A crazy idea. Anyone tried?

Tim_ · 06-29-2006, 11:00 AM

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?

BillSuneson · 06-29-2006, 11:13 AM

you won't be able to do that w/o having a battery to power each amp. you can't just plug a car amp into a wall wrong kind of power. ac - dc so sorry but thats a no go unless if you can get something to act as an alternator and have it hooked up to the battery to keep it charged. i wouldn't recommend doing anything like it though, most quality receivers will power a 4 ohm speaker, i've got polk lsi (4 ohm) and i power them right now with an onkyo TX-NR 900 receiver. any reciever from HK/Onkyo/Denon/Yamaha will power them fine

MarkMel · 06-29-2006, 11:41 AM

You don't need a battery, you just need an inverter or a power supply. No alternator needed.

Now as for how it would sound, I don't know.

Tom Donaghue · 06-29-2006, 11:47 AM

For $180 shipped, the Behringer A500 Reference Studio Power Amplifier is a great deal for a 130w 2 (8 ohm mode) channel bridgeable amp. Even better in 4 ohm mode (180 watts @ 4 ohms @ 20Hz @ 0.056% THD).

This is one heck of a good amp for very little money. Here's a good writeup on it over at AH, give it a read... -TD

Andrew Pratt · 06-29-2006, 02:06 PM

Don't bother with the car amps as its too much hassle to get it to work and even then the results aren't great. There's plenty of 2 channel power amps either used or new that are designed for what you need so check out places like Audiogon etc.

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johnny..bon · 06-29-2006, 05:16 PM

For $60.00 more you can get a crown XLS-402D from djtronixs.com. It is rated 300 Watts X 2. I have 4 of these and I can tell you they are awesome.

John Garcia · 06-29-2006, 06:20 PM

The only problem with the Behringer is no way to trigger it. Always on or off, not what I want. Most decent amps will handle 4 Ohms, it is just receivers that you have to be careful with.

I would highly advise against using a car amp in the home. Yes it can be done, but it isn't going to be good.

Tom Donaghue · 06-29-2006, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Garcia

The only problem with the Behringer is no way to trigger it. Always on or off, not what I want.

Not necessarily, John. For some reason, I was having difficulty getting my Yamaha RX-V2500 to trigger my Outlaw 755 amp. Just last week I picked up a Belkin PureAV Power Console PF31 for the bulk of my HT equipment from Buy.com and relegated my Tripp Lite HT10DBS Isobar Surge Suppressor to a separate circuit solely for my subwoofer and rear surrounds amp. The Tripp Lite works great, but I wanted a bit more than it had to offer, hence the switch.

Come to find out, the PF31 has a remote turn on option as well as a 12v trigger switched option, which is what I decided to give a shot. Lo and behold, I now have no problem whatsoever getting the 755 to automatically turn on when the 2500 is turned on!

Granted, the PF31 might be a little overkill for a surge supressor for some, but considering what it can be had for, it's a great little piece of equipment that would work great w/the Behringer amp as well... -TD

John Garcia · 06-29-2006, 07:57 PM

Yeah, should have said no way to do it on board, but can be done with another component in the system. The ability to trigger it though is a small matter and I thought it should be mentioned simply because some people like to know those things.

Tom Donaghue · 06-30-2006, 10:51 AM

Definitely a good point to mention, John. I thought I'd note those features of the PureAV surpressor, though, didn't know it was even available when I order it, just and added bonus... -TD