# car audio in the home



## jman0110 (May 16, 2010)

I would like to power my car subwoofers and amp in my home. I obviously need 12V DC power for the amplifier and I am wondering what the best/safest way would be. I have 2 12" JL subwoofers and a 1000W kenwood amp, and I dont want to cause any damage to them. 

I thought about using the 12V from my PC power supply. The DC output is 400W, so I am thinking that will not work for 1000W amp. correct?

My amp has two 25A fuses and again is 1000W. Any suggestions for the best way to install this?


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## Aznattic (Jul 4, 2007)

What is the 12Volt line amperage on the power supply?


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## jman0110 (May 16, 2010)

This is a picture of one of my computers power supplies that I could get to. It looks like 18A maybe. I have 3 computers, but I would imagine that they are pretty similar I guess.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

your amp is not 1000 watts with 2 25 amp fuses... maybe 500 at the most.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

mmiller said:


> your amp is not 1000 watts with 2 25 amp fuses... maybe 500 at the most.


word, and the computer supply only makes 18A at 12V


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

what you need is a 12volt power supply..... The same thing that runs all the demo gear in a board at an audio shop....

Cascade audio makes a great one!


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

These work really well. I believe that these are re-badged as Cascade.

Iota DLS 55 amp RV Power Converter Battery Charger : eBay Motors (item 220594871773 end time May-23-10 19:34:21 PDT)


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

the cascade is a re-badged iota 

I have one of those, I paid like 115 shipped, I'd look for a better deal.


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## jman0110 (May 16, 2010)

The amp has a max power output for 4 ohms bridged at 800W. 
The subs are 300W continuous power handling each at 4 ohms.

I can look into this cascade units, but I didnt really want to spend over 100$ on the power supply.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

Well have a science experiment in your House, and Burn the son of ***** down....


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

I'm feeling I'm getting my ass kicked in the funny/witty comment department.


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

Just FYI, I used a good quality antec computer power supply, I believe it was a 550 watt power supply... Antec is a very reputable power supply company. I don't remember the amps off of the top of my head.

That thing couldn't push jack. I used it for very simply testing of tweeters and mids at low volumes. Every time I'd turn the volume up, it would shut down. After using it maybe 4x, it died and did not work anymore.

Moral of the story, get a real 12v power supply that is designed to do what you want it to do.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Now that's funny. Please get a real power supply.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

jman0110 said:


> I can look into this cascade units, but I didnt really want to spend over 100$ on the power supply.


Up until recently you cold not get a decent power supply without spending 100 bucks in shipping!


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## Abaddon (Aug 28, 2007)

I'm looking to do this as well... mostly for testing.

I've been told, however, that most 12volt power supplies can pass through the 60hz hum to the amplifier, because they aren't designed for audio applications.

Is there any truth to this?


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

I'm currently using a cascade power supply @ 55amps in my home to push a 4 channel amp that is hooked up to mids and tweets, and a 2 channel amp that is bridged to push a sub.

I do not notice any sort of hum/noise. Actually sounds very good


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## Ranny (May 8, 2010)

Rat Shack has a power transformer that would work perfect they output 13.8 volts and my buddy is running 500 watts on two 12's and it never skips a beat, no noise either. 13.8VDC 15-Amp Power Supply : Power Supplies | RadioShack.com this one is 15 amp but the come in 25 too.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

katodevin said:


> I'm currently using a cascade power supply @ 55amps in my home to push a 4 channel amp that is hooked up to mids and tweets, and a 2 channel amp that is bridged to push a sub.
> 
> I do not notice any sort of hum/noise. Actually sounds very good


That's switch mode, the transformer does not operate at 60 cycles. Biggest worry with those is RFI, and I have not noticed any RFI with my iota (same thing, re-branded)


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

I'm not sure if you can get away with spending less than $100 unless you can find a used power supply. If your amp is fused at 25x2 then you probably should get a unit that can feed a continuous 50 amps. I bought one when I saw this guy's setup (pictured). 

That MS-2125 can draw well over 100 amps when pushed and he has it hooked to a 90 continuous amp supply. I first saw him trying to sell this setup on eBay. Is this what you have in mind?

