small car amps

Theli · 11th June 2006, 11:53 PM

Does any company make small amps? Most amps available now are large, showy, and aimed at the image/shiny lights crowd. I'd like an amp that can EASILY be hidden anywhere in a car. So any options available to me? At the moment I have a Sony Mobile ES series 4ch. measuring about 7x2.5x10.5" without endcaps that works great but is tricky to put anywhere in my small car without taking up valuable space and kept hidden.

sr20dem0n · 12th June 2006, 12:02 AM

The problem is heat. Most car amps are class ab and highly inefficient, in the range of 20-30% most of the time. With that much heat being burned off in the amp, they need a reasonably large heat sink, and they also need to be mounted in a place with adequate ventillation. The smaller the chassis and the more "hidden" the amp is, the higher the risk of frying the amp.

Anyway, Linear Power used to make some small amps, you can still find them on ebay or the FS section of many car audio forums. Xtant had/has a small full range mono, but since it's mono you'd need several of them, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Theli · 12th June 2006, 12:10 AM

Yah, I understand that..it's just annoying that most 2 ch now seem to be bigger than my 4x35 sony.

XXLPeanut · 12th June 2006, 12:23 AM

If your are thinking of building one yourself, http://www.41hz.com/ have some class d amps fairly cheap..
And then you can make a custom case for your car that could fit in anyway you want
Im thinking of getting the amp2 myself for a bassamp for my band.

fury · 12th June 2006, 02:16 AM

The new Alpine PDX range of amps are full range class D, in a TINY PACKAGE!! They are about half the size of an A4 piece of paper, and with plenty of power on tap!! (4x150wrms @ 4ohm)

As for sound quality, I have not heard one yet but word is they are good.

Theli · 12th June 2006, 04:25 AM

I just checked and they are about the same size as an A4 257x192x62 (10"x7.5"x2.5").

fury · 12th June 2006, 05:58 AM

All people I have spoken to who have held them have said they are smaller then A4.

Either way, they are tiny amplifiers.

ocaukrell · 12th June 2006, 06:44 AM

Have a look at celestra or soundstream

Theli · 12th June 2006, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fury
All people I have spoken to who have held them have said they are smaller then A4.

Either way, they are tiny amplifiers.

They are small for the amount of power they put out. But unless the Alpine website is wrong they still are close to the size of A4 paper....

Dimensions
• Width .................................................. ...............257mm (10-1/8”)
• Height .................................................. ............. 62mm (2-7/16”)
• Depth .................................................. ............. 192mm (7-9/16")

http://www.alpine-usa.com/images/pro..._PDX-4_150.pdf

Not trying to start an argument, but just getting facts straight.

theAnonymous1 · 13th June 2006, 01:00 AM

You could try one of the old Blaupunkt PA series. The plastic case can come off to reduce size. They use Tripaths Class-D (refuse to call it class-t) chips. I believe these are all the models in the series.....

PA275, PA2100, PA2150, PA2200 and PA4100.

11th June 2006, 11:53 PM	#1
Theli diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Saskatoon	small car amps Does any company make small amps? Most amps available now are large, showy, and aimed at the image/shiny lights crowd. I'd like an amp that can EASILY be hidden anywhere in a car. So any options available to me? At the moment I have a Sony Mobile ES series 4ch. measuring about 7x2.5x10.5" without endcaps that works great but is tricky to put anywhere in my small car without taking up valuable space and kept hidden.

12th June 2006, 06:44 AM	#8
ocaukrell diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2005	Have a look at celestra or soundstream __________________ Buy my g'friends Swarovski crystals, you know you want to New Car and Home audio for sale, click the for sale button

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
small quantity op-amps	vitalstates	Swap Meet	5	2nd December 2007 04:45 PM
indiviual small amps per driver or 1 big one...which better??	Hybrid fourdoor	Multi-Way	3	8th October 2004 01:04 AM
DIY small car amps	mikee12345	Car Audio	7	1st December 2003 08:24 PM
Small pentodes push pull tube amps	Glass_painter	Tubes / Valves	6	14th April 2003 08:58 AM

New To Site?	Need Help?
Register to Participate Search Privacy Statement Contact Us	Frequently Asked Questions Did you forget your password? Mark Forums Read


	Please consider donating to help us continue to serve you. Ads on/off / Custom Title / More PMs / More album space / Advanced printing & mass image saving

12th June 2006, 12:02 AM	#2
sr20dem0n diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Broomfield, CO	The problem is heat. Most car amps are class ab and highly inefficient, in the range of 20-30% most of the time. With that much heat being burned off in the amp, they need a reasonably large heat sink, and they also need to be mounted in a place with adequate ventillation. The smaller the chassis and the more "hidden" the amp is, the higher the risk of frying the amp. Anyway, Linear Power used to make some small amps, you can still find them on ebay or the FS section of many car audio forums. Xtant had/has a small full range mono, but since it's mono you'd need several of them, which kind of defeats the purpose.

12th June 2006, 12:10 AM	#3
Theli diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Saskatoon	Yah, I understand that..it's just annoying that most 2 ch now seem to be bigger than my 4x35 sony.

12th June 2006, 12:23 AM	#4
XXLPeanut diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Aarhus	If your are thinking of building one yourself, http://www.41hz.com/ have some class d amps fairly cheap.. And then you can make a custom case for your car that could fit in anyway you want Im thinking of getting the amp2 myself for a bassamp for my band.

12th June 2006, 02:16 AM	#5
fury diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: aus	The new Alpine PDX range of amps are full range class D, in a TINY PACKAGE!! They are about half the size of an A4 piece of paper, and with plenty of power on tap!! (4x150wrms @ 4ohm) As for sound quality, I have not heard one yet but word is they are good.

12th June 2006, 04:25 AM	#6
Theli diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Saskatoon	I just checked and they are about the same size as an A4 257x192x62 (10"x7.5"x2.5").

12th June 2006, 05:58 AM	#7
fury diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: aus	All people I have spoken to who have held them have said they are smaller then A4. Either way, they are tiny amplifiers.

13th June 2006, 01:00 AM	#10
theAnonymous1 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Anonymityville	You could try one of the old Blaupunkt PA series. The plastic case can come off to reduce size. They use Tripaths Class-D (refuse to call it class-t) chips. I believe these are all the models in the series..... PA275, PA2100, PA2150, PA2200 and PA4100.