Somebody please tell me how to hook up a car amplifier to a home audio speaker in your house. PLEASE!!! I just can't figure it out....either that or can anyone tell me a good site to buy onboard home audio amps at LOW prices....anything would help me...
Replies (16)
Buickman94 on 06/25/2003 00:10:18
this might help you out:
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t7
Pinch on 06/25/2003 15:17:39
I'm kinda out of my league when it comes to home audio, but if I remember right many home theater speakers are rated at a higher impedance than a typical car amp is used to dealing with. You may run into some problems with loading if you connect your car amp up to some 10Ù speakers. I don't know if this helped. Good luck though.
Pinch on 06/25/2003 17:56:34
Hey again...apparently I didn't do something right, 'cause that funky symbol next to 10 is supposed to be an omega so lets just pretend it is. :)
Swez on 06/25/2003 21:45:58
Some have done what you ask about and the key is to get a good power supply to convert AC wall voltage to 12 volts DC.
Yes, one can drag a car battery into the house and just recharge it periodically to keep the power up to snuff... but a quality power supply is key to adequate amp perfomance and low noise operation... not cheap though, depending on how many watts the amp needs to power your sub(s).
Also, there are plate amps that are not super exspensive. hey are are designed for DIY powered sub kits. The key here, is to match the plate amp with the sub impedence. Most plate amps will struggle with impedence loads below 4-8 ohms. You can lookj around at this site for ideas:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=13736129&St=1082&St2=-66132481&St3=91390843&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=118153&DID=7
This might be of interest to you and not too expensive either!
Swez
Relax_The_Mind on 06/26/2003 02:45:13
high output ac to dc conveters can be pricey. Im talking upwards of $2000. They basically consist of the same components as a home audio amp. Huge transformers and huge cap banks. Active Heatsinks. If you can find a cheap AC/DC converter check to see if they are bridgeable, meaning you can parallel them to effectively double the current.
If its a small amp you can get away with a computer power supply using the yellow (12v) lead, and the corresponding ground wire. Most of the amps are reserved for the 5v+ though. From my experience the amperage on your average PC power supply for 12v is around 15-30A. You can find them pretty cheap local computer stores.
note... there is a special pin trick to turn on an ATX power supply without a motherboard. (not for older models though that use pushbuttons)
RTM
another note... If you look around you can even find them on Car Audio sites. Extreme Audio enthusiasts use them to keep their battery bank charged up between burps. If you ever notice in pics the high voltage power cords running from the trunk.
goanna on 07/17/2003 05:57:13
iv been trying to do the same thing. iv got the power all sorted out. you can buy 12volt dc transformers for cd walkmans and stuff like that for a few bucks and then cut off the end plug, seperate and split the wires and use that to power your amp. thats what i did. the only thing is thought, my amp has 3 wires and the yellow has to go to a power antenna and i have no idea what its for.(what to substitue it for in a home car amp)
SoundWave on 08/24/2003 02:19:52
Goanna:
you can buy 12volt dc transformers for cd walkmans and stuff like that for a few bucks and then cut off the end plug, seperate and split the wires and use that to power your amp.
Does this really work? I've also been trying to do the same thing to power my 6 and a half inch mid-woofers on my home stereo. All i needed to find out was how to power my amp, but I didn't want to go hacking up my power lead for my CD Walkman if it wasn't going to work. Everything else is all hooked up but I didn't wanna stuff anything so I haven't used my stereo for ages. It's a 250W 2 Channel amp. Do u think it'll work? Thanks for your time.
accusedmonk on 08/24/2003 09:08:46
If your gonna use a cd player transformer, it would work, just not that great. They won't put out much current, about 1 amp or less.
For higher current, depending on the amp you're trying to run, you'd need way more. 1 amp would do good for about a 10 watt amplifier.
100 amps for a 1000 watt one. That's estimated, so it's not exact, the efficiencies of the amplifiers are all different, and none are perfect.
Transformers are really expensive as they get on up there, which run on AC btw.
What would be easier is use a car battery, or racks of them depending on the amplifier again, and hook them all up to a quick charger, be sure it's all in parallel, or the voltage will go up and not the current. Also, the highest current rated quick charger would be good. It's like bringing in an alternator and jamming it into the wall socket and charging the batteries with it. That wouldn't work though.
