simple newb question

[F-150 Murphy 0]

What do channels on amps do?

[ChiTownTBird312 0]

send power to all the different speakers basicly....4 channel amp can send power to 4 different speakers(usually interior speakers), 2 channel to 2 etc. you can power two subwoofers with one mono(one channel) amp though.

maybe theres some technical definition for what the channels actually do, but i dont know it. thats all i know.

Edited September 27, 2008 by ChiTownTBird312

[F-150 Murphy 0]

alright thanks

[JimJ 11]

The purpose of any amplifier is to make a smaller signal, larger. That's all it really is. I'm not sure how to answer your question specifically, I guess I would call a channel a single instance of an amplifier.

[F-150 Murphy 0]

thanks for trying :/

[KU40 173]

I think they're mainly to keep balance/fade controls. Otherwise we may as well all just be using a mono amp for all of our speakers. But you can basically think of each channel as its own mono amp. That's oversimplified, but maybe helps you understand.

[JimJ 11]

Otherwise we may as well all just be using a mono amp for all of our speakers.

Some do

[F-150 Murphy 0]

oooooooooooooooo

[JimJ 11]

Huh?

[F-150 Murphy 0]

no one has answered my question for sure yet lol everyone has said "i think"

[JimJ 11]

Making a smaller signal larger is about as straightforward and nontechnical as you're going to get.

Where I'm confused is because you didn't ask about what do amplifiers do, but channels on amps...and a channel is just one circuit. I'd think about it in terms of a mono amp, where you've only got one channel...and use that as a building block for more complex designs.

[///M5 2,833]

For each signal you want to amplify you need one channel or another way of putting this is for every different speaker that plays something different you need one channel.

Your left plays different than your right, each require their own channel. Your sub plays different than your fronts and needs its own channel.

It sounds to me like you are trying to buy something with this information, giving your current background I would be MUCH more specific. Even though you don't like our answers when you are specific, the information you get by being general will NOT help you select the right equipment.