DSP/amplifiers are suddenly in the spotlight, helping to bring down the cost of entry into aftermarket digital signal processing for the car.
The number of DSP/amps hitting the market this year will be about double those last year, based on our rough count.
JL Audio bought the category into sharp focus last month, when it introduced a full DSP/amp line of 8 models that was three years in the making. Arc Audio just announced 3 models due in June/July. Alpine and Sony recently shipped models. Cerwin-Vega and Diamond Audio are also planning models.
These join DSP/amplifiers already available from Audison, AudioControl, Kenwood and more.
“Small amps with DSP are the future. If you are not doing DSP you are missing out,” Bryan Schmitt, a cutting edge fabricator of Mobile Solutions told dealers at a seminar at KnowledeFest this winter.
Some dealers said building DSP into an amplifier will open up the market to more consumers. It lowers the entry price of DSP and solves some common problems in installations in tight quarters.
Tom Sweere of Beach Auto Sound, CA said of including DSP in an amplifier, “I’d rather have DSPs standalone because it gives you more flexibility, but I think we’ll sell more because it’s bringing the cost down. There will be the high end customers who will buy everything a la carte. But for the average build, a DSP/amplifier is the way to go just because it contains cost. The installation is less and the hardware cost is less…that will open up the market.”
With a DSP/amp there is one less piece of equipment to run wires to, or to fail or to introduce noise into the system. DSP/amps also are the solution for cramped installs, as you need only one box instead of two.
Six-store chain Freeman’s Car Stereo, NC has been pleasantly surprised by the reception to JL Audio’s VXi DSP/amps. “I had planned on phasing out the HD series before bringing in the VXi, but I have to commend JL for creating hype around the release. There was a lot of enthusiasm among our employees about those amplifiers and what they do. So we brought them in and we’ve sold a few…. I’ve had to reorder, said Freeman’s CEO David Wall.
Elettromedia, parent of Audison and Hertz, welcomed the new suppliers entering the DSP/amp category. “We’re glad that other manufacturers are getting into the arena because its going to help train the whole industry that going forward, you’re going to have to have a computer to install electronics in the car,” said VP Rob Wempe.
Schmitt added, “I feel that this kind of movement is so important…this just allows you to have…a solutions-driven product in one footprint, instead of different components you have to mount around the car with more chance of noise. It’s small, the current consumption is good for electric cars or cars that don’t have a lot of electric capacities. It just makes a ton of sense.” By comparison, “Old school amps draw a lot of current and they take up a ton of space and I think that’s clumsy,” he added.
Photo: JL Audio VXi
