Jiaxing Jinlida of mainland China has the 4ch AD 460 digital car camplifier that provides 60Wx4ch rms power at 4ohm, or 150Wx2ch bridge mode power at 4ohm.

Mainland China favors mono amplifier models; Taiwan goes hi-fi but scales back line amid slim profits.

While analog car amplifiers make up the bulk of mainland China manufacturers’ production output, Taiwan manufacturers are concentrating more on improving their digital models.

Full MOSFET mono amplifiers are leading the production in mainland China. Most suppliers there are professional in-car A/V electronics makers with years of experience in car amplifier development and production. R&D efforts are still evident in improving the line.

Taiwan’s car amplifiers are commonly found integrated in speakers. With suppliers in the region concerned with system integration and aesthetics, the amplifier function’s integration into other in-car electronics is seen as a possible trend.

In-car electronics manufacturers, however, are gradually dropping the car amplifier line due to a highly competitive market that has heavily cut into their profit margins. Limited R&D initiatives are seen from manufacturers there.

	the J4100A, another new release from Tinly in mainland China, features a PWM power supply, a soft-start circuit and a mute circuit.

Both analog and digital car amplifiers can be sourced from mainland China, but analog models make up the bulk of production. Global buyers can source 1ch to 5ch car amplifiers from the region.

Tinly (Jieyang) Electro-Acoustic Devices Co. Ltd’s latest improvements for car amplifiers include mono class D high-power units. The TL60717-11000A has 1,000W rms power at 1ohm load, 500W at 2ohm load and 380W at 4ohm load. Input sensitivity is 110mV and S/N ratio is 90dB. The TL60717-11000A boasts 0.05 percent THD and damping factor of more than 120DF.

The J4100A, another new release from Tinly, features a pulse-width-modulated power supply, a soft-start circuit and a mute circuit for reducing noise during powering on and off. The unit provides 4x100W rms power output at 4ohm load and 2x250W in bridge mode at 4ohm. With 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response, the J4100A has a low-pass filter of 12dB, super-bass filter and external control for low frequency gain. Its S/N ratio is more than 90dB, THD is at 0.01 percent and damping factor is more than 120DF.

More than half of the total output that can be sourced from mainland China are MOSFET power amplifiers. Jiashan Boss Electronics Co. Ltd has released the BXX2004, a 4ch full MOSFET amplifier with a 0dB to 6dB variable bass boost and maximum 600W power output. The bridgeable mono amplifier provides a 4x50W rms power at 4ohm. The crossover frequency is 50Hz to 250Hz for the low-pass filter and 50Hz to 250Hz for the high-pass filter. The THD of the BXX2004 is less than 0.05 percent, S/N ratio is more than 95dB and frequency response is 20Hz to 40kHz.

The BCH1500, another mono amplifier with a MOSFET power supply, has an rms power of 1x150W at 4ohm, or 1x300W at 2ohm power output. It delivers a less than 0.1 percent THD and more than 100dB S/N ratio. Both the BXX2004 and the BCH1500 have thermal protection to guard against short circuiting and overheating.

The ARV4050-1 is a 4ch MOSFET car amplifier developed by Jiaxing Jinlida Electron Co. Ltd. The unit provides 4x50W rms power at 4ohm, or 2x150W in bridge mode at 4ohm. The THD is less than 0.5 percent. The ARV4050-1 delivers more than 95dBA S/N ratio, has 0.15V to 6V input sensitivity and a 20Hz to 40kHz frequency response range. Another 4ch model, the AD 460, provides 4x60W rms power at 4ohm, or 2x150W bridge mode power at 4ohm. It boasts a THD of less than 1 percent at 4ohm and an S/N ratio of more than 90dBA. The product has 0.15 to 3V input sensitivity, 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response range and 30Hz to 80kHz low pass frequency.

	Evervictory of Taiwan has the C-DAX465, a 4ch car digital amplifier with an output power per channel of 55W measured into a 4ohm load at 2 percent THD+N.

The car amplifier line in Taiwan is geared toward high-quality audio output and is often integrated in car speakers. Majority of the models are digital amplifiers that support 2ch or 4ch speakers.

