Do you need an amp if you hook up subwoofers in your car?

Question

i want subwoofers but dont know much about them. And can you hook them up to a stock audio system

Answer 1

if you want them to work yeah, if there's no amp theres no power to the subs

Answer 2

you have to hook the amp up to the head unit and then hook the sub woffer to the amp

Answer 3

Yes, but you won't get the sound you want to hear.  So the next best thing to do is install an amp with the power rating that satisfies you after hearing it demonstrated from the purchaser

Answer 4

A powered subwoofer like a bazooka tube would be the easiest solution.  All it is is a tube with a speaker and built in amp.  You hook up a power wire, a ground wire, a remote wire, and a speaker level input and you're done.  They sound okay.  This is the only way you can hook up a sub to a stock system without an amp.

There are a few head units that actually have enough power to push a subwoofer with bridged rear outputs.  This would require a subwoofer with a low continuous power rating and would only sound good in a small vehicle.  The only head unit I've seen capable of this was a jvc.  You can check that out if you want.  Otherwise, it's best to just get an amp and a subwoofer.

Almost all amps have RCA inputs, AS WELL AS speaker level inputs.  You can use any pair of positive and negative speaker wires as a speaker level input.  So yes, with a little more ingenuity a sub woofer and amp can be added to any stock system.  

On a side note, with a Hi/Low converter you can change all of your speaker wires to RCA outputs which would then simply plug into your amp.  This can allow you to hook up almost any stock head unit to any amp you choose.  There are a wide variety of these available, but remember that 95% or more of all problems with a car stereo are due to the installation.  Don't buy the cheapest of the cheap, but mid level equipment such as a hi/lo converter should be just fine with proper installation.

Answer 5

u need a amp to have them sound worth anything

Answer 6

you can get a powered subwoofer where the amp is built into the box and everything if you dont wanna do much work but yeah you need an amp if you hook it up to a stock headunit it would be getting 16 watts

you need atleast 50 to hear it and make the sub move