When looking at the amp the RMS power ratings are given at either 12V or 14.5V. What is the output of the car's battery? When I hook up an amp will the cars battery be supplying 12V or 14.5V?

 

Should be supplying closer to the 14v area.

 

Your battery puts out around 12 volts and when the engine is running it will be 14.4 volts with the alternater running.

 

thanks

 

The reason the amp company does it, is so they can publish higher (but still real) wattage numbers. When amps are given more voltage (within reason), they can produce more output. The other posts are also correct... about 12 V from the battery, 13.7-14.2 charging.

 

well yea.. so the 14.x voltage is the one you will care about unless you plan to run teh system with the car off.. not that the 2 volts makes that big of a difference.

 

suposedly 2 volts does make a huge diff. The amps power rated at 12V and 14V differ alot.

 

well that could have to do withthe quality of the amps as well...

also make sure you are comparing RMS power of both amps.. some less reputable companies use max power...

 

2 volts can make a difference... think about it : 2 volts is 16% of 12V. The power supply in the amp converts the 12 volts up to a higher voltage. 16% of that higher voltage becomes significant with respect to "potentially available power" to the speakers. It is more noticible with higher impedence speakers because as you pick higher impedence (ohm) speakers, the voltage capability of the amp becomes more important than the current capability.