Table 3 shows the total power output of the audio system was 2,250 watts, and the total amperage required by the audio system was 336 amps. This is an incredible amount of power for an audio system by anyone's measure and validates my original assertion in part one that incredible levels of power may be required for an audio system dedicated to sound quality. This power output justifies the 200-amp alternator and large auxiliary battery I also specified in part one. The front soundstage alone delivered 1,250 watts of total power output and required 226 amps of current. Of course, these current demands represent the maximum required, which was useful for selecting power cables with sufficient margin of safety. The actual current required for musical playback at the 80-phon level, for instance, would be substantially less.
Perhaps it's appropriate to correlate these design goals and requirements with "real world" performance. It's been said that the sound quality in my Sprinter van is among the finest most have heard. Of course, the overall performance of a mobile audio system represents the combined performance of the room, loudspeakers, amplifiers, digital front-end, cables, and any other components in the signal path, as well as the interaction(s) between the components.
While it can be argued that loudspeakers have the most difficult task of any of the components in the playback chain, it isn't debatable that appropriately matching the amplifier to the loudspeakers is of paramount importance. Frequently, loudspeaker systems in mobile applications are of low impedance and as a result demand more current from the amplifier. Harley says if the amplifier cannot deliver the required current, "The result is musical strain-or even distortion-on musical peaks, weak bass, loss of dynamics, hardening of timbre, and a collapsing soundstage."4 The Genesis amplifier's true monoblock topology resulted in superb control over the loudspeakers, and substantially avoided the potential problems Harley cited. Numerous home and mobile audiophiles have commented favorably on my system's musical sense of ease and transparency, in addition to its precise soundstage and ferocious dynamics. Others have said that my car audio system outperforms many home audio systems.
Another benefit of the Genesis amplifiers is their surprisingly cool-running nature. My amplifiers, by necessity, are mounted upside-down-a less favorable configuration for cooling. Yet the amplifiers have never gotten excessively hot, even at high levels of output at extreme in-car temperatures of 100 F (38 C). I suspect this is due to the "Class G Technology," which is said to confer the sonic advantages of a "Class AB design," but with the benefit of high efficiency and low heat generation like a "Class D design." I really don't know much about amplifier design, but I have met Gordon Taylor, the designer and founder of Genesis, and I have attended one of his presentations regarding the design attributes of his amplifiers. As a scientist and engineer, it was easy to recognize his extensive theoretical and practical knowledge of amplifier design and his passion for achieving sound quality.