Swez on 08/24/2003 09:08:38
There are ways to do this and I have seen regulated power supplies for AC/DC conversion at reasonable prices, if you want to use your car amp and subs in the house. They key here, is matching the ampere draw of your amp with the power supply.
The little plug in transformers for a Walkman are just too small to do any good. They can deliver only a few milli-amps of current due to their size. If you really want to do this... have a look at the power supplies and prices. Maybe one of these will fit your power and budget needs.
http://just12volt.com/Power_Supplies/PS_Main.htm
Swez
SoundWave on 08/25/2003 08:31:00
OK so if i do want to do i that way, i have three little connections on my amp. one for grounding (GND), one for remote (REM) and one for power (B+). They are screws which screw down onto a small metal base plate. how do i connect the wires up to these? do i have to use all 3? i only have 2 wires coming from my power transformer. which ones do i use? thanks for the help and website address!
Swez on 08/25/2003 09:03:02
Just run a bridge wire from +12 volt lug on amp to REM feed. When the power supply is on, the amp will turn on automatically. When you turn off the power supply, the amp will also shut off.
Swez
SoundWave on 08/26/2003 07:31:22
OK. As I am only 16 (don't underestimate me!) I don't know much about this sort of stuff. Sorry if I'm being a bit peckish. What is a bridge wire? I don't have any power supply running to my amp - that is why I am asking about it here. What do you mean by the +12 volt lug on my amp? Is that the B+ screw i was talking about? I went out today and purchased a AC transformer/converter thingy, which converts household current to 5, 7.5, 12, 15, 18 and 23 volts DC. When I split the ends, there was two things: A white wire with copper wire inside and around the outside of this there was more copper wire. I assume this was to get them running separately in the black housing. I separated the two, but don't know where they go. Any help? Plus, someone told me I would need a grounding wire for sure. Is this true? How do I do a grounding wire? Once again thanks for your time and effort. You've been a big help.
Swez on 08/26/2003 08:35:40
B+ and 12 volt lug are one in the same. The power supply you mentioned sounds like the inner sleeved wire may be your B+ and other wire may be your ground. It would be wise to get a voltmeter with DC measuring ability to know which wire is B+ and which is ground. If you get the polarity on the wiring wrong, may damage the amp.
The jumper wire is from B+ on amp to REM lug. A simple wire of say #16 Gage is all that is needed.
Finally, this convertor you bought... can use the 12 volt or even 15 volt tap if you like... but how much current can this power supply adapter put out at either voltages mentioned? If less than~20A, the ap may not work very well and burn out your power supply. Thatis why I suggested the link with a high current AC/DC power supply.
If the price is too high for a 30-40A supply, try going to a flea market or electronics swap meet where you can buy a used power supply. Ham radio operators and electronic techs frequently sell off what they no longer need and you may be able to pick up a good used DC power supply for under $50.00.
Comments,
Swez
PS Only 16 huh... pretty bright for your age! Asking good questions
SoundWave on 08/26/2003 08:47:01
Thanks very much! I will go and test this all out now - before I go to bed :-( so if it works I will tell you hmmm maybe tomorrow? Thanks for everything. Cheers.
SoundWave on 08/28/2003 08:08:09
Swez, you are a champion!!! It worked fine, and I can now get surround sound on my brothers DVD player. I wish you could've been there to see my face light up with excitement but you weren't. I was rapt! BUT... now I have another problem. I am unsure if you will know about this but I'll ask anyway. To get the CD player connected to my amp, what will I have to do? I know that I can use the low input plugs on my amp for my bro's DVD player, but what about when connecting from a home portable stereo? Will I need to use the high input connectors? And which wire/s do I need to put in there? Thanks a bundle!!
Swez on 08/28/2003 16:28:23
If you have tape in/out RCA's in the receiver used and a CD player in that system, just run a pair of RCA lines from the Tape out jacks to the Amp inputs. If there is adequate voltage in that line out, should be good to go. If not enough signal gain from tape RCA's, then tap off the speaker or headphone outs to the amp inputs and adjust amp gains to get the right sound.
Am HAPPY to hear of your great results. I did the same deal in my shop system and this is why I know how to do it. It was awesome to get sub power in my shop system. Just need to make some mods to the enclosure and get a better sub. Have 1200 RMS worth of amping power available to the sub, but this sub is not nearly potent enough to take all that power.
