Do Amplifiers Wear Out?

[swathdiver]

The stereo system in my 2009 Yukon XL sounds fine, not as much bass as I'd like but understand that's part of the system protecting the speakers. This truck has a navigation radio.

The stereo system in my 2012 Sierra sounds the same as the 2009. It has the basic Bose stereo system, no navigation, and of course, 2 fewer speakers.

The stereo system in my 2013 Sierra sounds GREAT! Much better than the other two. It has the updated navigation radio.

The part numbers for the speakers they share are the same across all three trucks, pillar, subwoofer and door speakers.

Could it be that my 4 year older and 100K more miles on the 2009 is the difference in sound between it and the 2013?

Do amplifiers degrade over time in their ability to do whatever it is they do? How about the speakers?

Is there a subwoofer that drops into the factory sub position? Doesn't seem to be many or any around anymore new.

 

[Hobert]

Yes Amplifiers can degrade over time, culprits are the electrolytic capacitors, especially the large values and large cans used in the power supply and bass amps. I have recapped home stereo equip from the 70's and 80's and brought them back to life. Florida is a tough climate on vehicles but that seems early to have those issues. You will see the capacitor bulge when they go bad (bulging CANS). Speakers will loose the surrounds that hold the cone to the frame but again seems to early for that.

 

[mikez71]

Does your 2013 have an upgraded amp as well? Someone here just did a writeup on upgrading the amp..

 

[swathdiver]

Yes Amplifiers can degrade over time, culprits are the electrolytic capacitors, especially the large values and large cans used in the power supply and bass amps. I have recapped home stereo equip from the 70's and 80's and brought them back to life. Florida is a tough climate on vehicles but that seems early to have those issues. You will see the capacitor bulge when they go bad (bulging CANS). Speakers will loose the surrounds that hold the cone to the frame but again seems to early for that.

I have replaced capacitors on motherboards before. What are the audible signs of a degraded amp?

Does your 2013 have an upgraded amp as well? Someone here just did a writeup on upgrading the amp..

No, it has the same amplifier as the other two. Only difference is the head unit.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

x2 on the power amp main (large) capacitors. Heat is the main culprit.

 

[swathdiver]

x2 on the power amp main (large) capacitors. Heat is the main culprit.

Thanks Joe. So what happens to the amp? Does it quit completely, make noise through the speakers? How do I check the health/performance of mine to determine whether it should be replaced or not?

 

[iamdub]

The stereo system in my 2009 Yukon XL sounds fine, not as much bass as I'd like but understand that's part of the system protecting the speakers. This truck has a navigation radio.

The stereo system in my 2012 Sierra sounds the same as the 2009. It has the basic Bose stereo system, no navigation, and of course, 2 fewer speakers.

The stereo system in my 2013 Sierra sounds GREAT! Much better than the other two. It has the updated navigation radio.

The part numbers for the speakers they share are the same across all three trucks, pillar, subwoofer and door speakers.

Could it be that my 4 year older and 100K more miles on the 2009 is the difference in sound between it and the 2013?

Do amplifiers degrade over time in their ability to do whatever it is they do? How about the speakers?

Is there a subwoofer that drops into the factory sub position? Doesn't seem to be many or any around anymore new.

Could it be that the '13 has more and/or better sound insulation? I'm a bit of an audiophile. Not an all-out audio snob, but I'd rather listen to silence than poor sound quality. I thought my factory Bose system was pretty darned good. This is surprising after 14+ years in a very similar climate as yours. After changing the HU and investing some time on the EQ, I'm actually hesitant to replace the door speakers and push 'em with an aftermarket amp.

 

[tom3]

One way to test that sound equipment is to just turn it up and listen closely. Distortion, buzzing on bass notes, occasional cracking or popping sounds are warnings. But about any auto sound system has it's own equalization for that particular vehicle. And auto electronics is built pretty hefty as a rule. Stuff works from 30 below to 120 degrees in the parking lot in all humidity.

 

[swathdiver]

Could it be that the '13 has more and/or better sound insulation?

Not that I can tell, doesn't look any different around the cab then my 2012 and no special RPO codes like the Escalades and Denalis for it.

One way to test that sound equipment is to just turn it up and listen closely. Distortion, buzzing on bass notes, occasional cracking or popping sounds are warnings. But about any auto sound system has it's own equalization for that particular vehicle. And auto electronics is built pretty hefty as a rule. Stuff works from 30 below to 120 degrees in the parking lot in all humidity.

No bad sounds at all, just the louder it gets the less bass you hear/feel.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Thanks Joe. So what happens to the amp? Does it quit completely, make noise through the speakers? How do I check the health/performance of mine to determine whether it should be replaced or not?

Your amp is a multi-channel amp, so if there is a bad capacitor, it would depend upon where it is located in that multi-channel circuit. Unless it is a capacitor in the power supply regulation portion of the amp, a bad capacitor could impact only one channel. It is tough to troubleshoot these mobile audio amplifiers, but if you could open up the amp's shell, you could potentially spot a bulging capacitor, but some of these amplifiers are difficult to open up.

The impact of a bad capacitor could make a noise through a speaker, but it does not have to. In the sub-woofer portion of the amp, a capacitor failure would be significant, since a sub-woofer needs a burst of power to effectively play the bass notes, and the capacitor is important in storing energy to instantaneously supply that power burst when needed.