In the interest of full disclosure, I snagged these images from here.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

The draw on the amp is VERY dependent on what impedance he's driving it at.


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

chad said:


> The draw on the amp is VERY dependent on what impedance he's driving it at.


Understood and agreed. However, I personally don't suggest that he use a power supply for his setup that can't deliver the max rated amperage of his amplifier. Thus, if he heavily loads the amp and there is too much of a draw, the fuses on the amp are his safety.

I guess you could argue that the ps has fuses, too. Mine does, but I would rather the point of failure be on the amp instead of plugged into the wall. Just my opinion, of course.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

PG amps don't have fuses in them 

The PS fuses are on the LV side on those, mine are.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have the power, but I also know what my 55A version is capable of and it's pretty damn impressive.

I'm so old that I'm still in somewhat Awe that you can hold 90A of PS in one hand as opposed to having 2-3 guys pick it up.


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

Oh, I got you. I know the PG's don't have fuses; I was referring to jman0110's Kenwood.

This conversation reminds me of a story from long ago:
Back in 1990 I worked in Orange County for a large car audio wholesaler. We were an authorized Phoenix Gold distributor but we didn't carry their electronics or alternators - just fuses, wiring, connectors, etc. When I got wind of their new amps coming out - the MS series - I was stoked and I bought a pre-production MS-250 used from a dealer testing it out for PG. This amp, if you recall, had a 30 amp ATC fuse in the case - and IIRC, 30 amp was the largest ATC you could get back then.

Well, I hooked it up and it was great - but apply any volume to it and that little fuse would just pop. It was so frustrating. On one of Larry Frederick's visits to the shop (he was a PG big-wig) I told him about my frustrations with their new amp. He told me to put a nail in it. Now that is what I call product development.


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## JVCS80T6 (Dec 23, 2009)

katodevin said:


> Just FYI, I used a good quality antec computer power supply, I believe it was a 550 watt power supply... Antec is a very reputable power supply company. I don't remember the amps off of the top of my head.
> 
> That thing couldn't push jack. I used it for very simply testing of tweeters and mids at low volumes. Every time I'd turn the volume up, it would shut down. After using it maybe 4x, it died and did not work anymore.
> 
> Moral of the story, get a real 12v power supply that is designed to do what you want it to do.


I am running some computer power supplies with no problems. The thing is, if its a 550w power supply the 12v load is going to be less than that, so you have to think about that. The 12v load might only be 375watts so if you think you can run a 500w amp off of it you wont be able to. I actually really like this method and it works really well from my experience. You can also take 3-4 computer power supplies and wire them in parallel to be able to draw more wattage without having the power supply shut down due to overload.


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

JVCS80T6 said:


> I am running some computer power supplies with no problems. The thing is, if its a 550w power supply the 12v load is going to be less than that, so you have to think about that. The 12v load might only be 375watts so if you think you can run a 500w amp off of it you wont be able to. I actually really like this method and it works really well from my experience. You can also take 3-4 computer power supplies and wire them in parallel to be able to draw more wattage without having the power supply shut down due to overload.


Yah, maybe there was a problem with mine, but it was definitely shutting down when I was pulling MUCH less than ~ 100 watts. Got the real dedicated power supply (cascade), and it works flawlessly. Didn't feel like destroying another PC power supply to test out.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

JVCS80T6 said:


> I am running some computer power supplies with no problems. The thing is, if its a 550w power supply the 12v load is going to be less than that, so you have to think about that. The 12v load might only be 375watts so if you think you can run a 500w amp off of it you wont be able to. I actually really like this method and it works really well from my experience. You can also take 3-4 computer power supplies and wire them in parallel to be able to draw more wattage without having the power supply shut down due to overload.


a 550W supply is a SHARED number the 12V out is much less than 550W, the brunt of it is on the 3.3 V rail for the processor 

There's a sticker on it.. read it, do ohm's law calculations.

paralleling PWM supplies is a VERY, VERY bad idea.


