Car Stereos: Car stereo compatibility, rms power, channel peak

Question
I have 2003 Ford Escape with an "Audiophile in dash " 6 cd soundsystem that I want to replace with a unit that I can hook my i-pod up to. 50 watts per channel seems to be the norm with the units, but I don't know the specs on my system. How many watts per channel does my system put out? Is 50 wpc to liitle, too much , just right? Thanks, Bruce

Answer
Hi Bruce,

You won't see much difference between different after-market head units when it comes to output power specs.  Most manufacturers list a power rating around 50 watts per channel "peak", with an RMS power rating around 15-20 watts per channel.  That's likely to be pretty close to the power of your factory head unit.  Just about any after-market deck you find should work well with the OEM speaker system, so I wouldn't worry too much about the new head unit's power rating.  You will want to choose a model that includes a dedicated subwoofer pre-amp output, as this makes it easier to integrate the factory amp/sub that's included with the Audiophile sound system.

Hope this helps!

Brian