When shopping to upgrade your factory radio system you’ll most likely start off with choosing a head unit. Then will come the time to look for some speakers, maybe a subwoofer or amplifier. For ANY stereo installation that involves an amplifier, you will need an amp kit. You may think, “I don’t know anything about this, how do I know what to get!” Worry not! Sonic Electronix not only has have several resources to help but this is why I am writing to you today.
So, let’s talk a bit about how to choose the proper kit for your setup, shall we?
Most commonly used sized wire for powering car amplifiers is 8 gauge or 4 gauge. Due to the high current demands, a car amplifier needs large power wires to get the energy it needs from the battery to operate correctly. Depending on the wattage of your amplifier (which you should know after buying it) you pick the gauge of wire that you need in the amplifier kit. To figure out the correct size wire you need for your application, visit our knowledge base to read our article on the gauges of wire you will need.
A complete amp kit has everything you need to install your amp to your aftermarket head unit such as speaker wire, power wire, RCA cables, remote turn-on wire, fuse holders, etc. These are usually the ones to go with for the easiest installation. If you already have speaker wire for example and you only need power wire and interconnects, the Power kit would be the one to choose.
The Power Kit or Multiple Amp Kit included accessories differ.
Amplifier Power Kits come with only the wiring for powering an amplifier and allow you to select the grade of RCA interconnects that you would want for the install. Multiple amp kits are made for more than one amplifier to be set up to the stereo, hence the kit title. These can be complete kits or power kits and usually include a distribution block and additional wiring to install more than one amp. For the case of two amplifiers, rather than running 2 heavy gauge wires throughout your vehicle, you can run a single wire to the distribution block in the rear which will split it into two smaller gauge wires for each amplifier.
So there you have it. First and foremost check the wattage for your amplifier and choose the proper gauge wire. For additional information on installations, shopping for the proper equipment, etc., see our Sonic Knowledge Base, YouTube Channel or other Blogs.