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## mears (Jul 27, 2009)

Buy a BASH plate amp at parts express and be done with it.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

mears said:


> Buy a BASH plate amp at parts express and be done with it.


WORD to your funky mother.

Nothing like spending money to drop voltage to bring it back up again in the amp. AKA reinventing the wheel. There's soooo many used/cheap home/pro amps out there that it's silly to drop lots of coin on a power supply to use a damn car amp in the house.


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## nathanz (May 6, 2010)

dhershberger said:


> Oh, I got you. I know the PG's don't have fuses; I was referring to jman0110's Kenwood.
> 
> This conversation reminds me of a story from long ago:
> Back in 1990 I worked in Orange County for a large car audio wholesaler. We were an authorized Phoenix Gold distributor but we didn't carry their electronics or alternators - just fuses, wiring, connectors, etc. When I got wind of their new amps coming out - the MS series - I was stoked and I bought a pre-production MS-250 used from a dealer testing it out for PG. This amp, if you recall, had a 30 amp ATC fuse in the case - and IIRC, 30 amp was the largest ATC you could get back then.
> ...


Did you happen to work at CES off the 91 frwy?


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

nathanz said:


> Did you happen to work at CES off the 91 frwy?


CSD (Car Stereo Distributors) on Orangethorpe Avenue in Buena Park. I don't know if they'e still in business; I can't find them via the Web.

If you've ever seen those blue Special Edition amplifiers that everyone touts as a PPI - they were our house brand. We purchased the heat sink from Clarion and contracted the company who manufactured PPI to build ours (forgot their name).


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## nathanz (May 6, 2010)

dhershberger said:


> CSD (Car Stereo Distributors) on Orangethorpe Avenue in Buena Park. I don't know if they'e still in business; I can't find them via the Web.
> 
> If you've ever seen those blue Special Edition amplifiers that everyone touts as a PPI - they were our house brand. We purchased the heat sink from Clarion and contracted the company who manufactured PPI to build ours (forgot their name).


OH YES - I sold a TON of craptastic MA amps out of there in the Recycler. I did love the Pyle pro gold stuff I was using at the time. Yeah I know...it's Pyle...but the pro gold stuff sounded good at the time to me.

Got a pic of those amps your talking about?


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

nathanz said:


> Got a pic of those amps your talking about?


Snagged this photo from eBay.


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## 3fish (Jul 12, 2009)

chad said:


> WORD to your funky mother.
> 
> Nothing like spending money to drop voltage to bring it back up again in the amp. AKA reinventing the wheel. There's soooo many used/cheap home/pro amps out there that it's silly to drop lots of coin on a power supply to use a damn car amp in the house.


Yeah like, Onkyo M504's going for $250 on CL!


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

If he already has the amp & subs, then dropping a buck or two on a ps might be a really cheap way to get 1kw in your house. It might appear a bit hayseed, though.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

I already have a civic, why not put a hitch on it to pull my yacht?


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

Agreed.


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## nathanz (May 6, 2010)

dhershberger said:


> Snagged this photo from eBay.


Man I remember that amp....had NO idea what they were...I will be on the look out for one.

BTW as I remember it, The Cali CSD closed but at the time they had something in Arizona.


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

Yeah, that's right... I think we did have some kind of office in AZ. It's been so long it's hard to remember 

I wouldn't be overly zealous about finding that Special Edition amp; it's not like it was high-end or anything. It was a very inexpensive line.


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## ratten46 (Nov 16, 2008)

Up until last week, I had a nice PS from my old desktop computer running an amp for my home theater. I don't really recommend this, but it worked for me as a "short term" solution for over a year. I did some work to the power supply, removed all leads except the +12v and ground. Replaced with 8 gauge and fused it. I was running a much smaller amp, had it fused at 15amps, never blew the fuse. Sounded better than the craptastic klipsch plate amp it replaced. FYI - I was running only 2 channels bridged from a RF 200a4, with gain almost at minimum.

Bottom line - I didn't have to spend any money until I was ready to, but I ruined a perfectly good power supply...now it's my hobby power supply.

I stopped using it because it was time to buy a real plate amp for my sub.


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