powering a "car" amp from home power?

[mat3833 10+ year member]

so i just got the quote back for getting my Home Theater sub amp repaired and its almost as much as it would cost to buy a new one(aparently the magical purple smoke is REALLY hard to get back in the amp....). so i figured since i only need ~1K of power at 1 ohm it might be cheaper to get a car audio sub amp and get a power supply to run it. anyone have any experiance doing this?

Matt

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[akillj 10+ year member]

I build computers all the time, so I used one of my old "chineese knock off" power supplies to power an old boss amp. It was fun but didn't get that loud. Probably because it's not meant to power a car sub and only delivers 12v @ 20 amps.

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

I've ran them temp setups inside but they where temps because they involved a car battery and charger in the middle of my living room! for 1000rms you need a power source that will deliver at least 100amps of current and that's a good amount that won't come cheap!

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

Computer power supplies are rated at 50-70 amps on some good models, its if you want to butcher a good quality PSU tho

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

Computer power supplies are rated at 50-70 amps on some good models, its if you want to butcher a good quality PSU tho

really 50-70amps continuous? whats one of those cost because even a large home 12vdc converter is only like 60amps before it goes protect and those things are kinda large and pricey I can't imagine what a unit that fit's into a comp and that does that kind of power would run you.

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

really 50-70amps continuous? whats one of those cost because even a large home 12vdc converter is only like 60amps before it goes protect and those things are kinda large and pricey I can't imagine what a unit that fit's into a comp and that does that kind of power would run you.

Just look around on newegg and look at the features tab, itll show you all of the lanes and the amperages. Youll be getting above the $100 range though, and they are trigger happy with variable loads like an amplifier

 

[mat3833 10+ year member]

well i DO love my HT amp especially since i can run all of my sat speakers, my 2 center speakers, my 2 "freestanding" midbass speakers, AND my 2 6.5" tapped horns/2 8" subs. but honestly i dont need all of that shiz right now. i only have left front right front and center hooked up right now with 35W going to each 8" sub and it sounds **** good(FYI Klipsch speakers FTMFW! im tempted to frankenstein some of this **** in my car.) id love to push these ID8s to their limit, especially since on 35W and in a franken box they are seriously impressive.

if i can get my hands on a 14.4V powersupply that can dump 50 amps i could run 350W to each ID8 and do pretty well. and i MIGHT be able to get my hands on a good solid computer power supply for cheap. that would leave the amp. only problem is space. i dont have room for a big amp. well that and i would have to make sure its clean power. would hate to fry a new amp...

Matt

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

well i DO love my HT amp especially since i can run all of my sat speakers, my 2 center speakers, my 2 "freestanding" midbass speakers, ANY my 2 6.5" tapped horns/2 8" subs. but honestly i dont need all of that shiz right now. i only have left front right front and center hooked up right now with 35W going to each 8" sub and it sounds **** good(FYI Klipsch speakers FTMFW! im tempted to frankenstein some of this **** in my car.) id love to push these ID8s to their limit, especially since on 35W and in a franken box they are seriously impressive.
if i can get my hands on a 14.4V powersupply that can dump 50 amps i could run 350W to each ID8 and do pretty well. and i MIGHT be able to get my hands on a good solid computer power supply for cheap. that would leave the amp. only problem is space. i dont have room for a big amp. well that and i would have to make sure its clean power. would hate to fry a new amp...

Matt

why not just look around for a plate amp or check on cl and see if you can find an old powered sub to yank the amp from?

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

Some plate amps are inexpensive as well

 

[mat3833 10+ year member]

most plate amps dont come with a subsonic filter and actualy need to be mounted in the box. since i dont want to mount it in the box id rather just use a car amp. but i am considering goign the plate amp route. and ive been looking around on CL and ebay but every "powered" sub i seem to find doesnt have a big enough amp or they want crazy money for it.

Matt

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

I've tried the pc power supply route. It fried an oem hu. It wasn't a good psu but yeah. Diffcult. I want to try again though. The older the better. Single rail too