How many watts is a factory car stereo? I mean, if you’re going to install an amplifier, or replace your factory stereo, it’s important to compare the specs of your new car stereo to the original equipment. You don’t want to blow up your speakers or cause other damage. But most importantly, you want to turn up the volume and enjoy some tunes!
How does the number of watts affect a car stereo?
The answer to this question is yes. The number of watts does affect your car stereo. But what does it mean? Watts are the measurement of power that a car audio system has. That power is then distributed to the speakers, which then produce sound.
The more watts you have, the more powerful your car audio system will be. This means that the sound will be louder and clearer than before. But there is a limit to how loud your car stereo can get without damaging it. You can easily damage your car speakers with too much wattage. Ideally, you want to use the same amount of watts as you would with your speakers
When upgrading your car stereo, you should always make sure that your speakers can handle more wattage than what you have in order to avoid damaging them.
Why factory car stereo has lower wattage?
It’s a tradeoff between power, price, and performance in the real world.
Car audio systems are designed with one major goal: to sound great in the car. If it’s a high-end sports car, perhaps the goal is to have a clear system that doesn’t add any noticeable distortion. If it’s a cheaper model, perhaps it’s to have a system that sounds good enough despite the cost limitations.
The job of an audio engineer can be thought of as balancing cost and performance with real-world usage patterns. The factory stereo might have lower power than you would expect because your car didn’t come with an amplifier, but it was designed to make the best use of the power available to it.
Car stereo manufacturers choose how much power their units put out based on many factors, including things like price points and competitive products. For example, if they want to provide a stereo that costs $100 less than the competition, they can reduce the amount of power that stereo puts out by 50% or more to reach their target price point while still offering better features and/or other components at that price level. Of course, this lowers overall volume output as well.
What to do if your factory car stereo has lower wattage?
1. Select a high-powered head unit
If your factory car stereo has lower wattage, you might want to consider a high-powered head unit as a solution.
Here’s what to look for:
Power: Look for a maximum output of at least 45 watts — 50 watts RMS is ideal.
Preamp outputs: These allow you to expand your system with amps and speakers and maintain a clean signal path. You’ll need at least three sets of preamp-outs, and it’s best if they’re all 2-volt.
Expandability: The option to add Bluetooth and satellite radio is always nice, especially if your car doesn’t already have them. If your car has a factory CD changer or auxiliary input, you’ll also want to make sure the new receiver will be compatible with them.
2. Use an external amp with your factory car stereo
if you don’t want to replace your stock car stereo with a new one, adding an external amp to it is the least expensive way to increase its wattage. This will provide more power for your speakers and/or subwoofers.
The benefit of adding an amplifier to your car’s sound system is that you can listen to music at higher volumes without any distortion. The amplifier takes the low-level signal from the factory stereo and increases its voltage so that it can be sent to speakers or subwoofers.
To connect an amplifier to your car’s stereo, you need a 4-channel RCA cable that plugs into the preamp output (usually on the rear left side of the unit). The other end of this cable needs to be plugged into the amp’s input jack. This cable will let you keep your factory car stereo and add an external amp without having to change any parts or wiring under the dashboard.
3. Use a powered subwoofer with your factory car stereo
If your factory car stereo has lower wattage, then you may want to consider a powered subwoofer as a solution. A powered subwoofer is a subwoofer and amplifier bundled into one box and connected with one cable.
This type of subwoofer does not need an external amp and can connect directly to your factory car stereo. Since the amplifier is built-in, you also don’t need to run separate power or ground wires for it.
There are some high-powered amplified subwoofers that do require an external amp, but they’re designed more for custom installations where you’re installing them in conjunction with aftermarket speakers and an aftermarket receiver, rather than just adding bass to your existing system.
