/How a Motorcycle Stereo Amplifier Works

How a Motorcycle Stereo Amplifier Works

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Riding a motorcycle is fun. You get that edgy, fresh, exciting, and hardcore feeling when you take a ride on your bike. However, driving with music makes all these ten times better. Music makes it a complete experience.

Imagine going over a long distance as you enjoy the exhilarating and mind-blowing ride across an open stretch of road. Sounds fun, right? However, it will become boring after a long while; no company, no sound, just you riding across a long stretch of road. Not to say that riding a motorcycle is so dull. After all, all bikers love the way their engine purrs and roars amongst the beautiful outdoors.

What we’re saying here is we want you to enjoy the experience thoroughly. We also wish that you break out from the lonely and monotonous activity after a long while. How do you make it better? Look no further; a stereo is all you need.

Still, that’s not all. A great stereo needs an equally excellent rf amplifier.

Indeed, many people are knowledgeable about the essential components of a motorcycle stereo, including the source or deck and speakers. However, the amplifier is one of the elements that usually go unnoticed. Don’t let this deter you from seeing the component as a vital and interesting one. The equipment has a purpose. It’s best you note that a stereo amplifier plays an essential role in the quality and volume of a stereo system.

What’s a stereo amplifier?

A stereo amplifier is an electronic appliance that amplifies low-power sound waves, so they become pretty much suitable for loudspeakers. It’s great to add that amplifiers have been around for over a century. A man named Lee De Forest invented the world’s first functional amplifier in 1909. Since we’re going back in time, we should also add that this early amplifier had three terminal triodes coupled with a control grid that operates the flow of electrons. These first form of amplifiers utilized vacuum tubes (valves) to boost the volume and quality of the sound. However, some notable motorcycle amps have been replaced by that which uses solid-state devices like BJTs, FETs, and MOSFETs.

If you’re still not convinced, we’ll go on about all you need to know about stereo amplifiers.  The primary task of a stereo amplifier is to magnify the electrical currents, that produces the sounds from the stereo. A lot of decks and motorcycle speaker systems have amplifiers built into them, improving the sound of your music even better than its original state. Unfortunately, most default amplifiers generally lack the power to produce high-quality sound signals to premium speakers; so, you need a dedicated amplifier to up the sound.

It’s also noteworthy that you’ll need one channel for each speaker on your bike. For instance, let’s assume you have a sum of four speakers installed on your motorcycle; it means that you would need an amplifier with at least four channels.

RMS and Peak Power Amplifiers

In essence, you’ll get to make a decision when choosing a motorcycle amplifier. You will come across terms like “RMS” and “Peak Power” when you go all out you purchase your motorcycle amplifier.

For one, the RMS (or continuous Power) refers to the amount of energy (measured in watts) that an amplifier can produce. The RMS rating on an amplifier should match the evaluation of your speakers. It is also the most critical rating as it directly relates to the quality and volume output. Peak Power, on the other hand, is the wattage amount that an amplifier can only generate for brief periods. Be sure to remember that the Peak Power is always higher than the RMS.

Stereo amplifiers are pretty reliable. Regardless of how small motorcycle amplifiers look like, that perform more than they seem. These bad boys can cram an insane amount of features and accessories designed to make your driving experience memorable.

Let’s begin with their most basic features; motorcycle amplifiers possess bass boost, high and low pass filters, and speaker level inputs. The high and low pass filters make sure your amp is only boosting the frequencies that you desire.

How Much Power Do You Need On Your Bike Amp?

This area is somewhat a minefield because most audio equipment comes with multiple power ratings. To get the best results and adequately utilize the component, it’s best you pay full attention to the motorbike amplifier’s RMS power rating. The rating is an average measure of how much power the amp can put out consistently.

This rating should be an exact match or quite close to that of the entire power requirement of your motorcycle. Indeed, no one size fits all when selecting a bike amp because most bike systems are customized. Regardless of the choice you make, do well to make sure it has just enough power to manage all the necessary components in your stereo system.

You should also do well to buy a specific bike amp because some bike makes the mistake of purchasing a hefty car amplifier whose main job is to boost a couple of handlebar speakers. A mismatched motorcycle amp makes the headlight of your bike quite dimmer. It also causes engine failure. So, purchase an amp that runs specifically for a motorcycle.

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(CEO / Editor / Journalist) – Bruno is the owner and CEO of Motorward.com; he’s responsible for the entire team, editorial guidelines and publishing. Bruno has many years of experience in the auto industry, both managing automotive websites and contributing to the press.