can’t think the amp would be a good choice to spend $$ on.
One caveat is that I’m assuming the amp that’s in the car now is not complete garbage. As long as your amp and head unit are decent, the above should apply.
Unless he was going to add a sub as well???
My rule of thumb for car audio: Upgrade speakers first.
He does have a valid point though. A high power amp loafing along at a fraction of its capacity will usually sound better than a lower powered amp working nearer its capacity.
An analogy would be a V-8 Cadillac Vs. a 4 cylinder Honda both driving at 60 MPH. The Honda will be revving noisily while the Caddy quietly rolls along.
I agree that upgrading the speakers would provide the most-improvement-for-the-buck, but there is something to be said for upgrading the amplifier. Even if you listen to music at “low volume,” there may be brief passages that require a high SPL. A more power amplifier will be able to reproduce these passages with low distortion, while the receiver’s built-in amplifier may compress, distort, or even “clip” when trying to amplify the passage. It all has to do with dynamic range, headroom, etc. But is should be stressed that this highly depends on the source material.
Crafter_Man is right. Speakers alwaysd come first. But one of the great things about both classical and jazz music is the wide variety of frequencies used in the music. I can tell you that listening to the Billy the Kid Suite on unamplified car speakers is just not the same as listening to it amplified. It’s cleaner, the lows are correct and accurate, everything is just smoother. And you might find that you weren’t hearing the entire piece: Certain ranges may have been too subtle for you to hear.
Just my personal opinion, I think relying on the power supplied by a head unit is ridiculous. My current stereo doesn’t even supply power. I run it all from my outboard amp.
FYI, the amp is currently have is part of the original truck stereo. (I have several expensive cars, but like to drive the truck on weekends.)
The sales guy specifically said that even at low levels, the amp would make the music sound “much better.” I hate the sound of thumping bass, by the way. What I want is real clarity and nice definition.
A last thought: I’ve been eyeing one of those fancy MacIntosh stereo amps for my home unit. I love the blue displays!
Put me in the “better speakers first” camp. Efficient speakers can give you all the volume you want without pushing your amplifier into distortion. I’ve never had JBL speakers in a car but all three of the sets I’ve had at home could produce earsplitting volume with low power. I put a pair of 6x9 Infinity two-ways in the doors of my truck and they are capable of far more volume than I’d ever want and sound is superb.