What is the differences in a 1 channel amp and a 2 channel amp?

Answer 1

when you connect the rcas to a 1 channel (mono) amp. the signal from the left rca and right rca is combined to give you a mono signal. that signal is then amplified and sent out through the one channel. a 2 channel amp will send the signal from the left rca to one channel and the signal from the right to the other channel.

mono amps are usually used to power subwoofers.

2 channel and 4 channel amps are usually used to power speakers

5 channel amps are usually ment to power speakers plus a subwoofer/subwoofers

2 channel amps are also used to power subwoofers in different situations. if you have one subwoofer with a 4 ohm impendance your better off powering that sub with a 2 channel amp instead of a mono amp. this is because you can "bridge" the 2 channels for this sub which will put a 2 ohm load on each channel. which theoretically means it will put out twice as much power as it would compared to if it had a 4 ohm load on each channel. this means that you can buy a less powerful amp which will be cheaper for you, and also smaller, so it will take up less space.. a big bonus in car audio.

bridging is simply using both channels for one load (sub/s), this is done by connecting the pos. wire to the pos. output of one channel and connecting the neg. wire to the neg. ouput of the other channel. pretty much every amplifier in production nowadays is bridgable.