I think the main reason is so that the dealers can easily "swap" headunits around. Customer wants to "upgrade" to a different headunit, just plug and play. I know for a fact that all the chrysler headunits are low-power amp outputs (probably 10W or so), and are used "as is" in the non infinity systems. The infinity system amp expects "low power speaker level" inputs, whatever that equates to in car audio land.

I suppose, as according to that FAQ entry that Tony posted, if it expects 5V, will the empeg drive it directly? Or is this one of those "dont try it because the impedence is too low" things? (Actually, wouldnt the input impedence of the amp be HIGHER than normal? What are the empeg RCA outs designed to drive into?)

Jeff