Do companies lie about the watts RMS their HUs put out?

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

good god I miss that headunit.. best i've ever owned.

I looked for one for about 2 months before I bought my 9887. Thats the one I really wanted.

 

[HeHeHaHaHoHo 10+ year member]

To adjust gain, you turn it to the highest it can go then turn it down a little bit, right?

 

[zako 10+ year member]

I'm looking for the highest powered HU you can get, and I'm really hoping for HD radio.
I saw the Kenwood KDC-HD548U says it puts out 22 watts RMS, but I don't know if I should go by manufactured rated specifications.

Yes. They lie in a certain way. That rating is not Cea certified RMS rating, like reported by amplifier manufacturers for example. Some head unit manufacturers try to stay honest by reporting cea certified and their own rating. I recently saw a new head unit (Alpine or Pioneer, forgot which one), and it reported on the box 22watts RMS but only 14watts certified RMS. Moreover, it has been reported that some of the recent "high wattage" Kenwood head units have a nasty habit of overheating and cutting off the volume.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Don't forget the distortion at their rated power. Sure, you may be able to measure that number for a short while, but it won't be listenable. you get about 5-8W RMS of listenable power.

And the output is bridged, so your 22Wx4 is basically a 5.5Wx8 bridged... But the size of a credit card.

A 50x4 external amp is a night and day difference, sounds like you got new speakers with tons more clarity and volume.

The KTP is the next best thing, but still no match for a true external amp.