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Power wars
The latest and the greatest! The glorious nature of capitalism dictates that manufacturers of car audio/video equipment engage in an ever-escalating game of electronic one-upmanship. What a blessing for us consumers! If you have any doubt about that, just compare today's $200 in-dash CD receiver to a $200 model made just five years ago. You'll find that today's receiver delivers more power, includes more soundshaping features, boasts cooler cosmetics, and offers more options for system expansion than ever before.
For some time now, in-dash receivers have been powered by analog integrated circuit (IC) amplifiers, a Class AB design well-suited to the confined space behind a car dash, but limited by its nature to power output somewhere in the neighborhood of 18-20 watts RMS per channel. In 2004, Panasonic made a quantum leap with the introduction of the MXE Series CQ-C9800U, an in-dash CD receiver with a built-in "Performance Digital" amplifier that cranks out an unheard-of 60 watts RMS per channel. To put that in perspective, Alpine's impressive V-Drive, the former power champ, combined a MOSFET power chip with an outboard voltage booster to produce an honest 26 watts per channel.
How did Panasonic manage such a remarkable increase in power? Is it all smoke and mirrors, or does the Performance Digital amp really provide that much usable power? And, most important, does it actually sound good? My CrutchfieldAdvisor mission: to install the CQ-C9800U in my Cherokee, play with it for a week, and provide some answers to these questions.
Tripath develops a new amplifier design
The story begins with a small company called Tripath, founded in 1995 in Santa Clara, California, by Dr. Adya Tripathi. Tripath successfully developed a Class-T™ digital audio amplifier design that delivered the power of a traditional amp design, while using much less space and generating less heat — and at a significantly lower cost. The Tripath amp has already been used in a variety of home theater products and Blaupunkt incorporated it into its PA Series amplifiers (released in 2002), but Panasonic is the first to build an in-dash receiver around the Tripath design.
And so the experiment began — I removed the Pioneer DEH-3400 CD receiver from my dash and installed the Panasonic CQ-C9800U. I've lived with the Pioneer for 2 years now, and I love the unit for its simplicity, its excellent AM/FM tuner, and its impressive built-in power. My 10" subwoofer is powered by a 200-watt Rockford Fosgate amplifier, and the Pioneer is able to drive my Infinity Reference components (in front) and Kicker midrange speakers (in back) with enough authority to complement the low frequencies perfectly. Would the Panasonic be up to the sonic challenge?
 One small step for Panasonic, a giant leap for car audio fanatics! The Panasonic MXE CQ-C9800U kicks in-dash receivers into the 21st century with its impressive Class-T™ power section. |
Power wars
The latest and the greatest! The glorious nature of capitalism dictates that manufacturers of car audio/video equipment engage in an ever-escalating game of electronic one-upmanship. What a blessing for us consumers! If you have any doubt about that, just compare today's $200 in-dash CD receiver to a $200 model made just five years ago. You'll find that today's receiver delivers more power, includes more soundshaping features, boasts cooler cosmetics, and offers more options for system expansion than ever before.
For some time now, in-dash receivers have been powered by analog integrated circuit (IC) amplifiers, a Class AB design well-suited to the confined space behind a car dash, but limited by its nature to power output somewhere in the neighborhood of 18-20 watts RMS per channel. In 2004, Panasonic made a quantum leap with the introduction of the MXE Series CQ-C9800U, an in-dash CD receiver with a built-in "Performance Digital" amplifier that cranks out an unheard-of 60 watts RMS per channel. To put that in perspective, Alpine's impressive V-Drive, the former power champ, combined a MOSFET power chip with an outboard voltage booster to produce an honest 26 watts per channel.
How did Panasonic manage such a remarkable increase in power? Is it all smoke and mirrors, or does the Performance Digital amp really provide that much usable power? And, most important, does it actually sound good? My CrutchfieldAdvisor mission: to install the CQ-C9800U in my Cherokee, play with it for a week, and provide some answers to these questions.
Tripath develops a new amplifier design
The story begins with a small company called Tripath, founded in 1995 in Santa Clara, California, by Dr. Adya Tripathi. Tripath successfully developed a Class-T™ digital audio amplifier design that delivered the power of a traditional amp design, while using much less space and generating less heat — and at a significantly lower cost. The Tripath amp has already been used in a variety of home theater products and Blaupunkt incorporated it into its PA Series amplifiers (released in 2002), but Panasonic is the first to build an in-dash receiver around the Tripath design.
And so the experiment began — I removed the Pioneer DEH-3400 CD receiver from my dash and installed the Panasonic CQ-C9800U. I've lived with the Pioneer for 2 years now, and I love the unit for its simplicity, its excellent AM/FM tuner, and its impressive built-in power. My 10" subwoofer is powered by a 200-watt Rockford Fosgate amplifier, and the Pioneer is able to drive my Infinity Reference components (in front) and Kicker midrange speakers (in back) with enough authority to complement the low frequencies perfectly. Would the Panasonic be up to the sonic challenge?
