regulated vs unregulated ps

[ismelllikepoop 10+ year member]

whats the diff btwn a regulated and unregulated power supply?

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[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

With a regulated power supply an amplifier is going to give out its rated wattage at anywhere between usually 11-15 volts meaning that you cant overvolt the amp to get more watts which is sometimes done in competitions. Unregulated means that the available wattage will vary with the main power input voltage, low voltage/low power and vice versa, these type amps are used highly in competitions where its typical for 16v systems to be used.

For example, (again this is just an example and not real world statistics), take a 300 watt regulated power supply amplifier and change the input voltage from say 11-15 volts and anywhere between but the amp will always put out the same amount of power. Now take a 300 watt unregulated power supply amp rated for 300 watts at say 13.5 volts, its rated to do 300 watts @ that 13.5 volts, however take that amp and give it 15 volts and it will do around 400, now drop that down to 11 volts and it will only be able to produce about 175-225 watts. Remember these are just simplified examples and should not be taken as real world numbers, only theoretical to show my statement.

 

[ismelllikepoop 10+ year member]

ok makes sense, thx