How did you resolve the power supply issue for the car amp?
Swez CLAP
Replies (16)
Buickman94 on 06/25/2003 00:10:18
this might help you out:
http://www.clubknowledge.com/Car_Audio_FAQ/?t7
Pinch on 06/25/2003 15:17:39
I'm kinda out of my league when it comes to home audio, but if I remember right many home theater speakers are rated at a higher impedance than a typical car amp is used to dealing with. You may run into some problems with loading if you connect your car amp up to some 10Ù speakers. I don't know if this helped. Good luck though.
Pinch on 06/25/2003 17:56:34
Hey again...apparently I didn't do something right, 'cause that funky symbol next to 10 is supposed to be an omega so lets just pretend it is. :)
Swez on 06/25/2003 21:45:58
Some have done what you ask about and the key is to get a good power supply to convert AC wall voltage to 12 volts DC.
Yes, one can drag a car battery into the house and just recharge it periodically to keep the power up to snuff... but a quality power supply is key to adequate amp perfomance and low noise operation... not cheap though, depending on how many watts the amp needs to power your sub(s).
Also, there are plate amps that are not super exspensive. hey are are designed for DIY powered sub kits. The key here, is to match the plate amp with the sub impedence. Most plate amps will struggle with impedence loads below 4-8 ohms. You can lookj around at this site for ideas:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=13736129&St=1082&St2=-66132481&St3=91390843&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=118153&DID=7
This might be of interest to you and not too expensive either!
Swez
Relax_The_Mind on 06/26/2003 02:45:13
high output ac to dc conveters can be pricey. Im talking upwards of $2000. They basically consist of the same components as a home audio amp. Huge transformers and huge cap banks. Active Heatsinks. If you can find a cheap AC/DC converter check to see if they are bridgeable, meaning you can parallel them to effectively double the current.
If its a small amp you can get away with a computer power supply using the yellow (12v) lead, and the corresponding ground wire. Most of the amps are reserved for the 5v+ though. From my experience the amperage on your average PC power supply for 12v is around 15-30A. You can find them pretty cheap local computer stores.
note... there is a special pin trick to turn on an ATX power supply without a motherboard. (not for older models though that use pushbuttons)
RTM
another note... If you look around you can even find them on Car Audio sites. Extreme Audio enthusiasts use them to keep their battery bank charged up between burps. If you ever notice in pics the high voltage power cords running from the trunk.
goanna on 07/17/2003 05:57:13
iv been trying to do the same thing. iv got the power all sorted out. you can buy 12volt dc transformers for cd walkmans and stuff like that for a few bucks and then cut off the end plug, seperate and split the wires and use that to power your amp. thats what i did. the only thing is thought, my amp has 3 wires and the yellow has to go to a power antenna and i have no idea what its for.(what to substitue it for in a home car amp)
SoundWave on 08/24/2003 02:19:52
Goanna:
you can buy 12volt dc transformers for cd walkmans and stuff like that for a few bucks and then cut off the end plug, seperate and split the wires and use that to power your amp.
Does this really work? I've also been trying to do the same thing to power my 6 and a half inch mid-woofers on my home stereo. All i needed to find out was how to power my amp, but I didn't want to go hacking up my power lead for my CD Walkman if it wasn't going to work. Everything else is all hooked up but I didn't wanna stuff anything so I haven't used my stereo for ages. It's a 250W 2 Channel amp. Do u think it'll work? Thanks for your time.
accusedmonk on 08/24/2003 09:08:46
If your gonna use a cd player transformer, it would work, just not that great. They won't put out much current, about 1 amp or less.
For higher current, depending on the amp you're trying to run, you'd need way more. 1 amp would do good for about a 10 watt amplifier.
100 amps for a 1000 watt one. That's estimated, so it's not exact, the efficiencies of the amplifiers are all different, and none are perfect.
Transformers are really expensive as they get on up there, which run on AC btw.
What would be easier is use a car battery, or racks of them depending on the amplifier again, and hook them all up to a quick charger, be sure it's all in parallel, or the voltage will go up and not the current. Also, the highest current rated quick charger would be good. It's like bringing in an alternator and jamming it into the wall socket and charging the batteries with it. That wouldn't work though.
