JBL amp upgrade?

[Joe_SHO]

I was thinking about putting an amp on my speakers. My car did not come equipped with the JBL setup. Question is, does the JBL amp use the same connectors as the ford one? Also, how does the 15 year old amp compare to a new amp as far as SQ goes?

 

[hawkeye18]

In a nutshell, it doesn't. Not only has amp technology come light-years since 1989, the components used in the JBL amps have degraded over time. Capacitors crucial for proper sound-shaping lose their characteristics, resistors lose their resistance (or gain more), etc etc.

Every Taurus comes with the same connector behind the head unit - an 8 pin flat connector that goes directly to the speakers. This is what you'd use if you were powering the speakers directly with an a/m HU - which, honestly, with 90% of the HUs out there, is going to sound better.

If you're going to use an a/m amp, which I also recommend, you would want to run straight RCA cables back from the a/m HU.

The JBL equipped cars do not utilize the same connectors as a non-JBL car. If your car had the "Premium sound" (one amp in the back), that uses the same connector as the JBL system.

 

[Joe_SHO]

Thanks man. Mine had one amp, and I removed it in favor of the deck power. I was hoping a JBL setup would be a cheap alternative to buying a new 4channel. Do you know how much power the JBL amps are supposed to produce?