Are these things really worth the money? Does anyone have one? Whats you take on it?

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They are only worth it if your into stereo competition.

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-Justin-

T-Top '86 5.0L LG4 700R4 WS6
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There can be only one!!

 

So it's really just a signal booster right? I wouldn't think that much if any of signal would be lost considering anything in a typical install with probably nomore than a 20' patch cable would even deem useful. So wouldn't a Line Driver compare to turning up the gain? With the only difference being it's done before it gets to the amp besides inside the amp? Just curious.

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By doing it near the head unit instead of at the amp, it allows a higher voltage signal to travel through the RCAs, and the higher voltage signal has much better noise rejection. The higher level also allows you to turn down the gain on the amp, which lowers the noise floor for a better overall signal to noise ratio. You'll never tell the difference on your run of the mill stereo system, but on a competition-level system it can help.

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Another benefit of the higher RCA voltage is that it allows the gains on the amps to be set lower to reach the same volume. The less the amps have to actually 'amp', the less any distortion that is in the signal gets amped, resulting in cleaner sound. For multi-amp systems, the driver keeps the voltage up as the signal splits to each of the amps, maintaining a cleaner signal to each. Hope this helps a little!

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'87 IROC Z28
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Actually, the distortion in an amplifier is a function of the power output and nothing more. The input power does not allow the amp to "amplify less". A 100 watt amp is making 100 watts of output regardless of the level of the input signal. If this amp is forced beyond it's linear range, it will begin to distort the waveform, which is known as clipping.

The advantage to a higher input voltage is that any noise inherent to the input signal is proportionally lower in relation to the signal itself. This is known as the signal to noise ratio.

Think of it this way. Let's say that you've got a noise level on your RCAs that's equivalent to 1 volt. So, if you've got a 2 volt signal, your signal to noise ratio is 2. Now, let's say that your signal voltage is 5 volts. Now your signal to noise ratio is 5, which is 2 1/2 times better. Since you'll be listening to your music at the same level anyway, your gain control will esentially equalize the signal voltage. But, if your noise is at 1/2 the signal voltage, or 1/5 the voltage will make a big difference once the signal voltage is equal.

I'm making this sound confusing.


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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
Custom Thirdgen Subwoofer Enclosures
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Ok this makes sense now. Thanks guys.

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