Swez on 08/24/2003 09:08:38
There are ways to do this and I have seen regulated power supplies for AC/DC conversion at reasonable prices, if you want to use your car amp and subs in the house. They key here, is matching the ampere draw of your amp with the power supply.
The little plug in transformers for a Walkman are just too small to do any good. They can deliver only a few milli-amps of current due to their size. If you really want to do this... have a look at the power supplies and prices. Maybe one of these will fit your power and budget needs.
http://just12volt.com/Power_Supplies/PS_Main.htm
Swez
SoundWave on 08/25/2003 08:31:00
OK so if i do want to do i that way, i have three little connections on my amp. one for grounding (GND), one for remote (REM) and one for power (B+). They are screws which screw down onto a small metal base plate. how do i connect the wires up to these? do i have to use all 3? i only have 2 wires coming from my power transformer. which ones do i use? thanks for the help and website address!
Swez on 08/25/2003 09:03:02
Just run a bridge wire from +12 volt lug on amp to REM feed. When the power supply is on, the amp will turn on automatically. When you turn off the power supply, the amp will also shut off.
Swez
SoundWave on 08/26/2003 07:31:22
OK. As I am only 16 (don't underestimate me!) I don't know much about this sort of stuff. Sorry if I'm being a bit peckish. What is a bridge wire? I don't have any power supply running to my amp - that is why I am asking about it here. What do you mean by the +12 volt lug on my amp? Is that the B+ screw i was talking about? I went out today and purchased a AC transformer/converter thingy, which converts household current to 5, 7.5, 12, 15, 18 and 23 volts DC. When I split the ends, there was two things: A white wire with copper wire inside and around the outside of this there was more copper wire. I assume this was to get them running separately in the black housing. I separated the two, but don't know where they go. Any help? Plus, someone told me I would need a grounding wire for sure. Is this true? How do I do a grounding wire? Once again thanks for your time and effort. You've been a big help.
Swez on 08/26/2003 08:35:40
B+ and 12 volt lug are one in the same. The power supply you mentioned sounds like the inner sleeved wire may be your B+ and other wire may be your ground. It would be wise to get a voltmeter with DC measuring ability to know which wire is B+ and which is ground. If you get the polarity on the wiring wrong, may damage the amp.
The jumper wire is from B+ on amp to REM lug. A simple wire of say #16 Gage is all that is needed.
Finally, this convertor you bought... can use the 12 volt or even 15 volt tap if you like... but how much current can this power supply adapter put out at either voltages mentioned? If less than~20A, the ap may not work very well and burn out your power supply. Thatis why I suggested the link with a high current AC/DC power supply.
If the price is too high for a 30-40A supply, try going to a flea market or electronics swap meet where you can buy a used power supply. Ham radio operators and electronic techs frequently sell off what they no longer need and you may be able to pick up a good used DC power supply for under $50.00.
Comments,
Swez
PS Only 16 huh... pretty bright for your age! Asking good questions
SoundWave on 08/26/2003 08:47:01
Thanks very much! I will go and test this all out now - before I go to bed :-( so if it works I will tell you hmmm maybe tomorrow? Thanks for everything. Cheers.
SoundWave on 08/28/2003 08:08:09
Swez, you are a champion!!! It worked fine, and I can now get surround sound on my brothers DVD player. I wish you could've been there to see my face light up with excitement but you weren't. I was rapt! BUT... now I have another problem. I am unsure if you will know about this but I'll ask anyway. To get the CD player connected to my amp, what will I have to do? I know that I can use the low input plugs on my amp for my bro's DVD player, but what about when connecting from a home portable stereo? Will I need to use the high input connectors? And which wire/s do I need to put in there? Thanks a bundle!!
Swez on 08/28/2003 16:28:23
If you have tape in/out RCA's in the receiver used and a CD player in that system, just run a pair of RCA lines from the Tape out jacks to the Amp inputs. If there is adequate voltage in that line out, should be good to go. If not enough signal gain from tape RCA's, then tap off the speaker or headphone outs to the amp inputs and adjust amp gains to get the right sound.
Am HAPPY to hear of your great results. I did the same deal in my shop system and this is why I know how to do it. It was awesome to get sub power in my shop system. Just need to make some mods to the enclosure and get a better sub. Have 1200 RMS worth of amping power available to the sub, but this sub is not nearly potent enough to take all that power.
How did you resolve the power supply issue for the car amp?
Swez CLAP
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