By Seth Wilde – Product Specialist
Smaller is better, at least when it comes to car amplifiers. In the past few years, the 12-volt industry has been experiencing some incredible advancement in technology. New materials, new designs, new companies, and new factory integration devices have swept the industry. Previously, the audio component receiving the most attention was the car stereo. However, the limelight has since transferred to the car amplifier. Never before has the car audio amplifier been advancing as fast as it is now. We are seeing smaller and smaller amplifiers generating more and more power. Kicker released their IX amplifiers, such as the 10ix500.4. Alpine redesigned their PDX amps to make them smaller and more compact. But now the attention has moved to Kenwood with their new line of digital power amplifiers.
The Kenwood eXcelon XR-5S is one of the smallest chassis for amplifiers that produce comparable power. In fact, small footprint measures only 7-9/16” x 9-1/4” and has a height of 2-3/16”. Combine that with a weight of 6.1 lbs and you get one of the smallest Class D, five-channel amps available on the market! At either 4 or 2 ohms, the digital technology of this amp will produce the same results: 80 watts x 4 channels and 350 watts to a sub channel. To make those ratings sound even better, they are RMS ratings and CEA-2006 certified. In order to get the results that they wanted, Kenwood developed and used a four-layer circuit board with surface mount device (SMD) technology. They also integrated new thermal management system and a fan cooled heat sink to effectively remove the heat. Each channel has the option for low-pass or high-pass filters (50-200 Hz) so you can accurately get the tuning that your speakers require. The Kenwood XR-5S is an incredible 5-channel amplifier that makes for an all-in-one amp solution for any car. The small chassis can be installed under seats, in glove compartments, center consoles, and other places that installers have never before put car amplifiers.
