A crazy idea. Anyone tried?

[m500]

I just had a crazy idea about how to power my power hungry 4ohm speakers. Instead of spending tons of dollar for an average amp that actually design to power 4ohm speakers due to rarety in US, I thought maybe I can just hook up an amp for cars to power my speakers. Since all the amps for cars are all rated at 4ohm there are plenty of supplies. The quality are suppose to be top notch as well with enough juicy for any good amp pushing 150w RMS x2 in any $150.00 and up amps.

Am I crazy?

or is this already been done?

Hows the result?

[GMichael]

A car amp will need DC current in the 12 to 14 Volt range.

[markw]

You're gonna need one heckuva power supply for them. Do you have any idea of the amps they draw when spittin' out dem watts? Here's a hint... a LOT!

A car battery can supply virtually unlimited current for limited periods of time. The more the current draw, the less time it's available. That's why those gigunda caps are there.. to store current.

The current a a home power supply can provide is basically limited by the house wiring and the transformers in the PS. ...and transformers are very expensive.

And, remember, a lot of the power ratings for car amps use, let's just say, "lenient" ratings methods.

It might be in your best interests to simply save up and get a home amp that's up to the job.

Oh, you might get by with a wimpy PS, but don't think that amp is puttin' out anywhere the wattage you think it is.

[GMichael]

Used amps can be had for cheap on Ebay. Not many moving parts in an amp. Used ones should work fine.

[GMichael]

Or you could go this route.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=245-465

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=3&filter=crown06&raid=25&rak=Crown&wt.sv1

[KaiWinters]

A friend of mine uses a car stereo and speaker system as his home system. He likes the small profile and sound.
He uses a voltage convertrer to change house current into 12volt DC.
It does sound rather good for its' size and construction and takes so little room it is barely noticeable however it is merely a stereo system used for cd playback and radio.

[N. Abstentia]

Why don't you just get a HOME amp and be done with it?

[superpanavision70mm]

Sounds ghetto fabulous to me.

[SlumpBuster]

I did this in college, but it was not to save money. I had a car box with twin 10s and the amps mounted right on the box. I thought the box looked sweet, I didn't use the car during school year, so I thought "why the hell not?" Plus the box had lights behind the translucent cones that lit up with every bass hit. Now that's ghetto fabulous.

But the power supply cost as much as an amp would have. I don't remember for sure, but it must have needed a 10 or 15 amp supply.

[basite]

i guess that wouldn't look that good as a 'normal' home amp, i even think that it's going to look bad and also the sound of a home amp would be better i guess

[jlcct]

You could always use a car battery charger to supply the battery and in turn the amp. When I was like 12 I did that and mounted two subs in two 5 gallon buckets and put them behind my futon and then built a sealed wall around the entire bottom of the futon. It was insane. Not going to get sound that will impress anyone though.

[TrickerZ]

A car battery can supply virtually unlimited current for limited periods of time. The more the current draw, the less time it's available. That's why those gigunda caps are there.. to store current.


Just an FYI, Caps store Voltage and Inductors store Current. Caps are used to maintain a (more) constant voltage while the car's alternator fluctuates. A car battery can range something like 10-19V. Especially when an amp is pulling all that power, it can cause the V to drop.

[markw]

Just an FYI, Caps store Voltage and Inductors store Current. Caps are used to maintain a (more) constant voltage while the car's alternator fluctuates. A car battery can range something like 10-19V. Especially when an amp is pulling all that power, it can cause the V to drop.but, the watts being put out are a function of both volts and amps. I wasn't awarethat inductors could "store" current but, having worked on TV's in the past, I'm very aware that caps can store "voltage". I do know that inductors are used in conjunction with caps in power supplies to smooth out ripple.