How important is amps on a car stereo?

Question

I just screwed up my stereo cause my tape deck got stuck but anyway I'm looking for a new stereo. I wanna cheap one but good. how important are the amps in a car stereo? and if the stereo has low amps should i also get a amplifier?

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

you mean watts, and its important to have speakers that require around the same wattage as the radio puts out for best sound quality when you turn up the volume if the two wattages are close you run a lower risk or playing distorted sound and distortion is the main cause of speaker damage

Answer 3

When you're shopping for a stereo deck, you probably won't find much difference in terms of power output.  Just about all modern decks will produce around 15-20 watts RMS per channel.  A few watts of difference in power ratings won't usually make an easily audible difference in the sound. Pick a new stereo that's easy to use and has the features you want, and don't worry too much about the power ratings.

If sound quality is important to you, then you'll probably want to use an external amplifier.  If you're still using stock speakers, then there's not much point to an amp.

To clear up some misinformation:  you don't have to closely match speaker and amplifier power ratings.  A speaker rated for 75 watts won't have any problem at all with a deck that produces 20 watts.  A mis-match won't necessarily produce any extra distortion, and it's not true that distortion is a major cause of speaker damage.  Speakers are damaged by too much power, not distortion.