Evervictory Electronic Co. Ltd’s C-DAX465 4ch car digital amplifier, using 14.4V, has a power output per channel of 55W in 4ohm impedance load at 2 percent THD plus noise. It has a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz, S/N ratio of 80dB and input sensitivity of about 26dB gain. The C-DAX465 has less than 100µA standby current consumption. Its total power output is 340W.

Forgings Industrial Co. Ltd, a specialist in car speaker systems, has a vacuum tube car amplifier that offers hi-fi audio quality. The VAP-80 uses an audio output transformer from Hammond. It has a double-sided glass epoxy 2oz PCB. Its protection mechanism includes those against speaker shorts, battery-reversal damage and overheating. The product has a gold-plated RCA audio cable and connectors.

Current prices in mainland China range from $10 to $70, depending on the power output level and number of channels. Jiashan Boss offers its analog models with 50W rms at $16 and its 100W rms models at about $40. Digital car amplifiers are priced at more than $40. Tinly’s car amplifiers are sold from $10 to $70.

Market competition caused the prices of low-end models to drop in the past six months, while the prices of midrange and high-end models remained stable during the same period. Danny Chan from Tinly’s export department said the average price would increase by the end of 2007 due to the increasing exchange rate and material and manufacturing costs.

Exports dominate the mainland China industry, with more than 60 percent of output shipped abroad. The main export markets are North America and Europe, with OEM and ODM dominating contracts.

Tinly exports more than 95 percent of its car amplifier output to overseas markets, including Europe, Russia and Thailand.

Jiaxing Jinlida exports 80 percent, mainly to Europe, North America and Middle East. Jiashan Boss sends all its amplifiers to Japan, North America and Europe, with OEM/ODM orders leading the exports.

There are about 20 professional car amplifier makers in mainland China, with Guangdong and Zhejiang as the key production and sourcing centers. Most suppliers are professional in-car A/V electronics manufacturers who have decades of experience in car amplifier development and production. Tinly based in Guangdong’s Jieyang and Jiashan Boss in Zhejiang’s Jiashan are among leading suppliers and exporters.

The surging demand for in-car electronics in both the domestic and overseas markets and local suppliers’ competitiveness in providing higher product performance-to-price ratio are key drivers for growth. The industry is relatively mature and outputs are stable.

The challenge now facing manufacturers are the increasing material and manufacturing costs, and the appreciating renminbi. These issues are cutting into the profit margin of the product line and weakening makers’ competitiveness in the global market.

In Taiwan, makers are gradually abandoning the car amplifier line due to low technology profiles/barriers. A few experienced suppliers, however, seem braced for a rough market. Evervictory, for one, is looking stable providing OEM/ODM services to big-name car audio brands.

Taiwan manufacturers now tend to view the line as a secondary, minor product line. Forgings noted that South Korea manufacturers now have a better share of the market, especially for high-end car amplifiers.

Major suppliers in mainland China have volume production capacity and strong in-house R&D. Tinly runs its own ISO 9001:2000 certified, 20,000sqm factory. It has six production lines and a monthly capacity of 80,000 car amplifiers, 240,000 car speakers and 80,000 car audio boxes. Tinly produces about 20,000 units of various types of car amplifiers every month. It takes one to two months to develop a new car amplifier model.

Jiaxing Jinlida has an ISO 9001:2000-certified, 10,000sqm facility in Haiyan, Jiashan. The factory employs more than 600 workers. Also located in Jiashan, the Jiashan Boss factory covers 180,000sqm with an in-house production that covers molding, silk printing and assembly. The company employs about 1,000 employees, including 70 in R&D and 100 for QC. It has six of 30 production lines dedicated to car amplifier assembly, with an average monthly output of 10,000 units.

In Taiwan, makers have stopped investing R&D money on the car amplifier line due to slim profitability. Everyvictory has two production factories in Dongguan, Guangdong. The facilities are ISO 9001-certified. The company acquired TS16949 in 2002 and is scheduled to get QS 9000 certification this year. It outsources MT processes and IC solutions. Evervictory, which has had decades of experience in car A/V systems, has been cooperating with foreign brands and in first-tier automotive OE projects. It takes three months to develop a new model.

Forgings has been engaged in audio products since its establishment in 1970. It positions itself as an OEM service provider. It has 100 skilled engineers and technicians at its 50,000sqm factory.