Difference between 4 volt and 1 volt pre-amp outputs???

[jwat142]

I am looking at either the Sony CDX-MP70 or CDX-MP80 head unit for my boat. I have heard the major difference between these two is that the MP70 only has 1 volt pre-amp outputs and the MP80 has 4 volt outputs. How much of a difference will this make? I am planning on running a amp for a set of tower speakers and an amp for the interior speakers sooner or later. Will I notice a huge difference in sound between these two units? Thanks for any help as my knowledge of stereos is pretty limited.

[actiondcpd]

Intersting.. is it true the MP70 doesn't have 4V preamp outs? The difference is pretty big. I have the sony MP80 and installed it into my boat. I pulled the sub/amp out of my truck temporarily to test out some things and was amazed with the increased performance of my amp/sub with the 4V outs. The deck in my truck is a kenwood with 2V outs. At first I couldn't figure out why my sub sounded so damn good but then realized the difference in the preamp outs. I was looking at getting either another MP80 or MP70 to replace my truck deck but if the MP70 doesn't have 4V outs I won't bother. The only advantage of the MP70 is that it also can control XM right?

[lumpy]

It relates to how much the signal has to be magnified. If you have a 1V output and the amp wants 8V to produce its rated power output the amp needs to magnify X 8, if you have a 4V output the amp only has to go X 2. Make sense? The less the signal has to be magnified generally the cleaner it is, so yes GENERALLY 4V is better than 1V. Most of your amps have a gain adjustment to compensate for different input signals (i.e. .2V to 4V). The gain on the amp doesn't control power output but magnification of the input signal. So by using the the gain on the amp you can match the head unit power to the amp and get all the power as you would with a 4V but maybe just a little less clean signal.

Go to www.bcae1.com if you want to learn more about stereo, speakers and amps and how they all interact, this is an extremely informative site. There is a list on the right hand side of the page, go down a little ways and you will see a search function inside the site, again this was the best place I found to get accurate and complete explanations on how everything works together.

[DiyGuy]

mine is an mp70 w/sub out to kicker 400x1 gain is hardly turned up and it will knock the shorts of you.