ok, so i know that buying a 200w harman kardon reciever will give you more power than a, say, 500w sony one (in reference to home audio), can the same be said about car amplifiers? what is the difference between buying, say, a 200w xtant amp and a 400w MTX or Kicker amp...would a 200w xtant amp be better?
Not nessicarily. Car audio is quite a bit different from home audio. First of its not the amps in the beginning that are better. Look at the specs on that sony amp you listed. It is not 500 watts rms. just like most major amp companies use their rms as rating.Cheaper lower end amps like legacy etc use their max power as advertised power rating. So there you see. Most of the time amps are comparible. Except for a few elite companies, Just make sure to carefully look at the specs, what voltage its run at to get that info. ex. an amp rated at 14 v with 500 rms wont be as good as an amp rated at 12 with 500 rms. The moRe power the more watts. Usually. Not always tho.